I always thought I’d pee on the stick in my own familiar bathroom, in my own comfortable home, at just the right moment. I pictured a sleepy weekend morning, rolling out of our cozy, king-size bed and pulling the pregnancy test out of a drawer where I’d cleverly stowed it […]
I’m on a bus. Alone. The seat beside me is empty, save for a sandwich, a bottle of water, and my Kindle. It feels empty without Rob beside me, his long legs askew and his hand on my thigh. It also feels undeniably spacious. And that’s the theme I’m exploring […]
Dear Tonga, It’s been a fabulous five months. You really pulled out all of the stops for our stay here, from pretty fish and sandy beaches to dance parties and band performances. We particularly loved living on a sailboat in Vava’u’s flat, calm waters (nicknamed “lolo,” or oil, in Tongan). […]
This is Part Three in a multi-part series on my observations of the state of the South Pacific fishery. Click here to read Part One. Click here to read Part Two. — You remember those 3D pictures where an image pops out of the static if you look at it […]
Part Two in a multi-part series on my observations of the state of the South Pacific fishery. Click here to read Part One. It had become a sunset ritual to swim along the shallow reef off Fofoa, an island on the western edge of Vava’u where Rob and I stayed […]
I jumped in beside my sister, gasping as the sparkly green-white lights encircled my legs and torso. “I feel like Tinker Bell,” I exclaimed. We shrieked our excitement, our voices as high-pitched as school girls. We reveled in making our breasts glow in the dark, and in the feel of […]
A cyclone looks remarkably similar to a single ripple spreading slowly over calm water. Except that the ripple spins and grows, a wild engine powered by wind and water. We saw that natural engine spin a little too close for comfort here in Vava’u, Tonga, this past weekend. Cyclone Ian […]
I never thought hurricanes would feel so hot. The air outside is steaming, dripping, still, stagnant. The water vapor in the air makes the horizon hazy grey. The world feels like it’s waiting. Holding it’s breath. After living outside for the past nine months, we can feel the weather change […]
I might have picked a better picture of us if I’d known it would end up on the front page of our hometown newspaper. But what fun to be able to share a few stories with the press. Here’s a snippet from the article. Click here to read more. In […]
It was a typical Randall sister reunion, full of music, good food and lots of novel-reading between the many outdoor adventures. Cassidy left yesterday after a month with us here in Vava’u. I cried tears of joy when she arrived, and tears of sorrow when she left. If you’re a […]
6,000 nautical miles 26 tropical islands 8 countries 7 sailboats 6 months living on the sea 3 months living in Tonga 2 careers put on hold 2 big backpacks 1 incredible year In some ways, it feels like 2013 was the longest year in ages. Probably because a lot happened. […]
Part One in a series on the state of the South Pacific fisheries. — The first time I got in the water in Vava’u, Tonga, I sighed in disappointment. No blacktip sharks came up instantly to check me out. I didn’t see any giant snapper, or manta rays, or flocks […]
So, what do you really need to be a parent for a week? Turns out you need a lot less when you’re in Tonga, a tropical island-nation in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. Hell, kids don’t even need shoes in Tonga. I discovered this within the first hour of […]
Ko hoku tokoua tu ne ha’u heni ahoni. In Tongan, that means: my sister is coming here tomorrow. After eight long months, I finally get to see my favorite person again. She’s my other half. (Luckily, Rob is totally cool with sharing those two descriptors with Cassidy.) The Tongan word […]
Imagine a place where hundreds of birds fly overhead. Where baby birds squeak from every branch you can see. Where eggs litter the ground you walk on. Imagine a place ringed by white sand and coral reef, a place you can circumnavigate in under ten minutes. Imagine a place where […]
A few weeks ago, just before dinner with some friends on Fetoko Island, I heard Rob telling hunting stories. He was re-enacting past elk kills, and explaining how he stalked ungulates through misty Montana mountains each fall. I suddenly realized it was opening day of hunting season back home. Rob […]
We have yet another new home. Her name is Waking Dream, a 42-foot Cooper monohull owned by Ben and Lisa Newton here in Vava’u. They sailed her from Oakland, California and spent three years cruising before deciding to stay in Tonga. Now that they live on Fetoko Island and are […]
Sometimes, I think about what it would be like to swim until I can’t go any further. To hold my breath underwater until I get past the fear that I’ll run out of air. I think about running as fast as I can without worrying about pitfalls and holes. About […]
“Aqui esta bien, Maria,” I say to the Spanish woman driving the disintegrating 1970-something Ford along the rutted road along the old harbor in Neiafu. Magenta climbs through the window as we exit. “Let me get my togs out of the boot first,” she tells Maria in her Kiwi accent. […]
This is what we do on the average Tuesday in Tonga. No, we weren’t on drugs, and no, this was not the result of a dare or a lost bet. We spent a week on Tapana Island with our new friends, Billy and Magenta, perfecting our band’s repertoire and running […]
I started the countdown to Tonga a few days ago. Less than five weeks! Yes, I know, I can hear you. You couldn’t be thinking it louder: “Really? You’re taking a month-long vacation—with us—and you just started that countdown right now?!” Seriously. And part of the reason I haven’t started […]
A lot of people have asked us recently about our short- and long-term plans. Where are we going next? What will we be doing in Tonga? What are our goals for the future? (Besides making an album, since we have this awesome album cover photo all ready to go.) To […]
One of the reasons we feel comfortable in Tonga is because the topography is so similar to the Rocky Mountain landscape we came from. Did you just do a double-take after reading that sentence? Good, that means you’re paying attention. But the statement is true, geographically speaking: Vava’u is a […]
Fetoko Island is not on any maps. You can’t find it on navigation charts, and many people here in Tonga would scratch their heads if you ask for directions. Maybe this is part of the reason that Fetoko is such a magical place. Fetoko Island is 2.4 acres, and has […]
Why did we leave good jobs, a wonderful community and a comfortable lifestyle to sail off into the sunset? This video of swimming with mantas in Bora Bora explains why more eloquently than words ever could.