best job in the world…

I have mistakenly been under the impression that I have the best job in the world. Think about it- I get to shop for beautiful things all across the world and share them with all of my friends (and fans of Cerulean). I get to write about my adventures, interview designers, and help people find the perfect outfit for the special occasions in their life! I am surrounded by beautiful things all day long and spend hours talking and writing about all of it.

But as I said, I was mistaken. I have just found THE BEST job in the world, and they’ve been taking applications.

Im afraid you are too late if you want to apply, however. Sadly, I bring you this news just a bit too late. Good thing, or I would have applied and left the Cerulean life behind in a heartbeat! The islands of the Great Barrier Reef in Australia are looking for a “caretaker”. I use the term caretaker loosely, because it seems to me that all that is required of you is to enjoy everything the Great Barrier Reef has to offer, and then report back about how great it is. Snorkel and dive, hike and explore, soak up endless hours of down-under sunshine… and then blog about it, give a phone interview about it, share with the world the fabulosity of it all! What a deal.

I visited the Whitsunday Islands several years ago (the name of that string of islands around The Great Barrier Reef) and was blown away by their beauty. Endless hours of snorkeling and tranquility are offered to those who hop the boat for the jaunt from the mainland. I stayed on an island with one tiny hotel, nothing more, and hiked the length of the island on both sides without once crossing paths with another soul. As fabulous as my trip was, it pales in comparison to the three-bedroom house on glamorous Hamilton Island where the “caretaker” will keep his “office”.

They’ve narrowed down the applicants to a sweet sixteen and will pick the finalist soon. But the good news is that he or she can bring a friend… there is till hope for us all!

The above images are from the job's website. I'm trying to track down the photo album from my own trip to the Great Barrier Reef (including some horrendous pictures of me trying to windsurf (classic) but as yet no luck. Will keep you posted.

the open road...

Driving from one state to another over the weekend, the sun was shining, fresh spring grasses knee high were waving along the side of the road, and the medians were filled with clover. It makes opening the sunroof an obligation, really, and upbeat music, necessary. While my weekend jaunt was nothing exciting (except for the beautiful day), I was reminded of two amazing road trips I’ve taken in my life and I couldn’t help but reminisce and ponder the wonder of a good, long stretch of road on a spectacular day.

I once drove the long trek from the Southeastern US all the way to Jackson Hole, Wyoming. I was blown away by the ever changing landscape on that trip and have never forgotten it: lush trees throughout the Southeast gave way to low lying lands across Arkansas. Then the sky opened up and the land streamed out for miles through Oklahoma and Kansas. We stopped for the night at the ranch of a friend a few hours outside of Denver, where the small pasture in front of the house was 500 acres. We then made our way through the wide canyons and dusty fields of southern Wyoming. Every American should have to drive across the country at least once in their life, just to see it, and hopefully be moved.

I also will never forget my summer of road trips throughout Australia behind the wheel (on the other side, remember) of a white 1972 Mercedes coupe. She was gorgeous, we called her Betty. She had a cattle guard on her front bumper- a occupational hazard for many cars in Queensland, as crashes with kangaroos will tear up a car (and can be fatal) if you collide with one on a dark stretch of road. But Betty was gorgeous, steel bumper cage and all.

I drove every highway in Queensland, from the dusty outback lands to the jungles of the coast. We hit every stop from Surfer’s Paradise to the massive cattle stations hours from civilization. We changed Betty’s tires too many times to count, as rocks on unpaved roads proved too much. We even dipped down into New South Wales and crossed the great dingo fence- an actual fence built across thousands of miles to control the dingo population. We crossed it at the top of a mountain on an unpaved road, and you literally have to get out of your car and open it to pass. We crossed one lane bridges where you can’t see the other side, and too often made turns onto the wrong side of the road (its harder to catch on to that driving on the left thing than you’d think!)

All of this is to say that you learn so much about a place by hitting its roads and spending time behind the wheel, stopping here and there to get a snack and shake a stranger’s hand. It’s not as quick, and perhaps not as glamorous, as some other means of travel (i.e. a private jet, which you won’t see me turn down, either) but you come away from the trip a bit wiser when you let the journey reign as important as the destination.

tell us where you roadtrip...