Learning to Viennese Waltz

So a little while back I got on the ballroom dancing bandwagon. Growing up with movies like Dirty Dancing, Moulin Rouge, and Strictly Ballroom, it was something I definately wanted to try. So found a great local place that taught classes and started to take lessons.

A friend and I started with the beginning classes, and then moved up to advanced, all with Pro/Am teacher Nikki Morin. Then we started going really nuts...

Dork Pixie Goes to Washington!

Recently, I had the opportunity to go to Washington, D.C. with our city to advocate with our representatives as a delegation. I'd never been, and I was excited to participate in our democratic process as well as see the sights and historical monuments.

The trip was, among other things, an endurance test as we raced from building to building...

Visiting Davy Jones' Locker

If you're familiar with the Pirates of the Caribbean, you might remember the slightly odd scene after Jack gets swallowed by a Kraken and has to be rescued from Davy Jones’ Locker, which is interpreted as his own personal hell of being stuck with himself on his boat and no sea.

Now, it just so happens that a personal hell like Jack Sparrow’s exists, and it’s in the beautiful landlocked state of Colorado. There’s a giant 85,000 acre Great Sand Dunes National Park that’s home to some of the tallest sand dunes in North America (some as high as 750 feet). And, these sand dunes are about as far from the ocean as you can get. How did so much sand get there? Well, according to their website, "the story of their formation is still being discovered," which I take to mean that they don’t really know. But I have a hunch it has something to do with a tentacle-bearded undead sailor…

The fun thing about dressing up like Jack Sparrow in public...

Sailing the Thane!

During my trip to Victoria, Canada, I came across a stark, beautiful red-sailed tall ship called the Thane, with daily cruises through the Strait of Juan de Fuca. I booked passage with Sue, and also met Boca and Trinket – two seasoned seadogs who just happened to be cats. The Thane, built from recycled materials by Captain Len, is modeled after Joshua Slocum’s Spray, which was the first vessel to circumnavigate single-handedly back in 1895...

Adventure in Canada!

My passport was expiring soon and I wanted to go, well, somewhere. I’ve had the card 10 years, and used it once to go to London when I was in college, but nowhere really out of country after that. Then I was in Seattle for a conference, and noticed a ferry that went straight into Victoria, Canada. I hadn’t really made weekend plans, so figured, what the hey.

Boy, was it worth it. Victoria may well be among my favorite places on the planet. So much so that I found myself singing many of the descriptions of what I was seeing...

Shooting a black powder weapon

This is my first time shooting, and my first time firing a black powder weapon.

We made our own cartridges with rolled up paper, and then tore it all piratey-like with our teeth...

Dork Pixie tries Ziplining

Recently, I had the opportunity to relax in beautiful Idaho Springs at the Indian Springs Resort. After indulging in the hot mineral springs, a cave bath, a hot stone massage, a mud bath, and a hot tub, I thought it was high time to get out there and find an activity that would put the stress right back into my life.

So I thought I would try ziplining. Especially since I have a pretty healthy fear of heights. I went with Wide Open Adventure, and scheduled three zips through the beautiful Rocky Mountains...

Impersonating a Pirate Diety

(First of all, if you’re not familiar with the Flying Spaghetti Monster, I’m going to need you to go here so you, too, can be touched by His Noodly Appendage.)

During a recent trip to Brethrencon, Colorado’s premier pirate event in celebration of the annual Talk Like A Pirate Day, I decided to impersonate a pirate diety...

Dork Pixie and Scott's Canoe Experiment

I couldn’t help but notice the large aluminum canoe on top of my lighting designer’s truck after rehearsals this summer. I asked him about it. It turns out he’s an avid canoer, and he’s got a goal to canoe in every lake in Colorado. That probably won’t take long, I quip, and he lets me know there’s lots of lakes in Colorado. Huh. I tell him I’ve never really canoed, but I love being on the water, in any capacity, so we make plans to explore 11 Mile Reservoir by canoe after the show ends.

The weather was great, for September, and it’s calm waters and blue skies as we paddle about, inventing names for the land masses we pass. There was Forbidden Island (complete with signs discouraging would-be explorers), Black Bird Cove (we’re not entirely sure what a cove is, but it probably has something to do with rocks and water), and Chipmunk Isle, which we barely escaped with our sunflower seeds in tact...