230: The Colorful Episode
A GREAT time was had by all at our inaugural PodCastaway Retreat with these amazing humans! Saying goodbye was bittersweet, but the retreat weekend was only the beginning of Team 10K helping these new podcasters amplify their voices in the world of podcasting! And our Discord group has kept us right there by their sides for feedback and assistance ever since they left!
A true pickle lover, Lulu is obsessed w/the Taylor Farm’s Dill Pickle Salad kit. Nothing like a good fresh salad with the zesty flavor of dill pickle ranch dressing! Now, I’m a huge pickle lover myself, so I’m gonna have to go out and get some to try!!
Nothing but fun ensued when Lulu realized Alison had just found an inexpensive solution to their current recording issues! Alison has been in love with the The Saramonic LavMicro U1A is an ultracompact clip-on lavalier microphone with a Lightning connector that plugs directly into the Apple iPhone that has been making her recent iPhone 13 filmmaking endeavors so much easier! What are the chances that Lulu has already purchased this $29 mic since they recorded it!?
With such high stakes opening a broadway show with a cast over 20 people, COVID protocols have understandably been very strict. Our earth-friendly Lulu wishes that she didn’t have to throw away her masks as they are using the high quality disposable ones.
Alison wishes for a Beurer Insect Healer to take away the sting or itchiness of an insect bite. Sounded pretty magical to Lulu!
I love this week’s word because I am a huge fan of COLOR! The brighter the better! And I am truly convinced I wouldn’t know what to do with myself if I were color blind. And yes, I cry at every one of those videos where colorblind people put on those glasses to see color for the first time. I know I am not alone in the fact that I derive so much pleasure in colors (especially vibrant bright ones), but also that they fill me with an incredible positive energy! So, let’s carry on with this amazingly vibrant episode of 10K Dollar Day, 230: The Colorful Episode!
Lulu chose Guatapé, Colombia, the intimate town that bursts with vibrancy where almost every single home and building is covered in brilliant COLOR! We’re not sure when and why the tradition began but the city has been preserving its gorgeous, winding rainbow streets & creating a fantastical environment for a long time. It looks strikingly similar to the vivid color palette of Disney’s Encanto, which was based on the Colombian city of Salento, a mere 8.5 hours drive from Guatapé.
For the 1st time in 10K history, an Arched Cabin Tiny Home was purchased, mostly because there were no expensive luxury hotels in Guatapé, but hey, how fun is that!? And if you know Lulu, you know she prefers to have a bathroom either in her room or hopefully an unshared one nearby. So, she got a super cool Cinderella comfort incinerating toilet. I don’t know about you, but I think I could be best friends with the genius that came up with the branding of Cinderella being a princess on a ‘throne’ AND that her name is based on ‘incinerated’ ashes. #kindredidiotspirits And, if you’re up for a good laugh, just go listen to the episode to hear Lulu & Alison talk at length about toilets, bathroom routines and Spanx peeing technique for women. It’s hilarious!
Breakfast was at Cafe la Vina, which doesn’t have a website, but click on the link for its Google reviews. This was one of Lulu’s favorite reviews:
“Justin H.: This coffee shop had by FAR the best coffee I’ve ever tried in my life. Plus it was by FAR the most aesthetically pleasing coffee ever with a flare for the image. I would give this place 20 stars if I could. Very recommended!”
Post brekky, Lulu decided to get all ‘climby’ at La Piedra Peñon, a huge rock providing an incredible view of the lakes around Guatapé. If you look it up, it looks like there’s a zipper trying to sew up the cleft in it. Super cool. It’s 659 stairs to get from bottom to top and this ol’ out of shape lady finds it HIGH-larious (see what I did there?) that they say if you are “reasonably fit you will be fine – it takes less than 10 minutes to get to the top.” Yeah, right…
Some of the bullet points of info they share before you climb are:
• Free Bathrooms? Yes – bring your own toilet paper - Lulu’s solution was to buy Portawipes Coin Tissues | Toilet Paper Tablets | Compressed Towels | Camping Wipes | Soft & Odor Free And I have to agree with Alison, I’m pretty confused with how this works. I’m guessing you have to pre-spritz the tablets and then wait for them to dry. Not sure.
• Elevation: 7,000 feet above sea level - Just in case the elevation caused migraines, Lulu got the Cefaly device and electrodes bundle.
• Can I drink the water? Not from the tap. Bring your own water bottle or bring cash to buy drinks there (about $1.50 USD for water) - Lulu bought a Jacob Bromwell flask which features a carbon fiber-inspired patina achieved via their proprietary hyper-aging process directly on the copper.
And once she arrived on top, she used the extremely colorful Pixy 360 drone to document the spectacular view of Guatapé from above.
Lunch was at Guatacrep’, which also doesn’t have a website, but click the link for their Google Reviews. One review said “Pat: Very fresh, light, and delicious crepes! Also good coffee, hot chocolate, and fresh made juices. Zero single use plastics in site. A+” Now, did you notice what Pat said about no single use plastics? Well, cool Colombian earth-loving fact is that Guatapé is the FIRST Colombian city to ban ALL single-use plastics!
Post lunch, Lulu went for a ‘costume change’ into her luxurious Vintage Hermes Dress (all yellow) so she would POP in her pictures with all the colorful houses and buildings. And dinner at La Fogata rounded out her 10K day just under budget!
Alison’s ‘colorful’ inspiration was the Fluorescent Rocks of Sterling Hill Mine in Ogdensburg, NJ. Hundreds of glow-in-the-dark objects light up a museum in a historic zinc mine. They say that “Formerly pale, flat, unlit rocks and minerals turn vibrant orange, pink, and green when the overhead lights are turned out and the black-light turned on. They streak with red or develop otherworldly glowing veins of light that were definitely not visible before.”
They have a mine run dump area where avid mineral collectors can purchase their own ore. Alison decided to purchase some and store them in her 6 Layers Metal Gemstone Display Box Set / Gemstone Display Case / Gemstone Storage Case - in black.
She stayed in Hackensack, NJ at an Airbnb and hired a driver from Kismet Limousine since that location was close enough to her destinations. She also hired a local chef, Chef Kwame Williams for the duration of her stay. He had her at his description of himself: FRESH, CREATIVE; JAMAICAN.
Another great reason for Alison choosing this location was Dana’s Bakery for her rainbow cookies! They say, “From Red Velvet to S'mores, Fruity Cereal to Thin Mint, our Macarons are available in flavors inspired by classic all-American desserts and candy. To keep things fresh, a new flavor is added to the collection every month! In June 2018 Dana expended her product line with the launch of cookies & Mookies™ - a cookie stuffed with a macaron inside. These cookies are already insta-famous, especially the classic black & white with a rainbow twist.” So, Alison got a Macaron MacDaddy Tower & a box of 5 Strawberry Mookies! YUM!
Who knew NJ was a place to go for archery!? Ok, maybe everyone else knew but me or maybe it was just the next exciting thing to do there. But, Alison went to The Shooting Zone, a premier archery range and got their unlimited month membership. She figured she needed her own bow, so she purchased the Self Yew English Longbow from Fairbow USA. Pay no attention to the fact that she called it Airbow…she thought the F was silent. I don’t blame her…most are in NJ…wait, what? Anyhoo…that fancy, pretty bow is going to be used ‘for show’ but she also got the Traditional Handmade Bow and Wood Arrows Set Recurve Mongolian Horsebow to use.
Similar to Lulu’s 10K day, Alison opted for a beautiful CHRISTOPHER JOHN ROGERS Rainbow Gradient Tiered Ruffle Evening Gown and Lulu was quite amused at her “10K math” equation to figure that she’d pay for it over time and she could do 5 payments this 10K day and save one for a future one! I LOVE 10K MATH!!!! And, surprise surprise…her day rounded out at a cool 10K!
Photo credit: Andrea Canny
Having been raised in Florida and lived there most of her life, Lulu is really enjoying the crisp freshness of Spring in Boston. I have to agree as after 33 years away from Ohio, I’ve enjoyed experiencing Fall & Spring there again.
Alison is our super go-getter with never-ending confidence and her current Happy is that she had a successful cold-call to a complete stranger resulting in a successful meeting about a project she feels she is perfect for. Way to go, Alison! Hope they bring you on board!
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