BLOG

Home.

Mirra and I drove across the border from Wisconsin to Minnesota this evening blasting “Sabotage” by the Beastie Boys on the stereo.  I think I’ll always remember that moment.  I’m not sure why such a high octane song was appropriate for our return home.  Perhaps it just felt good to depart from the sadness we had been feeling over the last couple days. Driving NorthWest, we realized that our trip was coming to an end.  Something we had first been dreaming about, then fundraising for, then planning, then spending every waking moment engaged in — was about to be over.  And so we had been driving and reminiscing, re-living the last 6 months…and as we came into Minnesota with music blaring, I had that good feeling of WE DID IT!  But not without a few mishaps: one broken car window, one phone dropped in a cup of wine, one thrown out back, one event where no one showed up, one missing hiking boot, and only four or five bouts of sea sickness for Mirra… we did pretty well.

With all that luck, I asked Mirra what was the high point of the trip, and she said something that rung true for me as well.  She said the two highlights were Catfish noodling in Mississippi and Farming with the Apostolic family in Ohio.  These two families lived such different lives from our own (and from each other) yet we were really able to connect, and share and become part of their lives for a few days. They even became our friends.  Our preconceived notions were wiped away and a new point of view developed with the friendship.  We had spent a couple nights at the homes of both these families — not something we could do with every story, and certainly not something that every American can or will do in order to get to know where their food comes from. But this relationship made me hope that through the videos we produce, perhaps we were able to shed a little light into the lives of these food producers across America, and draw a closer connection to our viewers… something more like a friendship.

And so we are back in Minnesota.  It’s cold as hell but we have a lot to do.  There are still months of videos from the road to be released.  Plans for a cookbook, perhaps TV.  And after just having taken the trip of a lifetime, we have to start making plans for the next one.

Thank you for your support, this trip wouldn’t have been possible with out you.  Keep watching and Enjoy the rest of the journey.