I owe a special debt of gratitude to Aly and John, in that they got me finally to join the real community of travel bloggers. They designed my website. Although I should have gone to a self-hosted site a long, long time ago, I wouldn’t have ever made the change without their great assistance. Thank you.
In addition to being great graphic artists and web designers, Aly and John also are wonderful travel bloggers and photographers. Their website, Hop and Jaunt website, is a combination of travel, webs design, unique graphics… well, you get the point. They do about everything. And do it really well.
So go check them out and follow them on Twitter. And in the meantime, enjoy their answers to the Lucky 13. Only the 2nd couple to answer so far, I especially like that each of them answered each question separately, though they didn’t give me too much good material for funny photos….
1. Fictional character that you would want to swap lives with for a year or two?
Aly: Dr. Who!
John: Dorian Gray
2. If you were only allowed one news source, what would it be?
Aly: NPR
John: Courier Pigeon
3. Who plays you in the movie about your life?
Aly: John would be a young Andy Griffith!
John: Aly would be a mix of Lucile Ball and the girl from Amelie.
4. Location of your most drunken night?
Aly: “That goes down with the ship 😉 ”
John: “On top of a water tower in the middle of no-where Alabama”
5. Worst dorm room or hostel experience?
Aly & John: “Bahia Honda! It’s not really a hostel or hotel room as on our last adventure we were mostly on sailboats. On a two week trip from Curacao to Cartagena, Colombia we were crew on board a 30 ft sailboat with the Captain. Off the tip of Colombia we stopped at a location called Bahia Honda, hoping to anchor and rest up for a bit. The problem was the location was very very rough, with dangerous current, churned up murky waters, and the crashing waves making it too dangerous to get to shore. We ended up getting stuck there for days. It was so rough even at anchor that anything not tied down went wizzing by your head. With the movement of the ship you couldn’t hardly sleep with all the racket onboard, not to mention having to wedge yourself in a corner to keep from rolling off the bunk. It was the most uncomfortable three days in our lives. We have a little video on our post about that trip, but it really doesn’t do justice to how utterly miserable those three days were.
6. The most romantic place you have ever been?
Aly & John: When John came to visit me in my hometown of Nagasaki, Japan for New Years. We took a day trip to Mount Unzen, a popular hot-spring town built on an active volcano. We took a hot bath in a traditional outdoor hot-spring, explored the sulpher pits, walked around the town, found a traditional Japanese toy-maker shop, and even a German inspired pub by the lake. We ended the day with a hot plate of Japanese curryto warm back up.
Ally is one GENEROUS wife
about to be NFL millionaire
7. Fill in the blank: my partner would allow me to go on a date with ________
Aly: Well I guess if it’s just one date with anyone might as well be someone famous. He can go with Rhianna, well she’s very pretty so he’d like that but also I just think it would be funny for him to try to relate to her about Hip Hop!
John: Aly can go on a date with Cam Newton so she can get me his autograph! War Eagle!!
8. Who is your favorite fiction writer?
Aly: Gabriel Garcia Marquez
John: Graham Greene comes to mind but I like too many different writers to pick just one.
Aly: Stage a Revolution!!…just haven’t figured out against who/where/why yet…9. Blanks again: If I knew I wouldn’t get arrested, I would
John: Never pay taxes… I really hate having to do taxes
10. Best movie that no one has ever heard of
Aly &John: Chances are we haven’t heard of it ourselves. A no-TV lifestyle for the past few years 🙂
11. Your biggest pet peeve is? (and by pet peeve, I mean something so insignificant that it is embarassing to admit it bothers you)
Aly: In movies people will meet up half way across town just to say one line and walk off. I mean, really? I’ve never had a one-line conversation after planning to meet up with someone across town…just call me.
John: I have to make the bed every morning, as I can’t stand going to bed in an unmade bed.
12. If you could travel with one person for one week, then never see or hear from them ever again, who would you choose?
always good for a smile
Aly: Tour across Europe on scooters with Steve Martin (who is hilariously now on Twitter). I mean who wouldn’t want that?
John: I would go on an old school safari with the Queen of England. I imagine she would make a safari very comfortable.
13. What is the #1 item on you personal bucket list?
Aly: Sail across the world exploring new places and re-visiting old friends.
John: To own some land and start a gentleman’s farm.
Those are probably the most unique interview questions ever. And great answers!
Awwww — thanks for the questions compliment, but the great answers make the questions. And I need to get you on the receiving end of some of these in the new year, Gray. Deal?
I love you guys, Aly and John. Super interesting answers. By the way, I might have some more work for you in the near future…
I love every site they do; amazing designers.
Thanks for questioning us!! Ha ha we really thought long and hard about the answers, so now that I read them it’s a little embarrassing that we spent so long coming up with THOSE answers LOL*. Love your site and you didn’t need our designs to become big time, your work always speaks for it self, we just hoped to give you a pretty wrapping 🙂
Love the 13Qs, always so much fun. Can’t wait to see who’s next!
Loved your answers. Seriously. Great stuff. Not much room for my normal attempts at photo humor, but it doesn’t matter — one of the best interviews yet. Hope lots of people come read about ya’ll.
Love you guys. Love your lives. Love your answers. So happy to work with you again soon!!
What, pray tell, is a “gentleman’s farm?”
Ahhh, the live of leisure. I shouldn’t speak for John, but I think he means a few hundred acres, perhaps a small horse farm, some crops grown mostly for hobby and personal use, perhaps some grapes, from which to ferment the nectar of the gods. Something of that ilk. And if he gets it, I want to have rights to the guest house
great questions & answers! did john mean carrier pigeon? hilarious! and i’m with NVRguys- i’m going to be googling “gentleman’s farm” next. these guys are awesome and their work is fantabulous- your site included michael. love this!
they are really a couple of my favorites – and their site is SO interesting visually.