the heart of the sea

I long for December...every year for the rest of my life you will find me here.  They call it Tavarua.  A perfect heart in the middle of the South Pacific...everything I want in my heaven.

17° 51' 29" South, 177° 12' 6" East

Tavarua Sunset (Riley Cooney)

Tavarua tube (Riley Cooney)

my wave dancer (Riley Cooney surf photography)

my top 10

I cross the Atlantic nearly once a month...so often that I always keep "her" packed and ready to go. 

1. Blackberry Torch for pics, email and staying on the grid
2. Vintage Finley shades from Garret's shop akinneycourt.com...hide the eyes in style
3. Smythson engraved magenta diary and passport www.smythson.com
4. ipad and 16GB ipod nano...what would I do without music
5. Goyard Kelly-Green brief...you've been good to me
6. Faliero Sarti Scarf...best Italian cashmere scarf, a nuzzle with this eases the pain
7. Bose Noise Canceling Headphones...Can they surgically implant this technology into my ears?
8. Soho House Membership card
9. Biz cards...you never know who will be sitting next to you
10. liquid zip-lock carry-all
*10mg Ambien-pop one and your out like a light 
*Kheils creme de corps-life changing lotion
*Aquaphor-chappy lips no more
*Obagi eye creme-not getting any younger
*Boiron Homeopathic meds for cold prevention-I'm a borderline hypochondriac
*ROHTO eye drops- Japanese dream drops 
*Zing 5 chewing gum-necessary
*dry roasted, unsalted almonds-perfect snack

Heathrow Terminal 5

I "heart" The Soho House

It is not often that a hotel group tick's all my boxes: service, food (coined American Nouveau, Irish/English fare), amenities (private screening rooms, killer bars, roof-top swimming pools and sexy loft-style suites), clientele and location (Shoreditch, Somerset, Soho, Berlin, Miami, New York, & West Hollywood).  The Soho House has never failed me. I find comfort in knowing that my cheeky private membership will always take care of my high-maintenance ass.

flying high

the vault...

Dreamland, Bali (2008)

Similan Archipelago, Thailand (2008)

Ibiza, Spain (2007)

Rio de Janeiro, Brazil (2004)

pictures from the vault...

twin-engine prop, Mykonos (2008)

train-ride from Barcelona to Bilbao (2004)

 Eiffel Tower from the MoMA, Paris (2005)

back to the vault

the story

202 days.  That's how many days I traveled this year.  It took me nearly seven years to realize that all of the jet-lag, airport sprints, dinner's for one, layovers, hotel rooms, packing & unpacking, bad pillows, ambien, exhaustion, and heart ache...are all totally worth it.

This is my life on tour.  I get to see the world.   Full of love, hard work, great fun, and the inevitable loneliness.  These heart wings love deeply and seek all the beauty this life has to offer.

Oh the places you'll go...

There are unique qualities I have come to love about everywhere I go.  These familiarities make being so far away from home, well, not so painful. 

It's impossible to find a good coffee in London and even harder to find a burrito.  This is where curry comes in.

A jog in regents park will cure any hangover.

A pull-out sofa at the Callow's is way better than any 5-star hotel.

It's impossible to find breakfast in Spain...the point is you're supposed to sleep in!

No matter where you go in Europe you will stumble upon what I call, pockets of funk.  aka-an air stench so awful you can't believe it's in public
 
German's...how genius are they to use butter instead of mayonnaise on a deli sandwich?!  Naughty.

I always feel beautiful in Italy...

Unattractive and ALWAYS lonely in Paris

I love dancing in Spain

Smoking in Germany

and listening to bad cover-song's in Greece

I always wake up at 4 am in Tokyo and run 5 miles

I refuse to leave my hotel room in Seoul, Korea

I love my bikram studio in Toronto

and my topless swimming in the Mediterranean

When I first read Doctor Seuss's "Oh the Places You'll Go", I never imagined where these wings would take me...