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Documentary on Washington’s Road to Legalization

Sorry to interrupt my reports from Europe, but there’s big cinema news coming out of the USA that I just have to share. I’ve been in lots of TV shows but, until now, never in a movie. In a few days, that’s about to change.

In 2012 I had the opportunity to help lead the historic campaign in Washington State to legalize, tax, and regulate recreational marijuana.  Along with Colorado, legalizing marijuana got more votes than President Obama (56 percent). The citizens of two states stood up and voted overwhelmingly to end the failed War on Drugs and stop the mass incarceration of our most disadvantaged citizens for petty marijuana arrests.  We made history together…and it was an exciting story I’m very proud of.

Thankfully, a group of talented Seattle filmmakers was there from the start to capture the story.  The award-winning and critically acclaimed documentary “Evergreen: The Road to Legalization” shows the candid, behind-the-scenes drama of this historic change in American drug policy through the eyes of those who lived it (including yours truly!). And it gives a glimpse at just how–I believe–state by state, the Prohibition of our age will be ended.

I am thrilled to announce that “Evergreen” is beginning its theatrical run starting this Friday, June 13th, in New York City and continuing in select cities throughout the country this summer.  Here is the run-down of screenings and dates:

New York, NY
Opens June 13, 2014
Cinema Village  

Denver, CO
Opens June 20, 2014
SIE Film Center

Dormont, PA
June 26 – 29, 2014
Hollywood Theater

Seattle, WA
Opens June 27, 2014
SIFF Cinema

Webster Groves, MO
July 25 – 27, 2014
Webster University Film Series 

Read a review here.

The theatrical run will be followed by an online release in the fall, just as a handful of additional states will be preparing to vote on their own legalization measures.  Please support independent film-making and the movement to end the War on Drugs.  Go see this movie!

If you can’t see the video below, watch it on YouTube.

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Rick Toasts Kid Travelers

We took our kids out of school every May for many years, and I always considered it good parenting, great education, and a bonus for the adult tour members to have kids as part of the group. Having Annaleise and Brogan on this tour was, for me, particularly fun. It reminded me of the joy of a parent who is introducing a child to the broader world (and the wide-eyed wonder I traveled with on my first schoolboy trip in 1969). Annaleise and Brogan were great travelers, and it just seemed right to raise a glass to our youngest travel partners (FYI–this video starts in the middle of my toast).

If you can’t see the video below, watch it on YouTube.

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Welcome to France

Our Best of Europe in 21 Days tour is a carefully balanced design of intense big cities and relaxed small towns. It starts easy in Holland and finishes with a cultural bang in France. As a tour guide, a favorite challenge is to prep our travelers so they enjoy and appreciate French culture rather than find it threatening. A nice intro to France is the charming, wine-soaked town of Beaune in profoundly French Burgundy.

After the Alps, we need to raise the cultural bar a bit. All dressed up (pardon my wardrobe malfunction), we embrace the French joie de vivre. Pas de problème!
After the Alps, we need to raise the cultural bar a bit. All dressed up (pardon my wardrobe malfunction), we embrace the French joie de vivre. Pas de problème!
A fun way to take our travelers to new gastronomic heights is to order escargots. At first the reaction was, as you can see here, “Snails!? No way!” But with a gentle but firm hand, all but one in our group ate their escargot. And they liked it.
A fun way to take our travelers to new gastronomic heights is to order escargots. At first the reaction was, as you can see here, “Snails!? No way!” But with a gentle but firm hand, all but one in our group ate their escargot. And they liked it.
As a guide, it’s fun to introduce people to something they’ve never experienced before...especially if they’re afraid for no good reason. There must have been six or eight people in our group who had never eaten a snail before. I managed to get all but one in our group to try one...and all responded with a yummy thumbs up. After a little coaching on fork technique, our two youngest travelers enjoyed their first (of several) escargots as well.
As a guide, it’s fun to introduce people to something they’ve never experienced before…especially if they’re afraid for no good reason. There must have been six or eight people in our group who had never eaten a snail before. I managed to get all but one in our group to try one…and all responded with a yummy thumbs up. After a little coaching on fork technique, our two youngest travelers enjoyed their first (of several) escargots as well.
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Fondue Fun

otto-teaches-fondue
In Switzerland, it seems the traditional lifestyles have retreated to the high country, where they survive with an impressive vigor. That was clear when Otto, whose family runs the Hotel Stechelberg (which our groups love), gave us a lesson in why his fondue is so darn good.

trish-eat-fondue
After seeing how fondue’s made, it’s only right to dip in. Trish has the technique down just right. (Many of these photos are shot by Trish Feaster, check out her blog at The Travelphile.com.)

rick-steves-avalanche-shelter
Stark concrete structures in Switzerland, which seem like random bus stops, are actually avalanche shelters. While these are no-nonsense bunkers designed to save lives, there’s no rule against cheering them up. How about a few butterflies?

dave-and-terri-geo-caching
As a tour guide, I enjoy how different travelers bring their hobbies on vacation with them. Tour members Dave and Terri enjoy geocaching. It’s an impressively extensive network of people playing high-tech hide-and-seek at remote places all around the globe. At each stop, Dave and Terri get out their GPS gadget and search for a capsule hidden by a fellow geocacher. With success, they return to the bus all smiles. Here, at a Stechelberg campsite, they’re about to hit the geocache jackpot. How’s your experience with geocaching?

reid-coen-riding-cow
Our tour guide, Reid, granted us this photo op. And it’s dying for a clever caption. Any ideas?

rick-steves-splitting-wood
This tree tried and failed to block our way. Instead, it gave us a photo op begging for a caption. How would you title this shot?

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Trail Signs

By the end of the day, Trish and I just couldn’t stop hiking. So, rather than taking the standard gondola ride down to our hotel, we continued on foot…steeply and through the trees, hearing the rush of waterfalls one after the other all the way. Thankful for the great trail signage, I took a moment to share how the trails are organized for visitors. (Sorry–I misstated the hiking time in the clip. I won’t even blame the altitude.) Between the 25- and 40-minute options, we took the 25-minute trail. Remembering to put weight on the balls of our feet rather than our heels when descending for sure-footedness, we got back to the hotel just in time for fondue.

If you can’t see the video below, watch it on YouTube.