Judges: Luci and I want to thank you from the bottom of our hearts for you help with this little contest. Trust me you have helped us avoid some serious fighting. Aren’t these just awesome stories. We believe in Love! We hope that each of you have a happy holiday and have some “Mistletoe Moments” yourself!
Just a reminder how this all works…pick your three favorite and forward the # and the name. Please rank them in the order you like. Our email is Mike (at) 1000Fights.com. We need your rankings back by tomorrow night 12/22 if possible??
Cheers,
Mike and Luci
1) Larissa Michael We’re traveling around the world for a year and have had some incredible experiences, but here is our Mistletoe Moment for 2011:Renting a house on a working cattle ranch in Australian Bush Country, we spent days admiring the wide-open spaces, the crystal blue sky. In the evening we cuddled close and stared in wonder at the blanket of stars above. Just as we spied a shooting star we heard a gentle “moo” and felt something nudge against our legs. A stray calf had come over to say hello. We scratched her ears and went back to stargazing. It was a romantic moment, for the three of us.
2) Russell Kiel wow, 2011 for us is when we launched our ‘quit our jobs, rent our house, hit the road’ trip back in july. first stop? berlin, where we found ourselves at a tinariwen concert (think rhythmic bedouin music from africa) holding beers and looking at each other: “holy freaking cow! we did it, we actually started this trip!” that is our mistletoe moment. that’s almost five months ago now (currently in bangkok) and that moment stands as our starting point, when reality hit home.
MM of 2011: We set our alarm clocks for 3:45am on our last day of vacation and dragged ourselves out of bed and into the Maine morning air, cool even for August. A silent tired car ride into Acadia National Park and up to the summit of Cadillac Mountain. We gathered with other couples, families with children, photographers, and solo hikers to all marvel at the same sight: the first rays of sunlight to hit the United States. As the sun peaked over the horizon, it was the most romantic feeling in the world – such a simple act, the sunrise, something ordinary that happens every day, worldwide, yet we felt like we were the only ones seeing it. How could we not kiss? We vowed to get up and watch the sunrise on every future trip – I’m sure there are some more MMs in our future.
4) Chris
My Misteltoe Moment 2011;
I was with my girlfriend at Glastonbury Festival – it was a pretty simple one, but all the best moments are. Somewhere in amongst the rain, mud and booze we caught each others eyes and kissed. For that moment, despite our mud caked wellies, ponchos and hundreds of thousands of people around us we were alone in our bubble. And despite the blaring music it was a moment of perfect calm amongst the organized chaos. Perfection.
5) Peg
In July we went to Scotland to spend Brian’s birthday with his family. He planned an outing for me, knowing my love of surprises and oddball activities, and brought me to an indoor GoKart racing track with his younger son. We spent two hours, race after race, getting competitive and laughing while we tried to beat the track’s fastest times. Sweaty and exhausted afterwards, he was so happy to see me having so much fun that it made my heart skip a beat. He doesn’t give me flowers, he takes me on adventures around the world. Just like the ride on the London Eye, the glider flight over Rio de Janeiro, the horseback ride near Denver, the little cottage we rented on a sea loch near Oban, or the perfect night out in McKay’s pub in Pitlochery, he is always happiest when he has done something to make me happy.
Seeing his face outside the race track, and knowing how much he loves me, I couldn’t keep my lips off him. I know I made him blush in front of his son, but I just can’t help myself. I know very, very well how lucky I am to be loved like that, by such an amazing man.
6) Mike Howard – HoneyTrek.com,
Mistletoe Moment of 2011:
It wasn’t in an amazing location, or under a starry night sky, and it wasn’t at the perfect time. It was in our kitchen, when we realized we wanted to quit our jobs and travel the world together. After an amazing evening with friends (two of whom told us of their recent journey and inspired us), we sat in our kitchen, staring each others eyes, realizing we were in fact going to make this a reality. That kiss, is the kiss that sealed our RTW fate, and we can not wait for more Mistletoe moments in every country we visit over the next 16 months.
It was seconds after the ball dropped on New Year’s and my soon to be ex girlfriend and I had fled the beach party on Robinson Crusoe in Fiji to find some privacy.
With our two year relationship set to end in 24 hours when she flew back to the States, tears stood in her eyes as we listened to the distant growl of the beach and felt the warm summer air on our skin. Underneath the gaze of coconut palms and the starry skies, I kissed away her tears and thanked her for the best two years of my life.
8) Changes Long
We are spending a year traveling around the world and have had some incredible experiences, but here is our Mistletoe Moment of 2011:
Renting a house on a working cattle ranch in Australian Bush Country, we spent days admiring the wide-open spaces and crystal blue sky. In the evening we cuddled close and stared in wonder at the blanket of stars above. Just as we spied a shooting star we heard a gentle “moo” and felt something nudge against our legs. A stray calf had come over to say hello. We scratched her ears and went back to stargazing. It was a romantic moment, for the three of us.
Michael & Larissa Milne
Changes in Longitude
9) Jennifer
Our mistletoe moment does not captured the same sweet atmosphere as most, nor does it probably sound romantic at all. But I’ll try to explain.
In November 2011, near the beginning of our bike trip around the world (let’s call it our teething phase) Jeff and I ran the Athens marathon. I realise at this point you may believe any stars I was seeing were more likely a result of ‘hitting the wall’ than romance,but hopefully they weren’t.
As a long time runner, the original marathon that started all marathons was a huge Running Bucket Lister for me. Race day came and it was greeted with pouring, freezing rain, and 50km/hr north winds. Yuck. Before the start Jeff emphasized his desire for us to cross the finish line together. We’ve run a few races together, but never actually run together during the race. I get competitive.
Poor Jeff had an ankle injury and somehow hobbled through the race. I, on the other hand, was feeling great and wanted nothing more than to dash towards a victorious finish (and get out of the rain). But on this strangest of days, I couldn’t help but look at the man next to me and feel like I could run beside him for any amount of time at any pace. I’m accustomed to marathons being tough – too tough – but this one, that I resolved to stay with Jeff rather than run alone, was certainly the most enjoyable distance run in my history. It was one of those moments where, even without any music, wine, diamonds or roses, you can look at your partner and feel nothing but satisfaction and gratitude to be their chosen one.
The finish line is in the marble stadium used in the first modern Olympics. We cheesily held hands acrossed the finish line and enjoyed the sweet kiss of accomplishment, in my slowest, but favorite, marathon of all time. As we took our victory lap around the stadium we held each other – for support, but also in a loving embrace of accomplishing a hard marathon as a team. The rest of the day was spent in bed – no, not like that – sleeping and resting our exhausted legs. And that is my (sweaty) mistletoe moment.
10) The Kahle’s,
A wedding can mean many different things to different people. To the bride it’s the most important day of her life. That’s why when I was told my hairdresser canceled on me the day before the wedding I tried to shake it off. When half of my family couldn’t come because of Hurricane Irene I tried to shake it off. When my photographer didn’t show up – I couldn’t shake it off. Walking down the isle in distress I saw my husband and the way he looked at me as I walked down the isle. When I reached him I pulled his face down for a kiss before the minister could even start as the waves of Monterrey Bay crashed around us and bridesmaids giggled at the ministers disapproval.
11) Couple of Sports
Our Mistletoe Moment had to happen during something sporty, right? It wasn’t during a logging show, triathlon, or even a Boise St. football game, but after a hike in Sedona, AZ.
We had spent all afternoon hiking, climbing, scrambling up slick rocks, and nearly crawling our way to the top of Cathedral Rock. After finally reaching the top, we were overcome by a sense of accomplishment and the breathtaking sunset glowing on the red rocks. Perhaps it was one of the spiritual vortices Sedona is so well known for, but while sitting on the ledge of the rock with light wind rustling through the vegetation, we shared a butterflies-in-your-stomach nuzzle and a sweet kiss…regardless of how sweaty we were.
We’re going for cliche with an NYE puckeroo! Us and 2,000,000 others apparently. It’s Reveillon on Copacabana Beach in Rio de Janeiro! Two bottles of champagne later, at the stroke of midnight as fireworks lit the sky, our face collided for one less than romantic, sloppy New Year’s kiss.
A jungle hut in Kanchanaburi, Thailand. Warm beer in hand. Stifled laughs escaping our lips. Spelling out our names with the smoke from our mosquito flares. Listening to the sounds of night with closed eyes and opened hearts.
14) Caz Makepeace
This year our mistletoe moment would have to be the second most special moment of our lives.
On August 30 at 3:08am our precious baby Savannah entered the world.
Craig and I could not believe how clever we were to create something so beautiful and how wonderful it felt to be chosen by sweet Savannah to be her parents. There is nothing like having a child to show you how magical love is.
15) Lori Winter
My husband and I were stoked to have a full week at a high end luxury lakehouse in Wanaka, New Zealand-for free! Our mistletoe moment has to be the night we had to ourselves on the deck in the hot tub under the stars. As we sipped ginger beer and snacked on dark chocolate, we reveled in the fact that we could never afford this kind of luxury–yet here we were drinking it in together!
16) Laura
Our Mistletoe Moment takes place on a self-drive African safari in Moremi Game Reserve. All alone, deep in the African bush we built a fire to cook our steaks on and ward off the crazy hyenas. Climbing up to the tent we had pitched on the rooftop of our vehicle, we went to bed to the sounds of lions roaring, hippos splashing and leopards howling..One of the romantic bush moments that lived up to our exceedingly high expectations for Africa.
17) Nicole Smith
Having survived a four-months summer camp P and I were reunited in New York City for a night of fun. As the night was winding down we ended up in Times Square and beneath what felt like a stage of spotlights, with a crowd of police officers and tourists, we shared an intimate kiss, the last one on our American trip.
18) Lisa Marie Gant
We are so lucky to have had so many MM’s this year! We’re traveling the world in a campervan having a wedding ceremony everywhere we go! 10 weddings in and our fave MM of 2011 still has to be our first kiss after our first wedding (I knew nothing about the wedding until the day it happened!!)
A few months ago Kali and I found ourselves somewhat unexpectedly in Malta. We knew nothing about the country upon arrival and had sort of a rocky start, but we stuck it out and vowed to make the most of our time. We decided to splurge and take a boat tour around the island, and after exploring multiple caves we docked at the famous Blue Lagoon… where we spent hours snorkeling in the most beautiful crystal-clear water we’ve ever seen.
We swam alongside each other, exclaiming underwater to one another when we saw something cool. At one point, after coming within inches of an incredibly brilliant fish, we just looked at each other and freaked out. We came up for air together, laughing and sputtering and asking “did you SEE that?!” It turns out that it’s very difficult to kiss with goggles on, but we certainly tried. :)
20) Tawny
For me it was Christmas spent in the Philippines. We had our own private beachfront bungalow. We heard the lazy afternoon waves lapping in the background. A fresh banana milkshake in our hands as we rocked back and forth on our porch hammock, petting our newly adopted beach dogs with our toes. We shared our hope and dreams for our future. Made plans, held hands, and loved every minute of it.
21) Christopher
A shabby little jungle hut in Kanchanaburi, Thailand. We were sipping warm beer, writing each others names with the glowing ends of mosquito coils. Shutters wide open and our hearts laid bare.
22) photoplay1
I love taking pictures of places that me and my sweetie go. #1 rule (at least we try):It can’t be any place either of us has already traveled to. #2 rule: He navigates! We recently went to San Francisco (he had already been!). I wanted to take a picture of the Golden Gate bridge. Not just any picture but a GREAT picture. Two bus rides (45min total) and a 10 min. walk on the beach and I found it! Baker Beach. One of the best pictures in our album! Couldn’t have done it w/out him
23) Angenette
This year, for Dan’s birthday, I signed us up to run a 5k, his first.
The run was along the waterfront at Owen Beach and by the end, I was overwhelmed by how much I love this man who’d rather play chess than run who ran with me. Stinky and sweaty, I lay a big smooch on him after the race.
We are Mike and Luci.