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<< Previous   of   Next >> Mark Mulligan / The Herald  (click to enlarge) Stina Pederson, 26, yells as she acts out a street performance routine with her fiance, Brendan Weinhold, 26, at Everett Station. The duo are taking their act on the road. They will start in Wisconsin and then they plan to travel around the Americas and Europe as street performers. Mark Mulligan / The Herald  (click to enlarge) Stina Pederson, 26, hugs her mother Ann goodbye before getting on a train to Wisconsin on Wednesday at Everett Station. Pederson and her fiance Brendan Weindhold, 26, plan to hitchhike around the U.S. and Europe as street performers.   ADVERTISEMENT   Travelers' blog Stina Pederson and Brendan Weinhold are blogging about their journey as street performers. Check out their blog at www.buskingjourney.blogspot.com. For information about CouchSurfing International, which helps travelers find free accommodations, go to www.couchsurfing.com..   CONTACT THE HERALD Robert Frank, City Editor frank@heraldnet.com   Published: Friday, October 3, 2008 Young couple leave Everett for worldwide trip By Julie Muhlstein, Herald Columnist They have no flying trapeze, no spangled costumes or fiery hoops. No matter. Stina Pederson and Brendan Weinhold left Wednesday on a daring journey, a trip with all the romance of running away to join the circus. When Amtrak's Empire Builder rumbled to a stop at Everett Station, the young couple climbed aboard and waved goodbye from train car No. 34109. Before they left, they put on a bit of a show. They tell corny jokes. They walk on stilts. They sing and juggle simultaneously. They throw juggling balls back and forth to each other, staging impromptu stories all the while. Give them a topic -- any topic. I came up with the ­eyebrow-raising "man who wore no clothes." On the spot, they made a fun little play of it, without removing a stitch. At the station, Pederson and Weinhold, both 26, drew stares, not crowds. They're betting the crowds will come. They are off on an odyssey, a planned two-year trip through North America, South America and Europe. If all goes as they hope, they'll make their way as street performers, sleeping on the sofas of friends and strangers. Their first stop is Wisconsin, where Weinhold's parents have a farm. Newly engaged, they intend to be back at the farm two years from now for their wedding and a big family celebration. Their bent for entertaining has a history. Weinhold majored in drama at the University of Washington. From Everett Community College, ­Pederson also went to UW, where she earned a bachelor's degree in English, with a focus on creative writing. Both worked at Youth Theatre Northwest on Mercer Island. Weinhold was a production manager and a children's drama teacher, and Pederson was an assistant stage manager. She also sang with the Northwest Savoyards, an Everett-based musical theater group. The street act is new. Last Saturday, they performed at Dr. Jose Rizal Park near their old apartment on Seattle's Beacon Hill. Now, the world is home. Before giving up their apartment, they invited friends to take clothes, books and nearly all their other possessions. They're traveling light, with the exception of homemade stilts. For Pederson, home base is Everett, where her parents live. "Stina, she's our youngest," said Ann Pederson, who was at the station for farewells Wednesday with her husband, Gary Pederson, and another daughter, 29-year-old Amelie. The Everett couple raised four children. "Stina likes traveling. She's been to Brazil, England, Sweden. They'll do well," Gary Pederson said. Way back when, he and his wife answered the call of wanderlust. "My husband and I were hippies. I hitchhiked a little bit, and he traveled quite a bit," said Ann Pederson. "I'm not too excited about the fact that they're hitchhiking. We offered them an old car, but they wanted to do it this way." Catching rides and taking public transportation, the young couple will also use a lodging Web site, www.couchsurfing.com, to find free places to stay. Much like social networking sites, the nonprofit CouchSurfing International Inc. has listings from all over the world that link travelers with people willing to host them. Bumming rides? Staying with strangers? How safe is all that? "One of our biggest philosophies is that people in general are good," Weinhold said. Users of CouchSurfing are tied through references and friend links in what the Web site calls a "trust circle." "Living on Beacon Hill, we were part of the community. Couch surfing makes community global," Stina Pederson said. Along with trust, they're pushing public performance art. Weinhold pulled a cap from his backpack, the hat he'll pass when they're out working as buskers. He hopes appreciative audiences will throw some cash their way. They've been saving for a year and together have about $20,000, but they hope to earn roughly $40 a day for food, hostels and other expenses. Already, they're blogging about their adventures at www.buskingjourney.blogspot.com. A book about travel on a shoestring is another aim. A loose itinerary has them following the sun. After Wisconsin, they'll go south to New Orleans, where a friend is in medical school at Tulane University. Winter is likely to find them in Central America, South America, then California. "Then it's the East Coast, Europe and the rest of the world," Weinhold said. "Busking is a big-city venture, but I'd really like to take public art into small towns." Two years on the road, on the street. As Pederson's parents waved goodbye and their daughter's train rolled down the tracks, they had brave smiles on their faces. "I pray," Ann Pederson said. "You have to let go. I pray for my kids a lot, let's put it that way." Columnist Julie Muhlstein: 425-339-3460 or muhlstein@heraldnet.com. READER COMMENTS Be the first to comment. You must be a registered user and verify your e-mail address to post comments to blogs or articles on HeraldNet. To register, click here. To read other terms and conditions, click here. Log out

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