When I was a teenager, I was standing alone one day in the rain, and I had an overwhelming feeling come over me that I was never going to live to see 30. As I have grown up, I have learned that a lot of people have that feeling. Some of it comes from the media, and the exposure to the James Deans and Jimi Hendrixs and Jim Morrisons and Kurt Cobains of the world. All the cool people died young. And some probably comes from anxiety about getting older and watching our youth and vibrancy disappear, becoming more like our parents and teachers. But no matter where it came from, it weighed on me and I set out to live a life with the time that I had, with a sense of purpose and urgency. And I did...
Although the seeds for this blog were planted early in my life by one too many trips to the Smithsonian or one too many National Geographics, they really started to take root after I graduated from college. I went back to work at a restaurant in Myrtle Beach, SC, which I had worked at the previous two summers. The restaurant was called Shenanigans, and while the name did not help the cause, it was one of the best steakhouses in the south. They served hand-cut, USDA Prime beef – aged, seasoned and cooked to perfection. It would be many years later, when I was in Argentina, that I ate steak that compared. Almost 20 years later, I have yet to have prime rib which could stack up. The steaks came complete with a large and beautiful salad, a heaping side dish and hot fresh bread. The only steaks which cost over $20 (including the salad and side) were the filet mignon and a 32 ounce (2 pound) prime rib, and those just barely. I loved working there because every time I walked up to the table to ask how everything was, I was certain it was going to be great. In the back of my mind, I can still taste that prime rib, and every time I drive by that building, even now, I feel sad that it is gone...
I am a traveler. I have been travelling my entire adult life. I have travelled professionally and for leisure, domestically and abroad. I have seen amazing things all over the country and all over the world. And I am not even close to done. The more places I go, the more I want to go. And whenever I sit still too long, I feel myself getting old. I need to be on the move. It’s not something I planned, it’s just something that is.
So this blog is from the perspective of a traveler. Most of the travel blogs I read, and there are some excellent ones out there, are from the perspective of a non-traveler who has become a traveler. They have left their jobs as IT consultants or web-designers, photographers or business people, sold their houses, put stuff in storage and set off on a journey. Their blog was generally something they started to keep in touch with friends and family and blossomed into something much bigger. And I respect that, in fact I love that...
