strong>Hey Y’all
Well it’s been about 3 weeks since I arrived back in the United States of America and it has been nice. I am thankful to have friends who want to hear about my trip, want to take me out to dinner or an adventure. Over the years my friends know that I am a guy who is always down for adventures and so far I’ve been able to go waterskiing and paddleboarding in Lake Tahoe, chop down brush in the middle of the Central Oregon Forest, pick blackberries and raspberries in the Northwest, go sailing in Seattle and roadtrip from San Francisco to Seattle. Guess the traveling hasn’t stopped yet!
You know sometimes things just work out. You can plan all you want, but at times, I prefer to just have faith. Being the spiritual individual I am, I try to experiment and see just how much one can rely on faith while also acknowledging the “reality.”
So, for example. I felt like driving or taking a train back up from San Francisco, which is where my family lives, to get to Seattle. I am tired of flying to be honest with you. No more baggage checks, airport waiting etc. I want to get in a car and ROADTRIP. That is something quite unique to the US actually. We love to roadtrip and I missed it while I was gone in Asia a bit. So, hey it’s primetime summer, let’s get roadtripping!
For those who do not know, it can be fairly easy to catch a ride up on Craigslist.com rideshares. You find a post that echoes of some driver who seems somewhat cool and email for a ride. You pitch in part for gas and get to your destination. There are interesting conversations that can happen and it’s a cordial experience. Try it sometime.
I was looking at some rides and there were plenty, but wasn’t feeling that this was the time to do a rideshare. While I was looking one of my friend messaged me and said he was driving up to Portland and if I wanted to tag along. Well shoot, catch a ride with a buddy is even better! From Portland I caught a ride up with some summer snowboard hippies. Guess that faith thing really worked. There is something to be said about it and intuition. I don’t try to figure it out and map it though, I accept the mystery.
So Kevin and I drove up, and we went up to stay with my friend Brian Swift. Brian is a good ole’ buddy of mine from my university days as an anthropology undergrad student. Back then, Swift and I used to take all sorts of adventures, usually incorporating something new and unique and some form of nature. Swift moved to Missouri for some time, and was missed, but now has returned to his home state of Oregon and so I have gotten to see him more recently. Brian really has a unique perspective of the world. He sees things and knows things about nature more than anyone I know. Being with him is always memorable and an educational experience really. I grew up in the woods, so I always love to hear more about how ecosystems function and how forests, rivers and wildlife live.
Well, last year Kevin was motorcycling up and down the west coast and asked me if I could hook him up with anyone on the Oregon coast to stay with. Well, I hooked him up with Brian and now here we are a year later both coming up to see him! I love how connections work like that. Let’s expand the circles….
Post Reflections on the Asia trip….
*Asia was wonderful again, love the family allegience and community that exists there.
*America, though going through a tough economic phase, is still a great land for opportunity. Make the most of your opportunities here.
*America is also BIG. We got lots of beautiful land.
*America, is also…Comfortable. But that’s nothing new to me, it’s just so much easier to live around here. Lots of organization everywhere, but hey, we are an industrial nation.
It is wonderful to be back in sunny Seattle, swimming everyday in the lake, and sailing. I am about to go for a sail in 10 minutes, so I am OUT, but keep on living and enjoying the summer!
I just came across a cool quote I would like to share with you…
Twenty years from now, you will be more disappointed by the things you did not do than by the things you did do. So, throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbour. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.
– Mark Twain –
Thanks for reading y'all.
Shawn
Welcome, Come Sit and Have Some Tea. 