Surf's Up?  Or Cowabunga Dude? 

 I love this photo.  I took it last month off of the southern coast of Cuba. It puts me in a laid-back peaceful mood. Makes me want to grab a colorful drink with an umbrella in it, put on some music with "Steel Drums" playing, put my feet up, and just chill!

I'm guessing it's the color blue partnered with the endless miles of - nothing!

But maybe there's more to it.

How does this photo make you  feel?  

When you've decided....

Go to:  5 Crazy Ways The Colors Red And Blue Control Your Life.

In My Head?

It's summer, and summer for me means travel ...... travel ..... and then more travel........

Fortunately, I LOVE to travel. I don't like crowded airports very much but that has just been the cost of doing business lately so I've learned to just tolerate the lines and crowded security checkpoints etc., I've re-defined the word patience and embraced the entire concept more dearly.

Alternatively, I've had the chance recently, to jump in the car and do a bit of driving around the "Good Old USA." That has been quite fun indeed. You get a completely different flavor driving through the heartland of America and seeing things at a different pace and up close and personally. I'll certainly cherish my memories from a Truck Stop in northern central California just last week. I'm not sure I've ever seen so many tattoos in one place at one time. But the coffee sure was good! And boy did I have to pee. I can't tell you the things I learned while standing at the urinal in the bathroom and listening to a few truckers. (I'll eventually get around to throwing some photos on the blog from my travels)

Driving on the open road was quite nice. For me, there's something a bit romantic about throwing a few bags in the car, strapping a vehicle to your back, popping in a few tunes and then hitting the open road. I just love the freedom of traveling that way. No schedules, no time crunches, no dead-lines.... It's just you and the road.

Anyway, all this driving got me to thinking about poetry. In particular, a piece by Robert Frost popped into my head and it's been roaming around there for a few days. You ever get a song stuck in your head? No matter what you do, the song keeps spinning around in your brain until finally you threaten to kill yourself and in the interest of self-preservation your brain finds something else to think about. Well that's kind of where I am with the Frost piece. I'm hoping that if I put it down on paper, well in this case - on Blog - I'll be able to move on to something else.

Robert Lee Frost (March 26, 1874 – January 29, 1963) as you may know, was an American poet. He is highly regarded for his realistic depictions of rural life and his command of American colloquial speech. He is a very popular and frequently-quoted poet. Frost was honored during his lifetime and actually received four Pulitzer Prizes for Poetry.

Robert Frost

Here's the poem that's stuck in my head:


Whose woods these are I think I know.
His house is in the village, though;
He will not see me stopping here
To watch his woods fill up with snow.
My little horse must think it queer
To stop without a farmhouse near
Between the woods and frozen lake
The darkest evening of the year.

He gives his harness bells a shake
To ask if there's some mistake.
The only other sound's the sweep
Of easy wind and downy flake.

The woods are lovely, dark and deep,
But I have promises to keep,
And miles to go before I sleep,
And miles to go before I sleep.

Mexico - The Good!

Here it is, the first post in the "Mexico - The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly" series.

Mexico the Good!

At first look, this could appear to be travelers from the Midwest lounging at a topless, or nude beach. But after closer inspection, it's easy to determine that it's merely a sea lion colony enjoying the morning sun on these rocks near Los Cabos.

That's Good!

I spent about a week traveling around Mexico and enjoying some of the fine hospitality of our neighbors to the south. No, I didn't spend any time with Carlos Slim Helu, the Mexican tycoon who beat out Bill Gates and Warren Buffett to become the wealthiest person on earth and nab the top spot on the 2010 Forbes list of the World's Billionaires! But I did see some great sites, eat good food, exercise a bit and unwind at tad. It was all good!

Slim's fortune has swelled to an estimated $53.5 billion, up $18.5 billion in 12 months. Shares of America Movil, of which Slim owns a $23 billion stake, were up 35% in a year. I didn't buy any America Movil (AMX) stock last year. That was bad......

Drinking margaritas on your balcony along the coast - Good!

Beautiful rock formations and clear water = Good!

Not getting Montezuma's Revenge! Way... Way... Good!

This natural stone arch is located at the southernmost tip of the Baja Peninsula. This is where the Pacific Ocean meets up with the sea of Cortes.

Lover's Beach in Los Cabos... What a "Good" name for a beach huh?


Sun splashed beaches and playing in the sand! Very Good!

I even found my own private get away spot.... More Good!

Next post - Mexico The BAD!

Mexico - Stay Tuned!

Here's some vintage video of James Taylor singing Mexico. This goes way back......

Many of you probably don't know (or can't remember) that JT once had long hair.

Anyway, I just spent a week traveling around Mexico.

I had a fabulous time and took lots of pictures......

So Stay Tuned!

Time and Money!

It's been three weeks since my last post. 21 Days! Wow, where does the time go? I'll have to check, but that may be my longest break in posting since I started this blogging business. 2010 started out in a hurry - didn't it? Well, at least it did for me. It's hard for me to believe that we are already 1/12 of the way through the year. If this pace is any indication of how the rest of the year will go.... then in 11 more blinks, the year will be over! Last weekend, Taylor Swift won Album of the Year for Fearless and Beyoncé Knowles won a record-setting six awards, including Song of the Year, at the 52nd Grammy Awards. I'm so far behind, I'm still watching the show on TIVO. I had to watch the performance by Pink twice! (smile)


Avatar, the American science fiction epic film written and directed by James Cameron and starring Sam Worthington and Zoe Saldana, has surpassed the 2 billion dollar mark in worldwide gross sales and continues to break other records; and I haven't seen it yet! (The truth is, I tried to see it one night but it was sold out. I saw The Tooth Fairy instead).

And get this: My Mother is even complaining that I don't call her enough!

Yep, the list of things that I've wanted to do but haven't gotten around to is long. Why? Partly because I've had my head buried in the sand working on several new projects but mostly because I'm simply not moving as fast as I used to. Yep... The truth hurts. As best as I can figure, I just don't seem to be moving as quickly in my forties as I did in my thirties and twenties. My goodness, what's gonna happen in my Fifties? Will I just come to a screeching halt? Should I pull out the cane and walker now? Fortunately, that's a few years out but maybe I should start getting mentally prepared.

Anyway, as you can see, I've been a bit reflective in the past few weeks. And during this time, I ran across a stash of cash from my travels. (photos below) Looks like a lot of money but really it's not. 1000 yen is about 10 bucks US these days if you're lucky. I generally just hold on to the excess money from my travels and spend it on my next trip back to the country. It's nice having the money when you land and not having to rush and convert money or hit the local ATM. It also seems to be a better alternative than paying the punitive exchange rates to convert back to the US dollar. They really try to get you in both directions... Going and Coming! Sometimes I end up holding on to money for a long time. In fact, there are a few countries that I have money from that no longer exist. That's holding on too long! Perhaps it would have been cheaper to pay the exchange fee in those cases. (At least now I have some pretty cool looking wrapping paper) But ultimately, I've always figured that if the Germans, Japanese, Chinese, Australians, or Canadians ever invade the United States, at least I could try to bribe them in their own currency.

Suffice to say, I still have some of the money left over from my travels. While the money is tangible - I can still use it now to trade for goods and services - The time I spent traveling has long passed. There's nothing left (really) but memories and some photos. I guess I've grown to appreciate the value of time a little more. It truly is precious! You can generally go out and make more money, even when you're older. But It's hard to go back and recreate time. I have no regrets!

My wish for all of you in 2010.... May you have ample Time and ample Money to do the things you desire!

Hold on.... It's gonna be a fast year!

Cover your Mouth and Wash Your Hands! Here comes H1 N1 and other Viruses!

Next week I'll be hitting the road again. Traveling to Canada for a few days. I'm really not looking forward to security lines, possible flight delays, and much colder weather. I've been dusting off my overcoat, gloves, and scarf and psyching myself up for the change in temps. It's been unseasonably warm out here in Cali. Today it was in the 80's and that's just fine with me. I'll take the snow and cold at Christmas time and when I'm skiing, but the rest of the year - give me warm weather please! I know. I'm a wuss. All of you guys living in colder climates forgive me as I whine......

What further complicates my travel next week and gives me cause to whine, is the perceived onslaught of the H1N1 (Swine Flu) virus. At least that's what I'm hearing in the media coverage. I've had several friends who've been hit by H1N1 first hand. Fortunately, in all cases it hasn't been serious. A few days in bed and lots of rest and they were back at it. But listening to their reports, it does sound like it wipes you out pretty good when you get it.

Today I caught wind of an animation that shows what happens when you contract a virus. For all of you who loved high school or college Biology, this is going to make your mouth water. And for those of you who hated science, watch it anyway. There's no test afterwards and you can watch it as many times as you like until you understand it. (no one will know how many times you view it) The video was created by David Bolinsky and his team at XVIVO. It was nice to see that "David Bolinsky" actually has a sense of humor. See if you can catch his joke.

Follow the link to NPR

"It was interesting because we did it while he was sleeping"


A tad bit corny but he tried.

So anyway, wash your hands and cover your mouths when you sneeze. Try to keep your immune system strong by eating well and getting enough rest because you never know what's out there. And wish me luck..... I hate being sick more than I hate the cold!

Pins on a Map!

When I first started traveling I used to keep a big map in my garage with pins stuck into the different places that I traveled to. It was cool coming home and sticking a pin into a brand new spot. I'd stare at the map and marvel at all of the pins sticking out. I thought I was a "big time" world traveler.

Just recently, I ran across a site - TravBuddy.com - which has taken this pin sticking process into the digital era. On a whim, I decided to stick a few pins into this digital map. It was somewhat of a humbling experience to learn that I've got a long way to go to see the world! I've only been to 29% of the countries on the globe.

That's not even half!

(Keep in mind that I had to edit some of the places in the world that I've been to because if I told you I was there- I'd have to kill you!) -smile -

Still, if I included those extra countries and added the few that I've visited but forgotten, I'm sure it wouldn't even push me over the 30% mark.

I've just come to the realization that I've got some more traveling to do!

Here's my map if you want to take a look.

If you want to make your own it's pretty simple. Click on the link above and start clicking countries.