“This is the art of life,” he said dreamily. “You may yourself as an artist develop the game of your life and lend it animation. You may complicate and enrich it as you please. It lies in your hands.” Steppenwolf - Hermann Hesse These last few days I have been making my way up the Pacific Coast Highway. Along the way I visited Hearst Castle (for you Dad!) and it was beautiful. I have been sick with a cold for a few days so I mostly drove, rested and read. Today I arrived at Pigeon Point (just south of San Francisco), where I am going to stay for a couple nights. It is a hostel that is at the bottom of a lighthouse. Tonight I sat at the lighthouse and listened to the waves crash upon ... read more

“The challenge will not wait. Life does not look back. A week is more than enough time for us to decide whether or not to accept our destiny.” The Devil and Miss Prym - Paulo Coelho After dropping Kari off at the airport I went to the hostel. After I checked in, Jorg and I sat outside enjoying the evening and catching up on the stories of what we had both been doing. The hostel was just across the street from a wedding chapel so we would watch as they changed the sign with the couple’s names on it every 15 minutes, just before they came outside to get their picture taken with Elvis. While we were there, he gave me a gift (which was beautifully wrapped with a bow). It was a book on the ... read more

“Sunshine is delicious, rain is refreshing, wind braces us up, snow is exhilarating; there is really no such thing as bad weather, only different kinds of good weather.” John Ruskin It is January 30th and I have arrived in Santa Fe. I had decided to skip Albuquerque so that I could be settled in one place for a few days. I knew that after these few days I would be sharing my trip with others for a few weeks, so I wanted to enjoy the little time I had left alone. I settled into the hostel and had a great night sleep. The next day I walked to downtown Santa Fe. I explored the shops in the morning. George was also in town so we met up in the afternoon and did a walk along Canyon ... read more

“Friendship is the only cement that will ever hold the world together.” Woodrow Wilson It is now Jan 13th and Jorg and I are crossing over the Texas border. Jorg has decided that he is going to get out of the car at the sea and journey on from there. I dropped him off just before we hit the water at the Galveston coastline and I continued on to Galveston. When I rounded the corner at the gulf, I wasn’t prepared for what I was about to see. The coastline was desolate. There was barely anything left standing. I knew that last September Hurricane Ike had hit the area, but I didn’t realize the extent of the impact. I was looking at my GPS and it indicated streets in the town of Gilchrist but the only ... read more

“Every man must decide whether he will walk in the light of creative altruism or the darkness of destructive selfishness. This is the judgement. Life’s most persistent and urgent question is: What are you doing for others?” Martin Luther King Jr. It was tough to leave the sunny south but it was time to continue on my journey. I would be heading north for only a short time. My first stop is Atlanta Georgia to continue my journey in Martin Luther King Jr. footsteps. The first step was to see the Lincoln Memorial in Washington DC where he gave his “I have a dream” speech. Now I am in the city where he was born. I arrived in Atlanta about 4:15pm on Sunday December 28th and checked into the hostel. I didn’t do anything but hang ... read more