Ground Control to Major Tom

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Let's begin this post with a few lines from one of David Bowie's more popular hit's "Space Oddity"

Sing Along if you know it:


Ground control to Major Tom
Ground control to Major Tom
Take your protein pills and put your helmet on

Ground control to Major Tom
Commencing countdown, engines on
Check ignition and may gods love be with you


Today’s update is a special update for Lynne and me. We have begun our official one month countdown. It is hard to believe that in 31 sort days, we will begin our Round The World (RTW) tour and will be on our way to Iceland. Lynne and I are both amazed that it has been over 6 weeks since we left Kuwait. My, how time flies when you are having fun.

Many of you have been asking if we are excited about booking our first airline tickets. Well, let me sum it up for you—heck yes. This dream has now taken on a new dimension. The act of purchasing our tickets has added so much more realism to this vision of ours.

While going through a few documents on one of my portable hard drives, I recently discovered a few things I downloaded over a year ago. They were some independent traveler magazines that provided information on backpacking around Europe. I had completely forgotten that I had to begun to do some research about backpacking in Europe over a year ago. After reflecting on these documents, I thought back to when I was dreaming about this. I had put this dream on hold because I wasn’t sure if Lynne would be willing to live this Spartan type of life. Well, over the course of the last year, I guess I have subliminally been sending messages to Lynne to convince her that the backpacking life is not too bad.

So, now that we have 31 days to go, what shall we do to occupy our time? Gee, that is one great question. We still have many planning factors to research and a lot of loose ends to tie up. Many of you guys have been asking questions we are not yet prepared to answer. By not answering these questions, we are not trying to avoid providing you an answer, we simply are not there in the planning process. Please be patient and we will answer these questions as we progress.

We certainly understand that we will continue to learn as we move along. We will be learning right up until the point where we return to the United States. There are so many variables out there in the road that we will refrain from providing too many details until we are prepared to execute or are in the process of acting upon. Not only will our plans change, but you can count on our entire thought process and outlook on life will change as well.

Let’s take a few moments to discuss some of the questions we get most often:

WHAT WILL YOU DO AFTER 9 MONTHS?

Heck, we have absolutely no idea. Some may say that this is reckless and irresponsible. Just a short time ago, Lynne and I would have agreed with this mindset as well. What I will share with you is a pretty simple concept. For our entire adult lives, Lynne and I have been enslaved to working to pay bills and buy material possessions to satisfy our desires. Nearly everyone we have talked to about this has agreed that we become prisoners of our own desires. The quest for more money so we can spend more and buy more; the quest for a more elite position so we can satisfy our desires to feel important; our quest for the social interaction though clubs and organizations so we can satisfy our need of belonging. I can go on with a list of desires and needs based on our own selfish wants, but I think you get the idea. Sure, a lot of people will say that taking a 9 month vacation is a pretty selfish desire. I can see how some folks would think along these lines. For those of you who may not have figured this out yet—THIS IS NOT A 9 MONTH VACATION. This is a journey, an experience and most certainly, it is an educational opportunity of a lifetime. Lynne and I will encounter many challenges while we are on the road. We will get sick, we will get injured, get exhausted, get cold, get hot, and we even run the risk of being ripped off. Sure, we will do everything we can to minimize the risk, but it will happen.

One of our primary objectives during this trip is to get out there and experience the wide variety of cultures as we travel. We will meet people with completely different lifestyles we may be accustomed to. We will meet people who have differing religious views. Certainly, we will meet people with different political views. Let’s face it. America is not always shed in the most favorable light with many people throughout the world. We will become ambassadors to let folks know about these to simple Americans who have no political agenda for or against them and wish to meet with them as friends we have never known before.

The educational aspect of this trip will be priceless, yet be more beneficial than any PHD offered by the finest educational institutions in the world. We have absolutely no idea where this educational opportunity will lead us. I will ensure you this much: Lynne and I will most likely never return to the nine to five routine ever again. You could call it semi-retirement or call it what you will. During our brief stay back in the states, I have had several opportunities staring me right in the face. Sure, if we had not had plans to embark upon this journey, I probably would have jumped on either of these. It’s great to have choices today.

In the last few weeks I have developed several brilliant marketing strategies to to present to some power hitter companies here in America. Naturally, these concepts are in their infancy stage and would require a great amount of additional research and work if I desire to pursue them. I also have a pretty cool concept in my hip pocket which could be sold to the government if I choose. Heck I could even follow the lead of my good friend Joe and take on a job riding a mower at the golf course. The fact of the matter is that we will have choices and feel very comfortable about it.

Nine months is a long time to be on the road. Lynne and I could very well find some magical corner of the world along the way. Who knows, we could be out there somewhere and look at each other and say “this is it”. If this happens, all bets are off on the future. WOW—is this freedom our what.

Life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness--yes indeed, we are living the dream.

Stay tuned for the next update where we officially name the monkey.

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