all the years combine, they melt into a dream

SEA OF CORTEZ, NEAR MULEGE, MEXICO

     My journey began almost ten years ago, on a beach near Mulege, Mexico. I had traveled abroad before, but that fortieth birthday celebration on Playa Santispac, opened my eyes to my travels in the future. At that time in my life, I was lacking in some direction, living paycheck to paycheck, moving here and there, going nowhere. On that warm and sunny beach on the Sea of Cortez, I met Lara, a woman my age, from Colorado. She told me how she had changed her own directionless life, into one full of accomplishing her dreams and goals. She spent some years working hard and was starting on her life's adventure, there, on Playa Santispac. Her words and her actions inspired me, and I started to dream of how my own life would change. And now, almost ten years later, I am ready to uproot and move to Lao. It is time to finish the first half of my life living in The West, and start the second half of my life living in The East. No more cold rain and snow. No more cold feet, dripping nose, or layers of clothing. I'm going where the climate suits my clothes!

OCHHEUTEAL BEACH, SIHANOUKVILLE, CAMBODIA

    Swinging in my hammock and watching the dolphins play in the bay of Playa Santispac, I dreamed of spending the birthdays of my forties in an equally warm and sunny place. Northwest America in February is a cold and dreary place, and celebrating my future birthdays in the sun, was my first goal. My next birthday was at a beach near La Paz, Mexico. While there, I realized I needed a change, the western world was too familiar, and I needed something different. And different is what I got, celebrating my next birthday on Ochheuteal Beach in Sihanoukville, Cambodia. That birthday and the six month adventure around it, led me to another goal, I wanted to live in Southeast Asia. My next birthday found me in Bagan, Myanmar, and the three month adventure around that birthday, opened my mind to many possible futures. But, I was still living paycheck to paycheck. I returned to America with a plan, find a better paying job, simplify my lifestyle, and save money. The next two birthdays I worked and saved, rather than traveled, and my dream came closer to reality. But, I missed spending my birthdays in the sun.


EDZNA RUINS, NEAR CAMPHECHE, MEXICO

     I remembered a childhood fascination with the Mayan world, and for my forty-sixth birthday, I explored the Mayan ruins on the northern Yucatan Peninsula of Mexico. The next birthday found me back in Southeast Asia, in Lao. I enjoyed my time in the small riverside town of Champasak, a slow-paced, simple town, in the southern part of the country. There, the people are friendly and I felt welcomed and comfortable. My next birthday, I explored more Mayan ruins, this time in the southern Yucatan Peninsula of Mexico and northern Guatemala. I returned to Lao for birthday forty-nine, again spending time in Champasak. With eight out of ten birthdays in my forties, in a warm and sunny place, I feel I have accomplished one goal. I have worked hard, saved money, and planned for my future in Southeast Asia, and will celebrate my fiftieth birthday there, accomplishing another goal, of living in Southeast Asia. With my life contained in a backpack and small duffle bag, I will start the second half of my life in Champasak, Lao.
                                    DREAMS CAN COME TRUE AND I FIND IT BEST TO DREAM BIG!!!

MAIN STREET ALONG MEKONG RIVER, CHAMPASAK, LAO