Well, I am officially settled into this mock retirement lifestyle. On July 10th, I finished out 10 years to the day at my first job since I moved west, and started preparing for a year of world travel. Almost two weeks later, I'm sitting on my deck, enjoying a margarita, and dreaming of the months to come. Since my last day in the office, I have been busily working on my new home for the next few months, an '83 Volkswagon Vanagon Westfalia.

I realize that I can't even begin to imagine what type of adventures lay ahead on the road. I'm excited for learning a new language, having the opportunity to capture images of some of the most beautiful places on earth, and even more excited for the people I know I'll meet along the way. The desire to explore has always been strong in me (I'm waiting for an old man to suggest, 'Luke, use the force'). Especially so since my first backpacking trip to the west with my uncles after high school. Hell, I even tattooed it on my arm, just to remind me everyday that life is short, and I need to see and experience as much as possible in the time I have! Two of the four good friends I had in high school didn't even make it this far, so I guess I see it as my duty to make up for their lost time.

I view world travel as the ultimate vehicle for exploration. When I was a kid, my great aunt would always bring National Geographic magazines to my grandma's house, and I'd always look at the stunning pictures w/ amazement. I guess it was my first realization that the world was much bigger than the street that I grew up on. I'm happy to have realized that. Many are not as fortunate to have.

Call it a mid-life crisis, walkabout, finding oneself, or insanity, but one thing I know for sure, I will be a different person by day 365, and I'm looking forward to it. This blog will hopefully chronicle my trip, adventures, and thoughts. I encourage you to follow along, and I will always be glad to hear from you! It's time to get busy living, and this is the story of Leaving Corporate...

First up, a Sunday drive of 30,000 miles from Colorado to the tip of South America and back with my good friend The Schumbag.

Well my lack of posting just goes to show that Noah and I have been busily wrenching away on our new home, a 1983 Vanagaon Westphalia camper or as we like to call her 'the other woman'. We started with the basics like oil, spark plugs, air filter etc. Then we quickly elevated our skills to the big stuff, like whole transmissions and brakes. A lucky find on CraigsList garnered a rebuilt transmission just begging to be thrown in to go along for the ride. What should have been an eight hour job turned into two weeks of swapping parts, getting the wrong parts delivered, and waiting. Lots and lots of waiting. But she's finally in and runs like a top! As we've become more comfortable with her, we've been able to focus on more fun things like cool interior additions and necessities like axillary power for laptops and video equipment. Next up will be figuring out our storage situation and how we're going to cram three months worth of our stuff into her, and still be able to see out!