“Where are you?” “Is this blog still active?” “Can I use your domain name?” are just a few of the emails I’ve received from my readers in this past year.
I had no real answers but it seems that I took a year off. Photography and travel was still top priority; posting to this blog, however, was not. It wasn’t my intent. Truly. but life got in the way real quick… And for that I apologize.
What happened?
When I arrived home Memorial Day weekend 2015, after being on the road for 3 weeks, I walked into a disaster area.
The upstairs guest bathroom had sprung a leak and caused major damage in 66% of my house.
Professional cleanup took 10 hours while the dry out took 6 days. However, it only took an hour’s deliberation, after calling the insurance company, to decide my fate: I would sell my house. And from that point, my life changed forever.
After that hellish week, I was on my way to Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada for a 13-day Alaska Cruise and Land Tour.
Vanouver BC skyline from HAL Zaandam
What a glorious trip! The first state of the year to be marked off my states visited list.
Me and Yoli at Margerie Glacier
After that, I had only one day at home to wash clothes and repack before flying off to Scottsdale AZ.
You see, I’m an IT Consultant and my job requires me to travel. A lot. And for long periods of time.
When I returned home in mid-July, I hired a contractor to make repairs and upgrade. He gave me one week to trash and/or donate 2400 square feet and 22 years of my life, move to a basement bedroom in a friend’s house, celebrate my best friends’ 30th wedding anniversary, and of course, continue to work the billable hours.
August flew by with hours or phone calls, faxes, text messages and emails regarding wood flooring, granite countertops, paint colors for walls and trim, shutters, exterior and garage doors, etc., etc. etcetera.
Meanwhile, September, I flew back to Vancouver for my birthday.
Birthday cake courtesy of Hyatt Regency Vancouver
In early October, I flew to Portland OR for a quick weekend and to knock Oregon off my states visited list.
Multunomah Falls, Portland OR
My contract ended in Scottsdale and began in Dallas TX the next week.
Dallas TX skyline
My house went on the market late October and my laptop died then too.
In November, I spent a week in Maui HI.
Maui view from a high-rise
That was yet another state knocked off the list.
In December, I flew to Brussels for the Christmas holiday.
Christmas tree lights at night at Brussels Grand Place
And then my desktop stopped working. I had taken thousands of images in the last 2 months that could not be stored. Thank goodness all of my other images through the years were backed up online.
I settled down for a minute in January 2016. I had to decide what to do. You see, I plan to retire to Europe in 2018; do I get a new laptop or a desktop or both?
My house was officially sold in early February. Yay! And I had money burning a hole in my pocket.
In March, I flew to San Jose CA for the Travel and Adventure Show in Santa Clara.
Rick Steves at Travel and Adventure Show in Santa Clara CA
In April, I spent time with friends in a favorite photography spot: Cape Charles VA
Cape Charles lighthouse at sunset
And then spent an extended weekend in Biloxi MS and New Orleans LA with my mom, aunt, and cousin.
Earlier this month, I purchased a desktop!
And for this past weekend, Memorial Day weekend 2016, I flew to San Diego CA where I desperately needed some sun but got little to none.
One whole year. Full circle.
So what’s changed?
Nothing has really changed, except that I’m living in different Dallas hotels. 🙂 Seriously, yes I’ve got more stories to tell and images to show, but now I’ve got some time to write and reflect. I’m free to move about the world.
Stay tuned!
