How the Journey Began…..

For those who are not familiar with my Journey, I’ll give a little background before I share about my current travel experience! In 2003, I left my job in Washington, DC and traveled to Guatemala to study Spanish, immerse myself in the culture, and just "take a sabbatical from life” as I began to explore more about the possibilities available to me! Writing a travel blog at that point was impossible for me to imagine, but I did enjoy sending out emails to my friends and family – sharing not only the OUTER journey I was on in Guatemala, but a little bit about the INNER journey that was taking place during my sabbatical.

Since returning from Guatemala in 2003, I have traveled, lived and shared my life with some very special people in Washington, Oregon, California, Indiana and Michigan….I even returned to Guatemala in 2010 to work on some writing! What I have found for myself is that life is DEFINITELY a journey filled with love, joy, sadness, tears, deep and profound meaning, and much, much more!! Although our culture would like us to believe that we will eventually “arrive” at some specific destination in our lives (happy, rich, skinny, or whatever it is that defines each person’s “destination") – I believe that we never fully arrive because it's the JOURNEY that keeps our lives vibrant and fulfilling!

When I left my job and my wonderful friends in D.C. in 2003, I had no idea how far I would come on my own journey in understanding what is meaningful in my life….what I value, and what has brought powerful learning opportunities! Each day, my desire is to experience the fullness of life that is available to me. What I've learned over the last 10 years since I began this "leg" of my journey is that as I follow the Guidance which comes to me, I am led further along the path which brings me the greatest love, growth and meaning.

My intention in creating this “travel blog” was to share with my friends and family my experiences in New Mexico over the next 8 months….it may end up being a funny recount of my day-to-day experiences, or it may have more depth and meaning as I travel this journey of “learning as I do” – never being satisfied with the idea that life must become a series of mundane events which define who I am and what I do with my life.

I hope you enjoy reading about my “inner and outer” experiences….and I look forward to any comments you may want to leave (or emails you would like to send) – like pearls on a string connecting us in this great big world we share!!

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All My Plans Came Tumbling Down The Stairs in Pisa - but Fortunately Not in the Leaning Tower!! 🤪😂🤪

Sorry, this post turned out quite long so feel free to skip through and peruse the details!! A few of you have asked for more information, so I thought I’d fill in some details for those inquiring minds who want to know!! Also, I just wanted to let you know my shoulder surgery will be THIS Thursday at 7:30 am (and all prayers and good intentions for healthy outcomes are appreciated)!! 🙏💖🙏 So here we go…. Our (unexpectedly last) day of sightseeing started with an early morning, crowd-free visit to the Leaning Tower of Pisa, and it was the most perfect moment of the day!! Little did I know when we left our sweet AirBnb in Viareggio that morning, it would be the last time I would see it (expecting to return that evening)!! It was still a bit cloudy when we first got to Pisa, but we got some great pictures then settled into the cafe right across the street! It was the perfect place to people-watch as many tourists tried to get the same picture (holding up the tower)!! It’s so ...

Washed-Out Roads, Dark Driveways and Scorpions!!

So in my last post I mentioned the scorpions in Guatemala, and I’ve had a couple requests to hear more about that experience! Those of you who received my emails while I was there a few years ago might remember this, but I thought I’d share it again since it was a “pivotal point” in learning to travel by myself – and taught me that I can survive ANYTHING I encounter in my travels – because I survived THIS!! Well, it was quite an interesting ride from Antigua to Lake Atitlan. What in the past would have taken about 3.5 hours took us almost 5 because of the mudslides and damage done to the roads!! They actually have a highway that runs between Antigua and Lake Atitlan that normally has four lanes, but we had to detour into two-lane roads along the way because the mud, tree trunks, etc. covered miles and miles of highway (due to all the rain they had been getting that fall). At one point, we drove past a part of the road that had LITERALLY fallen away!! The story was that a...

Mystical, Magical Mostar Bosnia!!

As I'm sitting on our terrace looking out on an Islamic minaret, a Catholic steeple and a bombed-out building next door, the history of this beautiful place is sobering and almost overwhelming. We are now in Mostar, Bosnia, and I have been excited to visit this place from the moment I saw the pictures; but I have fallen in love with the kind, gentle people who have suffered greatly and have chosen kindness and forgiveness instead of anger and more war. We saw a interesting sign in the shadow of the famous Stari Most bridge that encompasses the energy I feel here. It said "Don't Forget But DO Forgive FOREVER!!" Even after all the generations of being conquered (by the Ottomans) and bombed (by the Serbians during the Balkan war), each person seems to have the same sentiment....they just want to be left alone in peace! Prior to the Balkan War, Mostar was pretty evenly divided between Bosnians, Croats, and Serbs (combined with "other ethnic groups") - liv...

Traveling With Judi . . . .

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