Traveling With Judi . . . .

First, let me say Happy Mother’s Day to my VERY special mom – someone who has loved me, comforted me, and supported me throughout my whole life!!  She’s a very special person, and I feel honored to have her as my special mom!!  I wish I could be there in person to tell you how much I love and appreciate you, but being the good mom that you are…. you’ve encouraged me to live the life I feel called to live – and that means being away from you on this very special day!!  And for all the “surrogate moms” (and dear friends) I’ve had over the years (those who have created warm, loving environments – places of the heart – for me to stay as I’ve done my meandering)… and those who have loved me for who I am for many, many years… you have changed my life with your unconditional love and support!!    In fact, I had an epiphany the other day while watching House Hunters International (one of my favorite TV shows because it shows examples of people who have listened to the...

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...

I was feeling especially vulnerable earlier this week and have been vacillating about whether or not I wanted to write about this on my blog.  I thought about sharing something more upbeat and light, but then I remembered that part of the reason I’m writing this blog is so I can share ALL of my journey with those who are interested in reading about it – the “external” aspects of my life here on the Ranch as well as the internal process of what it’s like to adjust to a whole new sub-culture and this life that is so different from what I’m used to!! I remember the first time I was in Guatemala and started feeling a bit sad, lonely and “funky” at about 5 or 6 weeks.  A friend of mine who had lived overseas for long periods of time emailed me and said something to the effect of “…don’t worry – you’ve just reached a transition point in your travels….it happens to everyone who travels at length or moves to a foreign country!!”  And she was right! Every move I’ve made and ever...