Vancouver, BC

We arrived in downtown Vancouver around 8 or 9pm. Our hotel is centrally located in the West End very near downtown and Chinatown. There are so many restaurants I don't know how they all survive, but they are all very busy. We found a little Korean place and had a very hot, stir fried plate of chicken that was absolutely amazing and so HOT!  I don't think the waitress thought we could handle the heat of the spice because she questioned if we really wanted something that spicy, but we did it and it was delicious. 

By the time we finished dinner the restaurant was closing. I wondered why we were so tired, but by our Central Standard Time bodies it was 12am to us. We went back to our hotel and passed out. 

We woke up Tuesday morning we realized that our hotel room has a balcony with a really beautiful view. (When we arrived the night before all of the heavy drapes were drawn.) We are staying on the 32nd floor. 

Yesterday we went to the harbor and bought a day pass on the water taxi. It was a cheap, easy, and convenient way to explore the city. A highlight of the day was the Granville Island Public Market. It's a huge place with all types of delicious looking regional foods.  

We had lunch at Rodney's Oyster House. The NE clam chowder was some of the best we have ever had. The clams were the most tender and flavorful. On the way home we stopped by a local market and bought a baguette, cured meats, including smoked salmon, cheese, fruit and a bottle of wine to take back to the room for a light evening dinner. These small meals always make our budget go farther and we really enjoy them. 

By the end of the day we discovered that we had walked almost 10 miles around town. Needless to say we were both pretty tired. 

Baja, Mexico

I still felt horrible when we got to Cabo San Lucas on 8/24. Thank goodness Lu felt better. The next day I decided that I was not getting any better so Lu took me to the doctor's office just outside of the resort gates. Medical care in Mexico is cheap, right? Apparently it is not when it's directly adjacent to a tourist resort. I was thouroughly examined by a very competent, English speaking physician who was knowledgeable and kind. I got a shot in my butt and a bag full of meds and we were off. Miraculously, I did feel exponentially better by that evening. Since I felt so much better didn't mind spending the $250 on good medical care. Let's vacation!!

Our room was very marginal. It was clean. The bed wasn't too bad in the comfort department, but we paid for an "upgraded" room with an ocean view. We were disappointed until we went out on the balcony. Our view was gorgeous. 

The staff at the resort was very kind and helpful. We immediately hit it off with our waiter, Francisco. He ordered our dinner for us every evening. When I say he ordered, I mean he ordered. We asked him to bring us something fabulous and he delivered. Every. Single. Night. Pan seared sea bass, prawns, and grilled heirloom tomatoes. One of our top meals of all time, and the seaside setting was unmatched. It was one of those perfect moments. 

Every day was beautiful and comfortable. We enjoyed our time at the resort sitting under the umbrella and reading a book. 

On Monday we checked out and took our rental car up the Baja Peninsula. I had never driven anywhere outside of the United States in my life, but Lu had driven in Mexico and other countries many times. It was time for me to put a new experience in my bag. I drove all week long. I don't really know what I thought would be different from driving in the US, but it was pretty much the same as driving in the US. The biggest difference to me was the surrounding terrain. It was scrubby, dry dessert. The cactus were as big as trees. The setting looked like a scene from the old Road Runner cartoons. 

We drove to Todos Santos. There's not a whole lot there. We tried to go to an "off the beaten path" restaurant for lunch, and we almost got the car stuck on a narrow, dusty burro path. Heading back to town to find another lunch spot we found the original Hotel California. You know, like the old Eagles song. 

We finally arrived in La Paz where we scored a really nice room with a marina view for only $40 a night. There's not a lot of beauty or appeal to La Paz other than the water, but the people were extremely kind and friendly. On a side note, driving in La Paz was a challenge for me. Even the Federales rolled through stop signs, and when I say "rolled through" I mean they might touch their brakes and just go. It took a bit of adjustment to get used to it, but in time I was running stop signs with the best of them. 

After a few days in La Paz we had to drive back to Los Cabos in order to fly back to Texas. We took a different route to get there so we could see more of Mexico. Under GPS guidance we drove on a paved highway through the desert which promptly turned into a manicured dirt road, which turned into a rough, rutted dirt road, which turned into an impassable, rough surface that I couldn't even classify as any type of "road". We turned around and after much anguish an cussing at the GPS we found our way to the Cabo airport. What should have taken us around 2 hours ended up taking almost 4 hours. Luckily we started early that morning and our flight was over an hour late. We got into Houston late that evening and got a comfortable room for the night. 

After a good night's sleep we drove back to Corpus and stayed with Lu's family for a few days. It was really nice to see them and we were both feeling great for the first time in a while. 

We flew out of San Antonio to Vancouver, BC. It was another full day of travel. It was only then that we had finally felt like our global trip had begun. 

Sick in Texas

We got to Corpus Christi on Friday and we both promptly got sick. Lu had terrible body aches, headache and diarrhea. I have all of that, a severe sore throat/cough, and a low grade fever. We got to Torrie's house and she and her son quickly vacated for Mom and Dad's house. It was very kind of her to give us her entire home. We have been quarantined here until we leave to drive back to Houston. I haven't even been able to see her mom and dad because I really don't want to infect them and I just don't feel well enough to visit. We were supposed to go to Lu's friends house in Gaveston on Sunday, stay the night, and fly out of Houston bound for San Jose del Cabo Mexico for some much needed time off at an all inclusive resort.  Because I am still not well and Lu's not her usual 110% we have delayed here in corpus until Monday. We will drive to Houston, stay the night near the airport, and fly out to Cabo tomorrow morning. I'm hoping we can both shake this illness ASAP!

Well...How did I get here?

So I've had a few blog entries recently that began with us renting out our home and leaving to travel. In this entry I will try to briefly talk about what brought us to our decision to leave Nashville. 

I have worked in the hospital operating room in one capacity or another for the past 23 years. It's stressful, but satisfying work. Although I still find it fulfilling I felt it was time for a break. Lu and I have always fantasized about living abroad, even independent of each other years before we met. We started planning in earnest about where we wanted to go and how we planned on doing it over the last six years that we have been together.  

Last April I was perusing a favorite website of ours, www.repositioningcruise.com, and I saw a 16 day Pacific Ocean crossing from Vancouver, BC to Tokyo, Japan. It was a 5 star Celebrity cruise ship and most of all it was ridiculously cheap. We researched and planned, and researched and planned, then we fretted and worried, and fretted and worried. Next we made appointments with different financial planners to see if this was even possible, and then after many sleepless nights full of personal revelation we came up with a fluid, ever changing plan together. 

1. We will rent out the house.  

Instead of selling our home in Nashville, we can rent it out and reap far more benefits than if we sold it. For instance we will receive an income from the rental. We will still have an appreciating asset in the house itself. We will have a nice tax deduction. On the con side will also have risk, but after consulting a real estate attorney, we felt like we mitigated most of that risk. 

2.  I will quit my job.

We have been saving toward this goal for years, so we hope there are no big surprises here. Calculated risks can have great rewards. Nothing ventured nothing gained as they say. 

3.  We will take the 16 day cruise to Japan, and then fly to Bankok, Thailand where we will "flashpack" around SE Asia for the year.  I know it doesn't sound possible, but 16 days of first class accomidations including a room with a balcony, chef prepared meals, a health club, cultural education, and entertainment will end up costing about the same as a grueling 18 hour flight, bad airplane food, and all the jet lag you could ever want. 

SE Asia is incredibly affordable compared to living in the US. Our money will go far and we will be able to see a part of the world we have never seen.  It will give us opportunities to volunteer and give back to the community, not just vacation. 

4.  We will get international travel insurance. 

International travel insurance includes health insurance, emergency medical evacuation, loss of possessions (theft), trip insurance etc...and it is insanely affordable compared to health insurance alone in the US. After a lot of research and blog reading, we chose Travel Nomads. It's about $600 every six months for both of us. Prescription medications can be bought abroad for a fraction of the cost we are accustomed to in the states. 

5. We will sell/donate/give away most of our worldly possessions. 

This was a tough one. Uncharted territory for sure. We took one step at a time. First we went to the garage and got out all of the old golf clubs, tennis rackets, a kayak, bicycles...and put them up for sale. Next I worked on my office and all of the years of tax returns, receipts,... We made piles of paper that needed to be shredded.  Lucretia did the heavy labor on the house.  She can tell you about that sometime. It was monumental.  The garage sale was epic. We couldn't have done any of this without the HUGE help from her sister, Torrie. 

The last time we moved cross country our stuff was broken and worn from the trip. At that point we decided that if we ever do a big distance move again we would unload everything and start over. 

We sold a kayak, motorcycles, travel trailer, piano, and my car. We are down to an SUV load of stuff and a shelf full of containers in Torrie's garage. BTW she's keeping our dog and cat for us while we're gone also. She's the best!

6. Let's take a "fair well to family" tour. 

We began in Nashville and went to Missouri to see my family.  Then the next weekend we loaded everything up and drove slowly to Texas, taking many breathers and side trips to visit friends and family along the way. 

So I guess that answers the question that the Talking Heads posed years ago in their song, Once in a Lifetime. "Well...How did I get here?" It's a good question for us all to ask ourselves occasionally so we can take stock and see if we are still on the right path. The path of our choosing. If you don't choose a path the path will choose you, and that might not be where you want to go. 

It's great to be back in Texas!

We left Houma, Louisania and the flooding rains in our rear view mirror and set our sights on Texas.  East Texas is much like Louisania with the tall pines and greenery. We drove into Houston and continued our family visits. 

We had dinner with Lucretia's sister, Trina, husband Jared, and nephew, Payton. We met at a nearby restaurant for an agreeable meal. It was good to visit with them. We hadn't seen each other in better than two years. We all have been busy living our lives in separate cities. This was yet another time that catching up was fun and easy. Their son, Payton and Lu's other sister, Torrie have sons born within a week of each other.  They are best buddies despite being polar opposites. We will be meeting Torrie's son, Henry the next morning at the Houston airport. He's been on summer vacation with relatives and needs a ride home to Corpus Christi. 

I have missed Texas, and particularly Houston's cosmopolitan cityscape, but I did not miss the blast furnace heat and humidity that is so common in August.  At one point our temperature gauge read 104 degrees.

Tomorrow we meet the balance of Lu's family in Corpus Christi. 

Houma, Louisiana where the rain started

We drove from Baton Rouge, LA to Houma, LA to meet a possible future employer. He took us to a local seafood restaurant for lunch. Surprisingly the lunch lasted a couple of hours. We talked a lot of shop, and bored our wives. It was that morning that the heavy, "tropical downpours" began. 

At dinner we joined an old friend of Lucretia's family at his house. He was a classically trained chef who cooked a four course dinner for us. It was a traditional Louisania crab/shrimp boil, and so much more.  First was a shrimp bisque. It was thick, creamy, and spicy. The shrimp flavor was not masked, but enhanced by the variety of cheeses and spices included in the soup. One of the best I've had. One regret of the evening was that I didn't get a picture of the bisque.  Next was a wahoo sashimi that he caught. Sweet, buttery and tender. After that he produced a beautiful shrimp cocktail that was as fresh and delicious as anyone could imagine. The cocktail sauce was his own spicy blend which included a good quantity of horseradish. Next up was the blue crab, shrimp, sausage, corn on the cob, and potato boil.  The crab had been literally crawling around in his kitchen sink until they were dropped into the boiling pot. They were so alive that one grabbed his tongs and would not let go until the claw had broken off and the rest landed in the pot. I'd like to say I felt bad for the crab, but I knew they were going to be so damn delicious that I really did not. Being landlocked, we both needed a refresher on how to get the meat out of the crab. He obliged and the crabmeat was tender, sweet and spicy all at the same time. The shrimp were cooked perfectly. After four hours of feasting and resting, feasting and resting, and feasting and resting, we went back to the hotel for some much needed sleep. His caliber of cooking was on par with Lu's.  That's a comparison I don't think I've ever made. Very rare indeed. 

The rain continued all night and into the next day. The bayous and backwaters that flowed through Houma were almost full. We knew that if we didn't get out of town soon we may be stuck there for a while. More heavy rain fell throughout the weekend and didn't stop until 20" of continuous rain were dumped on Southeastern Louisana. The national news showed many dramatic water rescues and called it the worst flooding that they had seen in recorded history. It was so bad that the Vermillion river reversed its course and flowed northward into the swamp instead of southward into the gulf.  So glad we left when we did. 

Friends and family

Yesterday we drove to Jackson, MS via The Trace. More smooth roads, more beautiful landscapes, more history. I particularly liked the mounds built by the native Mississippian people. They were scattered several places near the road. 

I looked up an old high school friend in Jackson and invited him and is wife out for breakfast. My 30th high school reunion was last week and we reconnected briefly (there were so many people talk to), so I contacted him when I knew we were going to be in town. It was great to visit with an old friend on his turf. He took us to a great little restaurant with locally sourced farm-to-table suppliers, and a delicious dark roast coffee. It was like 1986 all over again and we didn't miss a beat. That's the way it is with old friends. 

We continued on our way down The Trace and finished it in Natchez, MS. Then we drove to Baton Rouge, LA to meet Lu's brother and sister in law for dinner. They took us to a little Cajun seafood restaurant where we all feasted. My brother in law, Derek and his wife, Chelsea are expecting a baby any day. We were hoping to time our visit right and see the new baby, but it was great to see everyone anyway. We were pleased and impressed by their well behaved kids.

The journey begins with a single step

Today we finally wrapped up everything at the house. We were fortunate enough to rent it to a family who we immediately hit it off with. Lu and I consider them not just renters, but also friends. It makes parting with the house that Lu put so many hours in renovating not quite as traumatic. 

Our house has had an echo of emptiness since we've parted with 90% of our possessions over the last couple of months. All we have left are some packed boxes which are stored at Lu's sister's house in Texas and our SUV full of stuff that we packed today.  We even packed up the cat. The cat does surprisingly well with traveling. I think she might even like it. She will ride with us until she can be deposited with family in Texas. So far pet friendly accommodations have been easy to find. 

It was extremely challenging getting the final amount of stuff packed, tossed, or given away. We worked for hours on it and it seemed like every time we opened a door, cabinet, or drawer it was loaded with stuff that we had overlooked. Finally about 5pm we finished and got on the road. 

We drove the Natchez Trace Parkway. It's beautiful, smooth and best of all it sees little use other than bicycles, motorcycles, and "Sunday drivers". It's not open to commercial traffic so there aren't any big trucks.  It meanders through a green belt that is manicured like a state park and surrounded by forest.  We drove almost 150 miles and ended up in Muscle Shoals, AL. 

We are both exhausted, so we ate in our room and each had a glass of vino. Tomorrow we will get a late checkout and explore the town.