THE WORLD TOUR BEGINS
June 2009 - Christchurch, New Zealand
Greetings. Kia ora. Welcome.
When I launched this site 6 years ago, it was David's World Tour. I rented my house in Colorado and bought a one-way ticket to India. Now Lili and I live in New Zealand. What an amazing 6 years! This blog began as a primitive web site and an email list. Now I'm improving the photo galleries and adding hyper-links. Lili and I love to see the world, and we invite you to (virtually) come along for the ride!
Cheers, David
PS: This was the first time I ever traveled with a digital camera, a pocket-sized Canon SD600, so these first photos were scanned from film. They're shots from my first adventure, the one that got me hooked on travelling, when I climbed Aconcagua with NOLS. Bon voyage!
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June 2003 - Boulder, Colorado, USA
The house is empty and the pack is packed but I haven't left yet. The renters move in next week. I still have quite a lot on my to-do list, things like: Get Web Page Started. I'm out of here in 4 days so I'm pretty busy with things like: Visit Friends. I have a fun summer planned in the USA before I get on a one-way flight from New York to Moscow to Delhi. My first stop will be California for a family reunion. But it will only be when I get to India that I'll finally be with no constraints or deadlines. And that's when the true adventure begins...
I should be able to maintain this web site remotely with the help of my cousin Shepherd (Dux Gregis) and my friend Paul Crook, who is hosting leberknight.com. My plan is to snail-mail cds of pictures to Dux who will be able to push a few of the better ones up to this site.
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June 2003 - San Diego, California
The WORLD TOUR begins !!!
July 2003 - Imperial Beach, California and Tijuana, Mexico
The border with Mexico is a one-hour walk from Imperial Beach through the Tijuana Estuary National Wildlife Refuge. The border fence is insecure where it meets the ocean, but "the man" stands on a nearby hill with binoculars. We went to Tijuana for lunch. Mexico was the first country I ever visited as a child, and I liked it so much that I dedicated myself to learning Spanish. Now I've been there a dozen times, but this visit was by far the shortest, just long enough to have lunch with family. I didn't snap any site-worthy photos across the border, but it was a fantastic way to start my tour. (I went back to Mexico in 2007).
Woo Hoo !! On the road !!
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I'm starting to get on a roll with this whole summer vacation thing. I'm at my step-mother's house, fresh from a major road trip (and by fresh I mean that I finally got a shower). I threw my best-ever round of disc golf (minus 7) on a course in Wisconsin, but even a bad day golfing isn't bad, and it's great to be on the road.
I visited my grandmother in Sedona, Arizona. Then I took the Amtrak train to New Orleans. (This was just before Hurricane Katrina destroyed my friend's trailer home.) From there I went to St. Louis, Missouri to visit my aunt. I also visited my brother and friends in Pittsburgh.
In summary: life is good.
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August 2003 - Limestone, Maine
At least 60,000 people took over an abandoned Air-Force base for the IT Festival, using the runway as a parking lot. It was the end of Phish's summer tour, and they know how to throw a party! I had never seen Phish before, but fortunately my buddy Randy had extra tickets and a ride (Limestone, Maine, is quite remote). The event reminded me of the Grateful Dead shows in the old days, where the parking lot was as much fun as the show, with drum circles, footbag jams, peaceful happy hippies, and no hassles.
So what is IT?? Well, if you're looking for something to make your life more fulfilling, then you might go on the road looking to find it. You might find it on the road, or you might realize that you've had it with you all along.
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August 2003 - New York, New York
I really like The City. It has something for everybody, at times sophisticated, usually tolerant, respectful, and maintaining a sense of humor. I was lucky enough to be in Manhattan during the Big Blackout. My Mexican friend Beatriz and I missed getting stranded in the subway by about one minute. We were planning on seeing a Broadway show, but no. Instead we walked all the way up Manhattan Island. Pedestrians took over Broadway. Times Square sure has a different feel with no lights! Everyone we met was friendly and calm throughout the ordeal, even the next day when power stayed out downtown and the subways didn't run. The buses ran for free. We also went by Ground Zero. I think they should make a memorial park there instead of an office building.
Note: I don't buy into September 11 conspiracy theories (that say basically that Bush did it, although given Bush's total lack of cooperation with any investigation, I certainly am sympathetic to all who are suspicious). I believe the attacks were carried out by angry Saudis who see America as Evil. This does not imply, however, that Bush and Cheney aren't war criminals who exploited the event for corrupt purposes. I think they are. I think this allegation should be investigated by Congress and the International Criminal Court. It's clear that they lied to go to war, they torture people, they show disdain for the Constitution, and their main domestic goal seems to be helping themeselves and their cronies to get richer. In other words, it is people like Bush and Cheney who have caused world opinion to be so violently anti-American, so in a way they did cause the attacks of September 11. America, we need regime change. We should pass a few consitutional amendments as well (such as banning corporate personhood, switching to instant run-off voting, imposing term limits on politicians, providing public cash for campaigns, and funding all schools equally per student), all in the belief that improving the American democracy is possible.
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August 2003 - Avalon, New Jersey
I'm in Ocean City, Maryland with Ian and David. We went surfing on the New Jersey shore, which was fun. I've been kind of itching to go surfing, so that was good :^) I'm excited about going to India. But first, WOW, I'm going to Moscow (after all, it's on the way).
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Next: Moscow