Tag: adventure

Vaca Vida

I love my job! In my younger years I experienced what I call mayhem at work. Jealousy, backstabbing. Who needs that? I walked off as many jobs as I had. I could not survive in that environment. I would have had to become like them. I refused. I sought another way and I found it. It’s not for the faint of heart. No one gets it. Everybody wants it. Find your path and sojourn. I love my job!

Vaca Vida means Cow Life. I live like the cows. Have you ever watched a cow? They are serene. I stepped off the edge of the planet and sold my beach house on Amelia Island. Built a house in Costa Rica. Bought three more houses on Amelia Island. They said it couldn’t be done. Not by me. I got no support, except from God, the Universe, and the people who cared, which were few. I have found, for the most part, the people around you, don’t want to see you do well. I have had to cut those people loose. It has not been easy. But I learned early on that the some of the best things in life are the hardest to come by. Then you can relax and watch the sunset.

Patience and perseverance is the key to all success.

I’m the kind of person, that runs ahead of the crowd. My good fortune has been my love of nature and dislike of pretentious bullies.

En Route 66 ***

Rooster, if we go down this path, what do you think will happen?

JBug depended on her husband. She looked at his grey hair and eyes that matched.

I don’t know. But if we don’t go, we’ll never know.

With locked wills and hubs, their minds were made. This wasn’t their first adventure.

Follow Your Bliss

I have been following Auntie Bubba for years. From back in the day when there weren’t as many blogs. You wrote and posted. The title and image would come up on a page. You could browse and read. They hadn’t yet come up with the algorithms that steer you like cattle through a gap. She lived as a nanny, in Paris, when I first set up a reading list. Then she moved to San Francisco. Got a scooter. Went swimming down by the SF bridge. Moved out of an apartment. Got money. Went to school. She’s is or was a burning man participant. She figures out how to make things happen for her. She documents it.

I have sponsored people much younger than myself and I advise them to check out her blog. You can do. You can achieve. Right now she is having surgeries and she gets in the pool to enhance her recovery. A life hiccup yet another thing I advise people to do. Heal. But will they do it. No.

I too follow my bliss. And yes, it’s hard work. And a lot of letting go.

We only have one life – that I know of. I’ve been on one adventure after another. I am getting older and you would think it’s easier. But it’s not. It’s the same. You have a plan, obstacles, hurdles and dismounts. The idea is to enjoy the journey.

Writing helps.

I can look back and know where I’ve been. WOW….it’s a lot.

I am planning a trip to Bocas Del Torro and it feels daunting. Every thing use to be dirt cheap. I don’t like spending money. Now there’s the COVID issue. Planes don’t have flights they use to have. You have to meet mandatory dead lines on tests.

WTF – you use to only have to consider marauders and murderers. Now that isn’t even an issue. I guess they are staying home to be COVID safe.

Now it’s high priced rooms and boat trips…..I can do this. – More will be revealed.

Thank you Auntie Bubba. You are an inspiration. Life is out there. Do it!

I am taking an ounce of my own advice.

With Me Always

  • 1996

Hello!

I am thinking of adventure – on the heels of my house work – on the heels of my daughter’s passing.

I haven’t been writing like I would have wanted to. I’ve had plenty to say and an over flow of thoughts and opinions, but prudence held me back. There’s much sensitivity out there; sadness and anger.

I don’t want to stir the pot.

I write to make sense of my life, which now includes my daughter’s death. It’s been hard. None of it seemed real. Then it seemed real and then it didn’t seem real.

So, I will work. I will clean my house. And I will plan my new adventure. My daughter will be with me always.

You’re Going to Die!!!!!!!!!

Yes and No

We are born, to soon learn, that we are going to die.

I really don’t know about other people’s inner lives. Communication has a way of drifting. It’s ethereal. And yet, it’s can be heavy, as a tombstone. An albatross. A spirit of unrelenting fear. Or, it can be as equally uplifting as a hot air balloon. Raising you above, to elevate you, and present a wide angle view. A unique and exhilarating vista.

I have experienced both.

I am a part of humanity. I accept it. I surrender. I give in.

But when other people share with me their optical illusion of life, such as; Continue reading You’re Going to Die!!!!!!!!!

No GPS

To date, I have not given in to relying on a GPS.

They have taken the fun out of travel and adventure. No one knows how to give directions anymore. The serendipitous moments, meeting people on the road, to gather information is history.

And it’s strange how this technological phenomenon occurred so quickly.

As a whole, humanity is one step closer to being LOST.

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A Turtle~An Earthquake~and A Wolf at My Door

I’ve recently arrived home from a short road trip.

In Costa Rica, it’s best to be prepared for the unexpected. On the second leg of my journey; the first being a trip to Parrita,  I found myself spending the night, at a favorite haunt. An old style Tico palapa, right on the beach. It’s a gathering place for turtle lovers. We share meals there and swap stories. Continue reading A Turtle~An Earthquake~and A Wolf at My Door

Surf Camp Summer

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I recently had the opportunity to work with Chris Igou, Nick Isabella, Bradley Dunham, Skyler DeBerry and Jarrod Kaylor. Secondhand Surf Photography sold packages to the surf camp kids. Chris Igou was the leader and he did a great job. We all put so much energy into those kids. To see kids catching their first wave, skim boarding and body surfing; it was a rewarding experience.

It wasn’t like this in 1966 ~ I can remember dragging my forty pound Rick Noserider to the beach and getting slam dunked repeatedly. Trying to catch a wave. Pearling. The board would spin and knock me upside my head. But I always had to act like, yeah, “I’m OK”-“I’m OK”. Not that anyone was even looking. There was hardly anyone on the beach back in those days. My skim board was as tall as I was. I would repeatedly kick and ride all the way to the pier, then turn around and come back. Day after day.

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This is Bradley.

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This is Jarrod surfing on a boogie board. Wow, what a great day that was.

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This is Skyler kicking up a little spray on a small wave day.And Waterman~Nick Isabella

Recently Chris posted this to his Facebook Page

July1, 2013
 7 days until my first trip to Nicaragua and I couldn’t be more excited and anxious! I have been doing summer surf camp with pipeline surf shop for the past 7 weeks and have one week left.

It has been so amazing teaching kids how to surf and to see how much joy they get out of it. That’s it. That is what it’s all about. The moment of joy that comes every so often. The feeling that gives you the highest level of pure and honest joy! People often forget about that as they get older by letting little bad moments pile up which over shadow the good! My goal is to push myself as I get older to never let go of those moments and always live for the ones to come that lighten up your spirit. I am 21 right now and if I had one piece of advice to give it would be to not let those moments of joy pass so easily and do so by taking them in and enjoy every second of it! 

Now it’s 3 days away, and with the exception of Nick, we’re all headed to Nicaragua. I am  excited. I am going to be able to hone my photography skills and do some videography. I’ve trekked through the beaches of Central America for twenty years and all of my photos have been done with a Polaroid, held together by rubber bands, or my old Kodak that died after fifteen years of hard labor, or my Canon point and shoot that bit the dust after dropping it too many times. I am well on the backside of fifty and feel exactly like Chris described. Surfing captured my heart from the very beginning.

They are going to be throwing so much spray! I can’t wait!