May the Hope Continue...

A note to friends...

If nothing else, I hope that we can all unite and put aside differences to tackle some of our problems again with a united front!

In today's global world, the days of isolationism are unfortunately over. Sure, we do need to find ways to maintain our jobs, identity, power, etc. However, we are part of a larger community. The way the world views America is very important. Afterall, the USSR and the wall dividing Berlin were not torn down by military might. They crumbled because of Levi's, and Coca-Cola, and the opportunity for everyone to share in our prosperity. We are so influencial that the world economic climate is affected by the mere mood of the American public. With such influence comes responsibility.

In the recent past, we have not acted as part of the global family and this hurt us in the view of the world. The world view of America (and our economy) was so soured that there was even a call for oil to be traded in Euros instead of dollars. It is important psychologically that oil be traded in dollars. These small things represent our total influence.

The "brand" of America is just as important in helping us accomplish our goals as anything. It is easier to conquer the minds of people with the thought of democracy and prosperity than to attack them. A strong military is important, and this will always be the case, but smiling and giving and whispering with a big stick in hand accomplishes more than whacking people upside the head. Especially if it costs us our economy and tarnishes our brand. A brand that represents the opportunity of a better life.

This country gives by far more aid throughout the entire world than anyone else, yet we never seem to get credit for it anymore. Granted, our mere superpower status puts us on a level where other countries may resent us. But, when we act as we have in the recent past, this makes everything even worse. Regardless of how anyone voted, the positivity and thoughts of hope that have swept across the nation recently can only benefit us all.

As the economy continues to sputter and times stay tough ahead, an inspirational leader can only help. Sometimes we need to be told it's okay, even when it's not. Sometimes thinking everything is okay helps it to become so.

Below is a great article about the perception of this election globally. It's a reminder that we should foster community rather than carve a solo path. When the citizens of other countries look up to America they are less likely to attack us, more likely to side with us and their most creative and brilliant citizens might move here to allow us to continually grow.

May the hope continue...

Besides, if none of this works, we can always launch a few nukes to let people know we haven't gone soft!

*****
Suddenly, it may be cool to be an American again

Obama is President!

I was lucky to be part of history for the 2008 Presidential Election. While I wasn't in Chicago for the event, I was at the Indianapolis Democratic HQ "Victory Party" to witness and celebrate a monumentle moment. Obama was elected President of the United States of America!

I was proud to later see that Indiana had also turned Democrat... something that had not previously happened since 1964.

I hope that a message was sent to Washington that we are tired of the old ways. The cronyism. Big Oil. The Patriot Act. Bulldozing over those who do not agree with us -- domestically and abroad.

We want an inspirational leader. We want positive role models. We want change.

I hope the country continues to support this change as we will all face trying times ahead. The world needs a bright spot. A positive America.

I think we're finding our way back.

Marathon Gauley Ride, West Virginia

The last adventure of the year for 2008 consisted of an all-day marathon whitewater rafting excursion on the Gauley River in West Virginia. I have been before on the Gauley and the New River, but never for the full adventure. The marathon trip is a full-day excursion that covers both the Upper Gauley and Lower Gauley. The Gauley is continually rated among the best whitewater rafting trips in the entire U.S., usually losing out only to the Grand Canyon (and not because of rapids, but because of the beauty of the canyon).

We started off the day in the freezing cold and thick fog rising above the water. The outside temperature was about 35 degrees (if we were lucky) and the water was probably 55 degrees. It's warmer because it comes through the dam and the top of the lake contains warm water. Fortunately, we were prepared with multiple layers and a wetsuit. We hit a rapid right out of the gate and stayed warm (in and out of the water) throughout the day. Keith bounced out of the boat on the first three rapids and lost his paddle each time!

I managed to never fall out of the boat unless it was a group spill where the entire raft capsized. Since we were in the "Team Extreme" short, seven-foot boat, this still happened quite often. We were doing 360-degree spins ahead of the rapids and before going through the most treacherous parts. We went backwards on one and then spun around quickly to go forward down the next, but ended up spilling. The guides kept saying "this is the last day of the season, so no one can get fired. We're going to push it all day long."

It was a wonderful experience. I probably won't go again since I have been so many times, but with the right group it would still be a load of fun!

Seneca Rocks, West Virginia

Keith prepares our equipment for the day's climbing.

The rock face of Seneca Rocks, West Virginia

The face on the left that we will climb as our first climb of the day.

Keith led this first route and prepped a top rope for my ascent of this easy section.


At the Summit of Seneca Rocks, West Virginia.

Keith at the Summit of Seneca Rocks, WV.

Fun, easy climbing in West Virginia

Beautiful views in West Virginia. It's not the Swiss Alps, Rockies or other more well-known areas, but holds a beauty all its own.

Another Summit view from Seneca Rocks, WV

Beautiful Fall view of Seneca Rocks, WV.

As our last adventure of the year, Keith and I decided to go rock climbing and whitewater rafting in West Virginia. It's a pretty long 9+ hour drive from Indianapolis to Seneca Rocks, West Virginia, but as you can see from the Saturday afternoon pics, it's every bit worth it. The views are amazing and the climbing is sweet.

I was a little nervous since, generally speaking, I'm just not a very good climber. Keith is always on his game even though he has had some time off as well. We have been here several times before but timed it perfectly with the Fall weather for this round as you can see in the pics.

Keith always does lead climb while I second merely because the difference in our skills is vast to say the least. He's a pretty experienced climber and I'm (thankfully) along for the ride. We have been here several times before and so this time we decided to take it easy. We combined some light climbing (5.5 to 5.8 range) with a hike to the North Summit. We have done some multi-pitch climbs to the South Summit already on previous trips. (North Summit is on the left of the "gun hole" in the rock face pic and the South Summit is on the right.)

The weather was cool and crisp. We enjoyed a chili cookoff and some local micro brew beer in the town below once we were done climbing.

We are going to hop in the car and drive to Oak Hill area so we can crash and wake up at the crack of dawn to go whitewater rafting! I've been before several times, but never during the timed dam releases of the more popular Fall rafting season. Also, we're going to do the entire Gauley River and in a short, 12 foot raft, which promises a bigger, more adventurous ride!

West Virginia Adventures

I'm excited to head down to West Virginia this coming weekend to go Rock Climbing on Saturday and then Whitewater rafting on Sunday! Keith and I are going and thankfully he has some coupons for Sunday rafting discounts. We're also driving and camping to keep it on the cheap.

If you look closely at the pic above I grabbed off the Internet, you will see a small climber going up the face. We haven't climbed in over a year, so we will take easy routes, but it's beautiful climbing in West Virginia. The scenery is amazing.

Sunday is the last day of the rafting season in West Virginia's Gauley River, where timed releases from the Summersville Dam ensure strong water flow and serious rafting rapids. I've been to the area rafting probably three other times in the past. However, this time we're doing the entire Gauley River and going during Bridge Day Festival weekend. During the festival in Fayetteville, BASE Jumping off the New River Gorge Bridge is legal. The bridge is nearly 900 feet tall and is billed as the world's second longest single arch bridge. More than 450 jumpers will participate by jumping off the bridge with a parachute on their back and starter/opening chute in their hand. They will jump and fall for about 4 seconds before releasing and deploying their chute. BASE Jumping stands for those that jump off of Buildings, Antennas, Spans (bridges) and Earth (cliffs, etc.). You have to be experienced and certified to jump during the festival.

We won't be jumping.

We've both already done other similar activities (sky diving, bungee jumping, etc) and the cost for a tandem BASE jump is just too high. However, the festival is the biggest thing to hit the county all year long. It was originally started as a means to provide a sanctioned and legal day for the BASE and bungee jumpers that continually tried to illegally jump from the bridge throughout the year. There are now more than 200 vendors with large sponsors such as AT&T. It will be a fun time to take in the atmosphere after climbing and before rafting on Sunday. We will drive home on Monday.

West Virginia is beautiful and ideally suited for rafting and climbing. It's probably an 8-9 hour drive from Indianapolis.

The weekend will be a great close to this year's adventure activities!

(Incidently, I'm listening to Fleet Foxes as a write this entry.)

Choosing A Path

TWO ROADS DIVERGED in a yellow wood,
And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveler, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could
To where it bent in the undergrowth;

Then took the other, as just as fair,
And having perhaps the better claim,
Because it was grassy and wanted wear;
Though as for that the passing there
Had worn them really about the same,

And both that morning equally lay
In leaves no step had trodden black.
Oh, I kept the first for another day!
Yet knowing how way leads on to way,
I doubted if I should ever come back.

I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.

--Robert Frost

Finding It

Not until we are lost do we begin to understand ourselves.

--Henry David Thoreau

Austin City Limits Recap

Austin City Limits Music Festival on September 27th.

The pic above details the schedule of Saturday's bands.

When in Austin, do it up Texas style!

The Fratellis jam out.

The Black and White Years plays (above).

Sharon Jones and the Dap-Kings funks it up.

Jose Gonzalez plays some sweet melodies.

Electric Touch above had a good crowd, but they played at the same time as MGMT.

MGMT had the crowd of a headliner. It was crazy.

Some of the crowd that gathered for MGMT. Click this pic for an enlarged version and a better sense.

Jumbo Screen shot of Beck rocking the stage (above).

Beck was the last act to perform

So the music festival was a great time. Unfortunately, lots of good bands played at the same time. However, it was a great time. Here is a summary of the bands we saw...

The Black and White Years really rocked it out. They were my surprise band for the day. I had heard one of their songs on XM or someplace, but they put on a a strong enough performance for me to recommend the album. Interesting dance/guitar/rock group based in Austin. They don't take themselves too seriously. Bit of a Talking Heads influence. Punchy guitar. Good times.

Next, we checked out Five Times August...basically a solo songwriter and guitarist. I wanted to like the guy, really, but I just couldn't. Very teenie bopper pop rock and trying too hard to be a heart throb. Probably featured on MTV reality shows. He's probably on Tiger Beat (if that even still exists), but I honestly wasn't impressed.

The Old 97's were a very solid rock band. I enjoyed their tunes. They really rocked it out and put on a good performance. I don't think they have a sound that stands out a ton, but they had a diverse rock sound with alt country, Kinks and some punk influences. Mainly just a solid rock band. Worth a look.

The Fratellis were fun to watch. Rockers from Glasgow if you can imagine. Nice hooks, strong guitar, fairly ordinary rock, pretty good sound.

Jose Gonzalez was sweet. As you can tell from the pic above, he had a massive crowd. This is the guy you want to see at a smaller venue. A real small venue, ideally. He reminds me of Nick Drake (he of tragic story) who had a slight revival when VW featured one of his songs in a commercial a while back. Sweet melodies. Great vocals, stripped down classic, around the campfire sound. Great story telling, and wonderful guitar throughout. He had a female backup singer join him at times to sing harmony or join along. Great time, but I just didn't feel in the mood to fight the crowd to get up front. He needed more wattage to push that beautiful sound out to the crowd better. Great performer. Would be better in a smaller venue.

Sharon Jones and the Dap-Kings. This girl can ROCK it!! Man, she's like a female James Brown. Loved it! Killer funk. Great dance sounds. Must see live act, but like much of this genre of music, probably loses the energy on a CD. Don't miss 'em if they ever play near you.

The Concert Supremes. They provided a high energy gospel/soul groove that really got the audience moving. Stopped in for a short bit and glad I did, but I wouldn't buy an album. Not my style, but fun to watch. Got your feet tapping and your soul cleansed a little.

Electric Touch. Great band. They are another band that I've started to like. I have a couple of their songs and a friend recently gave me a CD with one of their good ones. These guys are good and I'll get an album after the performance. I wanted to stick around, but the massive storm of people gathering for MGMT at the nearby stage detracted. How many songs could I hear before racing over to MGMT? Would I find my friends....

MGMT. Not a chance in hell to find my friends. These guys had one of the biggest crowds at ACL. They were huge! They had the crowd of a headliner and because I checked out Electric Touch, I was left pretty far back. I fought up to the middle area, but then decided I was comfortable in the crowd with a good view, nice sound and with time to make an autograph move for a friend/crazed fan at the conclusion of their set. They put on a good show. Solid, but probably a little under my expectation. They had sooo many people, and I really think they could have taken and owned the stage better. They started off with a lower energy song. Sounded good, but never rocked it as hard as they could. They were probably stoned and chilling cause they certainly looked the part. Nonethless, they did a great job, had a nice cover and have a great sound. Shawn was stoked to check them out and I was happy not to have missed it. The debut album is great and the new one is being produced by the Chemical Brothers, so these guys are going to just keep getting better!! They are going to soon blow up out of control is my prediction.

John Fogerty. I thought this guy was from California?! He sounds like a good 'ol boy from Arkansas or something. To that point: he plays good 'ol Rock n Roll and added some good CCR covers.

The Black Keys. The Ohio band played just as expected. They play some hard rock blues. I have the most recent album. It was a strong performance.

Iron & Wine. Played the same time as Black Keys. I have some of their songs, but no full album. They are in the vein of Gonzalez in terms of style. They are the group you want to hear in a more intimate setting than the festival allowed. Great performance, but someone you really want to check out in a smaller venue. Or at an outdoor venue that they headline, such as White River State Park . Nice and easy. Great lyrics.

Robert Plant & Alison Krauss. The former Led Zep frontman is old. Real old. Still, he can kick out some easy tunes. Alison has a beautiful voice and plays violin wonderfully. They put on a good performance with some fun takes on old Zep songs, but time was running out... I had to run to the other side to catch and get close for Beck!

Beck. Amazing. Great stage presence. Interesting songs. Started out rocking it and then put a nice lull to the crowd before rocking it out again. Great stage show. The guy is a musical genius and it shows!

Other Notables:

CSS. Missed them. Heard a lot of good things about the performance. An interesting group, but we didn't make it. We soaked up the atmosphere a little and grabbed some food and drink instead.

Fleet Foxes. See above.

Back Door Slam punched out some killer guitar driven rock ala Stevie Ray Vaughn style solos. I didn't really truly catch them other than listening in from a resting area nearby.

Lastly:

Check here for Saturday's set list of all the performing bands. It was a good time. Austin is such a fun town and so musically focused. We met some cool and fun people throughout the weekend and had a great time in Austin. It's a comfortable town. Not real multicultural and not a true city feel, but man what a wonderful vibe!! Looking forward to visiting again next year and doing the entire festival. There were so many bands that we missed on Friday (Vampire Weekend) and Sunday (Silversun Pickups).

We may even do a summer music festival tour in 2009!

Austin

ACL was pretty incredible. I will give a brief update of the bands that I saw shortly.

Austin is a cool town and we met some interesting and fun people along the way. It's warm and active. I love the West nearly as much as I love true metropolitan cities.

Austin City Limits!!

We leave Friday for the ACL Festival!

Super excited, but kinda bummed that we will likely only be at the festival on Saturday. Tickets sold out soo early and even though we got ours when I returned from Europe, we had to buy the more expensive single day pass. We are missing some good bands on Friday (Vampire Weekend, G. Love is always fun, etc.) and we will likely miss some great ones on Sunday, such as The Kills, Against Me!, Foo Fighters, and most importantly: Silversun Pickups. Ugh. Another time.

My good friend who lives there will ironically and randomly be coming back to Indy the same weekend, but we have some other friends out there. We can enjoy the city and normal nightlife on Friday and then see some great bands on Saturday. Sunday, we will relax and enjoy the town more before heading out in the evening. I've been to Austin once before and I loved it. Different than the other U.S. cities that I tend to like...the more Euro style or traditional, vertical cities such as Chicago, San Fran, Boston, NYC, or even outdoor towns such as San Diego, Denver, Phoenix, Seattle, etc. Austin is fun. Unique sophistication with lots of outdoor activities and young, vibrant, active people in good shape. Very open and free-spirited and welcoming. An island oasis in Texas. Nice feel, good vibe, great town. We're going to have a blast!!

So, we will be at the Austin City Limits Music Festival on Saturday. As you can see from the schedule above, lots of the good bands are playing at the same time! We'll probably be running around like recently decapitated crackhead chickens!

It promises to be a good time. I'm sure we will do our part to "Keep Austin Weird."

Positivity

• inspire
• love
• passion
• joy
• bliss
• fun
• peace
• friends
• family
• running
• travel
• music
• people
• writing
• imagery
• stories
• driving
• speed
• blue skies
• food
• mountains
• river
• ocean
• spirituality
• together
• sweetness
• alive
• competition
• biking
• outdoors
• trees
• chemistry
• sexy
• discovery
• drinks
• dancing
• explore
• laughing
• smiles
• play
• flirt
• adventure
• sunshine
• festival
• beautiful
• bold
• impulse
• spirit
• joi de vivre
• learn
• art
• cutiful
• smile
• life
  

Conquer the World!

Ah, autumn nostalgia...

Life is grand!

(Well, most of the time)

It's about fun, adventure, relationships with friends and family. It's about finding, having and appreciating that person in which you can conquer the world. Side by side. Above all else.

It's about passion. It's about the mountains. Oh, the mountains.

Here's a cool story about a great songwriting band in the vein of Simon and Garfunkel, The Be Good Tanyas, The Sundays, The Indigo Girls. It's about a sing-songy band called The Weepies. I say, you gotta love XM Radio, Slacker.com and Imeem.com. I would otherwise not have found my way to this band. Or the Silversun Pickups. Or tons of others. Thanks to this amazing summer, to those girls from Brazil that gave the tip to go to Rock in Rio Madrid music festival and some great friends. Thanks to a healthy family. Thanks to a body that hasn't completely broken down despite all of the abuse I have thrown its way (disguised as "living").

Life is grand.
(More of the time than not...if you don't get in its way.)

Khakis

You're not your job.

You're not how much money you have in the bank.

You're not the car you drive.

You're not the contents of your wallet.

You're not your fucking khakis.

You're the all-singing, all-dancing crap of the world.

--Tyler Durden (Fight Club)

Crazy Ones

So, I just read a column by a colleague of mine that I find very inspiring. Unfortunately, I cannot provide a direct link to the article because it is in a small community paper. In the article she references a poem that is beautiful enough to be repeated here:

Here's to the Crazy Ones!

The misfits.
The rebels.
The troublemakers.

The round pegs in the square holes.

The ones who
see things differently.

They're not fond of rules.
And they have no respect for the status quo.

You can quote them, disagree with them, disbelieve them, glorify or vilify them.
About the only thing that you can't do is ignore them.

Because they change things.

They invent. They imagine. They heal.
They explore. They create. They inspire.
They push the human race forward.

Maybe they have to be crazy.

How else can you stare at an empty canvas and see a work of art?
Or, sit in silence and hear a song that hasn't been written?
Or, gaze at a red planet and see a laboratory on wheels?

We make tools for these kind of people.
While some may see them as the crazy ones, we see genius.

Because the ones who are crazy enough to think that they can change the world, are the ones who do.

Rafting & Rock Climbing

We have changed our end of summer adventure. Originally, we planned to do a single day crossing of the Grand Canyon. This is still on the list, but for a variety of reasons, we are going to delay it until next year.

As we looked at the timing, we didn't want to fly, drive, hike, and jet back home and complete the adventure in a blur. It becomes then only about the single event. About a checklist. And that's not the purpose of a list or life. It's about friendships, nature, beauty... the journey. We want enough time to truly enjoy the experience. To smell the roses.

Instead, I believe that we will take a long weekend to West Virginia and go whitewater rafting and rock climbing. We've been rafting before, but I don't believe we have done the Gauley in the Fall when the timed dam releases create more waterflow and therefore a faster, more adventurous ride. Also, Keith and I haven't been rock climbing for more than a year. It's time to get back out even if we (that really mean's me) are weak and shaky and can't climb anything difficult. It's about the beauty of the experience anyway. And, aside from the hillbillies... the mountains of West Virginia are stunning.

100 Things

I read an interesting article today. It's about an exec from southern Cali that moved to NYC and tragically watched from across the street as the second plane crashed into the World Trade Center in 2001. Soon after, he decided to move back to California for a more relaxed lifestyle near his family.

He then created a Web site dedicated to fun travel. And wrote a book titled, "100 Things to Do Before You Die..." They are all travel related events. He lived a wonderful, adventurous and passionate life. Until today. He died at the young age of 47 when he hit his head in a fall at his home.

In any case, as you can imagine, Running of the Bulls is on the list. Among a great many other items and fun events. (A cow chip throwing contest? I dunno about that one.) What I found more interesting, was reading through the reviews that people placed on the book. Some people were excited and had already completed such life affirming and soul encriching events, travels and more. Still, a great many others just didn't get it. Don't get it.

How can you not get it?! We have had similar reactions from our Pamplona trip. Some of my friends have talked about it. I've always had these perplexed questions to many of the adventures that I have undertaken over the years. Namely, "Why?!!" My answer is always, "Why not? ...Because! ...You MUST!" Some people just don't get it. I feel sorry for these people. There are too many of them. They are the majority, unfortunately. Maybe some have more wanderlust than others. Maybe some want more than the perfect lawn. But with each adventure, those that participate, those that live, walk further away from the sad majority that don't. That never wonder. That rarely wander.

When I pass from this earth (hopefully either leaving a better mark or none at all), I want my friends to throw a huge party with excessive dancing and drinking. I want my family to take a wonderful vacation in California (and spread my ashes into the Pacific Ocean). You can count on both being paid for from my estate.

Live each day to the fullest. Have fun with everything you do. Love the ones you love.

Grab life by the horns...and smack it on the ass! :)

Summer of 2009 Adventure?

So, what is the new adventure? I'm proposing auto racing school. It isn't cheap, but the thrill is great. It appears that stock cars are the most likely as there are more schools and better liability protection for both company and participant. However, IndyCar style racing would be better. Let's face it, going 165 mph on a track in an IndyCar is going to feel more intense than in a stock car.

I'm going to keep looking into the details. You know it will happen. It always happens. I may be unfocused at times, but when my mind is set the laser sight is on and I'm impeccably accurate. It may take some time to plan, but just know that the train is going to leave the station... it's just a matter of when!

Also, for my fitness friends: I haven't forgotten the Last Continent Marathon or maybe some Adventure Races out West next summer?! And I still need to do at least a Sprint Tri.

In any case, if you're interested -- and you think you're worthy-- join the adventure club and let me know. Or take up your own adventure and let me know about that too!

The Total Life List

So, I thought I would update for you my Life List, combining an older list with the more recent list. I'll cross items off of here, but some aren't designed to be crossed off the list. Some are a reminder of how to live. I hope that it inspires others to create a list a well. A reminder of the bigger picture in life. It's not just about the adventures, but a daily reminder to look at the horizon, to smell the roses, enjoy the company of those around you, and to learn something new: Open a new door everyday!

• Conquer the world!
• Visit all 50 U.S. states
• Participate in the Antarctica Marathon (safer than the Ice Marathon)
• Which may lead to a desire to become part of the Seven Continents Club
• Visit all 7 continents
• Advance oneself with integrity: never seek to advance at the misfortune of others
• Learn to read music and play the piano comfortably (getting closer...)
• Always remember that life is short; make the most of each day
• Travel to Everest Base Camp via either Tibet or Nepal
• Write a book
• Continue to learn, grow and push oneself forward; be bold
• Maintain creativity: inspire and be inspired
• Participate in a triathlon
• Visit the Great Pyramids, Great Wall of China, Denali, Taj Mahal, Machu Picchu in Peru, Petra in Jordan, Angkor in Cambodia, Acropolis of Athens in Greece, Old City of Jerusalem and Victoria Falls in Zimbabwe (and maybe swim in the Devil's Pool).
• Get a master's degree
• Go race car driving on a closed-circuit track
• Go on an African safari
• Live abroad
• Enjoy the outdoors
• Forever in life: work hard and play hard
• Participate in other endurance races (100 mile bike ride?, 30+ mile trail run?, etc) before my knees go bad.
• Learn to speak another language near fluently (Hmm, I should really be farther along with French after all this time)
• Visit Rio de Janeiro, perhaps to attend Carnival.
• Read at least six books per year
• Go to a place of worship or spirituality at least once a month
• Get an interesting and meaningful tattoo
• Take better care of the environment
• Exercise regularly
• Save money in daily life; don't get caught up in consumerism
• Be better about remembering people's names
• Find the right woman to conquer the world with!
• Do a single day, rim-to-rim crossing of the Grand Canyon
• Party at Oktoberfest in Munchen (Munich)

[Below from the original "Before I'm 30/Bachelor List"]

• Party at least once for Mardi Gras in New Orleans
• Run with the Bulls in Pamplona
• Hang Glide
• Horseback Riding
• Paintball
• Caving
• Skydiving
• Snorkeling
• Bungee Jump
• Canyoning
• Paragliding (over the Alps, not the same as parasailing in ocean)
• Glacier Ice Climbing
• Rock Climbing
• Crowd Surfing
• Alpine Rock Climbing
• Kayaking
• Mountain Biking
• Party in Times Square NYC for the Millenium
• Downhill Ski Slope Mtn Biking
• Night-time Drunken Mtn Biking (one of the dumber things)
• Highway Hood Surfing (this is the dumbest thing I've done -- back in high school)
• Whitewater rafting
• Mini-Marathon
• Marathon
• Multisport Races - Duathlons, etc
• Snowboarding
• Skiing
• Water Skiing
• Cliff jumping
• Jet Skiing
• Boogie Boarding
• Sledding
• Start a pirate radio station
• Start a Business
• Travel Extensively Outside the U.S.
• Sex, Drugs & Rock 'n Roll (nuff said)
• And more

Summer Fun Continues!

The Summer fun continues. I'm going to visit the great city of Austin, Texas for the Austin City Limits music festival! I can't wait to attend. Rock in Rio Madrid gave me the bug again. Previously, I've attended Lollapalooza (one of the first ones), almost attended the 25th anniversary of Woodstock but missed it :( and I've been to Bumpershoot in Seattle, etc. This should be a great time as Austin is a killer city.

I hope to visit and hang out with my friend Troy and his wife, but ironically, I think they may be coming back to Indiana that weekend. I'm hoping that is not the case. Right now we are only attending one of the days and will hang out in Austin for the rest of the weekend, but we'll see where the wind takes us. This event will help us to bring the summer to a close.

To open up the Fall we are going on another adventure trip out West. Seems to be an annual Fall event at this point. We hope to do a single day hike and crossing of the Grand Canyon. We went two years ago and hiked down, camped and came back up the South loop area. However, this time, we intend to go to the North side and in one single grueling push, we will go down, across and up the South side...enjoying its beauty along the way and hoping not to destroy our knees! Truly, it will be absolutely grueling. I think it is roughly 24 miles, but it feels much worse. You are essentially hiking in a desert on a reverse mountain. It will be a fun fitness adventure. Time to strap on a backpack and start doing stadium stairs again!

Additional Euro Trip pics

A series of additional photos for you to enjoy...

If you want to read about the Euro Trip (Running of the Bulls and Swiss Alps adventures), then check through posts for the entire month of July 2008 for full coverage.

New Adventures??

As you know, I do have a lengthy life list and checked off the two largest daring ones left on this vacation. (I'll try to post an updated list that merges what I have listed earlier but checks off items I have completed.) Maybe the only "bachelor" type item left would be to attend Mardi Gras, but after Pamplona, I'm not sure that appeals to me. However, there is a lot more to do. For me, the remaining items involve mostly travel from here out. Lots and lots of travel! I envision future trips will not be just for "the guys" but will include the spouses and girlfriends of my friends, etc.

How do you top running with bulls in terms of adventure? At some point, you have to cash in your chips and live off the earnings on a beach somewhere... don't you?!

I do know there is discussion about a weekend trip that would involve a single day crossing of the Grand Canyon from rim to rim. It's mostly a fitness test and interesting goal. That would be in September. Certainly, a worthy reason to ramp up the fitness training.

Someone mentioned today that I should request suggestions for new adventures to undertake. Great idea. Please hit the "Add a Comment" or "X Comments" link under this story to add a suggestion, comment or otherwise just verbally abuse me for your own pleasure. I would love to hear from you!

Back in Indy

Well, I'm back home. (Even though the pic is from Pamplona.) And exhausted. I've been living out of this backpack for three weeks. It's been a great pack, designed for this kind of travel. It converts to a duffle bag for easier flight or train travel and to protect the backpack straps. I've had it for more than 10 years now. It's traveled a great deal. Not as much, however, as my Timberlands. These shoes have been to some 20 countries and have logged some 1,000 miles! It's time to retire them. They stink beyond belief and they have no tread. (A problem that nearly killed me in our hiking expedition in Nevada last Fall.) So, I left them at the hostel and put on my Reef sandels and was out the door.

Carrying your life in a 2200 cubic inch pack and small daypack makes one realize we don't need all the crap we have in our lives. Heck, I didn't even need all that I took in my pack! Mostly, a good pack, a little money, a sense of adventure and a great travel partner is all you need... maybe even in life. Also, running next to and away from half-ton horned beasts puts perspective on every day life. I have to admit that I was content, but kind of bored during the hang gliding despite having a mild fear of heights. It was wonderful and I'm glad after looking at the sky as a child many years ago with my family at Kitty Hawk that I finally got to do it.

In life, there are no obstacles. There is nothing of too great importance that it cannot be tackled. There are no great problems if you and your loved ones are healthy. There are few true "needs" and mostly "wants" that should be in check.

With that said, it's true money doesn't buy happiness, but I have seen it make people desperately unhappy for lack of it. It's the endless pursuit of money, the cycle of earning to spend, the weekly bills that make people unhappy in the end. But money is necessary and affords us the opportunity to take that next adventure. To provide and to help.

Ultimately, life is about experiences... ideally shared with those you love.

Thanks to my family for supporting me on yet another crazy adventure and to my friends who were not able to join. But, thanks mostly to five great guys who were fortunate enough to tackle another adventure...who dared to be -- and made it to -- that great arena.

Great health and strong relationships. The gift of a smile. Positivity. A laugh. This is life. This is what is important. Less stuff and more experiences. I'll continue to update the blog with photos and videos from the trip and otherwise with the random, nonsensical dribble that normally comes from me.

Here's to new adventures!

Zurich

In Zurich, I enjoyed an evening dinner and drink with a friend that lives here. I have another friend in Munich Germany who I had hoped to also meet out in Zurich, but it didn't happen. Munich was celebrating the city's 850th anniversary and so there were lots of festivals that couldn't be missed. (Can you imagine the atmosphere?! What fun!) So, obviously I understood not being able to meet him in Zurich.

I spent some time in a disco here in Zurich, but it was too smokey and I was tired so I crashed around 2am. It's a cool town and like all Swiss towns, they pride themselves in the safety and cleanliness of the town.

Recently, Zurich was again rated one of the best cities to live on earth. I'm not going to look up the ranking, but I will leave you to Google it. Very cool and multicultural town. I walked around the town even late at night and it was nice not to be bothered by shady individuals for a change. There is no trash on the streets anywhere or even in or near the waterways. As with most of Switzerland, there are old fountains throughout the city that still function and in which people are welcome to drink freely pure glacier water. The environmental movement has taken strong hold here as you can imagine -- with many businesses advertising that they are carbon neutral and the like. Most of Europe utilizes energy efficient water and electricity sources or install features which eliminate waste (timed lights, etc).

One last interesting note, other cities have ducks and trash in their waterways; Switzerland has swans. Just an interesting point to consider.

Keith is in Interlaken doing the mountain biking adventure. He is scheduled to leave Switzerland after me.

Heading back soon... I think... I wish not.

Scooterific

(In the photo above, notice the paragliders landing in the field)

(Killer view from our morning coffee location in Interlaken)



(Beautiful glacier river view in town)

(Glacier lake photo that was near our hang gliding landing spot)

Decided not to mountain bike the last day in Switz. Keith and I enjoyed my last day here with a nice coffee at a high rise hotel cafe in Interlaken and then we rented scooters and toured around in the small towns surrounding Interlaken. Notice the incredible aqua colored glacier river and lake. The river runs through the town and fills two large lakes surrounding the town. There are tons of waterfalls and rivers that flow from the glaciers and then also even through the larger cities of Switzerland. In any case, I'm off to Zurich to meet a friend for dinner and headed back home soon.