9/27/2010 Update

Greetings from London!

Lots has happened since my last update.  Most notably, my travel companions' computer bit the dust so blog updates now have to be done via iPhone.  Luckily I have 1 1/2 hours each day of commute time to and from our lodging outside London (in Leatherhead) to the city center to do some typing.

Since my last update, lots has happened.  Iceland was awesome.  If ever there was a place invented as "man-land" Iceland would be it.  The terrain is rugged to say the least.  If gravity didn't exist there, one would feel like you're on the moon.  The combination of lava rocks and moss would even confuse the Apollo astronauts into thinking they were in orbit.  A sample of some of the things I did were; hiked up a glacier, went off-roading in a Toyota Yaris (shh...don't tell Hertz), walked on black sand beaches, ate a hamburger with an over hard egg on top, swam in hot springs (after a 3 kilometer hike), waterfalls, waterfalls, and more waterfalls, plus so much more.  If you're into nature, Iceland is a must for your itinerary.

Hanging out at the base of Eyjafjallajokull volcano

On September 22nd, we left Keflavik, Iceland and arrived at London's Heathrow airport.  Years ago, I learned a valuable lesson in Mexico...don't screw around with border guards.  As I deplaned, I got all my documentation together to enter England.  I stepped up to the counter and that's when the interrogation began.  You see, when you enter a country as a visitor, governments want to know that you will leave at some point.  The problem with my open ended schedule is that I do not have any documents showing how and when I will be leaving the UK. The immigration officer fired off question after question at me trying to figure out what I was doing.  Apparently quitting a well paying job to travel the world is a foreign (pun intended) concept to these people.  After a heavy dose of Cobb charm, the immigration lady finally stamped my passport (albeit angrily) and let me into the UK.  I'm not going to lie, I was pretty nervous for a few minutes that my trip was over before it began!

Life in London has been great so far.  The people are much friendlier then what I thought they would be and the girls are way better looking than the one's in Iceland.  I really like it here which is odd because I really don't like big cities that much.  I think conquering the vast train, bus, and underground (aka subway) system has helped. I've accomplished a lot in the last few days, but my favorites so far have been the Tate Modern Museum and the Imperial War Museum.

The Tate Modern is a converted power plant.  The museum has works by Jackson Pollock (a personal favorite), Picasso, Warhol and more.  Claude Monet's Waterlillies is also located there.  There was also a large amount of "crap" there, but I suppose that's what you get at a museum with the word modern in it.  There was also a lot of kid friendly interactive stuff at the museum which was hilarious to me, because I can't imagine any sane parent subjecting their child to Jackson Pollock.

Monet's Waterlillies

The Imperial War Museum is my favorite part of the trip so far.  I spent roughly 6 hours there going through the exhibits.  The museum effectively documents every war the UK, and transversely the US sans the Falklands war and a few others, has been involved in since World War I.  Words cannot describe the level of detail involved.  The centerpiece of the museum is the holocaust exhibit.  I've been to several holocaust museums/exhibits and by and large I don't like them.  The atrocities that occurred in places like Auschwitz make my stomach turn.  The Imperial War Museum had the largest holocaust exhibit I've seen by far and if you're ever in London and want to know more, it's worth the price of admission (free).

Imperial War Museum

I have 2 more days in London before heading to Munich for Oktoberfest.  All in all, the trip has been awesome so far.  I wish I could post some more pictures but without a computer, it's not possible, so until we meet again, mind the gap!

Cheers!

9/18/2010 Update

Greetings from Hvolsvoller, Iceland!  I'm blogging tonight from a farm that is located at the base of Eyjafjallajokull.  Don't worry...I can't pronounce it either.  You might remember it as the volcano that erupted causing mass hysteria in Iceland and massive headaches in European airspace this summer.  I'm hoping that won't happen again.  They have guesthouses at the farm where my travel companions and I am staying.  It's quaint and amazing.

Iceland has been great so far.  The population of the entire island is about 300,000 so it has a nice small town feel to it.  I spent most of my first 2 here days in Reykjavik taking in the sites before heading to the farm today.  There are many experiences to share but my two favorites happened at the thermal pools.

Iceland is a volcanic island and their greatest natural resource is geothermal energy.  High pressure steam fields underground allow the power companies to tap into these fields, harness the energy, and use it for heating.  Heating swimming pools is particularly easy via this method; therefore, Reykjavik and other communities have popular community pools.   The locals come to talk about politics, discuss current events and apparently embrace their inner nudist.  Everyone must shower before going in the pools.  Little did we know, this happens w/o clothing and w/o anything to hide you from...EVERYONE! It was shocking to say the least and if you know anything about how Brad and I operate, we have a problem with reading and following along so neither of us participated and both of us proceeded to get a verbal lashing from "mop" guy...who's only apparent job is to sop up water left by stupid Americans who don't read the pool rules.

Also at the pool was a giant water slide.  I love me a good water slide.  I also love causing a good scene.  I decided it would be an awesome idea to scream like a little girl the entire way down said slide.  Little did I know, but apparently the slide acts like a giant megaphone because EVERYONE in the park heard me.  It was my first great "scene causing incident" of the trip and I'm glad I got to share it with the people of Reykjavik.

Below are some pictures so far from the trip.

Mink Whale I ate for lunch one day at SeaBarons in Reykjavik.

The group in front of Hallgrimskirkja.

The group at Gullfoss waterfall.

Oh ya, I won 5500 kr at the casino.  Me 1.  Iceland Casinos 0.

9/9/2010 Update

It's 4 days until I leave and there are still a lot of things to be done before I can depart.  I've got a house (not mine...it's for a project I've been working on) that is supposed to close on September 15th and I finally got all of the closings documents signed today.  Now all I need is to find a mailbox for the buyer and it should be good to go.  On August 30th I had 48 items on my "to do" list.  To date, I've accomplished 27.  This is pretty typical of the way I operate.  I thrive under pressure.  It'll get done.

I've had a lot of time to think these past few months.  It's a byproduct of trying to save money for the trip by not leaving the house.  One thing in particular has occured to me in the last week.  I am REALLY going to miss OSU football. 

I love everything about gameday in Stillwater.  The game, tailgating, throwing the football around, friends, family, cookie eating contests with Austin, the post-game show, Sunday morning post-ops with Mike Holder, etc.  Even when I lived in California, I would always listen to and/or watch the games.  This is going to be the first time in my 27 years of life where I will not be able to do so...and that includes the 0-10-1 season!  It's going to suck.  That may sound trite to a lot of people but Stillwater/OSU is part of my DNA.  It doesn't mean football is the most important thing to me.  Far from it in fact.  It simply means that the atmosphere and the environment mean a lot to me especially when you consider the people I get to experience it with each week.  I've decided that a good consolation to me missing my first football season since birth would be a BCS bowl so make it happen Pokes!

Hopefully the next time I update I'll have some pictures to post.

Cheers!

“A journey is like marriage. The certain way to be wrong is to think you control it.” - John Steinbeck

Greetings World

Welcome family, friends, and world!  On September 13, I begin what will become the greatest voyage of my life.  For 160 days, I've decided to leave everything (not quite everything...nudity is frowned upon in many cultures) behind and trek the globe.  There's many reasons for doing so which I'll talk about later in the soapbox section of this post.  As one would expect, when I tell people I am leaving for that length of time, I get a myriad of reactions.  There's people who are really excited for me and wish they could do the same.  There's people who think I've lost my mind and that I'm an idiot.  Then there's all the people in between.  In all honesty, I respect and agree with virtually all of the reactions I get.  That's why I've dedicated this trip to exciting intentional idiocy...I may be an idiot but at least I'll have fun doing it and I'll be doing it on purpose.

Without exception, the question I always get from people is why.  Why am I going and more importantly why now?

That's a complex question but I believe I've contemplated it enough to arrive at a somewhat simple answer.  I'm the byproduct of incredible luck. I was born into a great family, inherently advantaged through wealth, living in the greatest country in the world, with everything I could ever dream of doing at my fingertips.  Furthermore, I've come equipped with a business gene that allows me to prosper in a manner hugely disproportionate to others who contribute far more to society's well-being than myself. 

Armed with these "weapons" I want to experience the world beyond my bubble.  Travel is the greatest way for me to achieve this.  Who knows where this experience will lead me, but I believe when I look back on this it I'll be a more well-rounded person.

This blog will be an extension of my trip.  I intend to update it as frequently as possible in the hopes of keeping friends and family aware of my whereabouts as well as providing a glimpse into how the rest of the world lives.

Cheers!

"Half the fun of travel is the esthetic of lostness."