Musings on World Travel

While I was growing up in Oklahoma City, I always wanted to travel the world, but the furthest I got was Mexico City. In the last five years, I have set foot on four continents other than North America and I have seen many an interesting sight.

Here I am in Jerusalem on the Mount of Olives overlooking the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock (2005). That was an unbelievable trip. In a future post I will publish some of the photos I took while in Israel. I visited some of the places that have been in the news recently.

Here I am on the Giza plateau (2005). That was an experience that is
difficult to put into words. After seeing the pyramids and the sphinx,
monuments that are older than Abraham, you begin to reconsider the
significance of your own life issues. Time itself fears the pyramids.

Here I am in Saint Peter's square in 2001, just six weeks before 9/11. This
was my first trip to Europe and I went by myself. I got lost in Rome in the
middle of the night trying to find my hotel after visiting the Trevi fountain
and the Spanish steps. I was such a tourist. I would love to go back. I would
never wear a shirt with an American flag on it today.

I always liked this picture from my trip to Paris (2004). Misty and I spent a year celebrating our tenth wedding anniversary and this was our first overseas trip together. We went to the Louvre and the Musee d'Orsay and Notre Dame. We stayed in a wonderful little nineteenth-century hotel a block from the Louvre. This picture of me was taken on a bridge over the Seine. The picture of Misty, which is one of my favorites of her, was taken on one of those double-decker tour buses. It was so cold (it snowed outside Notre Dame) and we had one of the best times we have ever had.

You can see the beaches of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil behind me. I am actually up by the huge statue of Christ that overlooks the city of Rio. That was a great trip as well (2002).

Some folks don't like to travel, but there came a point in my life when I decided I wanted to touch the earth and see things with my own eyes, not just read about them in National Geographic. Traveling the world has given me a wealth of perspective on my own life and life in America. I love America and I am fortunate to live here, but I need an international trip every so often to keep my sanity.