I have very recently retired and find myself wanting to continue learning and growing, so I have decided to participate in J’s blog.  For as long as I can remember, I have always enjoyed books; whether it was having them read to me as a child or reading them myself as I grew older.  I remember many a summer day spent with a Jim Kjelgaard book open in front of me and finding myself lost in yet another adventure. I truly believe that this love of books, specifically adventure novels, played a role in shaping my desire to always have a component of adventure in my life.

All that to say that if I love reading so much, maybe I should try writing.  I would love to believe that I can sit down and write the next great best-selling adventure novel about a dashing hero who saves the damsel (J, of course), conquers new and wild lands, survives hardships, ultimately triumphs, and lives happily ever after. I am an odd mix of romantic dreamer and staunch pragmatist (a very large part pragmatist) and that really dictates my actions, therefore I will write for J’s blog, call that growth and a win.

As an adult I have had my share of adventure, probably more than was completely healthy. I have worked as a Park Ranger, a fisheries tech, and a security guard (all before I was 25). From there, I went on to be a cowboy for over 10 years. I am talking old style, riding and roping all day; often times just myself, my horse, my dog, and wide-open spaces. From there I went into government  service for a dynamic 21 years, and now have chosen to retire.  There is not much about my working life I would change, but I have come to understand the physical and committed way I have approached every field I worked in has shortened my working life and causes me aches and pains in my “old age”.  There are two things I know for certain: 1 - it has taken every one of the challenges and aches and pains that I have faced to get me to where I am, and that is a pretty great place. 2 – that there is absolutely no way I would have been able to achieve all that I have without the love and support of J.

Around 20 years ago, J and I were fortunate to discover travel. Neither of us had done much prior to a trip with the Boy and the Girl to Disneyland.  One trip and were hooked. We have since travelled as much as we could find the time and money for. Most of the travel was in Central America.  This travel eventually developed into a desire to retire somewhere hot and preferably near the ocean.  Now that we have retired it seems like we may be able to grow this dream into a reality and it seems like documenting and sharing this adventure into a very different way of life is a worthwhile endeavor.