ABOUT ME
I have lived an amazing life (so far!). For over 40 years, camera in hand, I traveled the world, from Alaska to Central America, and from Honolulu to Bangkok. I've trekked around the Annapurna's in Nepal, climbed Mt. Kilimanjaro in Tanzania, wandered the back streets of London, Paris, Rome, Mexico City, Athens, Istanbul, and other international destinations, and canoed 600 miles down the Yukon River. I have photographed lions, elephants, and rhinoceros in Africa; caribou, grizzly bear, and moose in Alaska and Canada; and Incan step-pyramids in the Yucatan. As a young man, I saw the world as a wide, wonderful place to explore. Eager to experience it, I was still in college when I embarked on my first great adventure – a summer in the Yukon Territory and Alaska.
Over the years since, I have journeyed to many famous and many out-of-the-way places, at first as a student on a shoestring budget. My passport, a map, some money, and a couple changes of clothes in a daypack were all I needed. Oh, and maybe a jacket and camera! But my adventure travel budget was limited. If you have seen travel guides like “Europe on $5 a day” – that was pretty much how I rolled. Light and carefree but poor. Later, on a professional’s salary, I was able to stay in hotels rather than hostels and campgrounds, eat in restaurants rather than from street venders, and pay for bus and train tickets rather than hitching rides. A friend once commented: “You go to the strangest places!” Yep! That’s me! Often, I would finish my work on a major project and rush to the airport for my next adventure, passport and maps in hand. And catch up on my sleep on the plane (isn’t that why God made window seats?). A new travel destination awaited just beyond the airport security perimeter and the inevitable gaggle of porters, taxi drivers, and assorted pickpockets, con men, and thieves!
From 1996-1998, I worked overseas for two years in post-war Bosnia, shortly after the Dayton Accords were signed. I arrived in Sarajevo sitting in a cargo bay jump seat aboard a UN charter flight that dropped steeply down into the airport to avoid ground fire. Riding into the downtown, I passed burned-out cars, tanks, and armored personnel carriers. Parks, playgrounds, and fields were taped off with yellow “MINE” warning tape. Many buildings were in shambles and surrounded by blast walls and trenches. I lived in a small apartment above the Old Town (Bascarsija) where I had a few hours a day of electricity and hot water, if I was lucky, and often no heat. Over the two years I was there, I was able to travel to all parts of the country, as well as parts of Croatia, Slovenia, and Serbia. I was also able to travel to other European countries on company R and R. I met many interesting people, learned some of the local dialect, and had a few harrowing experiences.
Then came the great change. Over the last few decades, I and my wife Alma traveled extensively internationally with two children. This was a completely different travel experience. Adjusting our daily schedule to fit their needs, limits, and interests. Staying in a warm, dry, safe, pre-planned place each night. Navigating multiple airport security checkpoints with toddlers, car seats, strollers, and bottles of baby formula. Carting along the additional luggage and supplies needed to care for two small children. We discovered porters. Our two sons Tarik and Malik practically grew up on airplanes. They know all the details about the various aircraft used by major airlines as well as the entertainment and food options in airport terminals such as Heathrow (London), Munich (Germany), and Zagreb (Croatia). We have taken them to Stonehenge, Newgrange, the Colosseum, the Eiffel Tower, Hagia Sophia, and Pompei. They have already seen a lot of the world. Fortunately, they can now carry their own luggage.
Hawaii - isn't it paradise? That’s what my wife said when I told her my company wanted me to move to Hawaii for what turned out to be a six-year project. I worked on a former target island south of Maui (Kaho’olawe), managing environmental aspects of the project while avoiding unexploded bombs and artillery shells. Living in Kihei on Maui, about the only entertainment was going to the beach, which we did a lot, or to Lahaina or Kahului or up-country for a music festival. We really enjoyed the outer-island, laid-back culture and the casual pace of life. Walking down to the beach to watch the sunset on a quiet (non-tourist) afternoon, seeing the sun drop below the horizon while the clouds turned pink and crimson, we really felt the isolation of being separated from the U.S. mainland by 2,700 miles of ocean.