Not long ago, I came up with the crazy idea of traveling all the way around the earth. And before long, I set out to do just that. I set out to circumnavigate the globe. As I currently sit here on a beach in South Florida, the last six months began to play like an old film in my mind. Flashes of all the things I have seen and all the things I have done came spilling out of my memories like water falling from great heights, cascading down into a pool of crystal water. In a span of half a year I have: Gazed upon the Grand Canyon covered lightly in snow. I have hiked the rugged trails of Zion National Park and played the slots in Vegas. I have traversed 60 km through the temperate The Seine River, Paris 2011[/caption]rain forests of New Zealand and saw the moonrise and the sunset along its golden beaches. I have cruised along Milford Sound, been engulfed in the gray mist of Key Summit, and gazed upon the blue ice of a mountain glacier. I have spent St Patrick’s day with the Irish in Queenstown, I have drunk kava with the Fijians, lazed along the turquoise sea of their beautiful islands, and dove free beneath the sparkling surface of the Pacific. I have seen the Sydney Opera House, walked the Harbor Bridge, and cuddled a koala. I have hiked through the largest eucalyptus forest on earth and watched the surfers at Bondi; the most famous beach in all of Australia. I have seen Aboriginal villages, seen miles of crocodile-filled shorelines, snorkeled the Great Barrier Reef, and walked under the canopy of the Daintree, the oldest rainforest in the world. I have spent the night on the floor in the Singapore airport, sailed the Greek Isles, and stood in awe of the Acropolis. I have floated the breadth of the Adriatic Sea, spent hours walking in awe through the ancient streets of Pompeii, and stood high on the mighty Mt. Vesuvius. I have seen the streets of Amsterdam and the rolling hills of Sweden. I have gazed upon distant planets hanging silently over the crystal waters of Lake Vanern, spent starry nights camping in the fjord lands of Norway, and rode through the magnificent Flam Valley on a bike yelling ‘wheeeeeeee’ all the way. I have waved at Kings, saw colorful parades, and slept on the streets of Bergen. I was the first person to board Norway’s first ever electric cruise ship; the wave of the future. I have seen my favorite performer with 80,000 other crazy fans and ridden on the slowest express train in the world. I have gazed upon the mighty Matterhorn, camped under Jungfrau and Eiger, the towering peaks of the Swiss Alps. I have sat for hours watching those magnificent mountains never move but change with every rolling cloud that washed over them. I have stood in those same mountains, 12,000 feet above sea level, and strolled through caves carved from their existence; caves made from solid, seemingly impenetrable blue ice. I have tented my way across Scandinavia and crisscrossed Europe through Switzerland, Germany, Italy, Greece, and beyond. I have walked the streets of Bavarian villages where fairy tales, castles, knights, and wizards sat ever present, swirling in my mind. I have hiked the sweeping sand dunes of the NW coast of Ireland, visited its surfing capital Bundoran, and climbed from the sea to a summit in a day. I have stood windblown, high above soaring mountain passes, and swam in freezing oceans. There have been rain-filled days of slumber, music in pubs, and beers galore. I have walked the green hills, forests, and bogs from the Irish Sea to the vast Atlantic Ocean. I have meandered The Joy of Traveling[/caption]along the Emeralds Isle’s meadows, rocky shores, and beach lines, and of course, I have visited a quaint Irish seaside village or two. I have spent hours happily walking the sweeping hills and dales of England. I have watched rainstorms glide over waterfalls, walked laughing in the rain, gazed at rainbows, rode gondolas, saw butterflies flutter, and seen birds awash with the colors of the spectrum of the world. I have seen a plethora of sunsets and sunrises, walked black, white, and red sand beaches, eaten pizza and prawns as big as my head, fell in love with mountains and valleys, and visited cities that charmed and dismayed me. I have gazed upon raging rivers, soaring waterfalls, and babbling brooks, and I have stood alone and listened to the buzz of millions of bees, the music of the earth. I have traveled over 25,000 miles spanning four continents, walked over eight hundred miles, and flown further than I have ever flown before. It has truly been the adventure of a lifetime and I would do it all over again in a second.

Now if you enjoyed this vignette, feel free to go and read my heartfelt Scottish Travel Blog about my first day out hiking the West Highland Way in Scotland. It will entertain you as well!

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