The first 6 hours in Quito...

I've spent six hours in Quito and I have to say... This place is going to be awesome.  I'm living in a house with 6 other people of different ages and from all over the world.  We all just had lunch together.  It was a beautiful meal consisting of fried plantains covered in cheese, green soup (looked strange, tasted great), some fried steak stuff, avocado and tomato, rice and beans and fantastic coffee.  I'm stuffed to the brim and with the help of not sleeping for the last two days, I may beat the sun to sleep tonight.  It's challenging but wonderful not being proficient in Spanish yet.  I can only get better from here.  The hardest to understand is the 15 year old girl from London because she talks so incredibly fast.  She's my go to english speaker tho, so we're gonna be close.


A little note about everyone who I was able to see in the last couple weeks and especially the last week there.  You are all wonderful and I'm extremely fortunate to have you all in my life.  Each of you left me with something different ., whether it was a tangible thing or more of getting my mind in the right place, you were all awesome and I feel so lucky to call you my family and friends.


No picture today, but I'll tell you what... tomorrow I'll post one from my balcony, oh yeah, forgot to mention that I have a balcony off my bedroom.  It'll be pretty cool.  Oh, it also looks over the city of Quito, you know, with the Andes Mountains behind the city.  I guess it'll do

Up, Up and Awawy

I'm Off!  24 hours from now, I'll be sitting in a cafe at an altitude slightly over 9,000 feet, enjoying a delicious cup of coffee.  I'll tell ya how it tastes....

I leave you with max ehrmann's 'Desiderata

Go placidly amid the noise and haste, and remember what peace there may be in silence. As far as possible without surrender be on good terms with all persons. Speak your truth quietly and clearly; and listen to others, even the dull and the ignorant; they too have their story. Avoid loud and aggressive persons, they are vexations to the spirit. If you compare yourself with others, you may become vain or bitter; for always there will be greater and lesser persons than yourself. Enjoy your achievements as well as your plans. Keep interested in your own career, however humble; it is a real possession in the changing fortunes of time. Exercise caution in your business affairs; for the world is full of trickery. But let this not blind you to what virtue there is; many persons strive for high ideals; and everywhere life is full of heroism. Be yourself. Especially, do not feign affection. Neither be cynical about love; for in the face of all aridity and disenchantment it is as perennial as the grass. Take kindly the counsel of the years, gracefully surrendering the things of youth. Nurture strength of spirit to shield you in sudden misfortune. But do not distress yourself with dark imaginings. Many fears are born of fatigue and loneliness. Beyond a wholesome discipline, be gentle with yourself. You are a child of the universe, no less than the trees and the stars; you have a right to be here. And whether or not it is clear to you, no doubt the universe is unfolding as it should. Therefore be at peace with God, whatever you conceive Him to be, and whatever your labors and aspirations, in the noisy confusion of life keep peace with your soul. With all its sham, drudgery, and broken dreams, it is still a beautiful world. Be cheerful. Strive to be happy.

3 days...

All Packed!  55 Pounds, one bag.... here's how it's looking.

4 days...

Thanks to Elise for this...

What Are Your Answers?

5 days...

I was living in Yellowstone National Park from last April to October.  Here is a video of my good friend Mat falling on Avalanche Peak last June.  

6 days...

two years ago, i studied in russia for a short time.  one of the many experiences that created this traveling bug i keep feeding...

the view from my apartment in st. petersburg

subway station in moscow

st. petersburg apartment building

vladimir lenin

7 days...

So, the idea is to have different things I have done over the last couple years on the site.  Each day I will be adding another part of life, until taking off.  We'll start with the live music...

air- philly

grum- toronto

gov't mule- buffalo

big ups- brooklyn

8 days...

entering everything

Well, it's down to single digits... 9 days left in America.

Spent a few days in New York and a few in Florida, visiting family and such.  Can't remember the last time I was in the same room with all of the Finn cousins.  It was surreal and wonderful to be all together again.

Here's a shot of the Gulf from Naples.  87 degrees is so much nicer than 37, but soon winter will be in the rear view mirror and life on the equator  will begin.

three weeks, one minute ago.

three weeks from today, i am going to board a plane in new york city and step off in bogota, columbia.  it will only be a few short hours in columbia before i once again take flight, this time landing in my new home, quito, ecuador.

a country i know very little about, ecuador is only the first step in a long journey through the heart of south america.  there are a lot of reasons why i am going on this adventure, all of which are a struggle to spit out in a few words.  so, instead of giving the answer to why, i am just going to share something i wrote on a warm day this summer, sitting on the shore of lake yellowstone.  it might be gibberish to y'all, but for me, it clears the fog a little.  cheers.

will i live to see my 30th birthday?

who will i be if i do?

from beat to beat of these tireless feet, my life is constantly molding anew.

curiosity for adventure, a mothers embrace, the weight of society and the look of love’s face.

the thrills of life could bring me closer to the close,

but the person who wouldn’t give it a try, i do not know.

charge with no fear or call it a truce,

we are born from the decisions we make and moments that raise the pulse.

why fear the unknown?

everything someday will die.

but i will not be looking down, following the straight path,

as life passes right by.