Firsts, and Traveling.

We are currently on vacation. I've never taken a real vacation before. We made travel plans, reservations, rented a car, packed it near to bursting, and hit the road. That was last Saturday. Since then, I've experienced many firsts. For simplicity, I'll just list a few.

I can now say that I've done the following:

1. visited Arizona, New Mexico, and California.
2. taken the subway in Hollywood.
3. walked along Hollywood Blvd, and the Walk of Fame.
4. seen Grauman's Chinese Theatre.
5. stumbled across the premiere of the new X-Files movie, and saw David Duchovny walk the red carpet.
6. got lost in Hollywood.
7. visited Legends MMA Gym.
8. seen many kinds of cactus.
9. climbed a small mountain in Arizona.
10. seen "The Thing".
11. visited Hurricane Harbor.
12. spent some training time with Scott Epstein, a 10th Planet Jiu Jitsu Brown Belt.
13. completed Halo 3.

...and we're not quite finished yet. We're in Carlsbad, NM, tonight, and we're hitting Carlsbad Caverns in the morning before heading home. I've never been there either. If you think that I haven't done much traveling, you're absolutely right.

Of course, we have had the pleasure of staying with family along the way, and that was fabulous. Gordon and Jen put us up in Hollywood, and it was wonderful to see them and their little nugget, Harrison. Cute baby, that one. And then we saw Doug and Julie, and Kim and Gayla in Arizona, and were treated to some good times there, as well.

This trip has been an eye-opener for me. Most of my life, I've stayed very close to home, and been leery of travel. "It costs too much," I used to say. "I don't need to see that stuff," or "I'm doing just fine where I am." Well, I've discovered that I love seeing different parts of the country. It's something that I want to do again, and again. "Without change, something sleeps inside us. The sleeper must awaken." That quote from Frank Herbert's Dune really fits right now. The wonderful, fabulous feeling I experienced on the side of that mountain in Arizona, that's something I'd never have felt if I had never left Katy, TX.

I didn't make it all the way to the top. The footing was a bit tricky, and it was somewhat steep. As I got higher, I could see the rain and lightning that was approaching from the west, and I figured that it might be prudent to get back to Kim and Gayla's house before that stuff got any closer. But before I started back down, I treated myself to a nice, long look around. I could see Phoenix, AZ in the distance, and other mountains all around me. The wind was picking up, but otherwise, there was a wonderful sense of peace and silence, and also a sense of vastness, of wide open space. I loved that. I want more of it. I feel different having experienced it, and it's good.

As I've said, we visit the Caverns tomorrow. I've seen pictures, but I know that they don't do much to depict the true majesty of what's down there. This will be another awe-inspiring event for me, and I'm looking forward to it.

Honestly, this trip wasn't cheap, but it also wasn't crazy-expensive. We packed snacks and sandwiches in a cooler, and ate from it each day rather than stopping to eat at fast-food places, or other restaurants. That saved us a ton of time and money. Special thanks to those relatives who let us crash at their homes for days on end...that saved us a ton as well. It showed me that you most certainly can enjoy seeing new things and new places if you just budget for the trip, and plan carefully.

So I'm already looking forward to another trip, even though this one's not even finished. I've been inspired, refreshed, renewed, and I'm ready to get home and barrel back into my everyday life with fresh enthusiasm.