Traveling

Since starting my blog I went to California in 2007 with Julie, my then fiance, for Christmas. When I got there, I posted “Here in Julien“. We went and took a look at Julie’s old house, and I wrote a little about it in “Julie Goes Back Home“. A particularly eventful day was described in “Soccer, pie, and pickles.” Before Christmas happened, and we departed, I posted a final post, “Finishing off the Cookies“. None of these posts were very long or detailed.

In March, I began finalizing plans to begin my travels. I planned on going to the Philippines, then California again, England, and Germany. I started talking to the Germans I came across, and outlined the process in “Stalking German’s for Fun and Profit…“.

In April, I took off to the Philippines and outlined the events of the trip in “Day 1“, “Day 2“, “Day 3“, “Day 4“, “Day 5“, “Day 6“, and “Day 7“. I discovered something new in “A New Way to Dry Clothes on the Road” and caught up with myself in “An Update on Days 8, 9, and 10“. An awesome airline employee saved our day in “Superhero Boarding Leads to Hellish Outcome“. I was so happy about a music recommendation I wrote “Travelers soundtrack: Newton Faulkner – Hand Built by Robots“. Before we departed I wrote “Last Day in the Philippines“. I thought I was done with the country for a while, but managed to write one last note called “The Other Side of Outsourcing“.

A few days back in the U.S. and I’m already complaining in “America sucks.“. When I got back, I sold all of my stuff and prepared to move out of my apartment (as detailed in “Trimming the fat“). The night I left, armed only with a tiny backpack, I recorded “PODCAST: Leaving my home“. I beared the contents of my backpack in “What’s In My Pack?” and revealed a hidden use for it in “My Surefire Secret for Sleeping on Planes“.

My sleep was overcome by excitement the night I posted “Almost there…“. And the next day I was “Here in San Diego!“. A couple of days or so into my travels I came up with a new idea, and posted “Sponsor Me in San Diego“. My next few days were spent doing things like “Tijuana and More!” as well as working, “Earn a Little, Spend a Little“. I finally published a long-drafted post called “Conquering Your Fears, One Step at a Time“. I even blogged about the minuscule aspects of traveling, like “Unexpected Clotheslines“. Days were split between work and activities like “Coronado Island“. Finally my sponsorship idea came to fruition in “Ghiridelli Chocolate Shop – A review“. While I worked, I took down my thoughts like “Outside My Window“.

Due to the success of my first attempt, I posted some “New Sponsorship Items for San Diego” and it worked out well with sponsored posts like “Gaslamp Historical Foundation Museum“, “The San Diego Zoo“, and “The USS Midway“. I visited and wrote about “Balboa Park…what’s hot and what’s not?“. And worked a full day at a nearby cafe “Curio Cafe Renews My Faith“.

After being asked lots of questions about how I was able to do what I did at my age, I decided to post “For Minors: 4 ways to make yourself seem like an adult“. With only a few days before planning to leave San Diego, I took a short trip to “Ocean Beach Rundown“. I visited with my then fiance Julie and her family and visited the “Birch Aquarium in La Jolla“.

After a quick night in San Diego again, I took the train to LA and posted “Arrival in Los Angeles“. I began to take in the city around me, and posted my thoughts in “Los Angeles: An Unexpected Sensation“. Starbucks in Hollywood gave me a pat on the back and I returned it with “No Good Deed Goes Unrewarded at Starbucks“, again by talking to Germans. I took plenty of time to write in “My New Notebook“, and responded to some comments about “What if I lose my laptop!? – A rambling post on not losing data.“.

I visited “The Japanese-American History Museum” and wrote an embarrassing account of a “Boba Faux Pas” at the nearby boba shop. I visited an old friend in Long Beach and rode a Segway for the first time in “Singing and Segways“. Making my visit opened my eyes to “Just How Much Can Change in a Year?“.

My then fiance Julie comes to meet me in L.A., and we travel to San Francisco “Los Angeles to San Francisco – “Don’t try sleeping on a greyhound bus”. I took a breathe when we got there, and was able to write a little about my work in “Working on the Road: Exactly How Much Do I Make?” and “Working On the Road: Having Clients I’d Never Met“, as well as posting a packing update in “What’s NEW in My Pack?“. A ride to Fisherman’s Wharf gives me “The Streetcar.“.

A lull in writing occurs as I catch up with myself. Getting some work done in the comfort of San Francisco.

The morning after my arrival to Hagen, Germany with Julie, I begin posting again in “Relaunch“. I am introduced to good old German fun and dancing at “Fun Park“, and document the neighborhood of my hosts in “Yesterday: A Photo Essay“. I move to a new apartment in Siegburg at which I’ll stay in for the next month. I tell you about it in “My New Digs“. The month is almost over by the time I post my stories from a trip to “Hagen and Hamburg“, and the trip makes me realize that though my backpack is small, still “I Need Less Stuff“. I cap off my stay in Siegburg with “A Long-Awaited Video Post“, and take the opportunity to try “Stealth Camping, the first night.” I write a thoughtful followup post about “Hygiene While Stealth Camping“. I wrote an update as to what happened later on in “The One Time I Cheated“. And during my layover in Amsterdam, “The Night I Bought a Hooker“.

This was the last real post I made while traveling on this trip. Though I continued on to visit my mother in England, and then returned to Germany for a drunk two weeks of spending the last dregs of my cash. I hurt my knee very badly and returned to California for treatment. I broke up with Julie with the letter posted in “Breaking Up With Julie” about a month later.

During my travels I chose a photo each week for a series of weeks:
Photo of the Week #1
Photo of the Week #2
Photo of the Week #3
Photo of the Week #4
Photo of the Week #5
Photo of the Week #6
Photo of the Week #7
Photo of the Week #8
Photo of the Week #9

More travels are definitely coming! Though now I am scheduling trips around school breaks and other restrictions. When I do travel some more, I will post more links here.