THE WORLD TOUR BEGINS
June 2009 - Christchurch, New Zealand
Greetings. Jambo! Kia ora. Bula! Bien venido. Tchau! Welcome. Irasshaimase! Salam aleyko. Ni hao! Bem vindo. Six years ago, David's World Tour was a primitive web site and an email list. I rented my house in Colorado and bought a one-way ticket to India. Now Lili and I live in New Zealand. What an amazing six years! We love to see the world, and we invite you to (virtually) come along for the ride. Boa viagem!
PS: These snaps are from my first adventure, the one that got me hooked on travelling, when I climbed Aconcagua with NOLS. I also went to Peru during the civil war, hit the beach in Chile, and partied in Rio de Janeiro. To pay for that, I saved for years, cooking my own meals and bicycling everywhere. I was so thrilled with it all, I have had an insatiable wanderlust ever since.
 |
 |
 |
 |
June 2003 - Boulder, Colorado, USA
The house is empty and the pack is packed. The renters move in next week. I still have much to do on my to-do list, things like: Get Web Page Started. I'm busy with things like: Visit Friends. I have a fun summer planned in the USA before I get on a flight from New York to Moscow. When I arrive in India, I'll be free. And that's when the adventure begins...
I should be able to maintain this web site remotely with the help of my cousin Shepherd (Dux Gregis) and my friend Paul Crook, who is hosting leberknight.com. My plan is to snail-mail cds of pictures to Dux who will be able to upload the best ones to this site. By the way, I use an inexpensive, pocket-sized digital camera.
 |
 |
 |
June 2003 - San Diego, California
The WORLD TOUR begins !!
July 2003 - Imperial Beach, California and Tijuana, Mexico
The border with Mexico is a one-hour walk from Imperial Beach, California, along the Tijuana Estuary National Wildlife Refuge. The border fence is surprisingly insecure where it meets the ocean, but this is not where the illegal immigrants cross over. It's a one-hour walk along the beach to the city, and "the man" stands on a nearby hill with binoculars.
Mexico was the first country I visited as a child, and I liked it so much that I dedicated myself to learning Spanish. Now I've been there a dozen times, but this visit was the shortest by far: a family lunch in Tijuana. Woo Hoo !! On the road !!
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
||||||||||||||||||||
I'm getting on a roll with this whole summer vacation thing. I highly recommend taking time away from work and routine to visit far-flung friends. Now I'm at my step-mother's house in Ohio, fresh from a road trip. By fresh I mean that I finally got a shower. I visited my grandmother in Arizona. I took the Amtrak train to New Orleans, just before Hurricane Katrina destroyed my friend Chris' trailer home in Mississippi. Then I went to St. Louis, Missouri to visit my aunt. I threw my best-ever round of disc golf (minus 7) in Wisconsin with Randy. I also visited my brother in Pittsburgh, and went camping with my college rommmate, John. In summary: life is good.
 |
 |
 |
 |
||||||||||||||||||||
 |
 |
 |
||||||||||||||||||||
August 2003 - Limestone, Maine
At least 60,000 people took over an abandoned Air-Force base for the IT Festival, the end of Phish's summer tour. My buddy Randy had extra tickets and a ride. The event reminded me of the Grateful Dead shows in the old days, where the parking lot was as much fun as the show, with drum circles, footbag jams, peaceful happy hippies, and no hassles. Phish knows how to throw a party! So what is IT?? Well, if you're looking for something to make your life more fulfilling, then you might go on the road hoping to find it. You might find it on the road, or you might realize that you've had it with you all along. It's not the destination; it's the ride.
 |
 |
||||||||||||||||||||
August 2003 - New York, New York
I really like New York City. It has something for everybody, at times sophisticated, usually tolerant, respectful, and maintaining a sense of humor. I was lucky enough to be in Manhattan during the Big Blackout. My Mexican friend Beatriz and I missed getting stranded in the subway by about one minute. We were planning on seeing a Broadway show, but no. Instead we walked all the way up Manhattan Island. Times Square sure has a different feel with no lights! Everyone we met was friendly and calm throughout the ordeal, even the next day when power stayed out downtown and the subways didn't run. The buses ran for free. We also went by Ground Zero. I think they should make a memorial park there instead of an office building.
I don't buy into September 11 conspiracy theories that say, "Bush did it." However, Bush's obvious motives and his lack of cooperation with the investigation make me sympathetic to all who are suspicious. I believe the attacks were carried out by angry Saudis who see America as Evil. This does not imply, however, that Bush and Cheney aren't war criminals who exploited the event for corrupt purposes. I think they are. I think this allegation should be investigated by Congress and the International Criminal Court. It's clear that they lied to go to war, they torture people, they show disdain for the Constitution, and their main domestic goal seems to be helping themeselves and their cronies to get richer. In other words, it is people like Bush and Cheney who have caused world opinion to be so violently anti-American. In this way, they did cause the attacks of September 11. America, we need regime change. We should pass a few consitutional amendments as well (such as banning corporate personhood, switching to instant run-off voting, imposing term limits on politicians, providing public cash for campaigns, and funding all schools equally per student), all in the belief that improving the American democracy is possible.
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
||||||||||||||||||||
August 2003 - Avalon, New Jersey
I'm in Ocean City, Maryland with Ian and David. We went surfing on the New Jersey shore, which was fun. I've been kind of itching to go surfing, so that was good :^) I'm excited about going to India. But first, WOW, I'm going to Moscow (it's on the way).
 |
Next: Moscow