USA
We're in North America only briefly, to arrange our big move to New Zealand. From Denver / Boulder we had time for one side trip, to Telluride, a stunning Rocky Mountain town. Our friend had extra tickets to the Telluride Bluegrass Festival, American culture at its best. Telluride is famous for its world-class ski area, but it also hosts music and film festivals in the summer. Long ago, it was a Wild West town, hidden in a remote valley. Thus the name: to Hell you ride! This was my fourth Bluegrass Festival, and I hope it will forever remain small and fantastic.
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January 2008 - Sedona, Arizona
We're in Sedona to house-sit for my mother. It's great! We enjoy the fabulous scenery with daily hikes and mountain-bike rides. We also visited Las Vegas, the Grand Canyon, and Bryce Canyon. As for Las Vegas, we saw Cirque du Soleil and a magic show, then got out of town. It's not our scene, but we were in the neighborhood.
We're about to depart on a camper van tour of New Zealand, to scout it out as a place to live. (We decided against moving to Brazil due to the excessive corruption and crime.) People say I'm crazy when I predict the American Empire is about to crash, but the writing is on the proverbial wall. All of the economic indicators are negative and getting worse: wars creating bad karma and enormous debt, an evaporating manufacturing sector, governmental dysfunction, corporate dominance (institutionalized greed plus propaganda branded as news), housing and stock bubbles, stupidly expensive health care, and a car culture that is overly thirsty for oil. Something has to give. The current situation is not sustainable. And with all the guns, it could get very ugly. We have heard nothing but good things about New Zealand. So we're on our way! But first we'll take advantage of two free-rent offers in Hawaii. Perfect.
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November 2007 - New York City, Texas, Cleveland
After a whirlwind tour of Europe + Morocco, we're rolling back through the USA, enjoying our continued unemployment. People often ask how we can afford to travel so much. Well, we sold our house, we don't have children, we have marketable job skills, and we don't mind spending money, because as they say, you can't take it with you. Plus, we travel with frugality, avoiding fancy hotels and restaurants, etcetera. Life is good!
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