A Little Source of Inspiration

So I'm reading this book called The Last American Man by Elizabeth Gilbert. It's about a guy, Eustace Conway, who lives off of the land in his teepee somewhere near the Appalachian Mountains. Obviously, there's a lot more to him than just that, but for the sake of passage, you get the idea. Here's a little excerpt describing a time he rode his horse across the country with a few pals:

The three riders galloped along, burning away nearly fifty miles a day. They ate roadkill deer and squirrel soup. They slept in barns and in the homes of awestruck locals, but when they reached the dry, open West, they fell off their horses every night and slept on the ground where they fell. They were nearly killed by swerving eighteen-wheelers when their horses went wild on a busy interstate bridge one afternoon. They were nearly arrested in Mississippi for not wearing shirts. In San Diego, they picketed their horses along a patch of grass between a mall and an eight-lane highway. They slept there that night and arrived at the Pacific Ocean the next afternoon. Eustace Conway rode his horse right into the surf. It was ten hours before Easter. He had crossed the country in 103 days, setting, while he was at it, a world record.
From coast to coast, Americans of every conceivable background had looked up at Eustace Conway on his horse and said, "I wish I could do what you're doing."
And to every last citizen, Eustace had replied, "You can."

So yeah. This is my life. I can do what I want with it. I'm the only one responsible for who I am. I'm the only one to look at if I don't like what I'm doing, or if I feel like I'm missing out on something that matters. This is something I've been pondering over the last six months or so. I can be great, I can accomplish things, all I have to do is be willing to make it happen. Again, I don't see any reason not to.

Now off to Alaska. I'm thrilled for what's in store for me, but I'm being careful what I wish for. I want adventure, I want adrenaline, I want nature in its purest form, I even want discomfort, but there's a coherent risk to it all that we have to accept along with the beauty. Alaska is no Disneyland, it's the wild, there's no telling what may happen, and that's exactly what people are drawn to.

OZ

About ten minutes before an awesome sunset

Let me tell you about a little town called Ayrlie Beach. It's on the Eastern Coast of Australia, somewhere between Brisbane and Cairns. It's the launch point to the Whitsunday Islands National Park. It's labeled as a backpacker town, meaning it's the inexpensive option to a tourist town like Cairns, resulting in a different, more down-to-earth, laid back crowd compared to other places. There's one main drag through town, and on this street there's a couple of sweet hostels with huge open air bars, one ridiculously overpriced and tiny grocery store, a Subway (just like every other town down under), and then the rest of the street is occupied by about fifty annoying booking agencies selling all of the tourist attractions around there. The beach here is only so-so, so there is a big natural water lagoon in town that we hung out at each day. So the routine follows... go lay by the lagoon during the day, read, sleep, get a little sun, grab a sandwich for dinner and go down to the beach to watch what was probably the most beautiful sunset I've ever seen, and then go play some mean cards in one of the bars and meet people from all over the world. Not to mention, after doing this for a couple of days it was time to hop on a sailboat and spend a couple more days cruising around the Whitsunday Islands. Needless to say, I was quite reluctant to jump on a plane back to Sydney.

Duh, The Opera House

Sydney was different. The Opera House is remarkable to actually see in person, and the Harbour Bridge is huge, and there's a lot of interesting districts like The Rocks and Kings Cross. The city is super clean, with rad old buildings and nice parks and I felt like a lot of character, especially compared to Auckland. My favorite part was walking through the Botanical Gardens where there were at least a thousand bats, not exaggerating, each with a wingspan of two feet. Then my sister and I got dragged in to taking part in a street performance too. I have to say though, I was a bit turned off of the whole big city atmosphere after traveling around all these small towns in NZ. The people were too caught up on their image, walking around the city everyone was so put together it tainted it for me a bit. My last night, I planned on walking down the street from my hostel to take a picture or two, and ended up walking all the way down to the Darling Harbour. It was good to walk around the city alone and take it in when it wasn't so hectic and there weren't so many people around.

The Giant Harbour Bridge

Archibald Fountain - Hyde Park

Time Well Spent

Convict Lake - I'll definitely be returning

So this is me and my friends. I tagged along with them up to the Mammoth Lakes area this weekend. It was Good to be up there. We did some good fishing in the lakes and a river, explored around as much of that gorgeous area as possible, took a gondola to the top of the mountain, enjoyed a couple of mean campfires late into the night (well, some of us did), we did well.

Fishing the Owen's River

So the transition continues. I'm watching at a distance at who I'm settling in to being. Every day, every situation, I'm noticing where I'm the same, and where I'm different, to who I was seven months ago. Watching others carry out who they are and seeing where I don't fall in line is the best source of self discovery. Distractions are necessary, and welcome. Come to find out they're not just an excuse to avoid facing feelings, they can also be a tool that allows us to get separated from them. I'd say they are best when they come in the form of a great weekend spent with friends. Here's to a week at the beach!

Bittersweet as...

Hello! Life back in California is... strange? I haven't exactly found an appropriate way to describe it to myself or anyone. People have changed, all in good ways though I'd have to say. The way they should in six months or so. Besides people, not much is different. Everything here is so distant and separated from my time in NZ, it feels possible that all my time spent there could have been a dream. Thankfully it wasn't. Here are some pictures from my last road trip around New Zealand with my family in the beginning of July, the dead of winter.

Lake Rotoiti - Nelson Lakes National Park

The Southern Alps - Driving between Haast and Wanaka

Lake Manapouri - On our way to Doubtful Sound

Happy lad returning from Doubtful Sound!

Just a little reminder, for myself as much anyone else, these places are real. The pictures do nothing justice. The beauty felt while at these places was overwhelming to say the least. Now I'm left in constant pursuit to find equaled beauty, but not through nature. These types of landscapes are not always available. I'm left to create a rivaling beauty where I'm at now, possible only through searching for the truth in everything and not settling, striving for purposeful and difficult conversations amongst friends, observing and enjoying the intricacies of people and relationships and the interactions that take place within, attempting to live every moment and situation to the utmost, and finally, since all the rest of these are pretty romantic sounding, believing that present ideals are a possible future reality. I don't see any reason not to.