Looking Back

Four years ago I began to plan for a journey, I thought it would last a month, but as 2013 draws to a close I can now look back at a four year odyssey that has been the greatest adventure of my life.  Of course, as with most things in life, this journey will never really be over.  Yet even so, a time of great change is approaching in my life and before I begin to share with you what’s on the horizon, I’d like to take this New Year’s to look back not only at 2013 but all the years of An Out of a the Way Place, years that we’ve all shared and that would never have been possible without you.  So sit back and enjoy a look at the last four years.  It’s been a crazy trip!

The night that started it all

Unlike in the movies, real turning points are rarely clear, but the night I took the above photo led to my first doubts about the journey we called life and how I was living mine.  After fighting to keep from freezing in the cold mountain pass, I knew that I’d rather be out seeing the world than sitting in my lawyer’s office.  Things didn’t quite change completely overnight, but then again they were certainly never the same.

Since then it’s been mountains on the roof of the world…

Before this trip I thought 20 blocks was a long walk.

and seas filled with beautiful islands…

A few steps in the actual path Odysseus.

the hot desert sands of the American Southwest…

The more of the world I see the more it amazes me.

and the freezing cold of the Scandinavian arctic…

Camping is a lot less fun when it’s 20 below.

Of course seeing new places is just a small part of a journey.  New experiences are even more important and the years have been more than generous with that as well.    You’ve helped me push my physical limits in an Ironman…

Before this I could only doggy paddle.

and explore the ancient silence of monasteries…

Not talking for four days is just about as hard for me as a marathon.

But even adventures and experiences have their limits.  The truth is that in the end it didn’t really matter if I was partying in a big city…

Not a lot of green here.

Or lost in a dark wood…

…

In the end what really made this the journey of a lifetime was the people I met along the way.  For me the beauty of a sunset or a meadow of flowers is never truly perfect until it is shared.  That’s just as true for the quiet moments…

Some chance meetings change our lives forever.

And the not so quiet moments…

Priceless

So whether you’re an old friend, a new friend or just a silent reader, thank you.  It’s been the time of my life.

“Think where man’s glory
Most begins and ends
And say my glory was
That I had such friends.”    

―     W.B. Yeats