Back in the US

June - July 2024

 "A bottle of red, A bottle of white - It all depends upon your appetite

I'll meet you anytime you want - In our Italian restaurant"

After a whirlwind five months in Central America, it was time to get back to the US.  As I travel the world the number one question I get is "where are you from'. Where is your home. Not an easy answer from a nomadic travel.  Is it where I was born...New York City. Is it where I lived a good part of my life.  Looking at you Boston where I found a voice, Philly where I developed a sense of self or Vegas where I exerted my independence.  But what about now.  

Vegas  

The world is a small place.  As I walked the streets of Edinburgh, Mexico City and Halifax I found myself meeting people wearing Golden Knights t-shirts and hats.  Passing by with a Go Knights Go chant.  People come to Vegas to indulge in all types of sins.  I come to relax and catch up with friends.  From watching the Stanley Cup finals in my favorite bar.

To camping in a Colorado at the Mesa Verde National Park with hiking friends. 

To Catching the farewell tour of one of my favorite bands at the Sphere

Austin 

Friends I haven't seen in years welcomed me to Austin with a happy hour get together.  Two weeks went by quickly with lots of music, food and fun.  I tasted some of the best barbeque.  Listened to live music on sixth street.  And kayaked Lady Bryd Lake to watch the bats fly into the sunset.  

"And they parted the closest of friends

Then the king and the queen went back to the green

But you can never go back there again, no, oh"

New York City

I couldn't wait to move away as a teenager and yet drawn to the comfort of the lights and sounds as an adult. 

April 2023, I left Penn Station on a train bound for DC on a grand adventure.  In the back of my mind, I wondered... Am I doing the right thing.  Will I regret going off to to see the world with just a suitcase and a backpack and leaving behind everything I have known and things yet to be discovered.  Taking the subway down to Brighton Beach on a hot and sticky summer afternoon to collect a rock.  The final piece of a puzzle to be revealed later this summer.  To celebrating my birthday in a familiar bar where all the pieces came together.  As I boarded the cruise ship to take me Europe and later on to Southeast Asia.  Towards new friends to share the adventure with. I left with no regrets.  Magic only happens in the right place and time but.....

Home is where your friends are.