MrDrew Posted November 13, 2017 Share Posted November 13, 2017 4 hours ago, Pats#1 said: Just became a father to a beautiful 9lb 2oz baby boy. Life is good. I'm hoping it was by adoption of a 1 month old. If not, you're never going to be able to buy enough flowers to make up for her having to push something that big out. And, congrats. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skywindO2 Posted November 13, 2017 Share Posted November 13, 2017 (edited) On 11/12/2017 at 2:30 PM, skywindO2 said: I'm home No real point to any of this but just feel like sharing. I turned 30 earlier this year. Leading up it, I kept thinking what have I done with my life? There's so many things to do and places I wanted to go by now but hadn't. I decided I needed to start accomplishing it on my own so I booked a solo trip to Peru. It seemed like a great idea at the time but the weeks leading up to the trip, I was super nervous and felt in over my head, I was close to eating the costs I had already paid and calling the whole thing off even. It ended up being the most amazing trip. I loved staying in hostels. I met some awesome people and made some new life long friends from all over the world. I sand boarded in the desert and rode in a dune buggy to get there for the most intense roller coaster-like ride ever. That same night, I got drunk and danced at a club all night with some cute Colombian girls. Also ate some tasty ceviche and drank a lot of pisco sours and found the beer there to be decent too. Wondered around the market where they have cow snouts on display and for sale right next to cheese, breads, and fruits. Ate some questionable looking but incredibly delicious and cheap meals in that market, the same meals local people were eating for lunch. The real highlight of the trip was hiking the Inca Trail to Machu Picchu. 4 days of hiking with 3 nights camping in the Peruvian Andes surrounded by cloud forests. Hiking on stone steps and paths built into the mountain side by the Inca Empire. The hike is also the only way to see a lot of the archaeological sites there. I loved the physical challenge, especially on day 2 reaching the highest point of the trail at 13800 feet above sea level. After 3 days of great weather, arriving at Machu Picchu on the fourth day in pouring rain was kind of a let down but still worth it. Two and half weeks wasn't enough time. Basically that whole trip was the best thing I've ever but also amplified that feeling of not having done enough with my life so far even more, except now I don't have the PTO to use and spent a little more than I planned while there so less money. I met another solo traveler from London early on in the trip and we did a lot of day trips and tours together, she was awesome and the impossible crush to get over adds the this terrible post vacation depression I have to get over. Totally open to ideas on where to go next too if anyone has any. My iPhone SE camera was so inadequate for this trip but here's a couple pictures anyway. The dune buggy in the sands The most the clouds cleared for me on my Machu Picchu day My Inca Trail victory meal (huge beer not pictured) Edited November 14, 2017 by skywindO2 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrDrew Posted November 13, 2017 Share Posted November 13, 2017 39 minutes ago, EliteTexan80 said: My son was like that - was due on 10/19, joined us on 10/26. Still, he wasn't THAT big! He was trying to wait it out to see if you would leave. He was hiding from the life of panda milk, and gold pants as long as he possibly could. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ET80 Posted November 13, 2017 Share Posted November 13, 2017 8 minutes ago, MrDrew said: He was trying to wait it out to see if you would leave. He was hiding from the life of panda milk, and gold pants as long as he possibly could. ...who the hell would want to skip out on a life of gold pants and Panda milk? My kids know what matters. Now, the 2nd one came out on time, and all she got was gold milk and Panda pants. She's got a legitimate complaint. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Csonka Trucks Posted November 13, 2017 Share Posted November 13, 2017 After looking for a job for 3 years, going back to school go get my BA, ya boi finally found a job. Working at target for the time being 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ty21 Posted November 13, 2017 Share Posted November 13, 2017 1 hour ago, skywindO2 said: No real point to any of this but just feel like sharing. I turned 30 earlier this year. Leading up it, I kept thinking what have I done with my life? There's so many things to do and places I wanted to go by now but hadn't. I decided I needed to start accomplishing it on my own so I booked a solo trip to Peru. It seemed like a great idea at the time but the weeks leading up to the trip, I was super nervous and felt in over my head, I was close to eating the costs I had already paid and calling the whole thing off even. It ended up being the most amazing trip. I loved staying in hostels. I met some awesome people and made some new life long friends from all over the world. I sand boarded in the desert and rode in a dune buggy to get there for the most intense roller coaster-like ride ever. That same night, I got drunk and danced at a club all night with some cute Colombian girls. Also ate some tasty ceviche and drank a lot of pisco sours and found the beer there to be decent too. Wondered around the market where they have cow snouts on display and for sale right next to cheese, breads, and fruits. At some questionable looking but incredibly delicious and cheap meals in that market. The real highlight of the trip was hiking the Inca Trail to Machu Picchu. 4 days of hiking with 3 nights camping in the Peruvian Andes surrounded by cloud forests. Hiking on stone steps and paths built into the mountain side by the Inca Empire. The hike is also the only way to see a lot of the archaeological sites there. I loved the physical challenge, especially on day 2 reaching the highest point of the trail at 13800 feet above sea level. After 3 days of great weather, arriving at Machu Picchu on the fourth day in pouring rain was kind of a let down but still worth it. Two and half weeks wasn't enough time. Basically that whole trip was the best thing I've ever but also amplified that feeling of not having done enough with my life so far even more, except now I don't have the PTO to use and spent a little more than I planned while there so less money. I met another solo traveler from London early on in the trip and we did a lot of day trips and tours together, she was awesome and the impossible crush to get over adds the this terrible post vacation depression I have to get over. Totally open to ideas where where to go next too if anyone has any. My iPhone SE camera was so inadequate for this trip but here's a couple pictures anyway. The dune buggy in the sands The most the clouds cleared for me on my Machu Picchu day My Inca Trail victory meal (huge beer not pictured) Very cool! Congrats on the fun vacation 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dome Posted November 13, 2017 Share Posted November 13, 2017 5 hours ago, Pats#1 said: Just became a father to a beautiful 9lb 2oz baby boy. Life is good. Congrats man! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mossburg Posted November 13, 2017 Share Posted November 13, 2017 In a similar boat as you skywind, haven't traveled much to cool places but feel on the verge of plunging in and just waiting for that push. Awesome reading your post. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ET80 Posted November 13, 2017 Share Posted November 13, 2017 53 minutes ago, Mossburg said: In a similar boat as you skywind, haven't traveled much to cool places but feel on the verge of plunging in and just waiting for that push. Awesome reading your post. As someone who has settled into life - go for it. Pretty much every time I traveled was for work, so I never had a chance to do stuff like this. Just going for the sake of going, no plans, no work to be done - experiencing things such as this was never in my playbook, and it's probably the one thing I regret. If you have the chance to do this now, do it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Incarcerated_Scarface Posted November 13, 2017 Share Posted November 13, 2017 3 hours ago, EliteTexan80 said: As someone who has settled into life - go for it. Pretty much every time I traveled was for work, so I never had a chance to do stuff like this. Just going for the sake of going, no plans, no work to be done - experiencing things such as this was never in my playbook, and it's probably the one thing I regret. If you have the chance to do this now, do it. I agree, do it while you're single and not tied down with real adult life stuff. When I go on vacay I don't get to do anything like that cuz I have kids to drag around. I've never traveled like that in my life. I've been to Cancun twice and didn't really venture away to the cool stuff around there because my kids are little. On another note, I hit my 40 wall in July and man I was hard on myself because I haven't accomplished everything I've wanted to. I mean, I'm successful kind of but I want more and have decided to make changes to my life. We just made this thread deep guys. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skywindO2 Posted November 13, 2017 Share Posted November 13, 2017 4 hours ago, Mossburg said: In a similar boat as you skywind, haven't traveled much to cool places but feel on the verge of plunging in and just waiting for that push. Awesome reading your post. Do it. I think it's one of the best things I've ever done for myself, I really regret not doing something like it earlier. And while I liked meeting other travelers from Europe or elsewhere, it would have been cool to see other Americans too. I can count on one hand the other Americans I met. Also I acknowledge that I'm super fortunate to be able to take the time off for a trip like this and had the money to do so. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dome Posted November 13, 2017 Share Posted November 13, 2017 7 hours ago, skywindO2 said: No real point to any of this but just feel like sharing. I turned 30 earlier this year. Leading up it, I kept thinking what have I done with my life? There's so many things to do and places I wanted to go by now but hadn't. I decided I needed to start accomplishing it on my own so I booked a solo trip to Peru. It seemed like a great idea at the time but the weeks leading up to the trip, I was super nervous and felt in over my head, I was close to eating the costs I had already paid and calling the whole thing off even. It ended up being the most amazing trip. I loved staying in hostels. I met some awesome people and made some new life long friends from all over the world. I sand boarded in the desert and rode in a dune buggy to get there for the most intense roller coaster-like ride ever. That same night, I got drunk and danced at a club all night with some cute Colombian girls. Also ate some tasty ceviche and drank a lot of pisco sours and found the beer there to be decent too. Wondered around the market where they have cow snouts on display and for sale right next to cheese, breads, and fruits. At some questionable looking but incredibly delicious and cheap meals in that market. The real highlight of the trip was hiking the Inca Trail to Machu Picchu. 4 days of hiking with 3 nights camping in the Peruvian Andes surrounded by cloud forests. Hiking on stone steps and paths built into the mountain side by the Inca Empire. The hike is also the only way to see a lot of the archaeological sites there. I loved the physical challenge, especially on day 2 reaching the highest point of the trail at 13800 feet above sea level. After 3 days of great weather, arriving at Machu Picchu on the fourth day in pouring rain was kind of a let down but still worth it. Two and half weeks wasn't enough time. Basically that whole trip was the best thing I've ever but also amplified that feeling of not having done enough with my life so far even more, except now I don't have the PTO to use and spent a little more than I planned while there so less money. I met another solo traveler from London early on in the trip and we did a lot of day trips and tours together, she was awesome and the impossible crush to get over adds the this terrible post vacation depression I have to get over. Totally open to ideas on where to go next too if anyone has any. My iPhone SE camera was so inadequate for this trip but here's a couple pictures anyway. The dune buggy in the sands The most the clouds cleared for me on my Machu Picchu day My Inca Trail victory meal (huge beer not pictured) No judgement at all, but is that.... is that a guinea pig? I know they’re popular down that way... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrDrew Posted November 14, 2017 Share Posted November 14, 2017 9 hours ago, skywindO2 said: My Inca Trail victory meal (huge beer not pictured) 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
titansNvolsR#1 Posted November 14, 2017 Share Posted November 14, 2017 I recommend all you to travel while you can. Some of the more eye opening trips were to Russia, China, Tanzania, but the most revealing was trekking the Himalayas in Nepal. You don't need to be a hiker or mountaineer either. Just seeing views of places only a small % of the world will ever see, staying in villages 4000m above sea level, sliding down a mountain because it's covered in ice, elevation sickness, pushing the body to its limits... it's just an amazing experience. Not even including the people you'll meet. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
titansNvolsR#1 Posted November 14, 2017 Share Posted November 14, 2017 9 hours ago, skywindO2 said: No real point to any of this but just feel like sharing. Jealous of those pictures! South America is definitely on my list of places to get to. Maybe next summer if we don't end up in New Zealand and Australia for the summer break. How was Peru? Worth the full two weeks or do you wish you'd seen other countries while there? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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