This is how I used to feel about my life:
And that is why I now travel, take photographs, and write…..life is about the journey, not about the destination.
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After years of working 70 hours a week at jobs I detested, I felt like the proverbial "hole in the donut" - solid on the outside, but empty on the inside. Searching for meaning in my life, I abandoned my successful but unsatisfying career and set out on a six-month solo backpacking trip around the world to pursue my true passions of travel, writing, and photography. My blog features stories about the destinations I visit, people I meet, the crazy things...Read more here.... 
This is how I used to feel about my life:
And that is why I now travel, take photographs, and write…..life is about the journey, not about the destination.
Sippin' Key West Internet Cafe is tucked away on a side street in Old Town
For years I have had a love/hate relationship with Key West. Although its an entertaining place to visit, its “party town” image makes it seem plastic and phony. The island is rich in history, local lore, and is home to a vibrant, multi-ethnic culture, however I have never been able to break through the tourist facade to discover the real Key West. Until now.
A week ago Sunday, on my way home from having dinner in Old Town, I heard music coming from a side street. This is not unusual. From the street musicians on Duval to the raunchy honky-tonk of the Country and Western Bars, to the lady boys belting out their Streisand impersonations, music is ever present in Key West. What caught my attention was the type of music – somewhere nearby, a woman was singing and playing an acoustic guitar. Even from a distance I could tell she was spectacular. Continue reading
Posted in Authentic lives | 
Authentic lives, blogsherpa, Florida, florida keys, Key West, Music, open mic night, performers, photos, poetry slams, singers, sippin cafe, storytelling, Travel, USA, woman | 
11 Comments
I’ve added a new blog to my list of favorites – BriefcaseToBackpack.com.
Now, you might think that I’ve chosen it because the authors, Michaela Potter and Sherry Ott, recently published a feature article about me. And indeed, my initial introduction to BriefcaseToBackpacker occurred when Michaela contacted me about an interview. But from the moment I began surfing around it, I was hooked.
From left to right: Michael Bontempi (who accompanied Michaela on her career break), Michaela Potter, and Sherry Ott
The concept for Briefcase To Backpacker evolved as a result of Michaela and Sherry’s career breaks. Having worked for many years in the corporate world, Michaela needed a change. She left her job, strapped on a backpack, and hit the road for nine weeks. At the time, Sherry was well into her 16-month backpacking trip around the world. She, too, had grown tired of her corporate career and a fast-paced life in New York and hit the road. Then, fate intervened. During her travels, Sherry taught English for a month in India through the volunteer organization, Cross-Cultural Solutions. As a Program Manager at CCS, Michaela was made aware of Sherry’s trip and followed along on her travel blog.
Although their individual trips were different in many ways, they came away with similar realizations. They met people from a wide variety of countries and backgrounds, but very few Americans. In turn, most people were surprised that Continue reading
Using everything from wood to cardboard to found and salvaged objects, Reuben Margolin creates one-of-a-kind techno-kinetic wave sculptures. His inspiration comes from observing things in nature – things as simple as a caterpillar’s movement or the patterns created when a drop of water splashes into a pond. When he moved into his new shop, Margolin decided to create a giant kinetic sculpture that would take advantage of its high ceilings without using up any floor space. His inspiration in this case came from a rafting trip. Every time he paddled he noticed a spiral eddy coming off the back of the paddle. After ten days he had the spiral wave figured out. Margolin returned to his shop and built “Spiral Wave,” a giant creation of redwood from old decks, 30 aluminum arms, and scores of mono filament threads that drop down to a flower-funnel spiral that appears to float as it undulates. Numerous examples of Reubens diverse artwork can be seen on the following YouTube Video:
Note: In December of 2006, author Barbara Weibel left her successful but unfulflling career to pursue her dream of becoming a travel writer and photographer. This story is one in a series about people who, like Weibel, have chosen to lead authentic lives by pursuing their true passions.
Posted in Authentic lives | Art, Authentic lives, Reuben Margolin, Sculpture, Travel, videos, woman | 4 Comments
Lydia Raurell has always loved to dance. Like so many little girls, she dreamed of becoming a fairy ballerina. When she was chosen to perform in the children’s Corps de Ballet it seemed that her dream might come true, but after two years her dance instructor said that her bone structure was too fragile to go into pointe and her parents refused to pay for additional lessons.
A Year of Dancing Dangerously by Lydia Raurell
Raurell didn’t return to dance until her late twenties, when she ran across an advertisement from a dance studio that offered a free Tango lesson. Although she couldn’t afford additional lessons, that free introduction to Tango rekindled her passion for dance. It took another ten years before she returned to that very same studio, finally able to afford lessons. She threw herself headlong into the world of dance, but at the end of a year realized that her life was out of balance – she had gone back to college to pursue the degree she’d never completed and both her studies and her family were suffering from lack of attention. Again she walked away. Little did she know it would be many years before she had another opportunity to pursue her lifelong passion.
Twenty danceless years later, at age 54, Raurell picked up the local paper and read an ad that said “Walk in Monday, dance out Friday.” By that time, her life had changed immensely. Raurell’s son was raised, her home paid off, and she had the support of a loving husband who encouraged her to fulfill her dream. Continue reading
The footage of an angry ocean crashing onshore and sweeping beneath an oceanfront cottage is indelibly imprinted onto the memory of anyone who saw the movie “Nights In Rodanthe.” The storm scenes are so jaw-dropping that people may think they were computer generated, but the house is real. It is located in the development of Mirlo Beach in Rodanthe, on the Outer Banks of North Carolina.
The ocean sweeps beneath the house where "Nights In Rodathe" was filmed
Other than the blue storm shutters that were added to the exterior for the filming, in real life it looks exactly like it did in the movie. And just like in the movie, it stands like a solitary sentinel on a deserted strand of beach.
It wasn’t always so. Houses used to stand all along this beach. But since 1999, when hurricanes Floyd and Dennis roared onto the Outer Banks, the oceanfront houses on this particular stretch of severely eroded beach have toppled into the ocean, one by one. During my years as a real estate agent I had the opportunity to show many of these houses; I have even had to Continue reading
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