Houston

Tuesday, December 11, 2007 - I made it back to Houston on Sunday in one piece.

One thing seemed profoundly clear when I returned.. Where I'm from (The Woodlands) is a very nice place, it's comfortable, the houses are nice, the people live well here, the people are nice.. But, staying within this little cultural bubble isn't reality. There's a whole country out there waiting to be explored, and it's our rights as Americans to see it. There's a whole world out there that's waiting to be explored, and it's our rights as humans to see it.

For me, I very much feel like this trek marked the closing of one chapter of my life and the opening of the next. One cool thing about this trek is that it was impossible for me to think about the future.. It was quite futile to try; I was jumping from place to place every other day, having no idea what kind of land, town, or people awaited me. But I believe that way of thinking works out beautifully.

Ana returns to Portland in mid-January, and I'll be there waiting for her. From there, I don't know what will happen, but I will continue this new chapter of my life in the same mindset I learned from my trek. Like Aghila said, "When the mind is silent, the universe surrenders itself to you."

Pubey	Dirty Steve
Kram

Arizona > New Mexico > El Paso

Saturday, December 8, 2007 - I arrived at my cousin Bryan's in El Paso to some Texas hospitality and a gigantic feast by Chef Monique. A pretty uneventful drive, outside of a little incident where one of my kayak mounts disassembled itself mid-trip and nearly launched my kayak off the side of my car (thank God I had my tools with me). Otherwise it provided some good time for me to study some Portuguese, and I also got some decent pictures out of my driver side window.

The open road	An approaching Arizona dust storm
	UFO

Yuma

Friday, December 7, 2007 - Saw my friend Rick at Starbucks yesterday and we chatted for a couple hours. An NFL game was on that evening, so I headed to my trusty Ole's Tavern for a couple brews; saw Steve there again. For some reason I decided to leave at halftime, getting me back to the campsite by 7:30 or so. I then decided to go ahead and pack up what I didn't need that night. I was asleep by 8:00..

My tent woke me up at some point during the night as the wind had collapsed it ontop of me, just like at Half Moon Bay a month or so ago. The winds were pretty strong and it was starting to rain as well. I figured it was probably almost time to wake up anyway, so looked at my watch and noticed it was only 10:30pm. Crap. Tried to go back to sleep but woke up about every hour when the wind would get ticked off and crumple my tent. It was raining harder and harder by the hour. Finally by 2:30am I had to make that God awful decision of bailing; my tent was permanently caving in on itself and rain was now starting to rush into the tent. About 30 minutes of hauling stuff to my car and packing up my tent and I'm in my car at 3:00am debating what to do.. There's no real point in just sitting here until 6:00 waiting for Starbucks to open, I'm leaving today anyway so I decided to just book it to Arizona and find a starbucks there.

I've never driven in fog this thick.. There weren't a lot of cars on the road at 3:00 in the morning, but the ones that were out weren't going faster than 20mph, and for good reason. For about 45 minutes there I couldn't even see off the side of the road; I had no idea if mountains were next to me, forest, desert, etc.. A strange feeling. The fog then got even worse. Going only 20mph, all I could see on the highway at this point were the little white markers in the middle lane, and at that I could only see the ones a few feet ahead of my car. Then the fog got even worse. For a short time there I couldn't even see the white markers 3 or 4 feet away from my car. And then, nearly instantly, it was all gone and I was presented with a beautiful desert sunrise.

So I made it to Yuma, AZ by 6:00am. I found a starbucks and when I pulled up the internet, I noticed that one of the top 5 world headlines on MSN was about severe storms in southern california; potential mudslides and flash-floodings. There have been many times on this trek that I've felt somehow protected, and it couldn't be more appropriate to have that feeling once again on my last day in Cali.

Arizona desert sunrise

San Clemente IX

Thursday, December 6, 2007 - Yesterday I saw my friend Rick from the last time I was here.. We talked for a couple hours about theology (of course), science, politics. He has, if I remember right, about 3 degrees in the field of science; one of which was in the realm of climatology. He was very interesting to talk with on the subject of global warming, of which he believes is almost becoming a new religion (something he's not very happy about). This guy is truly open-minded in the real sense. The last time I was here I remember he was reading a book written by a staunch atheist. This time he was reading "What's So Great About Christianity?" - a theological rebuttal to the atheist's book. But this, to me, is the true embodiment of open-mindedness - actually listening to both sides of the argument. A fascinating guy to talk to indeed.

As the week has wore on here I think I've started realizing something.. When I first set out on my trek I was still in the healing process; in the aftermath of everything that had happened in my marriage. When I was last here, I felt like everything I was doing, seeing, and experiencing were somehow necessary. And I ate it up. But now, that feeling of dire necessity no longer seems to really be there. Of course it could just be that I've met Ana, or that I'm getting used to this, or that my mind and body are growing tired of travelling (which I doubt); but the reason that seems to jive best with me is that I've healed. I now look forward to the next chapter of my life more than anything else.

San Clemente VIII

Wednesday, December 5, 2007 - Worked quite a bit yesterday as well; about 11 hours. Although I did actually take a break to get a Fatburger and bring that sucker back to my campsite for lunch. Saw Chester again at starbucks and then raced back to my campsite to catch my first glimpse of the beautiful San Clemente sunset.. I've been working so much and talking to other people so much that I hadn't got to see the sunset yet. Minha gata (portuguese - "my good-looking") called precisely as the sun was dipping below the ocean horizon, so I even got to watch an incredible sunset while talking with Ana. A great ending to the night.

I was exhausted from the past couple days and went to sleep by 7:30 (which was about an hour and a half after it got dark). I woke up for some reason around midnight and heard shuffling feet outside my tent.

"Brent! HEY BRENT!"
"(groggy) Uhhhh... Yeah?"
"It's Henry dude! I made it back!"
"Uhhh.. Ok.."
"I'll see you tomorrow bro - I'll get coffee!"

I have to be honest, I was a little weirded out. I honestly said a prayer and went back to sleep.

Woke up about 5:30 feeling pretty refreshed; got a good 10 hours of sleep. I have to be working by 6:00 anyway to make sure I'm supporting my company back in Texas, which is at 8:00.

I got my stuff and walked out of the tent and saw what looked like a couple of bags on the picnic table at my campsite.. It was still a little dark so I walked closer to see what they were - I didn't remember leaving any bags there. As I approached them, I noticed they weren't bags. It was Henry, who had apparently been sleeping there since midnight.

Mountain view while leaving Portland	The actual goosebumps on my arm while driving into San Clemente
	While talking with Ana
Goodnight San Clemente

San Clemente VII

Tuesday, December 4, 2007 - I worked yesterday from 5:30am until 7:00pm.. A gnarly busy day. Toward the end of the day Henry came back in Starbucks and we chatted for a while. He left to go to the beach and said he was going to swing by my campsite afterwards. After he left, my friend Chester strolled in.. Though he's taking finals right now and is massively busy, we still chatted for a bit. He then said about a 5 minute prayer for me, I then let him get to his studies. My little brasilian bombshell called me while I was talking to Chester - it was great to hear her voice. I keep thinking of the list we made before she left.. We had talked about so many different things we wanted to do together, ranging from visiting Scotland to teaching me to dance Forro to teaching her to snowboard, and on and on. We compiled a list of probably 40-50 items. I can't wait to pick up where we left off.

Back at the campsite Henry came by around 7:00 and marveled at the view.. We grilled my staple of salmon and onions; I think he really needed the escape. We talked about theology, science, astronomy, among many other things. He told me he's had 3 moments of true clarity in his life - once when he first saw his wife, second when his son was born, and third was then and there.

San Clemente VI

Monday, December 3, 2007 - Packed up from Half Moon Bay and drove about 7 hours to San Clemente. As I rolled over a hill on I-5 and caught my first glimpse of the vast blue ocean and clear sky I got chills. The weather here is the same as when I was here in September. I headed straight to my trusty ole campsite, at the same spot, with the same view. I wished Ana were here to see it. After setting up camp, I went back to my trusty ole hole in the wall bar - Ole's Tavern. I saw Ray there and he remembered me from the last time I was in town. I chatted with Ray and after he left I ended up meeting a couple other guys I hadn't met before. Chris, a real estate investor who's originally from St. Louis, and Steve, a fantastically hilarious Italian that lives right on the beach. We talked about my travels and exchanged contact info before I left.

I called home and talked with my dad on my walk back to my car a few blocks away when I heard someone yelling my name.. I eventually looked back and saw Chris running down the street trying to let me know I forgot my backpack (with my laptop, chargers, theological journal, etc) back at the bar.

Today I headed to Starbucks and had about a 3 hour conversation with a guy I'd never met before - Henry. He lives in Newport, which he doesn't like too well, but comes to San Clemente periodically to feel better. This guy is an incredible story. He studied environmental science in college and upon graduating worked to basically better the environment. He worked his way up quite a bit within the government and basically was the authoritative decision maker for shutting down businesses that were corrupting the environment. He spoke of an area in Brasil where certain chemicals were being dropped into a main river, and families around the river were birthing children without spines, with 2 heads, extra arms, etc. One signature and he eradicated those businesses. He now owns a company that has been working on a certain software (which he wasn't at liberty to say) for 6 years - he's meeting in 2 weeks with Bill Gates who personally contacted his company, Steve Jobs after this, then was personally invited to the White House. He met with the owner of Halliburton a few weeks ago. Google and Yahoo are also interested in this product. However he attributes none of his success to himself - in fact, he says he never even put much effort into where he is now.. He feels his success has all been given to him from God. He showed me an excel spreadsheet he had of all employees involved with his company - probably about 20 pages worth - and he said not 1 person on that sheet was specifically sought out.. Rather, they were all chance meetings, and every last person there personally believes they were directed to Henry in a divine manner. He said their goal is to end starvation completely in 5 years; he said this isn't a personal ambition but rather something he's simply being directed to do. We exchanged info and he said he had a feeling we'd be working together at some point, in some fashion.

After a few hours he simply said "Well I think we're done here.. Meeting adjourned dude."

Half Moon Bay II

Monday, December 2, 2007 - Portland was dumping snow when I left Saturday; luckily it wasn't sticking or that would have made for an interesting drive. Drove about 10 and a half hours from Portland to Half Moon Bay on Saturday.. Arrived to my trusty ole campsite but the gate was closed, as I arrived hours after dark. I parked outside the gate and lugged all my stuff to my site.. I'd only been working on setting up my tent for maybe 60 seconds when I woman came over and asked if I needed a hand. I told her I'd be fine, but she insisted that she at least point her flashlight on my site so I could see better, so I accepted. Within another 60 seconds, her husband, son, and son's friend were at my site with an array of lanterns and flashlights, and the kids (in high school) basically insisted on helping me get my tent up. Of course I've done this plenty by now but humored them and accepted the help. They then invited me over to their site, which had quite a nice campfire going, and sit in their chair and drink a couple of their beers.

Annie (the mom) and Mike (dad) were, coincidentally, originally from Portland (now in Cali). In a funny turn of events though, Annie is a hard core Christian and very involved in her Church ministry. I told her I found Portland to be beautiful, there's so much to do: the mountains are near, the Pacific is near, the architecture is unique, there's a huge music scene, venues abounding, but while most of the people in the city are generally considerate, I found it to be a bit politically hostile - at least for someone who's not necessarily in agreement with the masses there. I may of course be wrong, but this was just the vibe I got. In any case, Annie finished my sentence when I told her of my impression. "It's a very liberal, very open-minded and accepting place ... As long a-" "As long as you agree with them!" She cut in. We did however joke about how funny it would be if I were to attend Seminary in Portland.

I spent hours with Annie, Mike, their son Justin and his friend Stevie. Stevie is 17 going on 30. A horribly, horribly mature kid.

A fantastic stay indeed. Tomorrow I drive to San Clemente, where I will spend about a week before coming back to Texas.

Portland IX

Friday, November 30, 2007 - Thanksgiving was great, but I missed my little brasilian bombshell and it was nice to see her again. Jeff, Kira, and Beck are on vacation in Costa Rica so Ana and I watched the house while they were gone. Today Aghila (a caretaker, also looking after the house and the cat - Mr. Portland) and her husband Kalki were at the house. They cooked us an authentic Indian lunch and the 4 of us ate together. I have never engaged in such a culturally fascinating lunch before..

Ana and I enjoyed a beautiful week together but tonight she goes back to Brasil to visit her family. Every year she goes back for an extended period of time - this year, as is the case with most years, she is going for 7 weeks. She was excited to see her family but we knew we'd miss each other. While I know this is the case, at the same time I have January 19th to look forward to. I honestly don't remember the last time I was this excited about something.

Upon returning to the house, Aghila and her husband Kalki were there. They are fantastic people - in fact, I think everyone deserves to simply talk with them for a few hours. They are the epitome of spiritual people. Kalki was a Yogi that walked the Himalayas for many years, meditating and studying. He is now a professor in the field of religion. Among much wisdom they shared with me, I jotted down a couple things they said that impacted me -

"The mind is the stepmother, the heart is the mother." Meaning, follow your heart and don't let your mind get in the way.

"When the mind is silent, the universe surrenders itself to you." Pretty self-explanitory.

I leave for Half Moon Bay tomorrow as I make my way back to Houston.

Portland VIII

Monday, November 12, 2007 - The past week has been one of the most mind-blowing, fascinating, different, exciting weeks of my life. Neither of us were looking for or expecting this to happen, but what an incredible thing has been awaiting me at the last destination on my west coast trek. I discover something incredible about her every day.

I've decided to postpone my return and instead of driving back for the mediation, fly back on Thursday, Nov 15, rent a car and drive from Dallas to Houston, then fly back to Portland afterwards.

Portland VII

Monday, November 5, 2007 - I spent the next week deciding to "postpone my return another day" every day, but mediation was coming up on November 16 and I needed at least 3 days to drive back. I would have to leave this weekend of November 8, little as I wanted to leave Ana. We spent the week going to concerts, hanging out with her friends (mostly Brasilian - who rock), hanging out with my cousins.. This is a different life here. This group of people takes a huge bite out of life and chomp. They get out and do something interesting every day.

I so dig the way Ana lives as well. She has a roommate and their apartment is beautiful - old architecture in the heart of Portland, and they have neither cable nor even a dishwasher. She needs very little in life and is obviously not concerned with material things. It's horribly refreshing. I think she's even lower-maintenance than I am.

I decided to postpone my return until next week.


Ana and cousin Jeff in front of the new car Jeff and Kira bought Ana as a bonus

Portland VI

Sunday, November 4, 2007 - Ana suggested we visit the Rose Garden in Portland today, so I picked her up and drove us to this beautiful place. We walked around for a while and I learned a lot of incredible things about this girl. The most important of which is that she is happy with herself - something I haven't heard in a long time. She's grateful for everything she has - something you don't hear too many Americans say. She loves and respects family, loves kids, and doesn't have a mean bone in her body. After the Rose Garden we went to eat at a MacMinnamin's restaurant. I have never felt this comfortable with a person on a first date.. We walked to the restaurant holding hands, kissing; almost like we'd been dating for a year. I still haven't wrapped my head around how this all played out as such, but I am blown away.

I decided to postpone my return another day.

Portland V

Saturday November 3, 2007 - Saturday Jeff, Greg, Bryan and I went to meet Ana at the Brasilian party after Superdiamond. Ana attempted to show me how to dance to some of their songs; I'm pretty sure I left her with bruised feet. I was actually planning on heading back to Houston today but prolonged the trip a day to go to the party. After the party Ana mentioned that perhaps we could do something on Sunday. I was interested in getting to know Ana a little better, so once again decided to postpone my return a day.


Ana on the right, my cousin's wife Kira on the left

New Blog

Sunday, December 2, 2007 - With my new blog, I feel it's a little safer to post about the past month. Let me once again preface first with a little about the end of the marriage. I personally (and theologically) do not believe that November 16, or December 21 for that matter were the end of my marriage. My wife broke the covenant when she began her (2nd) affair two and a half years ago, and certainly when she threatened my life upon my discovery of it. This was the ultimate display of the absence of love and the end of the marriage. The pieces of paper we signed on November 16 did not sever the relationship, nor did either of our lawyers or the judge end the marriage; this was only a formality for governmental records.

In my opinion at least.