I hardly consider myself a great world traveler, but I love to travel and have been to a lot of places considering I got a late start. Until my sophomore year in college, I’d been to a total of six states, all in the northeastern USA. Now I’ve been to all 50 states, eight Canadian provinces, Mexico, and 26 other countries in Europe and South America. And in June 2019, I moved to Ajijic, Jalisco, Mexico.
I’m always either on a trip or planning the next one. In 2019 I took a four-week tour to eastern Germany, Czechia, and Poland. In January 2020: a short getaway to Michoacán to see the monarch butterfly migration, and in February, a week-long tour to Cuba. And I’m currently planning a trip to Jordan, Israel, and Palestine this fall.
I am a retired software architect living the good life in Ajijic, Jalisco, Mexico. One reason I chose this spot to retire is that it is close enough to an international airport that I can still get away for the travel I long to do.
When I’m not traveling, I can usually be found playing bridge at the Lake Chapala Duplicate Bridge Club, playing pub trivia, or enjoying the many fine restaurants in this community of about half locals and half expats from the US and Canada.
See my list of favorite travel blogs and websites
Ten facts about me
- I grew up in Massapequa, Long Island, New York State, United States of America.
- Until I was in college, I’d never been outside the northeast United States.
- Until I was in college, I’d never flown on an airplane.
- I love architecture. When I was in high school, I planned to be an architect.
- I love music. When I was in college, I switched my major from architecture to music. I have Bachelor, Master, and Doctoral degrees in music. For about 20 years I taught music at the high school and college levels.
- I don’t do music anymore, except for my own personal enjoyment. I work in computer technology.
- I’ve been in all fifty of the United States, to eight Canadian provinces, Mexico, and 28 other countries.
- I prefer traveling alone over tours with large groups of other tourists. When I’m traveling, I love to seek out opportunities for solitude. (I don’t always succeed at that.)
- I love to walk. When traveling, I often walk rather than taking buses or taxis.
- I love to write. This blog and some short fiction are the products of this love.
Countries I’ve visited
(In chronological order)
- Canada
- France
- Switzerland
- Germany
- Austria
- Hungary
- England
- Wales
- Liechtenstein
- Italy
- Ireland
- Mexico
- Denmark
- Sweden
- Estonia
- Finland
- Iceland
- Croatia
- Slovenia
- Bosnia and Herzegovina
- Montenegro
- Belgium
- Netherlands
- Norway
- Chile
- Argentina
- Brazil
- Costa Rica
- Czechia
- Poland
- Cuba
These are the airports where I’ve landed or taken off, even if they were merely layovers on the way to somewhere else.