Rollin' On The River

Last night we took Mackey's kayaks out to Tempe Town Lake to float up onto the backside of the Tempe Music Festival and listen to some free tunes. We were joined only by a couple of mallards and a few little birds who live under the bridge. This was a fabulous way to spend a Friday night. We took a few drinks and a few snacks and we managed to stay on the lake until about an hour after dark when we got kicked out for not having lights on the kayaks, not to metion the fact that we didn't have a permit to be on the lake. I love simple evenings like this, gorgeous weather,being outdoors, not spending too much $$, beautiful sunsets, being on a boat with some good music playing and spending time with Mackey. What more could a girl ask for?

Eeeooooo...We're going to Ibiza

Wow...some amazing things are starting to happen in my life. I am absolutly taken at how people can come together and share experiences, thoughts, and dreams...and then things just start to happen. Communication and collaboration are together SO powerful that my success and growth through them often takes me by surprise. Recently, a frend came into my life that will have a huge inpact on me, my goals and my memories that I will carry with me forever. I have spent many times in my life being cautious about opening up to others. I am sure it comes from me being a pretty cautious person in general (did I just say that?...hard to believe from a girl about to travel the world by herself). I am modest. I am learning that there are so many opportunities out there in the world that we have open to us, if we just open up and talk to people. I recently took a big leap and opened up to a new friend through the couchsurfing website, and he made me an offer I just couldn't refuse.

In two weeks I will be going to Spain (taking some of my vacation time before I resign from my job) and I will be sailing around the Balearic Islands in the Mediterrenean Sea. We'll be starting in Palma, Mallorca and visiting Menorca and Ibiza (a place I've always fantasized about going to ever since hearing the Vengaboys song). There will be 18 of us total, but only 8 on the catamaran I'll be on. I'll be inspired by the America's Cup tournaments as I learn how to sail through beautiful turquoise waters.

I am excited! I need to invest in some major SPF sunblock! I can't believe my own voice when I tell people about the things I have planned for the next several months! I am in shock and awe of myself!

“The best day of your life is the one on which you decide your life is your own. No apologies or excuses. No one to lean on, rely on, or blame. The gift is yours - it is an amazing journey - and you alone are responsible for the quality of it. This is the day your life really begins.” Bob Moawad

"I'm leavin' on a jet plane...."

Plane tickets - check

JUNE 13 Leave PHOENIX AZ for HONOLULU HI
Island hop over to Maui June 13-22

JUNE 22 Leave HONOLULU HI for NADI FIJI
Fiji June 22-July 5

JULY 5 Leave NADI FIJI for SYDNEY AUSTRALIA
bus north along the East Coast from Sydney to Cairns July 5-August 4

AUGUST 4 Leave CAIRNS for DARWIN
Darwin August 4-6

AUGUST 6 Leave Australia for INDONESIA/BALI
Bali August 6-August 20

AUGUST 20 Leave BALI for BANGKOK
Southern Thailand August 20-Sept 5

September 5 Leave BANGKOK for HONG KONG
Hong Kong, China September 5-15

September 15 Leave HONG KONG and return to PHOENIX AZ

Tie one on in Thailand

If you've seen "The Beach" with Leonardo DiCaprio than this may be a familiar sight.


photo of Dale Lee in Thailand

I plan to be in Thailand in August and hope to stand on these same rocks, lay on the same beaches, and dive in the beatiful turquoise waters that have called out to so many other fellow travels. Other things on my to do list in Thailand:
Eat lots of Thai Food
Scuba dive in Phuket
Visit the Temple of the Reclining Buddah in Bangkok
Avoid mean monkeys everywhere - have I mentioned I really don't like monkeys?
Rock climb in Karbi
Enjoy laying out and tanning in Koh Phi Phi
and so much more.
Hopefully three weeks will be enough.

Tourists...we're everywhere

Visiting the folks in Mazatlan for a week. Last night we had dinner at Playa Bruja and I had a huge plate full of shrimp ceviche...YUM! The sunset wasn't too bad either. Today we drove up to Concordia, a small village outside of Mazatlan, to check out some hand made wooden furniture for their new house that will be under construction soon. We had lunch at a little restaurant near the square and managed a tab for under $11 for the three of us, including some SOL cervezas! Can't beat the price. Unfortunately the Cruise ships are in town today and the village was overrun by gringos everywhere! We were lucky their tour busses were on a time schedule and they were leaving the restaurant just as we arrived.

And so it begins...

(Andy and Amber in the back of a truck in Bolivia)

I suppose this story really begins at about the age of 11 when my family moved to Mexico and lived there for a few years...that was probably my first BIG travel experience, but I feel like my traveling really began to evolve here...

Mazatlan, Mexico, December 2002. I was visiting my parents for the holidays. The resort next door had a large jacuzzi, just right for meeting new friends. As I sat and soaked one evening surrounded by old fisherman and families with squirming toddlers, I started to wonder if there was anyone under 60 or over 12 besides me in the entire resort. Enter tall, blonde, tan, very good looking Toren Volkmann. The ducktape braclet around his wrist was a conversation piece that eventually led to meeting his entire family...most importantly for this story, his brother Tyson. One night in a mezcal induced haze Tyson says to me "I'm going to South America this summer" I replied "I want to go". And so it begins...after my "Tour del Sur" visiting Peru and Bolivia with Tyson and the brilliant Dr. Beyer (seen in photo) in the summer of 2003 I was bit by the travel bug, and it bit me hard.

Four years later I have finally paid off the debt, saved the money, given my resignation at my job and plan to leave the good ole' US of A in June for a few months. My plans include visiting the South Pacific, Austrailia and South East Asia. I'm going it alone, with a few friends who may meet me along the way. If you find yourself thinking of me, log on and see..."Where in the world is Ambergesa"?