Category Archives: Travel Stories

Costa Rica

An attempt to recapture a travel adventure from 1987 In March of 1987, I had completed another two years at the University of Washington to obtain teaching certifications in biology, chemistry and general science. I had previously graduated in 1982 with a bachelor’s degree in microbiology. I will brag that I finished with a 3.86Continue reading “Costa Rica”

Turkey

This is an attempt to recapture the 45 days I spent in the country of Turkey in the Winter of 1983. I had written extensively in journals about this time period, but have been unable to locate my journals, so I am left with my memory. As I have been recollecting this journey, so manyContinue reading “Turkey”

The Unanticipated Impact of Seemingly Small Decisions in Life

It has always fascinated me to think about how small decisions I have made eventually led to major impacts on my life. We often make seemingly insignificant decisions dozens of times per day without thinking too much of it, but in reality, your present place in life can be traced back to those moments ofContinue reading “The Unanticipated Impact of Seemingly Small Decisions in Life”

Countries I have lived in, worked in or traveled in

Countries I have worked in USA United Arab Emirates (UAE) Qatar Switzerland Norway Greece Countries in which I have been a legal resident USA Qatar (two years) UAE (eight years) Norway (one year) Dominican Republic (two years) Countries I have lived in, worked in or traveled to Canada (many times) Mexico (many times, studied oneContinue reading “Countries I have lived in, worked in or traveled in”

Finding and Buying a House in the Dominican Republic

We (my wife and two children and I) left Abu Dhabi on March 9 of 2020. It was right on the cusp of Covid 19 taking over the world. We barely made it out. We traveled first to New York and then to Santiago in the Dominican Republic. From there we made it to myContinue reading “Finding and Buying a House in the Dominican Republic”

Renewing passports

While the US passport is desired by many in the world for a variety of reasons, renewing it is highly inefficient, expensive and takes a ridiculous amount of time. https://www.passportindex.org/byRank.php The US passport ranks behind about 20 other countries now. This is based on how many countries one can travel to without visa or gettingContinue reading “Renewing passports”

Mina Port, Abu Dhabi

Much of Abu Dhabi and Dubai is very modern with over the top malls. A great contrast to that is the Mina Port area that has a wonderful fruit and vegetable market and a huge seafood market. I often rode my bike along the Corniche to arrive at this colorful part of Abu Dhabi. ThereContinue reading “Mina Port, Abu Dhabi”

Cairo, Egypt December 2016

Living in the Middle East made it seem that we had to get to Cairo and see the pyramids, which I had seen in photographs throughout my lifetime. From Abu Dhabi it is a pretty short flight so we booked for four nights. Two nights we stayed right next to the  pyramids in a beautifulContinue reading “Cairo, Egypt December 2016”