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At my 50^th birthday party a couple of weeks ago, Dave asked me what I had learned in my half century. I took a quick sip of my beer and replied, “Do the things you want to try sooner and more often. If you hate it, then you know. If you love it, you can keep doing it.” Make a list and get started crossing them off!

There are too many of us doing too many things that are not the result of conscious decisions, but instead as a result of a series of minor decisions made along the way. I don’t “hate” my job, but it’s not what I dreamed of doing when I was a kid. It’s not even what I studied for in college.

I’d rather be on an adventure. But I was raised to get good grades, get a good job, work hard, and enjoy my retirement. That’s hard to ignore in our culture. And adventures don’t come cheap. Or can they…?

When Dave mentioned a Pilgrimage, I was initially interested because it sounded like a good adventure. Admittedly, I first pictured the Mayflower, Thanksgiving, and shoes with buckles. But Dave has a good sense of what makes a “Kodak Moment” in life, so I wanted more info.

Dave started this blog to share his aspirations and inspirations. My humble contribution will be my random thoughts regarding my journey from New Orleans to Santiago. I’ll begin in the next post with my decision-making process to start my 7,000 mile pilgrimage.