A digital nomad since 2008 I'm constantly looking for ways to maximize my experiences through a minimalist lifestyle.
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Reflecting: 2012

I'm trying to make it a habit each year to reflect on the most memorable moments of the previous 365 days. Here's my top 101 experiences of 2012:

  • Celebrated New Years in Antigua Guatemala with some Quezalteca. Paid the price in the morning.
  • Climbed the Mayan temple of Xunantunich in San Ignacio, Belize
  • Waded across rivers and swam into the mouth of a cave to explore the ancient Mayan sacrifices in Actun Tunichil Muknal
  • Dove over 100 meters into the ancient sinkhole from the ice age at The Blue Hole in Belize
  • Explored one of the largest ancient Mayan civilization of Tikal in Guatemala
  • Bruised my face getting hit by a car while a riding bike
  • Visited the house where a young Martin Luther King Jr. grew up in Atlanta, Georgia
  • Biked through Bogoto, Colombia on a graffiti tour
  • Ascended over 3,000 meters while joining a pilgrimage to the top of Monserrate in Bogota
  • Drank an aphrodisiac milkshake made of blended (live) crabs and alcohol on the streets of Bogota
  • Consumed copious amounts of the most delicious Colombian exotic fruits
  • Partied with some of the most beautiful women on the planet in Medellin, Colombia
  • Scaled the crooked staircases wedged into El Peñón de Guatapé
  • Licked BBQ sauce off my fingers at The Salt Lick in Austin, Texas
  • Got my lime on in St. Kitts & Nevis
  • Scuba dived through the hull of a sunken ship off the coast of St. Kitts
  • Got blown into the ocean by the hot blast of air from a jet engine in St. Maarten
  • Camped in the Appalachian Mountains along the Blue Ridge Parkway from North Carolina to Virginia
  • Toured the house and plantation of Thomas Jefferson’s Monticello
  • Stood in the very room where U.S. Bill of Rights was ratified in Richmond Virginia
  • Honored the fallen heroes buried at Arlington National Cemetery
  • Walked up the steps of The United States Supreme Court
  • Toured Jefferson’s, Lincoln’s, MLKs, Roosevelt’s, The Vietnam, WWI & WWII memorials in Washington D.C.
  • Hung out in George Washington’s home at Mount Vernon
  • Saw the crack in the Liberty Bell in Philadelphia
  • Taste-tested no less than 5 Philly Cheesesteaks
  • Ran up the “Rocky Balboa” steps in Philadelphia
  • Set foot inside the Independence Hall where The Declaration of Independence and the United States Constitution were adopted.
  • Imprisoned myself inside the Eastern State Penitentiary in the cell next door to Al Capone’s
  • Toured Ellis Island and The Statue of Liberty
  • Mourned at Grand Zero
  • Watched The Book of Mormons on Broadway
  • Climbed to the top of The Empire St. building in New York City
  • Cruised on a ferry underneath the Brooklyn Bridge to the Figment Festival on Governors Island
  • Partied with thousands of boricua’s in the streets of New York for the Puerto Rican Day Parade
  • Gawked in the Guggenheim
  • Relived my childhood in Bethel, CT
  • Swung on a bench-swing while enjoying the sunset over Lake Champlain in Burlington, Vermont
  • Sampled a new Ben & Jerry’s ice cream flavor at their factory in Montpelier, Vermont
  • Heard a Who in Springfield, Massachusetts
  • Broke into the dome of Saint Joseph’s Oratory of Mount-Royal to catch an awesome sunset over Montreal
  • Talked my way into permission to take photos inside of the private library of Canada’s Parliament
  • Dunked my head into a quarry 200 feet below me at the end of Canada’s tallest bungee jump
  • Rode a bamboo bicycle through the graffiti-filled alleys of Toronto, Canada
  • Stood behind the roaring water falls of Niagara
  • Rocked out at the Rock & Roll hall of fame in Cleveland, Ohio
  • Milked a cow and ate dinner with an Amish family in Millersburg, Ohio
  • Survived a ferocious lightning/hail/wind storm in Jackson Center, Ohio
  • Played games at Marvin’s Marvelous Mechanical Machines in Detroit, Michigan
  • Cruised through the RV Hall of Fame in Elkhart, Indiana
  • Uncovered a top-secret SR-71B Blackbird jet
  • Urbex explored a decrepit church in Gary, Indiana
  • Watched the 4th of July fireworks explore over Lake Michigan in Chicago, Illinois
  • Photographed Chicago’s skyline at dusk from alongside Lake Michigan
  • Walked a lap in The Great Mall in Saint Paul, Minnesota
  • Found one of the meanings of life in the Badlands National Park in South Dakota
  • Laughed at the corniness of The Corn Palace in Mitchel, South Dakota
  • Stared up the presidents nostrils at Mount Rushmore in Keystone South Dakota
  • Sat in a Bison-induced traffic jam in Yellowstone National Park
  • Waited for The Grand Geyser to blow in Yellowstone. Totally worthy it!
  • Smelled sulfurous gasses spew from the bubbling mud pits in Yellowstone
  • Stood in the center of the universe in Wallace, Idaho
  • Climbed rock towers in Frenchman Coulee, Washington
  • Contributed my chewed gum to The Gum Wall at Pikes Market in Seattle, Washington
  • Landed in a sea plane in a lake on the south-side of Kodiak Island in
  • Played a game of chicken with a brown bear in Kodiak, Alaska. The bear won.
  • Crossed the Arctic Circle on the perilous Dalton Highway
  • Drove the Seward highway and discovered the diverse wildlife of Alaska
  • Rode ATV’s through Denali National Park and caught a glimpse of Mt. McKinley’s summit
  • Stood underneath the Alaskan pipeline
  • Drank an apple-tini from an ice glass at an ice bar inside an ice hotel in Chena, Alaska
  • Spooked a wild moose and her calf in Fairbanks, Alaska
  • Feed some reindeer in North Pole, Alaska
  • Hiked to a glacier in Juneau, Alaska
  • Summoned my inner Homer Simpson at an old abandoned nuclear power plant in Elma, Washington.
  • Watched glassmakers blow glass at the world renowned Museum of Glass on Tacoma, Washington
  • Zenned-out at the Japanese Garden in Portland Oregon and then porked out Voodoo Doughnuts
  • Hiked to the top of Multnomah, Falls in Oregon
  • Kite-boarded and stand-up paddle-boarded on the Hood River in Oregon
  • Got soaked from the spray of ocean water as it rushed into Devil’s Churn
  • Climbed to the top of Smith Rock in Oregon
  • Rafted down the Big Eddy Thriller rapids of the Deschutes River in Bend, Oregon
  • Stumbled my way through the pitch-dark Lava River Cave near Bend, Oregon
  • Hiked to the top of Watchman Peak and watched the sun rise over Crater Lake
  • Stood with giants at the Redwood National Park in California
  • Experienced an extended deja-vu in Mendocino California
  • Completed a 2-year 23,822-mile cross-country road-trip around North America
  • Watched the Space Shuttle Endeavour fly over the Golden Gate Bridge
  • Completed a 13-hour hike from the valley floor to the top of Half Dome and back in Yosemite National Park
  • Dined on a 7-course meal at one of the finest restaurants in Lima Peru and attended a beauty pageant as a VIP guest of the bathing suit designer
  • Scuba dove with hammer-head sharks, sea lions, octopus, sea turtles and more in The Galapagos Islands
  • Swam in Tortuga Bay in The Galapagos Islands
  • Climbed to the top of Sierra Negra and witnessed the most amazing sunset on my birthday
  • Straddled the two hemispheres at the center of the earth in Quito, Ecuador
  • Soaked in natural hot springs after experiencing the excruciating head pressure associated with altitude sickness in the mountains of Quito, Ecuador
  • Pulled an all-nighter in Bogota Colombia and partied with some bohemian Colombians
  • Relaxed with friends on the beaches of El Salvador
  • Attended the opening day of the Space Shuttle Endeavour exhibit at The Science Center in Los Angeles
  • Leapt out of an airplane all by myself and fell through a cloud.
  • Helped out those in need by donating some old clothes and feeding the homeless on Christmas.
  • Sweated profusely at my first Bikram yoga experience.



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