Garth’s World

художници на иконисвети георгикухненско обзавежданеIn my most recent trip overseas, I…

Walked down Abbey Road and ate a meal at a friend’s home overlooking Abbey Road Studios, where the Beatles recorded most of their albums.

Ate Italian food at a table full of sailors on an island in the Gulf.

Enjoyed beautiful spring days with snow-capped mountains circling the horizon.

Flew in six types of aircraft in 96 hours.

mach zehnder modulator

Attended a BBQ without all the usual BBQ fare but lots of other highlights such as: camels, falcons, lobster tails, ice sculptures, henna artists, and princes.

Circumnavigated a country to see an underwhelming castle. Got three speeding tickets in the mail from the traffic cameras for the trouble (two were within 5 minutes of each other — the other 20 minutes prior).

Learned about the French Foreign Legion from one of their former commanders.

Had to make way for His Highness.

Traveled to 5 countries in 8 days covering 19660 miles, averaging 102 miles per hour

Passed the water taxi desk to pick up my rental Ford Focus

Missed our exit on the autostrada

Got the chills in a medieval wine cellar

Landed during the worst time of day into the most dangerous landing zone in the world

Drove after midnight through wet, terror-filled streets

Flew in 4 different aircraft models over the course of 12 hours

Had a sandwich in a palace, kangaroo in a villa, burrito in a tent, stir fry in a warehouse, and Indian at my seat in business class

Drove through vineyards in two separate countries – one where the growers are famous for the wine and one where they killed for it

My family is filled with travelers. It is in our blood. Even my 84+ year old grandmother is still traveling. This year she is going to China for over a week. She is behind many others in the family, so she has some catching up to do. My other grandparents have been to 100+ countries.

See below for a cool website that lets you map where you have been. This is the map I created from my 45…and, obviously, counting…

create your own visited countries map
or vertaling Duits Nederlands

In my five week trip abroad in January and February, I…

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In my two-week trip overseas in December, I have…

(A couple of the picture highlights, click below to see and read more)

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In my 2 weeks abroad in November, I…

(Click ‘more’ to read and see more)

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During my trip overseas in October, I…

(some picture highlights — click ‘more’ to read and see the rest)

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During my trip overseas in September, I…

(Some picture highlights — click ‘more’ to read and see the rest)

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During my month overseas in August, I…

(some picture highlights — as always, click ‘more’ to see and read more)

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In less than two weeks in May, I have…

Had coffee and tea with a Sheikh (younger brother of the king) (actually the coffee part, for those who know me well, might be the bigger adventure for me, as I went 32 years having never having had a cup of coffee until I took this job — a good guest does not turn down coffee when presented by a Sheikh)
Had lunch with senior leaders from former Soviet republics and an African nation about
the size of Rhode Island
Toured a Navy ship
Been in 9 civilian airports and 4 military ones
Drank beers at the world’s most famous bar
Visited a castle and a waterfall
Danced on the table to folk music in a language I do not speak then sang along with the
lead singer in the language
Had beer spilled on me in a club that only played techno in yet another language
Sang karaoke and later mistakenly voted to give the bar owner’s wife the gong when it
was her turn
Ate dinner with conscripts.

Places I have spent the night in:
A tent
A trailer with 3 other people
A hotel with a view of the Persian Gulf
A shipping container
A hotel walking distance from the world’ s most famous bar
A Hof with views of the Alps
A hotel with a view of the Mediterranean
A plane
5 foreign countries

Transportation:
An Opel on the Autobahn
A convoy in the open back of a Humvee down IED alley holding a weapon I have never shot
(and thank God did not have to)
The door of a helicopter
A C-130
A lear jet
An armored BMW
An armored van
An armored suburban

Eaten
Mexican on the Persian gulf
Lamb kebobs on the Med
Chow hall food
Jaegerschnitzel
A pretzel from a fraulein
Hummous and eggplant in a wine cellar/vineyard

Not slept much.

The other good news is that these two weeks are just a snapshot in a much longer adventure (until sometime next summer probably), and a new trip/adventure starts all over every week or two.Lucky me — I realize it every day.