In 2007 I embarked on grand adventure which was inspired by reading the Great Books. I had decided to fill in the gaps of my formal education by reading my way through the St. John’s College reading list. When the San Francisco Bay area company where I was heading up marketing was sold, I took the opportunity to travel.

I began with an attempt to learn Greek on a little island in the Aegean Sea before moving on to Turkey where I promptly forgot what little Greek I picked up. I then walked the Santiago de Compostela pilgrimage across Spain, stumbled through a flamenco course, over-indulged in bacalhau and fado in Portugal, took the slow boat down the Mekong River in Laos, taught English to children in a little Vietnamese village, trekked with men wielding AK-47s in Cambodia, struggled through a silent mediation course in Northern Thailand, galavanted around the Yucatan with my 92-year-old grandmother, studied the awesome gothic cathedral at Chartres, walked the Chemin de Compostelle across France (part of the way with the famous Notre Dame de Rocamadour) and drove across the U.S. (twice). Among other things.

Like Odysseus, I have a tendency to linger, meander and sail off the map—but the inner and outer journey has exceeded all expectation. I’ve appreciated the sign posts and helpful guidance provided by my fellow travelers and hope you’ll find interesting and helpful bits here.