Day -35:

I have often told people “I’m going to take a trip around the world” (well, ad the slur and speed of my Californian dialect and it sounds like “imgonnatakeatriproundtheworld”) the most common response to this is “Do it while you can”, “Do it while you’re young” or “I wish I could do that” and I always feel like yelling at those people “BULLSHIT! Anyone who really wants to can sell their house, sell their car, quit their jobs (SAS Production Services and Islands Bartender), give up the comforts of the day-to-day American syndrome, and live out of a nylon sack for years on end with a little effort and planning, and yes this includes those of you with children or you who have a few years on you.” But normally I just shrug and mumble something along the lines of a “yea….” and begin to tell them of my plan.

My name Is Robert C Paetz III, I am a semi-well-traveled 26 year old who has tried to see the world in mostly two week stints for the last 5 years. My first trip alone was for six weeks through Europe when I was 21 (which was also my longest trip to date), followed by a couple of two week trips each year to all over Europe and Central America. Needless to say that traveling in such short spurts really left me wanting more and always dreaming of that huge trip, especially when I talked with all the Aussies who where taking entire year long tours of the world. So a couple of years ago I devised a stratagy to find the money for such a trip; buy a house in a booming real estate market, hold it for two years and sell it. Needless to say my foolhardy plan actually worked, and so well that it got me out of debt and set me up for my goal of a trip around the world, on a tight budget, with a little left over to invest.

Origanally I had thought about a 6-8month trip, yet after reading about more and more places that I just “had” to see I have finally settled on a 22 month/6 Continent plan. I know, I know it seems like a long time to leave my life, but I just see it as living my life. Even if my mother says I am just running away (hence the name of this blog) from a real life and my inability to maintain a commited relationship (which is only because I haven’t found the right girl, Mom).

So… Drumroll……The Tenative Plan (which is always open to change and/or suggestions from you or anyone I meet): I will begin with a week in The Switzerland just snowboarding and taking it easy, followed by 3 months working my way north through Eastern Europe (Hungary, Croatia, Romania, Moldova, Chech Republic, Poland, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, Finland, possibly Moscow). From there I will fly into South Africa, spend some time on safari and travel through Nambia, Botswana, Mozambique, and Tanzania, for roughly 2-3 more months. Next I am on to India for a month or so then into Southeast Asia until christmas, Which I hope to spend with my friend Joanna and her family in the Phillipines. Around New Year 2007 I will be moving through Austrailia and New Zealand, with some possible stops in Fiji, Somoa, and Guam. Near the one year mark I will re-enter the US, and try to crash for a week with my friends Jessica and Adam in Hawaii. Then its on to home, for two months of R&R, possibly a little work, and most importantly my mothers 50th birthday party(which my older sister, Sarah, informed me i was not allowed to skip, no matter where I was). During this two month period I have to do a little physical training for the next part of my adventure, A Walk Across America ,with some possible hitch-hiking across the desert (come on people, I am way too white to spend that much time in the sun). I hope to accomplish this feat, which seems slightly overwhelming to me, in four months from May 2007 to September 2007. In late September 2007 I will fly into South America try to better my Spanish and visit Ecuador, Bolivia, Peru, Chile, Argentina, and Brazil, hoping to be home sometime in early 2008. WHEW! It is exusting just writing it all out, but now that I have publically stated it I feel better, like there is no turning back or I might let down my avid readers, Which so far I think just includes my Grandpa. Thanks for the support Grandpa!

So… How about A Little About Me. As I said before I am 26 years old; born May 28, 1979. I grew up in Riverside, California which is on the outskirts of Orange County, which is in turn on the outskirts of Los Angeles. I am a suburban boy who grew up in a family of four children which had parents who enjoyed doing “things” but where always on a tight budget (there were four of us!). Now “things” might sound funny to some of you desktop travellers out there, but that is what my parents enjoyed. It could be anything from car shows, to fairs, to hiking, to boy scouts, to picnics, and pretty much anything else that came there way. Curiosity in everthing and the want to always do something just because it is there is a family trait handed down to me in parts from my parents. From my father I got a reckless attitude toward life and the ability to make the best out of any situation, mom (who still thinks I’m running away) was the one who got me addicted to travel in the first place, by taking us out of elementry school and making us camp in every campsite in the western United States. So I hope she is ready to take the blame for this worldwide galavant that is about to take place.

I graduated from college in January of 2002 with a B.A. in Theatre, which lead me to take some classes in cinematography at a UCLA extension program which lead me to become an avid photographer about three years ago. My pictures have come a long way since then, thank God, and I now have the drive to capture the world digitally so one day I can decorate my house with pictures of everywhere I’ve been and just sit in a rocking chair and talk about the good old days (How’s that for a retirement plan?). In the past eight years I have had jobs as a forklift operator, Old Navy cashier, scenic carpenter, theatrical electrician, flyman, scenic designer, cinematographer, waiter, gaffer, cameraman, bartender and once in a while I even get paid for taking pictures.

Anyhow, I am slightly long winded, but I hope you enjoy my blog. I plan to make a new entry everyday, or at least get one posted for each day I am gone, possibly letting them build up if I enter a “N.I.Z.” (No Internet Zone, to quote Erik Trinidad).

If I actually have people reading this, Post Comments, and let me know you exist, but either way I will continue plugging away at this blog because it gives me a sort of quote “job/mission” for the next two years, well that and continuing to bartend for all of the people I meet in the world.