THE THOUGHTFUL WANDERER BEGINS

POST #1 OCTOBER 21, 2011 LAKE OSWEGO OREGON USA

Lately it seems (and by lately I mean at least the past 3 years but probably a lot longer than that), I have become even more thoughtful than I am normally prone to being. And as far as being a wanderer, well, anyone who has known me for any length of time, would have to agree that there is a definate element of that in my personality.

So recently when I came up with the idea of producing a weekly blog, the first order of business was, "What on earth shall I name the thing?"
Eventually, after numerous ideas, I came up with this name, and once I had mulled it over for a day or two, it felt to me as though I really couldn't have made any other choice.

Another event which happened recently in my life was that I sold my sailboat which for the past almost 7 years, has been my primary residence and which was located in Vancouver Canada. So with the signing of a contract and some cash exchanging hands, I all of a sudden became homeless. That action certainly helped in aiding the wanderer in me, because now I have been forced to look elsewhere to find shelter out of the weather. Don't get me wrong though, I am very happy with the current situation as it was something I chose to do, and so already in less than a month, I have lived at two new locations, including my current one right here in Oregon. I have just spent three wonderful weeks on Orcas island in Washington, which was marvelous.
Maybe this is what becomes of an ageing world traveller. It won't last forever, nothing ever does, but for now, it's a simple lifestyle and one that fits me like a glove.

What has made this wandering easy and at the same time rewarding is the fact that I spend my time travelling from one place to the next, in order to take care of peoples' pets. Over the years, at least the past 10, I have had the good fortune to get to know a variety of new people and pets, and recently I decided to expand my horizons by joining an organisation which matches houses with housesitters. Now, in very short order I find myself booked right through until the end of January 2012.

I had hoped to be heading to Australia by the end of this year, at least that was the plan. But as it turns out, before that happens I will be heading north to an old home of mine, Dawson City in the Yukon. I said to a friend the other day, that if I keep heading north I will eventually be south. Dawson in the dead of winter can be brutally cold, and this year it may seem more so, seeing as I was expecting a beach somewhere, however it does have a magic of it's own and I am looking forward to the trip.

As far as the design and content of this blog goes, I expect it to change over time (and being the techno ludite that I am, it may take a while for me to work some things out)however this will be an evolution of sorts, and maybe someday in the future I'll look back at this blog and laugh at how simplistic it was.

OK, so that's about it for blog #1. Where things go from here is anyone's guess, especially mine, but I do look forward to producing a weekly entry, if for no other reason than to lay down a record for myself, as to what I have been up to.

Thanks for reading.
Paul
SAWAFAATRIAB