I am currently at the San Diego Airport about to embark on what I consider a re-launch in life. Ironically I am sitting in the exact same restaurant and at the exact same table as I was on August 26, 2024 when I set off on what I considered a life re-set. Although the location is the same my mindset is completely different.

My 2024 “re-set” consisted of a 6 week hike across Northern Spain which was inspired by my brother Keith and I was going through the toughest and most confusing time of my life, I felt disillusioned, scared, abandoned, lonely and desperate. What transpired was an unforgettable adventure where I met many amazing people, got lost multiple times, had unknown meds injected in my butt (I still have no clue if they were administered by a doctor), I slept in questionable accommodation and for the most part I was on pain meds due to a knee injury…. It was awesome! I went home with a new perspective, with courage and a reconnection with myself. It gave me the strength to tackle a difficult divorce process while essentially starting over from scratch. I had lost everything I thought I had or knew.

Tonight I head to the UK for a quick family visit and then to Porto, Portugal. I feel I live my life in chapters and tonight I am excited to start on what I consider my “relaunch” to kick off what will ultimately be my epilogue.   My divorce is behind me, my kids are doing awesome, I have fabulous new people in my life and I finally have a permanent home. I can now feel the ground beneath my feet!

My current travel plan is to follow a section of a Camino called the Litoral Way along the northern coast of Portugal. My plans are very loose and I only have my first two nights of accommodation booked, I wont be collecting stamps as I have no intention of making it to Santiago. As always I have no agenda and no idea of what to expect and unsurprisingly I have not researched this.

We all have challenges in life, we all have shit to deal with. I hope that anyone going through a tough patch will take solace in the fact that bad times are temporary. They feel permanent and terrifying and you may feel trapped with no end in sight but I promise by putting one foot in front of the other things will get better.

So again, I invite you to follow my travels. I will likely reflect over the past couple of years or perhaps not. Who knows I might epically fail,… thats the joy with life… you cant predict the future. I will continue to be brave, to explore and squeeze out every last drop of what I have left on this earth 🙂

The plane is boarding (sorry for the bad grammar and typos)!

Hugs