Of all the wonders of the world, both man made and natural the most lasting memories are always about the people who we encounter along the way. The Thai gentleman with a huge smile on his face as he paddles by in his dugout boat represents his country well as the “Land of Smiles”. The South African Zulu lady with a warm and friendly smile who was selling vegetables along the road in Zululand can make anyone feel welcome in what can be a very hostile and unforgiving country. A Ukrainian street musician with his lively songs and music displays a very modest but happy and carefree lifestyle as he sings for change in the streets of Lviv, Ukraine. The weather beaten face of the elderly Chinese lady shares memories of a long life of hardship and struggle with just a passing glance, while without making eye contact the Australian Aboriginal man shows signs of what was once a proud heritage that was lost in a changing nation. They all have their own memorable stories to tell, whether its verbal, with a huge smile or just a passing glance, they all leave lasting impressions that are always the most precious memories of any trip and unlike the tourist attraction, they will never be forgotten.

I sat down on a patch of grass and admired the scene before me. It had been fourteen years since I had visited Beijing and in those fourteen years so much had changed. Back when I lived here, there were no tall, urban skyscrapers or large, sprawling factories. Back then, we rode bicycles or walked to where we wanted to go—there was none of the congested highway lanes filled with the thousands of foreign cars that I saw today. What used to be ponds and grassland had been converted into supermalls and shopping centers and now no matter where I looked, nothing looked familiar to me anymore. Even the old apartment building that I used to live in and the old sandpit that I used to play in had been razed and were converted into high-class condos.

Yet despite the painful waves of nostalgia that hit me, I realized that change was probably a good thing—the economy was so much better now and the streets were bustling with small shops. And although much of the grassland had been turned into concrete, the most beautiful parts of Beijing were still there. The old temples, the gorgeous lakes, and the beautiful forests were all protected by the government and left undisturbed by the wave of urbanization that had hit my hometown.

As a young eight year old boy I read a book about an adventurer who travelled the Yangtze river in the 1920's. His tales of the candle-lit electricity-less villages along the banks fascinated me, as did his recounting of his experiences with the Chinese people he met, a people who seemed so unknown and exotic to a young child. That book ignited my life-long interest in travelling the world.

I was not able to begin travelling until I entered the U.S. military upon graduation from high school. Unfortunately because of the political situation and my security clearances, I was forbidden from travelling to China during my 30 year career, and for ten additional years after retiring.

Finally, in 2006 I was free to go, and did so after studying the Chinese language for a year. As shown in my selected photos, I celebrated my 63rd B-Day riding a bike past a rice paddy near Yangshuo, followed in the evening by an al fresco birthday dinner at a small street-side Café…Lisa’s café...that's Lisa in one of my photos. I later took the boat cruise down the Yangtze River, during which I met a lovely Chinese family. I saw the villages along the bank that I had read about half a century earlier.

My memories of China are many, but most of all I found that I loved the Chinese people. I was stunned by their friendliness which confirmed what I had read in that travel book so many years earlier, and not what I had been led to believe in the many intervening decades. The people are wonderful, and my selected travel photos thus focus on them, more than on buildings or scenery.

I was especially moved by the children who approached me, more openly friendly than any others I’ve encountered across the globe in my travels. Their interest in me mirrored my childhood interest in their culture those many decades ago.

My Senior (Old Man's) Year in China…An 8 year old boy's dream had finally come true…I will never forget my time in Zhongguo.

My husband and I are convinced that we possess a streak of madness. To seriously contemplate on downsizing our lives, selling our beloved home, and taking our 4 kids with us on a new adventure travelling around the world, seems (I’m sure to many) quite a crazy thing to do.

To us, long term travel is about being open to possibilies, of becoming a student of life and of the world. This requires boldness and a lot of hard work in learning new things, planning, and following through to keep our family healthy, continually growing, and most importantly, safe. We want to explore and experience this wonderful world. To continue to grow to know each other and this immensely beautiful world more intimately.

As parents, we are choosing not to be fearful, but instead always careful. We want to show the kids that the world is not a scary place. That there are more good and beautiful people out there than there are bad. That life is about taking the right kinds of risks, following your heart and always being true to yourself. Life is too short to grumble and complain about how the way things should be. We need to take action, learn understanding and tolerance first-hand, and go out to make a difference in the world. The world God created is an incredibly wonderful and beautiful place.

We want to explore it, marvel in it, and delight in it!

Visiting Morocco, particularly the Sahara Desert, was a dream come true for us. Our time there as a family has been etched into the sacred part of our memories.