Introspective optometrist seeks inspiration and adventure

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  • Welcome
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  • Work With Me
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  • Abby,  Lessons,  Love

    Ave Abby

    February 5, 2025 /

    It’s an honor to hurt so much, feel so much, and to have loved that much. BEFORE Abby’s life with me spanned from 8 weeks to 16 years old. We…

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  • Abby,  Airbnb,  Family,  Friends,  Memories,  National Park,  Tennessee

    Nashville, McAfee Knob and HOME

    January 20, 2018 /

    The Music Highway is the road (I-40) between Memphis and Nashville. It is so named because of the rich music history in both cities and on the path between them.…

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  • Abby,  Airbnb,  Lessons,  Memories,  Mississippi,  Tennessee

    Death in Memphis

    January 19, 2018 /

    Abby (the Hound Dog) and I are on our own again, headed to Memphis. I think Bill Bryson best described driving alone for an extended period of time in his…

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  • Maria and Kelly 2 at a cafe in New Orleans
    Abby,  Airbnb,  Friends,  Hot Springs,  Kelly 2,  Lessons,  Louisiana,  Memories,  Texas

    Austin and NOLA

    January 18, 2018 /

    Austin is the fastest growing large city in the United States. The local motto is “Keep Austin Weird” and it is featured on bumper stickers and T-shirts. Austin uses this…

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  • Alien statues at the Roswell UFO Museum
    Abby,  Arizona,  National Park,  New Mexico,  Texas

    Truth and Consequences, then Roswell

    January 17, 2018 /

    About two hours from Flagstaff is the Petrified Forest National Park, which encompasses parts of the Rainbow Forest and the Painted Desert. While the names sound glorious, this park’s description may…

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  • Maria and Kelly 1 on the edge of Bryce Canyon National Park amphitheater with hoodoos in the background
    Abby,  Arizona,  Colorado,  Hot Springs,  Kelly 1,  National Park,  Utah

    The Best of Colorado, Utah and Arizona

    January 16, 2018 /

    For this stretch of the trip, my childhood friend, Kelly, accompanied us. Kelly and I met in Kindergarten, when (as Kelly vividly remembers and I do not) I sat next to…

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  • Joe Gebbia, founder of Airbnb, headshot
    Abby,  Airbnb,  Love,  Memories,  National Park

    Airbnb

    January 15, 2018 /

    The podcast How I Built This interviewed Joe Gebbia, founder of Airbnb. There was a convention in Joe’s town that sold out of hotel rooms. Quickly, he made a website to auction off…

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  • Friends, Maria and Kelly 2, at a cafe in New Orleans
    Abby,  Airbnb,  Food,  Lessons,  Love,  National Park

    Lessons Learned, Part Two

    January 13, 2018 /

    29. Nothing will make you feel more alive than standing alone, on the top of a mountain, at 11,000 feet, in three feet of snow, without a single noise or…

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  • Abby and Maria Selfie at Great Sand Dunes National Park
    Abby,  Airbnb,  National Park,  State Park

    Abby

    January 8, 2018 /

    “You don’t even know where I’m going.”“I don’t care. I’d like to go anywhere.”― John Steinbeck, Travels with Charley: In Search of America If someone asks me what is the best part…

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  • Abby,  National Park,  South Dakota

    South Dakota

    January 7, 2018 /

    Our Badlands cabin window faces east. Abby and I wake to a gorgeous sunrise over this foreign landscape.  It features sharply eroded buttes, pinnacles, and spires that blend with the…

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  • FaceTime screenshot of my niece, Cora and myselfFaceTime screenshot of my niece, Cora and myself
    Abby,  Family,  Friends,  Humanity,  Love,  Memories,  National Park

    In the Driver’s Seat

    January 6, 2018 /

    You may wonder about the logistics of traveling for an extended time, spending hours in my car. Generally, I store the necessities on the passenger side, within easy reach. My Yeti with my Chai…

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  • Cow nose on soybean farm near Mammoth Cave
    Abby,  Friends,  Kentucky,  National Park

    Midwest Plains

    January 5, 2018 /

    Mammoth Cave Mammoth Cave is epic. It is the largest cave system in the world. That’s right, the WORLD! It has 400 underground miles that have been explored and who knows…

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