I’m an attorney that took off on my birthday in December of 2008 to circumnavigate the globe without ever getting on an airplane. After 16 months, 6 continents and 44 countries, I made it all the way back home. Right now, I am back on the road, down in Colombia, writing about it all. I hope you enjoy what you read and see. Thanks.
You can follow me on Twitter or via the Go, See, Write Facebook fan page and Google+. If you have any questions or comments that you want to share privately, please feel free to email me by heading over to my “Contact Me” page or by emailing me at:
michaelshodson@yahoo.com
I look forward to your comments and feedback.
To start things off, how about I give you a few little tidbits about me:
*Everyone asks “what were your favorite countries on your trip?” That’s a tough one, since I hit 44 of them. So let me divide them up a bit like this.
- Favorite places you should visit if you have a two week vacation: Colombia, Namibia, Turkey, Cambodia, and New Zealand.
- Favorite cities: Cape Town, South Africa. Medellin, Colombia. Istanbul, Turkey. Munich, Germany. Budapest, Hungary.
- Best diving spot: Dahab, Egypt on the Red Sea.
- Best “Wonders of the World:” Manchupicchu, Angkor Wat, Great Barrier Reef, Kilimanjaro, and Cappadocia.
- Countries I want to live in: Turkey, Colombia, Argentina, New Zealand, Thailand and South Africa.
* I have two absolute travel necessities: iPod and fingernail clippers.
* I have a constant jukebox in my head. And by constant, I really do mean about 100% of the time, some song is playing in my head.
* I have been in 46 of the 50 states. The omissions are Alaska, Vermont, North Dakota, and Arizona. How the hell I have missed Arizona is still a mystery to me. (CORRECTION: hit Arizona on my way back home this January — so down to 3 omissions now)
* My dog was the only black lab I’ve ever known that was afraid of the water. He would not swim. He was the greatest dog in the world, lived to be 15 years old, and putting him down was perhaps the toughest decision yet in my life. And I should have done it a year earlier.
* Since I did a lot of criminal defense work when I was a lawyer, I have answered the “how can you represent someone you know is guilty” question about 742 times. But it still doesn’t bother me to get asked and explain it all again.
* I smoke 5-10 cigars a week — well, check that — I do when I have access. South America hasn’t been great for that. I have never taken a single puff of a cigarette in my life.
* I love old, wind-up watches.
* I still own my very first car, a 1967 red Mustang.
* I built a bocce court in my backyard. My backyard is 80 feet by 25 feet. The court is 60 feet by 10 feet.
* I have watched Casablanca more than 100 times. Every line in that movie works perfectly and its one of the funniest movies of all time (go re-watch it and listen for the comic lines. . . “I’m shocked, shocked there is gambling going on in this establishment.” “Your winnings, sir” “Well thank you.”)
* I never tie the laces on my tennis shoes, unless I’m doing something athletic. I’ve gotten more comments from strangers about my shoes being untied than anything else in my life. By a factor of about 500.
* The first funeral I went to was my maternal grandfather’s. I gave the eulogy. I didn’t know I was going to be asked to do so until the night before. I stayed up all night writing it.
* On that topic, I take wedding and rehearsal toasts very, very seriously. One thing that pisses me off to no end are crappy toasts from people at those events.
* I only celebrate my prime number birthdays (though I got taunted into throwing a 40th birthday party and drinking much excellent wine).
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If you enjoy the website, the writing and the photography and want to make a contribution to keep me out on the road and writing, I’d appreciate it. Can’t say that I am a non-profit 501 (c)(3) organization or anything, but I can say I’ll try to make your contribution worth its weight in good stories and photos for you and everyone else.
A dollar pays for a beer. Five dollars pays for a meal. Ten dollars pays for a dorm room. You know which one of those is a priority for me.
