This is a long one...so grab a sandwich if you need to.
"...the only people for me are the mad ones, the ones who are mad to live, mad to talk, mad to be saved, desirous of everything at the same time, the ones who never yawn or say commonplace thing, but burn, burn, burn like fabulous yellow roman candles exploding like spiders across the stars and in the middle you see the blue centerlight pop and everybody goes, 'Awww!'"--Jack Kerouac
I give New Zealand one thumbs up. It's beautiful, and there is a LOT to do IF the weather is good. However, NZ is very much an outdoor experience. We got to sea kayak with wild dolphins and seals swimming right next to us! I also got a traffic ticket for driving on the right side of the road for like 3 seconds. Grrr. You can imagine the drama that unfolded as I was panicky, driving a stickshift, and trying to back up and into a parking spot...
Therefore, should the weather be cold and rainy, and leave you trapped in a campervan with nothing but your friend and his biceps for entertainment...you may consider flying to Sydney a day early. And we did, and it was the best decision because we got a perfectly sunny day to play on Bondi Beach. We also got to stay with Jason Grassie again for a few days, sleep well with tummies full of wine, and catch a comedy show at the opera house. 
A few days later I was welcomed home by my favorite couple ever, Toby and Jane...I'm actually still in L.A. at the moment and will soar into the cold Texas air later this evening. 
So, in conclusion, what is to be gained from this little experiment? Did I find what I was looking for? Do I trust God a little more with my life now that He's walked me through my dream?? In an old journal entry, I talked about feeling like a bird, not in a cage... but the kind that is so trained it just stays in the backyard in fear of possibility. I didn't go away to find happiness, I was happy in Dallas... I went away to find freedom. One of my favorite quotes from the movie, Into the Wild, is when an old man tells Alexander Supertramp he needs to get a job and make something of himself. Alex replies, "Mr.Franz, I think careers are a 20th century invention, and I don't want one." .....I love it. I wanted to get away from the mindset that making something of myself has anything to do at all with how much money and security I have, whether or not I'm married, or talented, or beautiful. I don't ever want to see money as anything but an exchange for goods and services. I don't ever want to give it any power over the way I view people and their views of me. I think the American Dream was a good idea that started out in it's purest form, as freedom...and I guess it works for a lot of people. But I'd like to spread my wings farther than my backyard. I want to make much of every little bit of time I have on this earth, and I think with the right eyes...I might not miss a thing.
When did the conflict begin in our rival against TIME? When did we develop this opposition that "wastes" time, "races against" time, or even settles comfortably into the murderous role that "kills" time? ......Folks, Father Time is not our enemy, he is on our side, encouraging us to know him fully. Each moment he leads us into a room filled with doors of opportunity, and simply asks us to choose one. He does not beg or use force, but he hopes that we will embrace him...because only he knows that the second that last grain of sand slides through the hour glass, those doors will vanish into an abyss of lost chance. There will not be a next time, or another time. Moments have life spans shorter than mayflies, and time is not allowed to be saved or bottled. It is here now, and much like the Brisbane train system...it will not wait for you to muster some gumption.
So what is it that you've always wanted to do or be? What is it thats stopping you? What is it that excites you and ignites your passion? What is it that you thought you would never be capable of? ....I had to let my heart believe that things are POSSIBLE for me. Not just for others. Stories are not something that magically comes from books, and movies. Stories are for everyone to have, and to tell. And I like the stories the best that are told first hand, from the person who was there. So I went there....Shasta and I found a door, spread our wings, and we flew over mountains and sea. Through baby steps we trusted God and prayed for the basics...and He taught us about opportunity. We left our old skin behind, and I cant wait to see all of the happenings that will lead us to shedding this new and comfortable layer. I'm absolutely in love with you Australia. You will be missed.
I'll end with a quote from a book I just finished. Kerouac is probably the worst writer I've read in a while...but he did have a few great things to say in On the Road. So I'll leave you with this bit. Here I come Texas.
"Now you just dig them in front. They have worries, they're counting the miles, they're thinking about where to sleep tonight, how much money for gas, the weather, how they'll get there--and all the time they'll get there anyway, you see. But they need to worry and betray time with urgencies false and otherwise, purely anxious and whiny, their souls really wont be at peace unless they can latch on to an established and proven worry, and having once found it they assume facial expressions to go with it, which is, you see, unhappiness, and all the time it all flies by them and they know it and that too worries them to no end."
