ToddlingAroundTheWorld

01/18/2021 It was a dark and stormy night on the road from #SeattleToBahiaBlanca. As I walked down the trail, I felt a CLEAR AND PRESENT DANGER in the air. As it was approaching twilight, it was difficult to discern between KNIGHT AND DAY. When I SPYed around the bend, I was surprised to see THE FOREIGNER running up to me and pulling me away into the brush where we couldn’t be seen! He hurriedly motioned further down on the path where there was a herd of slugs leaving a slick trail of slime. Using code, he told me they were SPIES IN DISGUISE and I had 3 DAYS TO KILL them all. He said I would be assigned to work with MY SPY, JASON BOURNE, who might seem DESPICABLE to ME. BOURNEs IDENTITY would be kept TOP SECRET. I would no longer be considered as THE TOURIST on my #ToddlingAroundTheWorld journey, but would be known as the INTERNATIONAL MAN OF MYSTERY and play a key part in BOURNEs LEGACY. Another objective of mine for this SPY GAME would be to work covertly with JOHNNY ENGLISH, THE SP...

01/02/2021 Had a big year of walking through 2020. It was great that I could still be outside, enjoying the fresh air throughout the craziness that is this pandemic. I was able to complete 3,527 miles through the year - averaged almost 300 per month! While walking, I completed listening to 29 audio books. While this was not as many as in years past, I have been walking more miles indoor on the treadmill, where during my previous #walktoprague , I didn’t have a treadmill, so was walking more indoors at the malls and such while the weather outside was frightful (and dark!) I have been able to enjoy doing the #treadmillmoviemarathons (where I am watching movies while walking, instead of listening to audiobooks) in the meantime, so that has been a nice change of ‘pace’ 😉 With that, I now have just 1,580 miles to go to get from #SeattleToBahiaBlanca over the next five months. When that is done, I will only have 1,014 miles left to complete the #ToddlingAroundTheWorld journey. So my goals...

12/27/2020 Austin gave a fantastic report today on his missions in Bahía Blanca, Argentina and Las Vegas, Nevada. It was wonderful to hear more about some of the special experiences he had there and the wonderful forever friends he has made. I have loved having him home with us the past few months as he recovers from his foot surgery. One of the things he said he misses most about Argentina is the bidets 😂. He sure doesn’t like using toilet paper any more. So, I have had a bidet you can attach to your existing toilet in the garage for well over a year. Once he heard about that, he had it set up within the next couple of weeks. Once he had it installed, he called me upstairs to come take a look. As I came down the hall to see, all of the sudden, I was hit in the face with a stream of water from the toilet that was 15 feet away! Austin had turned the bidet on full blast and shot the water all the way down the hall right at me! I yell in shock while he laughs maniacally. He continues t...

12/22/2020 It’s a winter wonderland! #seattletobahiablanca milepost 5357

12/21/2020 ‘Twas the night before the night before the night before Christmas When all through the house, many features were playing, some with Mickey Mouse The treadmill was running while I looked out to stare, At the big screen TV and all of the Christmas movies there. The children (yes we still have two that came home) are hanging out in their beds, While dad is virtually #toddlingaroundtheworld on these noisy old treads With LeAnn in our room, maybe taking a nap, I keep trudging along, walking lap after lap. I looked out the window while hearing the loud pitter patter, Of the incessant rain that falls on our roof with a splatter. I hear from downstairs the bark of our dog Flash, But pay no attention to him, as I must keep up on my dash... =============================== This past month I have been watching and walking through a plethora of Christmas movies. I have separated them into Animated movies and other Christmas classics. This first post is for the Animated ones, which I...

12/17/2020 The #SeattleToBahiaBlanca walk is going strong, I am almost 18 months into the journey, with 6 months left to get to my goal. I have now walked almost exactly 100 miles farther in the 18 months since Austin left on his mission than I did during the same time period while Autumn was out on her mission (5,219 miles for the #SeattleToPrague walk) Seattle to Bahia Total Miles: 7020 Seattle to Bahia Completed Miles: 5318.9 Seattle to Bahia Remaining Miles: 1701.1 Austin is doing great after finishing his mission. He has been working hard to rehabilitate his foot after the surgery. Recently, he has finally been able to ditch the crutches after almost 4 months. He is working hard doing Door Dash and earned enough money to buy a car. He can often be heard practicing the piano and working out upstairs. It is great that he is striving to implement good habits and is managing his time effectively as he looks toward his next goal of returning to BYU in January. =========================...

12/04/2020 The calming peace of the beautiful lakes and waters of the PNW. I actively seek out those places that will bring me Blue Therapy. So many of my walks are initiated with a lake as my destination. That is the glory of living in a region that is often called Lakeland South. I will often head up and back to Five Mile Lake, Trout Lake, Lake Killarney, Lake Geneva, Surprise Lake, North Lake and even the lake right behind Weyerhaeuser (not sure what that one is called) What a blessing that these beautiful bodies of water are that can bring us such peace merely by glancing out onto their calming ripples. These destinations surely help me bring on the miles as I continue on the #toddlingaroundtheworld journey. #lighttheworld