Brian Carr's Travels

• Before I left I made up a series of web pages with pictures about my home, work, etc. in Jefferson Valley, NY.
• As a new addition, I started a series pages from the old slides I took years ago. First off a series from my year as a soldier in Korea in 1978.
• There are also a couple of series from the pictures we took in Korea concerning the orphanage and the foster babies.
• Next up is a series from the slides and pictures I took before and after that major trip. Not so interesting or well documented (as I didn't make any records at the time to describe the slides).
• Then, on August 29, 2001, I left New York and started my travels around the U.S. taking on odd jobs.
• I worked in autopart factories in Detroit. It was sad to go, but on October 14, I left for Florida.
• I visited with cousin Vinson in Indiana and
• then made my way to Florida.
• There are pictures from the wedding of Debra and Randy.
• I worked picking fruit in Fort Pierce, FL.
• On November 18, I returned to Texas.
• I spent Thanksgiving with my brother and mom and
• worked as a laborer at a construction site..
• On January 13, 2002, I went to New Orleans
• where I worked in recycling center.
• On February 16, I went to Houston, TX.
• where I unloaded barges and
• worked in brick factory.
• On March 30, I left for Goldsberry, Missouri where I helped my cousin take care of the cattle on his farm.
• On May 5, I left for Seattle, WA
• where I worked as a mover and then
• worked on prepping and painting fishing boats.
• On September 22, I left for Portland, OR
• where I helped out with residential construction and.
• pouring concrete walls for a warehouse
• and where I met Karyn.
• On November 7, 2002, I left for San Francisco Bay area in California
• where I worked at residential construction site.

• On December 19, 2002, I returned to Portland (in a terrible snow storm) to
• spend the holidays with Karyn and ended up staying.
• I found work as a driver/mover for United Van Lines and
• Karyn and we were married on August 16, 2003.
• I continued working as a mover while I looked for work with computers.

• Karyn asked for a divorce and
• I was offered a job as a database specialist in August 2004. Go figure.
• So I wrapped things up as a mover (took still more pictures).
• I started my new job as a Database Analyst,
• I found an apartment and moved into my new home.
• but the divorce with Karyn has turned adversarial and I spent a weekend in jail.. What to do?
• In April 2005 I took a trip to Albany, NY and helped David move.
• In July 2005 I went to the Turner family reuntion in Blookmington, IN.
• In February 2005 @Once.com was bought out by InfoUSA.com and made a part of YesMail.com. That led to lots of changes and new pictures from work..
• In July 2006, David (my eldest son) and Barbara (my former wife) visited to attend the Libertarian Party National Convention. We also spent the Fourth at Fort Vancouver and then visited Crater Lake, OR.
• In March of 2007, I visited my mom and brother in Dallas. Mike and I went to the 'Bluebunnie Retreat' and I visited with my mom for a couple of days.
• In early May of 2007, I took a day trip with Eric to Tillamook and the northern Oregon coast.
• In mid May, 2007, I went to a wonderful weekend retreat, Sufi Dance Sky Camp.
• I visited Jay, David and Barbara in Albany, NY in July 2007.
• Then I was off to Italy with my son Jay and his friend, Nikki.
• I have been helping out with Habitat for Humanity.
• In September of 2007 I went down to Oakland, CA for Prison Project Training to help me lead yoga meditation yoga in prisons.
• At work my group has been extended with and off-shore contingent in Bangadore, India.
• Toward the end of 2007 I visited my brother when he was visiting Seattle.
• In 2008 I have gotten into the routine of helping out with Habitat for Humanity and their Restore.
• And my car was stolen, twice! I learned to do without my car and started with biking part way to work.
• Cynthia and I have started visting both Sheridan Federal Correctional Institute (FCI or prison) and Oregon State Penitentiary (OSP).
• I also visited Seattle one weekend to hear the Karmapa.
• In July of 2008 I went to S.U.U.S.I. in Radford, VA with visits to Rockville, MD and Baltimore, MD.
• In August Lama Dudjam Dorjee visited Seattle (along with my brother) and I was able to visit for a weekend.
• In October 2008 there were lots of changes with me leaving Yesmailc.om and a weekend trip to Snake River prison close to Idaho.
• In the spring of 2009 I visited a couple of Habitat for Humanity construction sites.
• At the end of March in 2009 I visited Dallas and helped my brother move, went to the Blue Bunny Retreat, and visited with my mom.

  Start of Trip, 2009

• I packed up my stuff and headed to Oakland, CA, Los Angeles and then Hawaii where I was offered a job with CDI.
• I headed back to Los Angeles area to get my stuff and ship my car.
• I was laid off shortly after I got back to Hawaii. I already had reservations to return to the mainland in about four weeks, so I just hung out saw the sites, though I did have to move to a new place which was quite a circus.
• In the middle of July, 2009, I returned to the mainland, visited D.C. and went to SUUSI 2009, which was great fun though I was sick the whole week. :-(
• After SUUSI, I visited DC for a bit (I was still sick) and then returned to California for a couple weeks while my car finished its cruise from Hawaii and I recovered from my sickness.
• Then I was off on my car trip to Texas with a nice couch surfing encounter in Tucson with Ricardo.
• In Denton, Texas I visited with my mom and helped out at a Habitat for Humanity build as well as visiting with my brother, Michael, at his KTC Tibetan Buddhist events.
• Then I continuing my road trip this time through D.C. where I had a job interview with NOAA (in MD to precise).
• After my interview I headed down to Durham, NC to visit with Ronnie who I had met at SUUSI.
• Then I was off to Boca Raton, FL to visit with Arnold and Esther.
• My road trip continued to its close in New York as I checked my old haunts in Westchester County.
• I visited with my former wife, Barbara, in Copake, NY as well as my kids in Albany, NY.
• I also visited S. Fallsburg in trying to get in tough with the Siddha Yoga community in Albany, NY.
• After Labor Day weekend in 2009 I moved into a room in a shared floor of a house in Albany where I help out at the Habitat for Humanity Restore and builds.
• My brother and other members of the Dallas KTC had a weekend retreat at the Kaygu Monastery in Woodstock, NY.
• I was able to go to a reunion for the now defunct group I worked with at Verizon.
• I was also able to go to a Dances of Universal Peace (DUP, sufi inspired) weekend retreat in Royalston, MA in early December, 2010.
• Then I was off on a road trip over the holidays. I stopped off and visited with Amy and Jack in Chapel Hill, NC.
• I also visited with Herb and Ruby in Chattanooga.
• In Dallas I was able to go to the KTC (Tibetan Buddhist) Center holiday party and saw my brothers new house as well as the Denton Restore.

Here is a link to recently updated pages.

If you are wondering why I went travelling, you are not alone. A lot of people (about half the people I talked to) thought me leaving a good job as a programmer was crazy, some kind of mid life crisis. However, it was more like empty nest syndrome, but that isn't quite right either; to me it seemed more like a mid life release. I really enjoyed my job and life in New York, but with my kids being grown and me being divorced, it seemed to be a chance to do all those other things I have wanted to do. It looks like a year and a half of travelling was enough and I have gone back to programming for another twenty years.

This page was last updated on January 26, 2010.