Welcome back,

We’re back home!

Over 2,000 miles over the past 3+ weeks, so many delicious foods tried, many new fiends met, and hundreds of memories created. This trip has reminded me that “things” are just things, what matters in life are the memories we create and the people who we create them with.

After leaving the Grand Canyon and almost not finding an open gas station in time we were on our way. 🙂

On the way to California and the Sequoia National Park we passed through the Mojave Desert. I pulled over and took a close up picture of this Joshua Tree. These spiky plants are some of the oldest living organisms on Earth. Many Joshua trees living to be hundreds of years old and some living for thousands of years.

After 8 hours of driving past beautiful landscapes, huge wind-generators, wineries, and desert we made it to the “Land of Giants”. The first day we arrived at the Sequoia National Park we only saw average sized trees, this was due to our lower elevation. We spent the first night exploring within the first 20 miles of the entrance to the park. We later learned the great sequoia trees did not appear until some miles up the road.

When we finally reached the actual sequoia trees they did not appear here and there, they stood in a line like an army. It looked as if someone planted a giant brown living wall of trees. From this “wall of tree” line forward we were surrounded by immediate shade, quietness, and calm giant tree trunks. It was incredible and undescribable to feel that tiny.

After spending a night at the Sequoia Forrest we headed for San Francisco. The drive went by faster than expected as me and my partner-in-crime took random pit stops trying local foods and snacks we found along the way. After arriving in town I was immediately greeted with the famous SF Bay traffic. After an hour and twenty minutes in traffic I was greatly surprised to see we had made it atop of Lombard street. This street is known for its twists and turns in just one small section.

Some standard sightseeing at the famous Pier 39. These seals would not stop barking and showing off for people. I couldn’t help but be amused and laughing right along side everyone else.

This is what working for yourself can mean. There is likely no good reason you can not be doing the same in 2 years or less; unless you’re dead or in jail you have the ability to make your business a reality. Ok, now off my soapbox and back to the sightseeing.

San Francisco is amazing. Such rich and sorted history packed in such a small city. All the locals we met were amazing and super helpful to tourists. A couple whom we asked directions from walked us 2 miles down the street to lead us to the Japanese Tea Garden and Rose garden. We ended up all going in together and having a Japanese snack.

Did you know each rose has a unique smell? I never even thought of that question before today. Literally stopping to smell the roses was one of my favorite memories of this day.

Challenge: Take some time this week to stop and smell local flowers. If your area in currently cold or flowerless then do the next best thing, head to a grocery store and start smelling the fresh produce. It may sound odd or silly but if you can’t remember how a fresh plum or walnut smells like you should wake up your smell receptors and start exercising them today.

Can you believe this view we got when we arrived in Los Angels? Thanks to Airbnb.com and local owners Nate and Ben we were able to reserve and stay at a beautiful bungalow looking over the LA hills. We spent 2 nights at this amazing house enjoying the private pool and hot tub as much as possible. Classic sightseeing and nightly celebrating ensued. 🙂

On the way back home we made a pit stop in Tombstone, AZ. The weather was hot, the streets were dusty, and it was everything I loved from the movie. Not much of its rough past, this tourist town now seems to cater to families and kids of all ages. After having lunch and seeing a gun fight at the O.K. Coral we were off. Our final destination on this road trip was home, Austin Texas.

Conclusion: An amazing time well spent with amazing friends. Everyday I was able to work a bit online helping folks nationwide invest in mobile homesand build wealth for themselves. With regards to my personal portfolio of properties everyone was still paying and happy when I returned. What a great business real estate investing can be that we may leave for 3 weeks and come back to a smoothly operating cash-flow business.

Love what you do daily,

John Fedro