Why I am taking this trip.

I had meant to pre-write this, but never got around to it. I have been going stir crazy for the last six months at least, needing to take a trip, an adventure, a different point of view. I have lived in Vancouver steadily for the last five years and is much too responsible and reliable to suite my nature. Last summer I came up with the perfect way to travel with no money-teach English. So I planned to go to Korea. I ran into a hitch, I have a criminal record of a non-criminal record. I have been arrested, but not charged for protesting. So I hung out in Vancouver, made art, protested and archived shoes.

I had a friend who was talking about us doing a cycling trip down to California, who was really stoked on starting from our front doors.  I was also supposed to do a month's bike trip with another friend when I got to Korea. I had cycling on the brain. I've also been saying for years that my next trip would be south America. The textiles, the culture, oh, it all just gets me tingling.

And then I lived at Occupy which changed my whole perspective. I got myself out of the depressed rut I was in. I also thought I could travel down the coast and visit all of the occupies. Of course since then, they have all become un-occupied. 

But mostly I wanted to gather information, to meet grass roots organizations and see the struggles for myself. I also wanted to find and document art/ artists. I also wanted to see the drug wars and some of the impacts. Really I should have started my trip from my art studio at main & Hastings, where they are  inflicting our drug laws and gone to Mexico where our laws are a large part (us and the USA) of why they have drug wars. And no, I don't plan on getting involved with any drug gangs, but I would like to visit some of the Canadian mines. Lastly, which is also firstly, I feel led there by God. Before I went to Korea, I got a message from God that I was not a mercenary. I thought it meant I should go somewhere else and teach English, but it turned out Korea was the easiest. I also felt a message of go from God one day in church as well, very much indirectly, from words God had to my father about me.

So here I am. Off on my way. With my brains in my head and shoes on my feet, there is no telling who I may meet. And if there is someone or something you think I should check out, just drop me a line.