
2024
May 2024
Divine begins walking on his own!
Just before his 14 month milestone, Divine began taking some very long confident steps on his own.
March 2024
Mama and Baby Birthdays Trip to Puerto Escondido, Mexico
It was Divine’s 1st Birthday and we had a celebration with family and friends at home as and a week later we left for Mexico to celebrate Betina’s birthday as well!

The adventure began on the day before the departure from Miami, when we found out Divine required a passport. I felt horrible and embarrassed that we never even considered that he would need a passport and not one family member or friend mentioned it either.
Well that whole fiasco was resolved after 48 hours but not before losing a flight and a night’s stay in Puerto Escondido.
Will post a link to that story here.
January 2024
A Fresh Start, New Resolutions and New Intentions
Well, It’s time to get organized, we’re starting this year with a renewed ambition to work on our dreams. Last year was a whirlwind and we’ve learned so much.
One thing we do know is that we can’t continue flying by the seat of our pants.
In order to fulfill our dreams of travel and experiences with our new addition to the family we have to buckle down and focus on our responsibilities to our own immediate family.
It’s easy to get distracted and pulled in so many directions from our own family and friends.
However, if we don’t start prioritizing our needs and goals we will spend most of the year following everyone else’s plans from one weekend to the next.
This year we focus on self-development, our businesses and planning for the future.
Look for more upcoming posts on Local Florida Travel Activities and helpful content updates to our previous travel posts.

2023
THE BIG 10 YEAR MILESTONE
2013 – 2023
It’s been ten years since I began documenting my life and travel experiences here.
I launched this website in April of 2013, with the intention of documenting my upcoming move to Thailand. At the time I didn’t have any experience to write about, but I knew it would be a way to journal my whole experience once I was there.
So much has happened in these last ten years and I couldn’t have imagined that I would be where I am now. It’s not exactly how I planned it, but many of my goals and dreams have manifested in ways that I believe were meant for my own growth. There were many times when I felt like I was either moving backward or completely starting over from scratch.
Even now, I know I am not exactly where I thought I’d be but I feel it’s still a process that is still evolving.
I initially left my career as a Software QA Analyst in hopes of finding a remote I.T. job and working from SE Asia in 2013.
Apparently, I was ahead of my time because not many companies were even allowing employees to work remotely. In today’s world Post-Covid-19 remote work is almost as normal as working from an office. There are now hundreds of fully distributed companies that don’t have a set physical location and all employees work remotely.
The hard reality of the risk I took is that I had no luck finding a remote I.T. job in 2013.
And my back-up plan to teach English did not workout for me either.
Unfortunately in 2014, I had to return to the United States with a huge gap in my work history. As the weeks, and months passed by it become increasingly more difficult to find work in my old career.
After a few weeks job-searching I knew as soon as I could I would start my own business as an online entrepreneur.
The Grind
I began creating the first of a few e-commerce websites and monetized this website with affiliates, such as Agoda.com, Booking.com, and a few others.
My first e-commerce website was Clean Water Mill and it still exists today.
It was originally a drop-shipping model that I used working directly with suppliers from the U.S. and not through warehouses in China. The only other e-commerce site that I have that still exists is Inspired Fire and Water Features
Now, they are both strictly Amazon affiliate stores, and my second stream of income.
I also did a number of odd jobs to supplement the income I received from my own business.
- Warehouse Inventory
- Lyft Driver
- Postmates Driver
- Bowling Alley Server
There were literally two occasions when I ran into former colleagues while working in the Bowling Alley. One was a former Tech Recruiter I used to work with and another Project Manager I worked with in the last job before I left for Thailand.
On each occasion, I couldn’t help but feel like I had failed and was a little embarrassed. Since these colleagues knew where I was coming from.
However, I did whatever I had to do to keep earning a living until I got back on my feet.
These were some humbling times for me.
Not only was my career in the wind, but I had a number of family and friend’s that I lost.
My father passed away in 2021, and over a number of years, I lost several cousins and a few old friends, as well as a respected mentor Jeff Smith.
On the bright side, in 2023
after 8 years my girlfriend Betina became my Wife…
and then…
she also gave birth to our son Divine!
Check out this Blog post about Divine’s 1st year here.
Somehow in between, all of the unexpected, we still managed to have a few adventures in foreign countries to blog about.
You also might have noticed the website is new and improved!
Please take a look around click on a few links.
I am changing the focus of the blog to be more of a Travel Resource for my visitors and will also continue to write personal stories to my heart’s content.
I hope you will stay with me for the next ten years because there is so much more I want to share with you!
Related Links
A New Chapter Begins: First Year of Travel and Discovery for Divine
What Was I Thinking When I Quit My Job And Moved To Thailand
Build A Website For Free

2022
2022 was a year for transitioning and change.
It was quite abrupt but even for a Software Engineer and Licensed Psychologist Betina and I were forced to move out of our apartment because it became too expensive and not worth the cost.
Our lease was raised by nearly $600 and this type of inflated prices were occurring all over the housing market in South Florida.
After a few weeks of house hunting we spoke to my mother who was living alone in a 4 bedroom home (my childhood home) about temporarily moving in with her.

2021
2021 was a pivotal year for me and one that had me seriously contemplating my future and my own mortality.
In March, my father passed away at the age of 80 years old.
Coincidentally, a few weeks later, after nearly 7 years, the doors opened up to my old I.T. career again.
I somehow believe my father’s spirit had something to do with that.
(Maybe I’ll write about in another post. or on my Website dedicated to Spirituality Diverse Divinity)
Not much occurred in regards to travel this year but a lot of changes had to be made in our lives and remember this was the first year after the pandemic.
In the summer, I started skateboarding again, and it was one of the best things I could do for my mental and physical health. I wasn’t sure I could do it again, but after meeting a whole crew of older skaters, I knew I had another chance.
At the end of 2021 we were basically forced out of our apartment when our lease was up and the rent was raised by nearly an extra $600!
We found out about the raise in our apartment lease after a Thanksgiving road trip to Chicago and Atlanta.
- Chicago Trip
We had less than a month to figure out what to do next and during the Christmas holidays!!
So 2021 ended with new challenges, but it was the catalyst to a lot of change that we would need to tackle in 2022!

2020
March 2020
Lockdown
In March 2020, the pandemic caused us to stay at home as the city around us began shutting down.
I also reached another milestone in life because I turned 50 years old.
The Covid-19 lockdown had made it possible to sneak over to our local beach on more occasions without absolutely anyone around!
We had to hide from police patrolling the beaches on their 4-wheeled ATV’s though.
We never had any problems.
In October, on my 50th Birthday, Betina and I took a trip to Costa Rica.

2019
March 2019
Birthday Trip to Jamaica and Return to Blogging?
So much has happened in the last 3 years up till now.
2 Trips to Jamaica, Thailand, Uruguay, and Argentina, as well as the U.S. visiting the beautiful states of Georgia, North Carolina, Tennessee, New Jersey, Illinois, and the Florida Keys.
A new relationship and travel partner began nearly 5 years ago and it’s already been 2 years since we moved in together!
In all this time I’ve only really written 2 new posts. I’ve been working hard on my e-commerce stores, picking up odd jobs, and even driving Lyft for extra cash.
In the last few months, my main focus has been studying to rebuild my skill set and return to my old career.
The struggle is real but the benefit is I’ve learned so much.
New friends, new opportunities, and entrepreneurial as well as spiritual growth have all been a major part of my journey.
See my post Why I Quit Travel Blogging for a little overview of what has been happening in the past year.
Until then, get the gist of who I am and who we are below and in the posts I’ve written so far.
Related Links:

2018
Summer of 2018
It’s Kind of a Blur

2017
Summer of 2017
Amazing Family Trip to Tennessee

2016
Winter 2016 Christmas Holidays
Christmas Holidays and Adventure in Uruguay/Argentina with Family!
Re-Cap Coming Soon!

2015
A New Partner and A New Adventure in SE Asia
Re-Cap Coming Soon!

2014
I returned to the U.S. in 2014.

2013
In 2013, after a whole year of selling most of my belongings, paying off debts, saving and planning, I took a trip to Jamaica with my family, then I quit my I.T. job and moved to Thailand.
My intention was to experience a new life outside of my comfort zone, create more opportunities for traveling and life-changing experiences.
I made a conscious decision to break the routine of monotony and I learned so much from my experiences living abroad.
In my blog posts, I provide tips and advice in regard to living, working, and traveling abroad. I share the things that inspire me and I also share the ups and downs that come with acclimating to a different culture and pursuing this location-independent lifestyle.
Thailand is only the beginning and I plan to visit many other countries in the years to come.
I hope I can inspire you to get out, do more, and see more even if it’s a place in your hometown that you’ve never seen before.
One -Away was created on April 26, 2013.

Inspiration
More personal stories of my travel experiences that will inspire you.

Travel Resources
Links to help you research and plan your next trip.

Blogging
Resources to help you achieve location independence.