Wandering

Beach in Palawan, PI

As you may have noticed, I have extended my blog title a little. Don't worry, it's only a temporary change. It will return back to cook. preach. love, but for now I thought a travel blog would be fitting as that is what I will be doing for the next month.
On Saturday I leave for a 1 month trip to Australia & the Philippines. Not a bad honeymoon eh? Not lucky, spoiled rotten is what I am. I realize this but you must know that the title 'honeymoon' is not really accurate for this trip as this is not it's original purpose. This is actually a business trip. Well, business for my husband - all pleasure for me;) Steve was asked by some mutual friends who are getting married if he would be their wedding photographer. In exchange, instead of paying him in $$, they would pay our (yes, mine included) flights to the exciting land down under to where the wedding is taking place!
Originally, our honeymoon (if there were to be one) was going to have to wait a while as the wedding cost a bit more than we planned. However, being given this absolute amazing opportunity, we knew we had to take advantage. That is where the Philippines comes in. A place we have always wanted to explore, and now with in feasible distance to do so. We will be splitting our month in half - 2 weeks in Australia and 2 weeks in the Philippines.
As we have been to Australia once before, along with visiting great friends, we plan to explore places we have not been before. Sipping Toohey's, drinking from goons and eating Tim Tam's with old friends, seeing the Sydney Opera House, camping along the coast and of course, visiting my mom's 'special place' are just some of the exciting things we have planned. As for the Philippine's, well every experience will be brand new. After arriving in Manila, we plan on traveling to the north to trek the 8th wonder of the world - the rice terraces. From there, maybe swimming with whale sharks in Donsol and then spending the rest of our days soaking up the sun, hammock swaying, and snorkeling off the beautiful beaches of Palawan. And a sudden addition thanks to the airline changing our flights, we have an over night stay in Fiji on our way in.
I was recently asked where I hide my horseshoe. I do realize how lucky of a person I am to be able to experience such an adventure. I most certainly am not taking this amazing opportunity for granted as I know this is a once in a life time deal. However, this 'horseshoe' I am supposedly carrying is a very new addition to my life. For many years, horseshoe's were very much non-existent. Life has not always been so kind to me. Maybe much to do with fate and my destined path, I was able to feel my way out of the dark. However, I would like to think that my strength and perseverance had much to do with finding the light in my life. Not giving up, no matter how bad life treated me, helped me find my supposed 'horseshoe'. Instead of focusing on all the loss and all that this life has taken from me, I chose to continue to believe that it still had much to give. I think that it is my continuous belief in the possibility of love and greatness in this life that life has in return rewarded me with exactly this.
So please share this journey with me. We may be on opposite sides of the globe, but one does not need to travel far when love and greatness surrounds us, where ever we may be.