Shortly after September 11, 2001, I left my job at a big law firm in San Diego. My original plan was to take about 3 months off and travel around a bit, regroup, refresh and start another one. After university, law school and an MBA, I didn't know that there could be anything else for me to do. I just knew I needed a little break. It turned out to be more than a little break. Within a two week period, I left my job, broke up with my boyfriend of 11 years and my teenage daughter decided to go live with her father for the first time in her life.
This was my first taste of freedom. I had my daughter when I was 17 and just graduating from high school, so there was no freedom before her and none until she decided to get to know her father. This is where my travels began. Working as a associate at a big law firm meant no vacations of any substantial time. I had always wanted to see Australia, but could never justify the expensive ticket and long flight for just two weeks at most. So, Australia was first - it was my first real taste of the rest of the world. From there it just snowballed and 3 months turned into nearly seven years now.
Having stumbled into the area of law that I practice- intellectual property and more specifically trademarks- I realized after about a year of not working that I could practice in a less than traditional way. Maybe you could say I stumbled again. Since the US Patent and Trademark Office is entirely online, I can do most everything by computer and telephone. Even when I spent 12 hours a day sitting in a highrise working for my old firm, I very rarely met clients in person. Why should I worry about that now, when I'm free to set things up the way I like them. This kind of mobile practice means that I can be anywhere I want to be, as long as I have an internet connection.
I now find myself spending summers in Europe, mostly around Germany and Austria, winters in Australia when possible. Springtime is usually in Florida when the weather and the flying are the nicest. And fall tends to vary quite a lot. Last year I was in Ecuador and I suspect I will there again this fall.
Today I am in Rio de Janeiro. I just finished a run down the Copacabana Esplanade. As I ran, I was for the thousandth time thinking of ways to combine my travel with some writing. I used to watch the Travel Channel endlessly and dream of a job as a travel correspondent for a magazine or television station. Friends have tried to talk me into writing a travel book, but I have never been able to come up with an angle and there are so many travel books out there that I would definitely need some angle.
So here it is. I travel and I run. I'm not a marathon runner or a triathlete or anything at all impressive. I have never run a race in my life. I just like to run. I have the fat gene, for sure and running is my favorite way to try to maintain control over it. Plus, with the amount of traveling I do, it is impossible to belong to a gym or go to pilates class regularly or anything like that. So, all I can do is run....where ever I go.
Today, dodging bicycle traffic and gorgeous Brasilian girls in tiny bikinis, I started to think about how nice it would be to have a running guide for the various places I travel. Each time I go to a new place, I have to figure out for myself where the best place to run might be. Sometimes it's easy and obvious, like today on the Espalanade. There is a special lane for runners and cyclists, so it was a no brainer. But, what if I wanted to run a 10k? Where would I go exactly? Where is it safe for a girl to run in this city? Where is it flat or hilly or shaded or sunny? What I need is a running buddy in each new place I visit. Wouldn't that be nice?
I suspect my choices of places to travel to won't suit many people. Mostly they are odd and people who don't know me would wonder how on earth I ended up there (I'll explain in another post). But, if this guide is good for a few people or if more than a few people can find just one place I've been that is useful, then it will be good.
