Moving abroad takes allot of planning and resources, but it all starts with a dream. We had planned for over two years on an early retirement and a move to the Philippines. But our resettlement was not entirely the fun and pleasurable experience we had hoped for. My wife was home with her family and I was happy just to be there to share it all with her. We had our ups and downs through it all and we learned something valuable... that an adventure is not something that you plan for, but quite the opposite. An adventure is something that leads you... something that you unknowingly chase. It challenges you. It is letting go of an established set of expectations. It is letting go of control. We took comfort in this notion and everything that we planned for. Our experience could never be substituted for or replaced by anything different. Aside from everything we have accomplished together, and looking back on it all, it has become apparently clear that our adventure never really ended... it continues on!
Today we reside on the island of Guam full time and travel back and forth to our home in the Philippines. During our last trip to the island of Samar, we decided to drive north to the island of Luzon, through Manila, eventually finding ourselves in Olongapo City, the once the thriving port and largest U.S. Naval installation in Eastern hemisphere. While the Navy might be long gone, there are plenty of memories and remnants that remain... like the Olongapo City Bowling Lanes. There, we would once again have to let go of certain expectations... and understand that time does stand still in many places in this world. That seems to never change.
