Phase III
Due West
When I leave Boston on the 16th and head north towards Montreal QC. My route has me passing though some beautiful NE countryside and I will be making a stop either at Mount Kearsarge State Forest Park or Camels Hump State Park to soak in the scenery. Below is a picture form Mount Kearsarge State Forest Park;
I will ride quickly to get into Tri-Star gym to catch an evening training at the same gym where the legendary George St. Pierre trains. Over the years I have accumulated a few friends that are performers for Cirque du Soleil and their headquarters are in Montreal. I will find someones couch to surf and might as well expand my circle of Cirque friends while I am up there. I will leave morning of the 17th and heading to Toronto and will train that night in Warrior Muay Thai. I faced Usman Sadar for the finals in the WKA 2014 Tournament Full Thai Rules Division and would like to meet him at his gym. Hopefully we can get some work in.
Once I get into the States again the first stop will me Detroit and Mash Gym on 8 mile Rd. I will be training there on the 18th and try to leave right after training to head to Chicago. I plan on getting there early in the morning and spend some time with friends that I have residing there. The evening of the 19th I train at Janjira Muay Thai. I could not pass up a warm summer evening in Chicago and will stay for the night, find some Chicago Style Pizza and have myself a cheat meal. I love Chicago, and its history, will enjoy an evening stroll in Millennium Park with friends whom I have not seen for quite sometime. I will try to slow down and enjoy myself here for the night, there would have been some heavy riding to get to this point so stretching my legs a bit will be a must.
I will sleep in on the 20th and head out on a 409 mile stretch to Minneapolis. Not a lot to see on this stretch so I will try to fly through it as quickly as possible. I have a few extra days that I would like to spend in MN so a quick pace would be wise. I lived there for 18 years and still have quite a bit of family and friends there. While in MN I would like to train in The Cellar, heard many great things about them. While there I also have a good friend who is an MMA fighter and I would like to get some work in with him at Valhalla Rising. Will try to stay no longer than the 23rd here as I will only be almost 1/2 through my trip. It will be very difficult. There are many people I would like to see and many that would like me to see them.
Minnesota will always be my home away from home and there is always someone friendly that is eager to take me in and play catch up. Luckily I have been staying in touch with everyone through Facebook, and watching people's lives unfold. Friends get married, couples have children, some friends pass away, everything unfolding like some movie that you have no remote to fast forward, pause, or rewind. All the more reason for us all to not take the days that are given to us for granted, for us not to waste a day in unhappiness or a discontent attitude. We get caught up in our day to day and forget what the important things are in life. Like some horrible "Ground Hogs Day" loop we repeat today what we did yesterday until something tragic happens and we are forced to reevaluate. I leave you with this thought; Don't wait for tragedy to trigger that reevaluation of your priorities. Be aware of what is important at all times and I think you will find yourself in a more happy and fulfilling place in your life.
