The Journey's Beginning. The Journey's End.

What's in a Journey? Think about that for a moment. What images come to mind when you hear the word Journey??? When you hear someone or yourself say, "I am going on a Journey. I have just come from a Journey. Enjoy your Journey." What do you think of?

To me the word journey is poetic. I think of far away exotic places, new discoveries and expansion for the soul. In fact, when I hear the word journey it speaks directly to my soul; this is actually where I feel it in my body and this is where it lives for all time.

A journey begins long before your travel has begun and ends long after your return. A journey begins with the idea, the thought, the fantasy, that it is time to travel. It begins with that hunger that says, "I want to see something new and fresh. I want a discovery. I want perspective." And so, the journey begins as you begin dreaming up just what that "perspective" or "discovery" might look like. What are the elements that make it exciting for you? What travel fantasies do you spend your time thinking about? Do you dream of swimming in a clear blue sea? Do you dream of exotic music and camels and golden deserts at sunset? Perhaps you dream of challenge and sweat and glory? Or even contribution and the restoring of our earths natural resources. Whatever your fantasy is, this is where your Journey begins.

As the imagination grows stronger and the impulse becomes undeniable, you begin taking your fantasy more seriously and start planning an itinerary. Then you make a budget, schedule time off work, book your reservations and before you know it your fantasy is very real. You are in that desert and it is HOT! You are climbing that mountain and it is HIGH and STEEP! You are swimming in that beautiful blue ocean and you see a BIG fish. And perhaps you are thinking, this is HARD WORK!

As most travelers know, traveling is not everything our fantasies make it out to be. There are hurdles and hardships and sometimes disappointments too, but in the end it is these exact "challenges" that make us feel heroic and proud, as if we conquered some great lion and are still alive to tell about it. And boy, do we want to tell about it!!!!!!

We'll tell our friends and families and coworkers and fellow travelers. We'll share photographs and swap stories and we'll remember the glory and forget the hardship; or we'll remember the glory because of the hardship. Whatever we remember "glory" will be a part of it because traveling and learning and expanding is a glorious thing!

And tell our stories we will for years and years to come as the journey, every journey, lives on in our hearts and minds and souls forever.

Ever notice how our journey's become more glorious as time goes on? Now tell me, how Big was that Fish?

Enjoy your Journey!

Where the Hell is Matt?

Have any of you seen this clip before? The, Where the Hell is Matt clip? If you haven't go to:
http://www.wherethehellismatt.com/ and then come back to me. I love it! And I never get tired of watching it. It is upbeat, full of vitality and shows a true adventurers spirit.

There is nothing like travel to take you out of your "elelment" or comfort zone. The very essence of travel is about just this. It is saying to yoruself: "Self, I am bored with self. I need adventure. I need a discovery. I want to see how other people DO life in their Country. I want to try to get my most basic needs met without speaking the local language. I want to look at different colored skin and mysterious eyes. I want to witness the myriad of ways of doing things differently. I want to see differently myself and I want to see myself differently. I want to breath new air. Air that is foreign to me. Smell smells that are unique, visceral and unforgettable even if repugnent. I want to climb new heights, try new and unusual foods, understand that which is only understandable in person. I want to rub elbows with those that are like me but different, those that understand that we are different yet the same. I want to share a Universal laugh at both me trying and "they" (whoever they are) trying to figure out what the other is talking about. I want to laugh at myself and all the ridiculous things I deem important in my ordinary life. I want to laugh just because it feels good which seems to make instant compadres out of almost anyone. I want Perspective with a capital "P." I want to peel away the layers of conditioning, throw caution to the wind, and scream to the World (or whoever I can get to listen) "I am Alive. I am Free and I am Uniquely ME!""

Where the Hell is Matt? Say's all this and more.

TRAVEL. It does a body good!

Well, if you've been wondering, where the hell is that FatBellyTraveler blogger, wonder no more. We are here and we are back.

Set Your Spirit Free!

Anywhere, Planet Earth. It's where you want to be!

Have Video Camera, will Travel............

How many of you now have Video cameras? How many of you know how to use them? Ok, now this is a tough one, How many of you like to Travel & Explore??? And one more question for the Big Win, How many of you know Final Cut Pro or other editing software?

Let's do some math shall we? Video Camera + Desire to Travel & Explore (even if it is in your own town, surely there is something unique, charming or interesting about where you are) + knowledge of Final Cut Pro or other editing software = Fabulous Video (on either Food or Travel) for FatBellyTraveler.com.

At Fat Belly Traveler it is our aim to build a global video moasic of our World. We of course need your HELP in doing this. We can't do it alone and although we love to travel and to eat, we have Jobs, just like you! But with a little help here and there (and especiall with YOUR HELP) we believe we can indeed create a quality content based video website to help enlarge our understanding of each other across this vast planet of ours.

We want our video website to be entertaining, educational, useful, easy to navigate and of course, to connect us to eachother. We are interested in building community. We want to expand our awareness and yours. And we seek your help in this exciting endeavor.

Why would you want to do this you might ask? Why would you want to submit your video to FatBellyTraveler.com?

---We believe that most people who like to shoot and are tech savvy, like to have their work actually seen. We believe it is fulfilling (after all your hard work) to have your video not only seen but acutally featured. To have it easily accessible to friends and family, and to have it hosted on a professional website dedicated to Food & Travel only. Imagine Uncle Vinny trying to wade his way through YouTube? Or Aunt Bessy, or even your MOM! They could be searching for days and never be heard from again. You don't want your loved ones to suffer this fate Do You?

We don't yet pay for your videos, but then we also don't fill you with false hopes that your video "may" win a cash prize just to keep you coming to our website, either. We are straight shooters and we do good work. We have ambitious ideas and are willing to do what it takes to see them through.

So, if you want to be a part of a growing company of forward thinkers who operate with integrity, honesty, good intentions and a whole lot of chutzpa, join us. You just never know what might become of it!

Happy Holidays to our Fat Belly Traveler viewers!!!!!!and don't leave home without your Camera!

Peace.

How Time Flies!

So much has happened in the "Fat Belly Traveler" world since our last posting. We are growing our library by leaps and bounds with some really interesting and artistic work. If you haven't seen these videos yet, be sure to check out: Boston, Mass. Food Service Jam; Everywhere Universe; and Forestville, CA, Gourd Festival. All three are artful, entertaining and thought provoking.

We have recently celebrated several birthdays which have taken us to San Gregorio, Bonny Doon and Big Sur, California.
San Gregorio is just off Hwy 1 and has an old-time general store that sells everything but the kitchen sink. This hip and comfy outfit also has a full bar, food and live music every weekend beginning at 11:00AM. Bonny Doon is both a itty bitty town (unincorporated community to tell the truth) and a fabulous winery. We stopped by for a picnic and a little wine tasting at the Bonny Doon Winery in the Santa Cruz mountains. Big Sur is along the Central Coast of California and is where the wild coastlands meet the coastal redwoods. Both beautiful and grandiose, it lends itself to something out of a Thoreau novel.....a place to commune with nature and be still within oneself. A place to both lose oneself and find oneself. A place to slow down and to breathe.

On the media front, our documentary Hell and High Water, about the devastation of hurricane Katrina on New Orleans and the people that live there, was shown on the Big Screen in Santa Cruz recently for a hurricane relief fundraiser. A community in Santa Cruz has adopted a FEMA trailer park in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, where 1600 people are still living and waiting for.............whatever is next. They are without so much (schools, jobs, cars, food, loved ones, dignity, funding, etc.) The good people in Santa Cruz will be caravanning supplies from California all the way down to Louisiana. People helping people, now that is what humanity is all about. For more info on the movie, Hell and High Water go to: HellandHighWaterthemovie.com.

Life goes on here as elsewhere: The leaves have turned and are falling off the trees. The view from our windows is a picturesque landscape of reds, greens and yellows all mingled together as if we were looking at an impressionist painting. It is raining with a damp chill to the air. Our Country has made good choices and we are hopeful about our future. Life is good! And we hope so for you too!

Fat Belly on the move

Well, here we are well on our way..........................this project of ours has been in the making for almost one year. We have tossed ideas to and fro, we have tossed ideas to the wind and we have tossed ideas into the trash. Finally, we landed on just where to put our skills, interest and joint energy, and that landing pad is FatBellyTraveler.com. We bring the perfect balance of talent and interest to the mix with Jim's 20 years as a travel guide and filmmaker in Asia and Europe, along with his 20+ years in computer programing, graphics and web design. I on the other hand, have a lifelong passion in human behavior (what makes us tick? what makes us different? what lights us up?) and bring my studied skills in coaching, yoga and writing, along with my love of travel and art, to blend into a fusion of visually pleasing, heart connecting, mentally stimulating videos of people and places around the globe.

And of course we both love to eat (and cook) and find the sharing of a meal with people we both know and are just getting to know, such a rich and nurturing experience. There is one thing we all have in common no matter where we live on this planet and that is we must eat. We eat to survive, to celebrate and to mourn, and we find the diversity of flavor and tradition in this daily ritual as vast and exciting as the planet herself.

We hope to offer you a video website that opens your hearts, eyes and minds to the many cultural differences and shared likenesses that make up our World. Climb the Himalayas with us in Nepal, ride a train with us in India, Sail a boat with us in Tonga, drink Mescal with us in Mexico.

Wherever we go, we want you to go with us. So come along....................enjoy the ride.

First Blog for Fat Belly Traveler

This is the first post for our blog.

We continue the conversation and are getting clearer and clearer on the concept of what we are doing with FBT.

The metaphor that keeps coming back in conversation is that of the earth covered in a mosaic and each tile of the mosaic is a video of a place or what sustains and nourishes us. Almost a self-portrait of the world. What we want is more than a collection of commercials (though we might feature a great one from time-to-time). We want to open a window to the wonder of this earth to let folks share the view.

We don't know if we are an art project or business.

Cheers,

Jim