Karl's Sabbatical Summary

SUMMARY

-          10 weeks, 6 countries, 4 US States, 3 continents, ~30 flights, 1 awesome sabbatical!

HIGHLIGHTS

-          Croatia: 10 sailing days - island hopping in the Dalmatian Coast

-          Pacific Coast Championship: placing in the top ½ of the 505 sailing regatta (Santa Cruz)

-          Ecuador: roaming the Galapagos Islands amongst all sorts of wildlife I’ve never seen before, running into the “House Hunters International” couple that inspired our trip to Salinas (followed by them taking us house hunting for 2 days)

-          Peru: hiking around Machu Picchu at sunrise, going off the beaten track in the Sacred Valley, and exploring the wild Amazon Rainforest

-          Argentina: wine tasting Malbecs in Mendoza, sunrise with the Toucans in Iguazu Falls, and the diverse neighborhoods of Buenos Aires (and the day trip to Uruguay for country #58 wasn’t bad either)

-          Aspen: kicking back with the rich & famous during kayaking workshop, hikes, and dinners

-          Minnesota: week photo workshop with my brother and around 80 wild bears

-          Boston: Yankees beat the RedSox, exploring America’s history on foot

-          Family & Friends: twins now speaking (“dada,” “agua,” “outside,” and others), Silver Oak ’97-’06 wine tasting with friends, etc.

Karl’s SABbatiCal Alphabet

In the spirit of fatherhood, I’d like to present my Sabbatical Alphabet. If you really want to know how my sabbatical was, just drop a word (or setup a coffee 1:1). Bonus points if you can work some of this vocabulary into meetings my first week back!  

-          A: Amazon, Albatross, Airplanes, Aspen, Argentina , Andes, Aussies

-          B: Boats, Blue-footed boobies, Birds, Boston, Bears, Beef (argentinian), Boston’s baked goods (gluten free!), Baseball

-          C: Croatia, Cusco, Continents x3, Countries x6, Ceviche, Caiprinhas, Caimans, Crown Fellows

-          D: Dalmatian coast

-          E: Ecuador, Equator, Eucalyptus trees

-          F: Food, Frigate birds, Freedom trail

-          G: Galapagos, Guides, Grandma (who cared for kids)

-          H: Hemispheres, Hiking

-          I: Iguazu, Incas, Iguanas

-          J: Jealous (what you all should be ;) )

-          K: Kayaking

-          L: Lila the mileage momma who sponsored my 1^st class travel, Lourie (family)

-          M: Machu picchu, Mendoza, Minnesota, Malbecs, Massages

-          N: Neighborhoods, Night tours (through the jungles)

-          O: Otavalos

-          P: PCCs, Peru, Photography, People, Potatoes, Pisco sours, Parrots, Playgrounds

-          Q: Quito

-          R: Rainforests, Rain, Recoleta, Rivers  

-          S: Split, Snorkeling, Sailing, Salinas, Steak, Sacred valley, Sunscreen, Sea lions, Silver Oak

-          T: Tortoises, Time, Toucans, Transfers (too many), Twins (family time!)

-          U: Uruguay

-          V: Vinos, Vultures

-          W: Wildlife, Wines, Waterfalls, World heritage sites, Weather (windy & wet), Work outs, Walleye

-          X: Xrays (~30 airports)

-          Y: Yummy food, Young wines, Yankees

-          Z: Zoom lens (200-400mm)