Todd’s Thoughts March 2019

Folks have been curious about what I did during my month-long sabbatical, so I though I’d take this opportunity to give you all the juicy details. Peggy and I spent the first weekend in Leavenworth, WA, a small Bavarian style village. We were able to stay in a quaint hotel in the heart of the village, park our car, and simply walk everywhere we went, visiting the shops, eateries, and enjoying the beautiful holiday lights at night. I spent the next weekend in Bellingham, WA to celebrate my daughter’s birthday with her and some of her college chums. I always cherish any excuse to hang out with Cassidy! I did spend one entire weekend right here in Spokane, the beauty of which causes me to appreciate it anew each day. My final weekend was spent seeing our friends in Mesa, AZ. It was unusually grey and rainy, but we enjoyed the warm hearts that always make it a special place to be. During the week, I spent much time working on my book, which isn’t as far along yet as I’d hoped, but is going to be better than I’d expected when I am done. I also virtually attended the 2018 Abundance 360 Conference; and have begun watching the 2019 Conference. It’s hours of information about the current state of technology in a variety of areas, like transportation, longevity, health, AI, robotics, virtual reality, augmented reality, 3D printing, space exploration, and so on, led by some of the top experts in the world. I particularly enjoyed watching from the comfort of my Virtual Reality rustic log cabin, nestled atop a vast expanse of cascading mountains. I’m able to access my computer screen within VR and enlarge it to the size of a theatre screen, which made it seem like I was on stage with the various presenters. Our dog Chester and I also spent a good deal of time driving through the cold, snow-packed countryside while listening to books on Audible. I hope he found it as enlightening as me. Not much of a conversationalist, Chester mostly stared out the window in quiet contemplation. Thanks to everyone for respecting my solitude the past few weeks. It was great to be away, and it’s great to be back!