This page pays homage to all my "great escapes" which were never realized but still play on my mind.

Even in my earliest years, I've always dreamed of escaping to a faraway land. As a child, growing up outside of Portland, Oregon, my idea of escape was in riding my bike to Wilsonville, a few miles south. I knew that the author, Walt Morey, resided there, and I imagined he lived in a picturesque farmhouse where I could park my bike up against an old, oak tree and pay him a visit. We'd sit on his porch swing and talk about Gentle Ben and Gloomy Gus. Somehow I think I mixed up a little bit of The Andy Griffith Show into this dream.

In my teens, I imagined escaping to Wyoming and living on a remote ranch where life would be so peaceful and predictable. We vacationed there in 1975, and I was struck by the majesty of the Tetons and the solitude of Jenny Lake. We returned in 2004, traveling all around the state and getting a sense of the vast beauty in Wyoming.

Later, I imagined England to be my great escape. My dream was to find a little cottage in some obscure village in the countryside, and live a simple, English lifestyle with my family. Perhaps I'd be an author/veterinarian like James Herriott, or some other role which would solidly embed me as one of the locals.

Thankfully, Hawaii is not an escape that has eluded me. I've been there several times, beginning in 1988 when I stopped there on my way to Guam during an Air Force TDY. I took Cindy there on our honeymoon where we witnessed 8 straight days of downpour. We went 10 years later to Maui, and then a few years later to Kauai with our children. We also took in the Big Island one year on a company-sponsored trip. In 2005 we went back to Maui for another visit. And most recently we went back to the Big Island for our 20th wedding anniversary.