March 11, 2015 - From Texas to Beyond

I talk with my hands. I love to tell a story often by reenacting a scenario as if I am in a One Act Play. I might even use props or the occasional sound effect. So how does an animated and incredibly verbal person start to tell stories through written word? Well, I am not sure, but I suppose we will learn together.

The Guadalupe River

Looking at my life, some people may say I am a stereotypical Texan. I was born here and am still growing up here. I spent my childhood on the Gulf Coast, went to school in the Panhandle, lived 11 years in Central Texas, and now call North Texas home. On our family pecan farm, at the age of 7, I learned to drive on a 1951 Ferguson tractor. While the tractor is still running to this day, I graduated to a 1973 Chevy pick up at the age of 12. I have been attacked by mockingbirds, chased armadillos at night, and been known to enjoy a hot summer day sitting in a lawn chair in the middle of the Guadalupe River. I love traveling, but it is even sweeter to get to come home. My Mom always says, “It’s a good thing you want to come back home; it means you like it here.”

When I was a child, every other summer my family piled into a van, ready to have an adventure for a couple of weeks. We stopped at historical sites, museums, and parks. I just though vacations were the greatest. I learned so much and then those experiences helped me at school, making connections to all sorts of subjects. In college, I traveled to Bolivia for two months. When I look back at key moments in my life that influenced and changed me, many of them resulted from my Bolivian experience. Traveling challenges me to think about the world differently. There are countless people with beautiful stories, each pursuing a meaningful and purposeful life.

Rebekah hiking the Barton Creek Greenbelt in Austin

Looking back, I have traveled to 30 states, 14 countries, 4 continents and always have a plan for another adventure. Whether traveling to the town next door or across 10 time zones, meeting new people and learning about their culture, art, traditions, music, food, experiencing plants and nature, what brings pride to a community and their history is a joy to me. I think it creates empathy and understanding that is powerful and life changing.

I hope you join us as we travel from Texas to beyond and I hope we can inspire you to travel and experience new things too.

Howdy! My name is David, one of the four traveling Texans.

Ok, I have to admit, I do not normally use the word “Howdy,” but it somehow seems appropriate today. Unfortunately, there is a certain university in Texas that has destroyed that word for lots of Texans, but that is a story for another time.

I graduated from The University of Texas with a degree in architectural engineering in 2007. Hook ‘Em Horns! Since then, I have worked for a Fort Worth-based civil engineering company as a construction manager and licensed engineer.

How does an engineer end up blogging? I am not exactly sure, but let me try to explain.

As I mentioned in my first post, a passion for travel was awakened on a trip to Kenya in 2009. However, I was exposed to the adventures of travel as a child. At the age of 5, my dad accepted a short-term job transfer. For seven months, my family lived in Stavanger, Norway. During this time, we visited the Netherlands, Denmark and London, England.

Throughout my childhood, my parents did a wonderful job of providing me with new experiences across the United States. Family summer vacations landed us in new places. On these trips, we explored historical sights and museums, as well as more important places for a young boy like the beach, the mountains, and Disney World.

I grew up in Houston, Texas. Houston is a giant city, the fourth largest in the United States. Without knowing it, I was definitely a city boy in a state known for its country. This abruptly changed during college.

David Grilling Over a Wood Fire

For three summers during college, I worked at a horse ranch in Gainesville, the quarter horse capital of Texas. Without knowing what I was getting myself into, I bought a cheap pair of cowboy boots, a straw hat, and a couple of Wal-Mart pearl snap shirts, and headed to the country. I learned a lot about ropin’ and ridin’, shootin’ and grillin’ steaks over a wood fire. I also became an expert in cleaning horse stalls and digging fence posts. By the third summer, I was promoted, and even taught riding classes! Overall, it was a great experience that has shaped my life in many ways, including my love of cowboy boots.

Since graduating college, I have traveled internationally to Croatia, the Czech Republic, France, Italy, Slovenia, Spain, Switzerland, Israel, and Kenya (twice). I have also continued exploring Texas and other domestic locations.

When traveling, I love soaking up the unique culture, natural beauty, history, art, architecture, food, beer, music, politics and language of each location.

My love of travel has led to my second passion, art. I tried unsuccessfully during grade school to become world-renowned artist. After realizing I was not the next Caravaggio, my favorite artist, I learned to appreciate the art already around me, put in place by other gifted artists and by God for the world’s enjoyment.

This appreciation for art led to a third passion, photography. During a trip to Italy, Matt introduced me to the world of photography. Since that trip, he has helped me become a better photographer. The photos posted on From Texas to Beyond have all been taken by Matt and myself.

Travel indirectly led to my fourth and most important passion, my beautiful wife. Now that I am married, my favorite travel partner is my lovely wife, Rebekah.

I have been very fortunate in life to travel. My goal for From Texas to Beyond is to capture the best experiences from each unique destination, so I will always remember the experiences that have shaped my life. Along the way, we desire that our journeys will lead you to having great adventures of your own. We hope you enjoy these stories as much as we enjoy sharing them!