Ah to be young and unencumbered, and to be able to just “do what you want trips”…
David Shabelman was working for The Hess Collection, last I knew, and then he just slipped away. It happens a lot in the wine business… It’s a swinging door of “who’s now where?” our here. With 6,000 wineries in California, it’s really easy to not only get the dreaded “pink slip,” but it’s also easy to hand in a resignation for a better position or to leave the industry for a while.
It’s a lot easier to grow by moving than it is to move by growing…
And, I never got an explanation, but knew I’d eventually find out what had happened… And I did this past week.
I got the E-Mail from David:
Hi Jo,
I didn’t get a chance to speak with you before I left Hess in December. Jill and I quit our jobs and are on an extended journey. We’re just finishing up three months of volunteering in Cambodia. If you want to read about our trip we’re writing a blog at dowhatyouwanttrips.com. We’re going to be heading to Portugal in September and I seem to remember you did some work for the wine association there. Do you have any tips or any connections you could pass along? Neither of us have been there so we’re both very excited.
Hope you are doing well and the Petite Sirah is flowing a deep purple.
David Shabelman
[I’ve borrowed these images from their Website.]
I jumped right on his Website, not knowing if it was just David and Jill, or were they part of a bigger plan. Being part of an organization that lets people travel in an organized way still has “adventure” written all over it.
Check it out… Two young adults, exploring the world, places they’ve mapped out for themselves… Some places with wine, other places with more intrigue…
Titles:
- 100 Days of Travel Highs (and a Few Lows)
- 15 Things to Know Before Volunteering Internationally
- Life Lessons from a Cambodian Island
Destinations:
- Asia (Cambodia, China, Japan, Thailand)
- Europe (Greece is listed, but David’s Email also told me that they’re headed to Portugal)
- US (Alaska, CA, HI, San Francisco to Chicago road trip)
While reading their site, I stumbled upon “New Here?” From their site, in case you don’t have time to be reading it all right now. [Still, I’d go there and bookmark it for future readings. I’ve added their links to my site under the links title of “Amusing | Intriguing.” Enjoy!]
New Here?
-trip
a journey or a voyage
a journey, voyage or run made by a boat, train, bus or the like, between two points
a stumble, a misstep
to step lightly or nimbly; skip; dance
to make a journey or excursion
Do What You Want Trips is our continuation of Do What You Want Weekends. After years of being weekend travel warriors, we have decided to quit our jobs and take off on a Round the World (RTW) trip, making us everyday travel warriors. This trip is more than an extended vacation. It’s truly a journey and a voyage – one that we’re sure will be filled with missteps, stepping lightly and hopefully skipping and dancing.
Our RTW trip is really a combination of smaller trips and this site intends to be a collection of our stories, our lives and sometimes – our missteps.
Our philosophy on travel – and life – focuses on reflection and exploring what is most important in our lives and how to fill our precious moments with the things that really matter. In essence, doing what you (we) want. Our hope is to inspire others to recognize what matters for them and to realize those dreams.
The big trip officially launched January 2013! You can follow our path and read a few posts in the meantime to introduce you to us and our plans.
Who knew? When David and I worked together on Petite Sirah projects, he didn’t share that he had a blog; he was just busy working during the week in a focused way, and on the weekends he was off on adventures and then blogging about it. I don’t see where he even had time to share what he was doing, but doing he and Jill were… Then, the big trip around the world. How inspiring. I feel like buying a sailboat and just doing it, too. The difference is having kids and grand kids. I’d need a really big boat to pull it all off,and that’s not in my immediate future or in this lifetime. I need another lifetime to learn how to sail…
Wow! What a nice post. Thanks so much Jo. I’m writing this reply while drinkining a Concha Y Toro Chardonnay from Chile I just bought at a 7-11 in Kyoto, Japan for $7. Slim pickings on wine here, though just before 7-11 we visited a sake brewery that also makes craft beer. When in Rome, as they say. We’re heading to New Zealand on Saturday, where our wine consumption will undoubtedly pick up. Our plan is to hit enough wineries (and breweries) to write an e-book on New Zealand since we’ve found information on the area to be lacking while planning our trip.
Thanks again for the kind words. I’ll make sure to keep in touch.
David Shabelman
My pleasure, David! Do keep in touch. Your story is so inspiring.