Jason Rockwell Cox

The Great Smoky Mountains

2011-08-24T19:44:00.000-07:00

Forbidden Caverns

2011-08-24T19:37:00.000-07:00

Ethan Rockwell Cox

2011-03-13T08:09:00.000-07:00

Born October 20th, 2010.
http://ethanrockwellcox.shutterfly.com

Central Mexico

2011-03-13T07:37:00.000-07:00

I recently took a trip to central Mexico to check out their fruit production. Mexico supplies the United States with the majority of our produce from October to May. Central Mexico is the heartbeat of the blackberry industry with 30,000 acres. Go here to see some more photos:
www.cropscout.blogspot.com

Lost Photos from Ecuador...

2010-12-21T08:29:00.001-08:00

We flew into Guayaquil, Ecuador at about 1:30 am with no place booked to stay and no plans for the next three weeks. Before getting off the plane a native girl from Ecuador said she had been kidnapped 3 times and told us we were white and a target and not to leave the airport. Well, after getting our bags we caught a cab and left the airport. We finally found a place to stay around 2:30am after getting turned down by people unimpressed with our non-reservation philosophy. After waking up the next day, it was raining, dirty, with a 50% chance of getting stabbed in the forecast. I immediately wondered whose idea it was to go here. Then I remembered it was mine. So my next idea was to go back to the airport and leave. After arriving back at the Simón Bolívar Airport we decided to try and go to the Galapagos Islands. The next flight wasn't available until 4 days later. We bought the tickets and then rented a car and drove straight to the Andes Mountains, away from Guayaquil.

...click on the January 2008 link on the left hand side for more photos...

2010-03-26T02:55:00.001-07:00

"All men dream: but not equally. Those who dream by night in the dusty recesses of their minds wake in the day to find that it was vanity: but the dreamers of the day are dangerous men, for they may act out their dream with open eyes, to make it possible."

China

2010-03-02T13:35:00.000-08:00

Town

San Francisco

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Alcatraz

2010-02-28T09:30:00.000-08:00

Colorado

2009-09-02T19:29:00.000-07:00

Elk in the Rockies

2009-09-01T19:26:00.001-07:00

Many believe The Stanley Hotel is haunted.

2009-09-01T18:46:00.000-07:00

2009-09-01T18:28:00.000-07:00

Back at the Stanley

2009-09-01T18:23:00.000-07:00

Rocky Mountain National Park - Trail Ridge Road

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Altitude - 12,381 feet.

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Bear Lake

The Stanley Hotel - Estes Park, Colorado

2009-09-01T17:18:00.000-07:00

The Stanley is a historic 100 year old hotel built and owned by F.O. Stanley. Construction began in 1907 and was finished in 1909. It is said to be built on a sacred Native American burial ground.

2009-09-01T17:10:00.000-07:00

"We headed west

'cause we thought some change would do us good

see new things -

good for the soul."

One Year Anniversary

2009-09-01T16:53:00.000-07:00

August 23rd, 2008

Denver International Airport

2009-09-01T16:18:00.000-07:00

The Denver Airport is the subject of many conspiracy theories. Some say there is a vast underground network beneath the facility. It is strangely located in the middle of nowhere - miles from the city of Denver. The awkward murals have unique symbolism that can be interpreted many ways.

2009-08-06T17:31:00.000-07:00

The next destination is Colorado...

Staying two nights at the infamous Stanley Hotel in Estes Park. Google it.

Saturday, August 29th - Monday, August 31st

2009-08-06T17:27:00.000-07:00

US Dollar Plummets

2009-08-04T14:02:00.000-07:00

'Meanwhile, the Greenback continued to free fall, having now actually hit a low for the year on a trade-weighted basis.'

The trip to Europe never happened and doesn't look it is going to. I wanted to fly into Munich, Germany and then travel to the Netherlands. The Euro/USD exchange rate is the main reason for hesitating. At one point I could have bought tickets from Wilmington to Madrid, Spain for $537. I should have just done it, but the prices have sky-rocketed now along with what appears to be an increasing trend of the weakness of the Dollar abroad.

I am leaving for the mountains of NC tomorrow. Photos coming soon...

More travel will happen soon...stay tuned.

2009-06-18T18:24:00.001-07:00

Previous travels - click the links on the left

December 2006 - Costa Rica

January 2007 - Australia, New Zealand, Fiji

Feburary 2007 - New Zealand, West Virginia

December 2007 - Oahu, Hawaii

January 2008 - Ecuador and The Galapagos

December 2008 - Tahiti (French Polynesia)

March 2009 - Costa Rica

August 2009 - Europe???

2009-06-06T07:49:00.000-07:00

Costa Rica

2009-03-15T18:52:00.000-07:00

Monteverde

Howler Monkeys

Playa Grande

Rincon de la Vieja

2009-03-15T16:26:00.000-07:00

Bora Bora

2009-02-17T17:06:00.000-08:00

2009-02-17T16:19:00.000-08:00

Tahiti

2008-12-26T14:46:00.000-08:00

2008-12-26T12:34:00.000-08:00

Getting married in two weeks

2008-08-10T18:53:00.000-07:00

The traveling continues...

Honeymoon in Tahiti

The Galapagos

2008-01-26T14:37:00.001-08:00

South America

2008-01-19T09:43:00.000-08:00

2008-01-16T17:38:00.000-08:00

caballos locos

2008-01-16T17:30:00.000-08:00

After suffering a ruthless horse bite to my upper left leg by the spotted creature directly behind me, I decided to keep my distance.

la Iglesia

2008-01-16T14:22:00.001-08:00

The Andes

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Cotopaxi

2008-01-16T13:36:00.000-08:00

Gasping for air at 15,744 feet above sea level

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In the highlands, coca tea and chewed leaves are used as a breathing aid to combat the effects of altitude sickness.

Volcán Tungurahua

2008-01-16T13:14:00.001-08:00

Getting Married ...

2008-01-13T17:59:00.001-08:00

Sometime soon.

2008-01-11T18:39:00.001-08:00

2008-01-11T15:57:00.001-08:00

Ecuador

2008-01-11T15:28:00.001-08:00

Isabela, Galapagos

2008-01-11T15:02:00.001-08:00

(shark underwater in the background. above photo)

The Galapagos

2008-01-07T10:54:00.000-08:00

This is the island of Santa Cruz. It is the most populated island in the Galapagos. I am travelling to Isabela, the largest of the islands in about 30 minutes. I will keep you posted.

Leaving the country tomorrow

2008-01-02T05:45:00.000-08:00

SOUTH AMERICA

Galapagos, Ecuador, Peru, Chile, Argentina

3 Weeks

Click

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on January 2007 for pictures of Australia, Fiji and New Zealand
and December 2006 for pictures of Costa Rica.

(it's on the left hand side).

Hawaii

2007-12-31T05:38:00.000-08:00

Travel Quotes

2007-12-16T18:42:00.000-08:00

Tourists don't know where they've been. Travelers don't know where they're going.
~ Paul Theroux ~

Not all who wander are lost.
~ J. R. R. Tolkien ~

The impulse to travel is one of the hopeful symptoms of life.
~ Agnes Repplier ~

If you do nothing unexpected,
nothing unexpected happens.
~ Fay Weldon ~

Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn't do than by the ones you did.
So throw off the bowlines.
Sail away from the safe harbor.
Catch the trade winds in your sails.
Explore. Dream. Discover.
~ Mark Twain ~

The world is a book, and those who do not travel read only one page.
~ St. Augustine of Hippo ~

Security is mostly a superstition.
It does not exist in nature, nor do the children of men as a whole experience it.
Avoiding danger is no safer in the long run than outright exposure.
Life is either a daring adventure or nothing at all.
~ Helen Keller ~

Whatever you can do,
or dream you can, begin it.
Boldness has genius,
power and magic in it.
~ Goethe ~

Bear in mind that the special advantage of vagabonding is the experience of not really knowing what happens next, which you can obtain at bargain rates in all cases....The challenges you face offer no alternative but to cope with them. And in doing that, your life is being fully lived.
~ Ed Buryn ~

Often I feel I go to some distant region of the world to be reminded of who I really am....Stripped of your ordinary surroundings, your friends, your daily routines, your refrigerator full of your food, your closet full of your clothes, you are forced into direct experience. Such direct experience inevitably makes you aware of who it is that is having the experience. That's not always comfortable, but it is always invigorating.
~ Travels - Michael Crichton ~

The "danger" of vagabonding resides in having your eyes opened - in discovering the world as it really is.
~ Vagabonding in Europe and North Africa - Ed Buryn ~

People say that what we are all seeking is a meaning for life. I don't think this is what we're really seeking. I think what we're seeking is an experience of being alive.
~ The Power of Myth - Joseph Campbell ~

The use of traveling is to regulate imagination by reality, and instead of thinking how things may be, to see them as they really are.
~ Anecdotes of Samuel Johnson - Samuel Johnson ~

We do not need to understand other people and their customs fully to interact with them and learn in the process; it is making the effort to interact without knowing all the rules, improvising certain situations, which allows us to grow.
~ Peripheral Visions - Mary Catherine Bateson ~

Far better it is to dare mighty things, to win glorious triumphs,
even though checkered by failure,
than to take rank with those poor spirits who neither enjoy nor suffer too much,
because they live in the gray twilight that knows not victory nor defeat.
~ Theodore Roosevelt ~

The true traveler is without goal. It is the absence of goals which creates the ultimate traveler.

We also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope, and hope does not disappoint us.

Most people don't see the world as it is.....they see it as they are.

No accomplishment is as satisfying as one that contained doubt.
And no courage is as great as one that included fear.

Back home from Hawaii

2007-12-14T23:42:00.003-08:00

pics coming soon...stay tuned.

Over the Hills and Far Away

2007-10-05T17:54:00.000-07:00

Many times Ive wondered
How much there is to know.

Many dreams come true
And some have silver linings
I live for my dream
And a pocketful of gold.

Mellow is the man
Who knows what hes been missing
Many many men
Cant see the open road.

I can.

4 goals in 4 weeks

2007-06-18T08:36:00.000-07:00

Dec. 6th - Dec. 13th ----> Hawaii

Jan. 3rd-Jan. 24th ----> South America

1. Oahu, Hawaii

2. The Galapagos

3. Amazon River

4. Machu Picchu and Lake Titicaca

2007-05-31T13:41:00.001-07:00

www.asmithlife.blogspot.com
Asmith and Hotbox '07
Greek Mafia Connection

The next journey

2007-04-15T05:25:00.000-07:00

has been confirmed and booked. Jan. 3rd-Jan. 24th.

Charlotte, NC ---> Guayaquil, Ecuador

Countries: Ecuador, Peru, Colombia, Brazil

Underwater in Fiji

2007-04-08T05:01:00.000-07:00

2007-04-07T05:40:00.000-07:00

2007-04-07T05:36:00.000-07:00

2007-03-15T12:54:00.000-07:00

back in the Port City

2007-02-20T13:36:00.000-08:00

North Carolina

...

2007-02-16T18:14:00.000-08:00

4 million people and 50 million sheep

2007-02-16T18:05:00.000-08:00

2007-02-16T17:36:00.000-08:00

...

2007-02-16T17:33:00.000-08:00

...

2007-02-16T17:28:00.000-08:00

...

2007-02-16T17:21:00.000-08:00

...

2007-02-16T17:14:00.000-08:00

Many more photos from New Zealand...

2007-02-16T17:10:00.000-08:00

back to work

2007-02-13T14:36:00.000-08:00

last photos of the grand cherokee

2007-02-13T14:34:00.000-08:00

2007-02-13T14:27:00.000-08:00

Wildcat Provisions

2007-02-13T14:19:00.000-08:00

We made it to Snowshoe, West Virginia in about 7 hours and I think we stopped at least twice. After finally figuring out where to check-in we arrived at our lodging for the weekend. The place was equipped with a fireplace, full kitchen, washer and dryer and a hot shower. This is the convience store, Wildcat Provisions, we waited in for an AAA road-service call. It turns out, I didnt have enough anti-freeze in my jeep. The engine froze. We ended up having to book an extra night and hire a rental car to drive all the way back to North Carolina. Before we left West Virginia, I stopped by the garage where my jeep had been towed. I took off the license plate and grabbed the registration. I'm not sure if I am even going back for it.

Snowshoe Mountain

2007-02-13T13:53:00.000-08:00

2007-02-13T13:41:00.000-08:00

on the way to West Virginia

2007-02-13T13:36:00.000-08:00

random pic of New Zealand

2007-02-13T12:02:00.000-08:00

Links...

2007-02-06T11:19:00.000-08:00

more international travellers from North Carolina:

Andy -----> www.asmithlife.blogspot.com

Chris Grawburg -----> www.grawburg.com

Noah -----> www.freewebe.blogspot.com

Taj Mahal (travelling in India) -----> www.spiceroads.blogspot.com

Machu Picchu, Peru

2007-02-03T10:59:00.000-08:00

I have been home for one week now. The jet-lag is a feeling someone has to experience themselves to understand. I would describe it as a broken pattern of sleeping and eating habits. It is really weird and takes a while to get used to (especially when crossing the International Date Line). Within a week of being home I have already found myself searching the internet and bookstores for the next place I am going to conquer. Peru has caught my attention quickly. Check out this photo of Machu Picchu in Peru. It is part of the ruins of the Incan Trail that runs throughout South America. The Amazon River also plays a role in the lives and culture of the natives.

Back in the States

2007-01-31T16:09:00.000-08:00

I have returned after a long journey from the Eastern Coast of the United States to Oceania.

Fiji coup in December of 2006

2007-01-28T17:07:00.000-08:00

Go to this website for updated information on the political situation in Fiji.

http://www.fijitimes.com/

Clear waters of Fiji

2007-01-28T16:59:00.000-08:00

I've been scuba diving in the Bahamas and went on a snorkeling tour in Key West, Florida. The Coral Coast in Fiji is by far the best place I have ever been snorkeling. I have some underwater pics of fish, starfish, and sea urchins on my disposable underwater camera. I will scan them and post some if they turn out good.

Almond Fruit

2007-01-28T16:54:00.000-08:00

I can't remember the exact name of this fruit. It grows way up in the tree and resembles a large lime. You can break it open and it contains a nut that taste like an almond.

Uncovering the Earth Oven...

2007-01-28T16:38:00.000-08:00

Approximately 2 hours later we uncovered the earth oven and were ready to eat.

Covering the Earth Oven

2007-01-28T14:53:00.000-08:00

For the next step, criss-cross palm frond cuttings on top of the rocks. Try to make the fronds as level as possible. Then wrap up the fish, or whatever meat is available, in aluminum foil and place it on the cuttings. Now place a metal grate over the aluminum foil. Bananna leaves are now added to the top along with a piece of small tin. The purspose of using bananna leaves is to mimick the smoking and baking process. The leaves hold the heat in the ground. A potato bag made of burlap can be substituted if bannana leaves are not an option. Now shovel dirt on the earth oven until it stops smoking.

Coconuts

2007-01-27T16:30:00.000-08:00

Coconuts grow wild everywhere in Fiji. Here we used the coconut husks to feed the fire and the coconut meat (the white part) to make into a milk. After the fish on the stick was cooked it was soaked in homemade coconut milk to add flavor (check the photos near the top).

lovo = Earth Oven

2007-01-27T15:49:00.000-08:00

In Fiji, people cook food in a lovo or Earth Oven. First you dig a large hole and start a fire in the bottom. Then throw ten to fifteen smooth rocks that can withstand a tremoundous amount of heat without cracking.

Fijian Art

2007-01-26T23:06:00.000-08:00

Flowers of Fiji

2007-01-26T22:13:00.000-08:00

Rock Church of Fiji

2007-01-26T22:01:00.000-08:00

This is the place in Sigatoka, Fiji (pronounced Sing-a-tOka) that took me in and fed me for 7 days and 7 nights. Pastor Cecil Sanie is the man. He hooked it up.

Fijian graveyard

2007-01-26T14:48:00.000-08:00

Resting where no shadows fall.

NZ continued...

2007-01-26T14:24:00.000-08:00

Travelling to Fiji alone

2007-01-15T21:51:00.000-08:00

John has decided to go back to LA, California and I am headed towards Fiji solo.

2007-01-13T18:39:00.000-08:00

I live in a van

2007-01-13T17:39:00.000-08:00

2007-01-13T17:36:00.000-08:00

Skateboarding in New Zealand

2007-01-12T20:11:00.000-08:00

2007-01-12T19:56:00.000-08:00

It has been raining here off and on for the last week on the North Island. One of these mountains behind me was Mordor in the movie The Lord of the Rings.

Bridal Veil Falls and Waitomo Caves

2007-01-12T19:42:00.000-08:00

2007-01-12T19:28:00.000-08:00

These are the mussels we ate for two days. There were starfish everywhere.