Wandering Money Pig - A journey of early retirement and FIRE (financial independence retire early)

  Blue Mesa Trail, Petrified Forest National Park, AZ I first encountered the words ‘ petrified forest ’ from one of my best friends while growing up.  My friend’s family had taken a cross country trip going from New York City to the west coast, and along the way, they had visited the Petrified Forest National Park , among others. The two words fascinated my young self, so I looked up the meaning in a dictionary (*for anyone younger than 30, a dictionary was typically used to look up words, like what we now do using a Google search).  I found out the word petrified is the process by which an organic material becomes fossilized (or turns to stone) when it gets replaced with minerals.   I had always wanted to visit this magical place full of petrified wood, and my chance finally came in December 2022 when we went on our own cross country road trip going from North Carolina to California.  Looking at the highway system in the south and southwest, it made perfect ...

  West Bluff Park, Albuquerque, NM My introduction to the city of Albuquerque began with one of my favorite YouTubers ‘ Adventure Archives ’, when they featured the city during their cross country trip.  I remember watching them visit filming locations for the hit TV show ‘ Breaking Bad ’.   Albuquerque  really seemed like another country, with colorful buildings with character and narrow streets.  It felt almost Mexican, or Spanish when watching them for the very first time.   When my wife and myself planned our second cross country trip, Albuquerque seemed like a great stopover destination along I-40 , before continuing on to the west coast.  We booked a three night stay at the excellent Homewood Suites by Hilton in uptown Albuquerque, and enjoyed the hotel immensely.   A 3 night stay was definitely the least amount of nights needed to see what Albuquerque has to offer, and we probably only scratched the surface.  There are so many thin...