Dream Catch Me
Dream Catch Me
Ten years ago during a trip to Ireland I was involved in a pretty horrific car accident (ww.irishexaminer.com/ireland/icrime/local-man-20-killed-in-crash-on-cahir-clonmel-road-63381.html) where a young man lost his life at the age of 20! As you can imagine this had a huge impact on my life and my decision making going forward. Later that year myself and my girlfriend at the time decided to relocate to Dubai in the Middle East. It seemed like a good idea but the lifestyle and culture was not for me so I returned home to England a year later...alone! I decided to go travelling so I put a 3 month sabbatical in my contract and planned my trip. Thailand, Hong Kong, Oz, NZ, Fiji, Peru, Brazil, Miami and Vancouver. Before my trip someone told me about the book The Secret by Rhonda Byrne which is all about the laws of attraction and I love all that stuff. I decided to put it into practice so I bounced around the world with a huge smile on my ace attracting nothing but great memories, and.....
On December the 2nd 2009 I packed my bags and embarked on what can only be described as the best 3 months of my life. It started in Thailand where I spent a few nights in Bangkok and about 10 days exploring the islands, Kho Phi Phi is where they filmed the movie the Beach and I spent a lot of time there. I had only been on the island for a few days and was just starting to find my way around. I was plying pool in a small sports bar when all of a sudden I get a clip round the back of my head. I look up and there is a work colleague stood right in front of me!! I couldn't believe it, we were both travelling but had already said our paths would not cross!! This was insane!! We spent the next 3 days together exploring the island.
After leaving Thailand I flew to Hong Kong for a few days. I wasn't a big fan so I am glad it was only a short stay. Next stop was Australia, I had family and friends here and spent two weeks in Sydney!! This wasn't my first time in Sydney but it was great to go back and explore a different side of it on my own.
New Zealand was my next stop. I had met a kiwi girl in Dubai who became a great friend and she invited me to spend Christmas and New Year with her and her family. I had a week in Auckland visiting some British friends of mine but it was after this that my real NZ story begins. Myself and my friend hired a camper van and drove the whole of the South Island for 2 weeks. It was awesome!! We spent Xmas with her family and between Xmas and New Year we headed down to Queenstown to do the Nevis Bunjee!! Queenstown is one of my favorite places in the world, its an adrenaline junkies paradise.
After NZ I headed to Fiji and I was told the best thing to do is get off the mainland and head to the Islands, so I did!! I was on a small paradise island called Beachcomber, it only takes about 5 minutes to walk around it. I had just arrived and they were giving a talk about what time lunch is served and where you hire your snorkel equipment from. This big Fijian guy comes over to me and says 'Hey man, hows ya tongue?" I looked at him with a puzzled face. He continued. "You're crazy, you're loco, you put a hermit crab in your mouth last night" I said " I have only just got here, I dont't know what you are talking about" he says "You're from South Africa yeah" I said " No I'm from England" and he goes "Same Same" and walks away!! So I was left scratching my head.
Anyway moments later I walked into the reception and a young man came and stood next to me. I looked him up and down and said " Did you put a hermit crab in your mouth last night by any chance?" He turns to me and says " How the hell did you know that?" I said. "Someone thought I was you" He looked me up and down and said "I can see that"
We got to talking and he asked me where I was going. I said "Peru to do the Inca Trail, Brazil for carnival, Miami, Vancouver and then back to London"
He said " I have just been to Miami and I met all these American girls who love to party. I will introduce you on Facebook"
So I carried on my trip and didn't give it any other thought. I arrived in Miami in February of 2010 and there it was. Doug, Stephanie, Stephanie, Doug. The South African guy had been true to his word.
I reached out to Stephanie and we agreed to meet at Waxy O'Connors on South beach. When she walked in the room there was an immediate connection and it felt like we had known each other our whole lives. She told me she had to leave at midnight as she had to work. At 5am we were still out on South Beach. I had to leave to head to the airport to catch my flight.
For the next 6 months we did the whole long distance thing. Flying back and fourth from Miami to London to spend time with each other. In September I proposed to Stephanie in Lake Como. 3 months later we got married in Miami on New Years Eve.
That was 6 years ago and now we have a beautiful son called Finn and another baby on the way
"You put a hermit crab in your mouth last night"
