Our Currency is Knowledge!
It is all about Chill Traveling at SeeLevel
But that was not the original plan.
Bob and Wendy are best friends, travelers, and married to each other. Their chance meeting in 1993 in Santa Fe led them to leave their corporate careers, move onto a boat in San Diego, and embark on a very interesting journey. Though their corporate lives brought them together, it didn’t mean they embraced that lifestyle. On the contrary, it was a lifestyle they really wanted to leave in their rearview mirror.
The idea was to trade the “Dream Warrior” motor yacht for a long-distance cruising sailboat and sail the oceans of the world, living a much simpler lifestyle.
Along the way came Cancer, with Wendy being diagnosed with an early stage Melanoma. The diagnosis was certain and the surgery a complete success. The doctor’s message was simple, “stay out of the sun”. That ended their cruising days in a snap of a finger.
Plan B
Chill Travelling is a state of mind, lifestyle, and philosophy. SeeLevel is a made-up word that describes a chosen mode of transportation. They are mutually exclusive and inclusive.
These were not lightweight corporate types. Wendy was a Vice President of Coca-Cola, and Bob was a high-tech engineer, physicist, and CEO in Silicon Valley. Even though Wendy was on the East Coast and Bob was in San Jose, California, maintaining their relationship seemed effortless for them. Their bond was so profound that they wrote a book titled “Defining Moments: A Brand New Day” about how they met and came together. The book is available on Amazon.com or on their website. It is a fast read that gives you a sense of what they went through to be together, including Wendy’s survival of cancer and their decision to change their lives forever.
Anything But Retired
When Wendy and Bob left their corporate careers, it wasn’t retirement at all. They left their jobs and became dedicated entrepreneurs, with a laptop in one hand and “The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy” in the other. They have multiple businesses, ranging from products to publishing. Bob is an expert on subjects such as nanotechnology, augmented reality, and neural network-based artificial intelligence, recognized by the World Future Society. Wendy is a leading expert in skin cancer and melanoma. They are both focused on results and have little to no opinion or point of view on things out of their control. They are first principle thinkers and autodidacts. Look it up!
SeeLevel and what inspired this website.
Bob received a call from an old friend who said, “Well, you finally did it, didn’t you?” She said, “I just saw the trailer for the new George Clooney movie, ‘Up in the Air,’ and you sold your story, didn’t you?” Bob had heard about the movie that focused on a very secret American Airlines Advantage program frequent flyer program that features a black card with an icon showing the flyer’s rating in “Millions of Miles.” He laughed and said, “No, but I wish.” And yes, Bob has a card emblazoned with 3 Million Miles.
Bob’s elite card represented his corporate life, but it wasn’t the only frequent flyer card he carried. He was also part of other top-level programs. Unfortunately, these commercial flying programs didn’t record his time in corporate jets. Wendy also had similar cards, but neither of them felt proud of their high-flying lifestyle at 35,000 feet, unlike Clooney’s character in the movie.
The term “SeeLevel” was coined based on their collective experiences of traveling for business. They both used to sit in aisle seats while working on flights, often enjoying the perks of first-class not for the seats, food, or treatment but for the priority boarding and disembarking. Their lives were fast-paced until they met in Santa Fe. The following year, they switched from aisle seats to window seats, admiring the views of places like White Sands, the Everglades, and the Grand Canyon from above. During their phone conversations about their latest trips, they both wanted to visit these places at ground level. They pondered whether traveling around the US at “SeeLevel” was just a dream or a feasible goal.
While reading Bob & Wendy’s book, it’s apparent that they might have influenced the movie “The Secret,” which explores the power of intention. A line from the movie, “Energy flows where attention goes,” seems to symbolize their journey of coming together and creating a business that involves traveling across America at SeeLevel. Even though the movie was released after they wrote their book and changed their lives, it certainly reflects their experiences.
Cancer and Keys!
The most difficult part of “Defining Moments” for them was writing about Wendy’s diagnosis of melanoma. It was a wake-up call that led to profound changes, including their current business of marketing and manufacturing their line of chemical-free skin care products. Keys® Care is their business, and SeeLevel is their lifestyle and the way they run the business.
SeeLevel and Chill Travelers
Chill Travelers are not just Bob and Wendy. They are individuals who share similar thinking. They are people with positive intentions and no sense of entitlement. They are generous without expecting anything in return. When they do receive, they do so with great appreciation. Their currency is knowledge and their guiding principles are energy, enthusiasm, and wonderment. They live their lives with curiosity and adaptability. Chill Travelers come from all age groups, positions, wealth levels, and traditional statuses. They are like-minded individuals who are proud of being different. They are typically unconventional and have little tolerance for the status quo. They are non-judgmental and intensely curious.
“SeeLevel is not just a way of traveling. While some choose to do it on the road, anyone who stops and spends time experiencing things, people, and places is doing it at SeeLevel. This site is for everyone who feels that they must travel to be free and who thirst for life’s experiences.”
Bob and Wendy have traveled over 300,000 miles on the roads of America and Canada for their business. Initially, they traveled in a traditional motor coach, pulling their car around the country to visit dealers and customers and attend tradeshows. In their quest to explore more remote areas, they built a custom coach affectionately called “The Grizzly.” This more robust custom coach was designed to be off-grid for up to two weeks. Venturing further away from the main highways, they have gotten closer to what they want to see, hear, and experience about life at SeeLevel. They can work in LA for a week and head to the Mojave Desert for the weekend. This lifestyle was impossible with the traditional RV they used to live and work in. “The Grizz” allows them to operate more at SeeLevel than they ever could have imagined.
They have encountered interesting people and made new and old friends along the way while also learning a lot about living at SeeLevel. The great places to stay, eat, and meet real people have inspired the creation of this website. Initially, SeeLevel was meant to be a traditional paper book, but then the idea of an electronic book came to them. The problem with books is that they are static, while their experiences are dynamic and constantly evolving, making it seem like the book idea would never be complete. The perfect solution was to create a website with a specific architecture. The idea of a website combining a blog with a chat forum, an online referral system, and an online store seemed perfect for them and those who joined in.
They were initially located on the Oregon Coast near the Keys® factory, the Florida Space Coast near SpaceX, and everywhere in between. Their interests are diverse, and they have friends all over the world. They are often described as eclectic and eccentric. They are forward-looking and not too concerned with the past, and they navigate through life in their own unique way.
The blog is about how they share their beliefs and philosophy in real-time. The chat forum allows everyone to share and contribute. According to Bob & Wendy, Chill Travelers are people who give without expecting anything in return. The forum will cover various topics, including lifestyle, wellness, and great places to eat, and will naturally expand in the direction it needs to go. A section is dedicated to companies and products that fit the Chill Traveler lifestyle. The site will be funded by an online store selling creations and music by Bob & Wendy, who enjoy photography, design, video, and music as hobbies.
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