Blast off

The time has come for me to truly set off into the unknown.  I have already cut ties with my old life, and now the truck is packed up and ready to be my base of operations for the next 1-2 months.  I have a custom hammock stand (long 2x4), padded kayak carrier (blue camping pad wrapped truck rack), and a custom fit bike holder (fork mount bolted to slab of wood).  There are even custom cargo containers strapped into the back seat (plastic tubs and string).

It turns out it takes quite a lot of gear to be ready for all of this adventure for an entire summer. 

And I am starting to get the tiniest inkling of how the explorers that left Britain for America, or that left a settled homestead to go to the wild west felt.  It is scary.  When you think about it too hard, it leaves that little knot in your stomach that is your body saying 'Dude, you're crazy!'  But its exciting!

It feels like a roller coaster ride.  When you first make the commitment to break ties and go travel, you have just gotten in line.  You aren't quite committed yet, but its hard to turn back and you have lots of time to think.  Then comes breaking all of your old ties.  This is when you strap in to the coaster at the bottom of the first hill.  The enormity of the undertaking starts to sink in, and you have to gulp down that little knot and go for it.

I am now at the top of the hill.  I am just starting to feel the coaster plunging into the abyss, and you can see that the track just drops straight off.  In my case, I am leaving my comfy house and the security of the familiar for a road trip in a 16 year old truck with 280,000 well loved miles.  It is at the same time exhilarating, scary, and wonderful.

But I know that out there, adventure awaits.  There is so much world, so many grand vistas to take your breath away, wonderful people to meet, cultures to sample, and mistakes to be lived. 

Bill Waterson (Calvin and Hobbes) said it best, "Its a magical world, Hobbes ol' buddy... Lets go exploring!"

Hardest part of something new

People.  They are the hardest part of something new.  

Not the new people, or the scariness of starting a new life.  Not flinging myself into the relative unknown of France, where I don't even speak the language yet.  The hardest part of starting over is leaving all the wonderful people I already know.  Being in one place for five years makes for quite a few really good friends.  Just uprooting and telling them all goodbye, for me, is harder than the uncertainty of not knowing where I will be going next.  Those people make your life, and leaving them is, in some way, cutting out a piece of your life.  

So, as a sort of last hurrah with some good friends, we got together for a float trip down the elk river.  Beautiful river, and the outfitter was really nice.  We got there on Friday evening (after I led the convoy on the very scenic route, to no end of mockery when we got there) and set up camp.  We had an awesome evening of beer and stories and a full moon(not the cheese kind) around the campfire, and finally everyone hit the hay.

The day dawned beautiful.  After a 20 min ride, we hit the water in true chillax fashion.

Every float trip needs some flying water.

After a few miles, a few of us found a 'shortcut' that had to be taken!  It was the best kind of shortcut, with down trees and much longer than the main channel.

 

And then it started getting more hairy.

Finally, after we got about 40 min into our 2 min shortcut, we decided to 'cut our losses' and just portage to the main river, which we thought was just over the hill.  Turns out, not so much.

Once we joined everyone else, we had a wonderful lunch.  After lunch, the sky started closing in.  At first, it was just a little rain.  We tried to hide under some trees to see if it would just pass over.

Shortly, we gave up and just enjoyed the deluge!

Eventually we made it back home.  After all the adventures of the day, it was time to pack up everything (of course, it dumping down rain) and make tracks for somewhere drier.  However, the day ended with some wonderful Mellow Mushroom pizza, so it all turned out well in the end.

Life 2.0

Well, I guess now is when it all begins.  Life 2.0.  Where I leave the job, security, and comfort of my current life and start fresh.  Go explore somewhere I have never been, see things I have never seen, and generally get as far from my comfort zone as I possibly can.

 
I guess I should back up a bit.  I went through school and wound up with a bachelors in Electrical Engineering.  I spent 5 years using my degree in Huntsville, AL.  I got to do good work, travel some, and see a big variety of projects.  I have some really spectacular friends here, and I like most of the people I work with.  I have found outdoor adventures, indoor adventures, and life changing experiences.  I spend five years building a life in Huntsville, but never quite settling down.  

I think motorcycle touring with my brother really got me started thinking maybe I really want to see the rest of what the world has to offer.

There were many trips.  Every time, I learned something about myself, the world, and other people.

There were many bikes, and many destinations.  However, spending 5 weeks traveling across the US on dirt bikes really made me realize that I needed to get out there and see the world while I didn't have any obligations tying me down.

So now, finally, I am doing it.  It started as going back to school for a change of scenery.  Then I wanted to travel some first.  Then I discovered that going back to school could involve a year in France.  So here I am, currently jobless and homeless, traveling the US for 2 months this summer, then off to France and back to school to learn about robots!  

This blog is here to document the journey and to share my ideas about myself and the country, continent, world and universe I live in.