There and Back Again
5 days, 11 states, 2700+ miles and 1 National Park later…I’m back! What a trip!
Over the next week I’ll be posting entries about my adventure to the Northeast and back again, one per day on the same weekday as they happened. First entry will come tomorrow. Hard to believe the trip started just a week ago. Seems like it’s been weeks already. A lot happened in a short period of time…
Before getting into those journals, I thought I’d give a general overview leading up to the trip. This trip has actually been on my mind for several years. I started planning in 2006 but it fell through. When a week long trip with friends to Gatlinburg for early July was canceled, the wheels started churning and I got set on the idea of taking a road trip to the Northeast. Given that the Gatlinburg trip was canceled due to the lack of interest/availability/finances, I didn’t even try to find people to accompany me on this trip. Though I had never taken such a trip alone before, I was actually fine with it, and was even looking forward to the alone time. I am an extrovert in the sense that I get my energy from interactions with others, so I knew this could be a challenge, to stay motivated to visit and spend time at the various sites along the way, but I welcomed the challenge. I decided that I was tired of putting off plans while I waited for others to share in them. It was time to seize the moment! Carpe diem!
Another intentional challenge I was facing was a lack of planning. I did very little for this trip. Those of you who know me know I’m a planner by nature and like to have everything scheduled ahead of time. My lack of planning for this trip was mainly due to simply not having the time to plan leading up to it, because of class, the white water rafting trip and just general overall busy-ness. Once I realized how little time I would have to plan, and the stress that would surely result from trying to cram in time to do it, I gave into just being spontaneous and rolling with things as they came, with no reservations and such. The most planning I did was deciding which route I would take to get to a couple destinations I wanted to hit. So, between going alone and not having things planned out, this would be a learning and growing experience for me.
Two items on my bucket list are to visit every state and visit every national park. This trip put me closer to accomplishing both these goals, as 5 more states and 1 national park would be crossed off the list.
To give thanks where it’s due and share my gratefulness, I am extremely blessed and thankful for a truly wonderful girlfriend. Though Kristy was more than a thousand miles away, we kept in touch and talked each night about my adventures from the day. She was simply amazing at keeping me company during my long driving days and kept me awake during my late night travels. She also had previously been to the Northeast and suggested places I should visit along the way. I truly appreciated having her be a part of my adventures, even if it was only via the phone. She definitely made the experience more enjoyable.
The first post about my trip comes tomorrow. Pictures will be up soon as well. Stay tuned…
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