In just a few hours part one of my big adventure finally begins! It’s hard to believe that it was already four months ago that I went on a much shorter adventure to buy the tiny RV that will now take me on a much bigger journey. So much has happened in that time- I feel like I’ve been living in 5th gear and often joke to friends that while I have no problem with that personally, I wish it would at least slow down enough for me to write about it more often. The last few weeks have been especially packed, with tying up loose ends in all areas of my life and down-sizing my belongings to next to nothing.
So what is this big adventure I have planned (well, sort of) and am rushing toward? I’m going on a solo, everyone-I-know tour of the U.S. and Canada in the Chinook for the next six months.
I’m starting with the TBEX (Travel Blog Exchange) Conference in Vancouver this weekend (June 10-12, which explains the rush!) And then I’m following the sun- yet another reason for leaving sooner than later- to see loved ones. I’ve had a huge year with lots of changes, and seeing loved ones I haven’t seen in quite a while and enjoying some sunshine before taking off for my round the world trip in 2012 sounds perfect.
My tentative plan is to do a clock-wise loop of the U.S., dipping into parts of Canada for TBEX and to visit family, and ending up in Arizona in December to spend the holidays with my Mom, Brother, and his/our family. I’ve got 22 places and 26 weeks.
Even through the exhaustion I’m excited. There is so much about this trip that’s new for me. I grew up in New England and have lived my whole adult life in California aside from a year and a half in New York, but I haven’t seen most of what’s in between. The longest solo trip I’ve been on was to Paris for 9 days when I was twenty-six. The longest road trip I’ve taken was a few days with a band in a veggie-oil fueled RV from Oakland to SXSW (Austin).
I’m not ready, but I’m ready.
I haven’t done the research I normally would have, which generally isn’t much, but still, there are things I’ve surely forgotten that I’ll need, and there are plenty of things I know I wanted to do, but didn’t get to. But you know what? It doesn’t matter. I’ll figure it out as I go and that will just become part of the excitement. What I’ve learned from traveling as much as I have so far is that I only ever think I have things sorted anyway, and some of the most fun adventures happen when I let life inform my plans. So for this one, I’m going to relax, be whimsical, follow my instincts and let the adventure unfold.
Got favorite places you think I should see? A particular route you’ve taken and loved? Going to TBEX? Let’s hear it! 🙂
Oh darling, I’m SO very excited for you!!! My heart will be with you on this extraordinary journey! I just know you’re going to have some kick-ass and unforgettable adventures. Can’t wait to hear all about them. Much love!
thanks so much andi! much love back at you and i will do my best to bring on the adventures! 🙂
Sounds like a fantastic road trip! I’m looking forward to meeting you at TBEX!
thanks glen and YAY! hope to see you at the opening party tonight! 🙂
Woohoo, how exciting! Of course, we so wish we were seeing you up in Vancouver. We’ll have to chat to fill you in on all of our thoughts on road trip worthy places (most of them will involve food!).
Have a fantastic adventure; we’ll be following it!
thanks so much kent & caanan! i’m so bummed that you’re not here, but hope to connect if the time is right for you when i’m in seattle next week. would love to hear all your suggestions and have hugs! xo 🙂
What a fantastic adventure. You’ll have the time of your life and pit-stops with loved ones is a brilliant idea. I’ll follow you closely.
thanks inka! it just feels so right to go see everyone before heading out indefinitely internationally and with all the changes this year. i know you’re right- it’s going to be an amazing adventure! 🙂
It’s so exciting to read that you’re about to start your trip! Hopefully I will have the chance to meet you at TBEX!! It would be cool to chat more about your tiny RV road-trip.
Like you said, let life unfold plans as you go along and be flexible enough to adjust with them. You’re going to have so much fun!! 🙂
thanks norbert! we have to meet here! hope to see you tonight! cheers to fun! 🙂
This indeed sounds like a grand adventure and one that I am looking forward to reading about! I am also looking forward to hearing more about TBEX. I am not able to go but am looking forward to reading about all the details.
thanks debbie! really appreciate you following. tonight’s my first TBEX event and really looking forward to it! will be sure to write about it all later! 🙂
And she’s off! Have a grand adventure Lorna. We’ll miss you.
i’ll miss you too bucket o’ love!!! xoxoxo and let’s skype after my conference is done! 🙂
So excited for your trip! I did the drive cross country when I moved from SC so I got to see a lot of the country. You can skip west Texas! 🙂
Look forward to seeing you in TBEX? Any “interesting beaches on this trip? Any in Vancouver? 🙂
thanks jeremy! LOL about “interesting beaches”! well, the place i’m staying here that the flying pinto hooked up for us is on the beach…;) i’m quickly realizing how little research i’ve done about anything and i’m finding that kind of thrilling actually! don’t know, but will have to find out! i will see you hopefully tonight and you can bet i’ll be asking you to explain your west texas comment! ha ha 🙂
soooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo excited for you sweetheart!!! <3 <3 <3
thanks lia!!! loooooooooooove you! xoxoxoxo
If you go through DC, you’re welcome to stay with us! We’ll even take you in a ride in the sidecar!
that rocks kelsey!!!
Sounds like the beginning of a truly epic adventure…one that Pete and I have talked about taking many times. Someday we will! For now, we will just follow you! 🙂
thanks dalene! after two days on the road, it’s feeling really HUGE ha ha! but i’m loving it. soooo appreciate you following along and you know i’ll do the same!
I just met you in Point Richmond. I am looking forward to reading about your trip & your adventures! Have a blast for me (so that I can experience it vicariously!)
cassie thank you SO much!!! and thanks for helping me make my window sign! got a few comments and emails here from it already! so great to connect with new folks on the road- one of my favorite things in life! i will do my absolute best to have a blast! really appreciate you following along and hope you’ll let me know how i’m doing! 😉 best wishes til we meet again on the road, lorna
I’m not ready, but I’m ready: Perfect summary of how I felt when I let for my current long-term journey. I hope you have time to write too because I’m anxious to read.
thanks so much stephanie! post-TBEX, my time is completely unplanned and you can be i’ll be writing! appreciate the encouragement so much 🙂
How exciting!!! Wishing you a wonderful trip with only great times ahead =)
thanks andrea! really appreciate and hoping we can meet during the next phase! 🙂
YAY! You’re going to have so much fun. I really wish Kali and I were going to TBEX because we’d love to meet up, but alas… that’s not in the plans. 🙁 BUT it will happen some other time, and you’ll have a fantastic road trip in the Chinook. Enjoy your first stop in Vancouver!
thanks christy! me too! wish you were here! excited reading your comment, because i know you know first hand the excitement to be had 🙂 hope to meet you at a stop some time! 🙂
Just passed you on I-5 just south of Corning. Saw the sign on your back window and jumped on my phone to see what you were all about. Sounds exciting! We are on our way home from Hearst Castle and celebrating our 10th anniversary. Good luck to you and I would HIGHLY recommend Hearst Castle if you have never been.
OKay, that is one of the coolest comments I’ve ever seen on a travel blog!
ME TOO!!! so incredibly thrilled & grateful! 😀
wow francine!!! thank you SO much!!! and congrats on your 10 year anniversary! and wouldn’t you know, i haven’t been to hearst castle yet, but it’s definitely on my list! i’m chasing the sun in the generally less-sunny states right now, but am making it back between this road trip and my round the world trip to CA in january. maybe then i can do all of the amazing things there are to do right here at home. really appreciate the comment and hope you’ll keep in touch here! best wishes 🙂 lorna
So excited for you Lorna! Have a great adventure! TBEX isn’t in the cards for me this year, but hopefully our paths will cross at some point. I’ll keep my eyes open for the Chinook. Maybe we’ll be in New England at the same time. And I still need to pick your brain about “Vacationland”!!!
thanks david! bummed i won’t see you here, but yes we’ll cross paths- hopefully new england! and happy to commence brain-picking any time post-TBEX! 🙂
Wahoo! This trip sounds awesome. I wish I could join you — I also haven’t seen much of all those States in between New York and California (and, granted, I haven’t seen much of California either). I can’t wait to read your adventures from the road. Happy trails!
thanks sally! i wish you could join me too! that’d be awesome- who needs radio with all the funny? 😉 oh, wait, i remember you like to do karaoke! you’d be the best co-pilot ever 🙂 i’m so excited and already in vancouver and it feels like a dream!
Yay! Can’t wait to meet up in Vancouver- we leave tomorrow and so excited for your trip! Let us know if you head to Nashville or Florida as we have great places you should check out!
thanks jade! me too! i’m here now and hope to see you tonight! i’m a hugger, so consider yourself warned 🙂 ooh we’ll have to talk nashville & florida!
That sounds like an amazing road trip! I’d love to do one myself one day. There’s so much to see in the middle of the U.S.! Have fun at the TBEX conference. I wish I was going this year…
thanks michael! i wish you were here too! next year… but i will be getting to LA eventually on this little voyage, so maybe we meet there! 🙂
“She’ll be comin’ round the mountain when she comes…”
Not sure why that popped in my head, but now I’m sure it’s in yours too. Best of luck on your most excellent adventure in your most excellent RV. Stop by for a drop of tea if you make it to Calgary. I’ll break out the good stuff…:)
thanks raymond! now i have that song in my head. i’ll no doubt be humming when i’m back in the chinook post-TBEX 🙂
would LOVE to have a spot of tea with you in calgary if i make it there! 🙂
Whaaahoooo! Bon Voyage!
I have images of a motley crew of friends and associates swinging a bottle of champagne onto the side of your darling little camper van to send you off. (Waste of champagne, actually, I hope you drank it rather than smashed it.)
Best of luck, looking forward to hearing tales from the road.
thanks d.o.! LOL! yeah, we drank that champagne lady! but did have a great farewell party and was definitely ready to head out! lots of tales to tell already…can you believe it?! 🙂
Really excited for you Lorna. You’re going to have such a great adventure – and I hope we’ll be able to follow what you’re getting up to with lots of updates! 🙂 Enjoy TBEX. We’ll get to one of those one day…
Julia
thanks so much julia! more regular updates coming for sure- probably post-TBEX frenzy 😉 hope to meet next year in turkey!
Sounds like such a fun adventure. I would highly recommend Glacier National Park in Montana and Waterton National Park on the Canadian side in Alberta. If you’re in Alberta and need any help, let me know. I was born and raised near Calgary. Looking forward to hearing more about your adventures. I think it’s great that you don’t have too much of it planned out. This type of trip is so much more fun when there’s room for spontaneity.
thanks laurel! in vancouver and already realizing some of those ways i don’t have it worked out! ha ha! it will be what it will be 🙂 was thinking of going through montana, so will try to check out glacier nat’l- thanks 🙂
A road trip. How fun! I’ve driven from California to Oklahoma, and then later on to New York. It was ages ago, but heaps of fun and many interesting things to see along the way. Best of luck on your adventure!
thanks sophie! i’m so sure you’re right that this place is full of all kinds of great places to discover- can’t wait! in just the couple days i’ve been on the road so far i’ve had some new experiences. appreciate the warm wishes 🙂
“I’m not ready but I’m ready”
You sound ready.
There are transformative journeys and there are vacations.
This sounds very much like the former.
thanks robin! i hope so! made it to vancouver and have already realized many ways in which i have not thought this through, but you know what? i’m okay with that! 🙂
So jealous – I’d love to do a trip like this. It must be an amazing feeling to literally have the road spread out before you!
thanks megan! it is- i’m so incredibly happy. you can do this too! 🙂
Terrific Really enjoy this trip. Love following others on their trips. I have made an around the usa trip which was 15,000 miles and four months. Loved it. You will love the camping and meeting so many people that you never meet in hotels
Eileen
thanks so much eileen! wow- you’ve done this! so glad to hear you enjoyed yourself. mine just began, but i’m already in love with my new life- and the meeting people part is at the top of what i love about it! gimme a random person to talk to any time and i’ll learn things i could never learn from books. i know you’re right! 🙂
Awesome meeting you Lorna! Twas a pleasure being your city guide for 5 minutes hah. Hope you enjoy the rest of your time in this gorgeous city. Again, be sure to checkout a sunset at english bay.
Good luck on your adventure!
awesome meeting you too adam!!! i just LOVE friendly locals and chatting with you for our bus ride was so much fun- thanks! planning on staying in vancouver after the conference ends (sunday night) and will absolutely take your suggestion of watching a sunset. appreciate the cheer and hope you’ll stay tuned! and maybe i’ll see you in the hood again before i take off! 🙂
Im SOOO EXCITED for you!!!!! I canNOT wait to see you!! I love popping on here and ready about it all! I get completely filled with electricity. Your enthusiasm is infectious! xxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxox!
thanks lady! ME TOO!!! so excited to see you 😀 it really makes me so happy that you’re here (the site!) warm fuzzies 🙂 xoxoxoxoxoxo back at you!
you are amazing! keep inspiring us sister!
thanks nat! really appreciate the encouragement 🙂 xoxoxo
goodluck with your trip
thanks zablon!!! 🙂
Even if you don’t have everything planned out, it will work itself out for you. It is funny how life will do that – never knew until our trip. Super excited for you lady!
thanks so much erica! i’m just going to go with it and figure it out as i go! more fun that way to me 🙂
Yay! So happy to meet you IRL. Can’t wait to read about your trip. 🙂
thanks akila- so great to meet you too! (IRL 😉 ) appreciate you following the trip! 🙂
we ‘just’ bought a 1976 chinook in portland or. we are so excited. i will follow your adventures and tell you ours. our will just be for fun, not that yours isn’t. we both are associated with schools so summer is for movin’ about. too many wet tent trips has cemented us to embrace the chinook., nookie for short. want to travel to minneapolis to see friends in july. hookup? otherwise, wyoming, oregon, idaho, etc. not east coast or south this year.
awesome carrie!!! so glad we’ve connected here and it would be great to hookup! when are you heading out? would love to see yours too- feel free to post a pic on the roamantics facebook page http://www.facebook.com/theroamantics. thanks for reaching out and keep in touch 🙂
That sounds so amazing… jeaaalouuus :p
thanks seattle! but you know, you don’t have to be jealous- you can do it too! 🙂
Congrats on starting your trip! It was really great meeting you at TBEX. Can’t wait to read about the roadtrip!
thanks ali! so great to meet you too! hope newlywed life is swell 🙂
It was awesome meeting you at TBEX, you are every bit as wonderful as I thought you would be.
aw-thanks ayngelina! i feel just the same about you- so awesome to click in person just as online. hope to meetup again in toronto! 🙂
It was great meeting you at TBEX, and I can’t wait to read all about your road trip!
And, don’t forget to drop me a line when you’re in Ohio. Cedar Point is totally calling our names!!
thanks amanda! so great meeting you too! and HELL YES to cedar point- can’t wait! i’ve got you on my blogging pals map and will definitely be in touch as i get closer. 🙂
Hope you’re having a great start to your trip! We’re on our way up to Seattle so I don’t know if we will pass each other, but can’t wait to hear all about your adventures!!
thanks casey! awesome! would love to meetup! i’ll email you guys now to get you my info 🙂
just now got your message and unfortunately we’re leaving at 7am to head to yellowstone tom morning 🙁 our schedules were so close to coordinating!! what do the next few weeks of your trip look like?
boo! 🙁 well, i mean, yay for yellowstone, but… i’ll email you guys with details of my plans and maybe we can make it work down the road! 🙂
Hi Lorna,
I met you at TBEX and will be following you across the country via your posts. You are living out my adventure. Good for you.
thank you SO much candace!!! so happy to connect and that you’ll be following along here. thanks so much for the kind words! 🙂
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