On the road

[K.C.]

I'm kind of reaching a turning point in my life where I'm suppose to begin transitioning into beginning to become a 'responsible adult.'

At the same time, I'm not ready to begin that transition...not yet.


I feel the need to do something big...at first, I thought that big thing would be to hike the entire Appalachian Trail from Maine to Georgia (a 3-4 month trek)...but I'm going to save that one for my inevitable mid-life crisis later down the road.

Instead, I think I need to see everything this country has to offer, and by that I mean hitting as many different places, experiencing as many unique situations, and seeing as much as I can possibly see.

In other words, I need to do the big road trip.


I'm not quite sure how to put the wheels in motion on this...do I just wake up one day, get in my car and drive? Should I even drive? Maybe I should pull this off Kerouac style and utilize rideshare and couchsurfing.

Or do I map this thing out by mapping a path and kind of alotting some time for certain place (with some flexibility built in).

Really, I have no clue.

[LaBoob]

Having no clue is a very good place to start. I strongly recommend "disconnecting"... I'm also feeling like I'm in the middle of a major turning point in my life and I wanted to go away to get my head cleared up. A little road tripping or camping or hiking does your mind good. Nothing puts life into perspective than leaving it behind for a week or two and looking at it from the outside.

Just don't bring your computer with you! Or your cell phone, or at least turn it off and stuff it at the bottom of your bag. I'm finding I'm a compulsive phone-checker and it really hinders the "disconnection" from home life that I'm going for.

Good luck!

[led37zep]

Ride the rails my man.

[K.C.]

Having no clue is a very good place to start. I strongly recommend "disconnecting"... I'm also feeling like I'm in the middle of a major turning point in my life and I wanted to go away to get my head cleared up. A little road tripping or camping or hiking does your mind good. Nothing puts life into perspective than leaving it behind for a week or two and looking at it from the outside.

Just don't bring your computer with you! Or your cell phone, or at least turn it off and stuff it at the bottom of your bag. I'm finding I'm a compulsive phone-checker and it really hinders the "disconnection" from home life that I'm going for.

Good luck!


I'm definitely ditching the phone.


Thought about bring the laptop because I might want to blog it or something. I am a psuedo-writer (refuse to call myself a real one until I get a real job) by trade, so there may be some stuff there.

Ride the rails my man.

I looked in to a North American rail pass with Amtrak. It's a bit pricey (either $900 or $650) per month depending on whether I go during the peak time or not.

I'd probably take at the very least two, so it'd be about $1800.

Although with gas and everything, that might be worth it...of course, you don't get the freedom you get with a car necessarily...but I can also sleep on the train when I travel.

[Ritalin]

I think that before you go off on your grand trek you should get it straight in your head just exactly the kind of "responsible adult" you want to be. Because you shouldn't look at your grand adventure - which I endorse wholeheartedly - as the end of one thing and the beginning of another.

Go off and have your travels. That's the whole point. But don't think that the whole idea of having an interesting life and exploring the world ends when you get a job.

Perhaps the point of the trip itself is to figure out how much you like that kind of life, that kind of travel, and to gauge what kind of career you choose based on how much you like the travel. Some people really don't like travel, don't like being away from their things, their spouses, their children. Others - like me - think that traveling is a really important part of life, and find partners that share that vision for themselves and for you.

I recommend going as far away from where you live as you can afford to, and stay there as long as you can afford to, then make whatever decisions you think you need to make.

[K.C.]

I think that before you go off on your grand trek you should get it straight in your head just exactly the kind of "responsible adult" you want to be. Because you shouldn't look at your grand adventure - which I endorse wholeheartedly - as the end of one thing and the beginning of another.

Go off and have your travels. That's the whole point. But don't think that the whole idea of having an interesting life and exploring the world ends when you get a job.

Perhaps the point of the trip itself is to figure out how much you like that kind of life, that kind of travel, and to gauge what kind of career you choose based on how much you like the travel. Some people really don't like travel, don't like being away from their things, their spouses, their children. Others - like me - think that traveling is a really important part of life, and find partners that share that vision for themselves and for you.

I recommend going as far away from where you live as you can afford to, and stay there as long as you can afford to, then make whatever decisions you think you need to make.

Oh, I totally agree...I hope I didn't come off as the opposite, but re-reading my post, I can see where I may have.

I'm not trying to use this as a bridge between two things. If anything, I'm hoping for this to become the beginning of a lot of different traveling experiences.


For instance, that Appalachian Trail thing...I'm definitely doing it at some point. I've wanted to for years. I'm just not ready for that one quite yet.

[midwestjeff]

Have you considered working in a national park for a while. Yellowstone is good if you like to get fucked up, otherwise I recommend the Grand Canyon.

http://www.xanterra.com/

[led37zep]

Oh, I totally agree...I hope I didn't come off as the opposite, but re-reading my post, I can see where I may have.

I'm not trying to use this as a bridge between two things. If anything, I'm hoping for this to become the beginning of a lot of different traveling experiences.


For instance, that Appalachian Trail thing...I'm definitely doing it at some point. I've wanted to for years. I'm just not ready for that one quite yet.

I had a friend who hiked the Pacific Crest Trail, he absolutely loved it. I say you do it.

I've also heard really good things about people who take their time and drive the Al-Can highway.