I'm not lost. I'm just roving!

Today is the start of my latest travel adventure: 6-12 months exploring the United States, looking for the next great place to call home and discovering the amazing country that is my own backyard. Having grown up in the western part of the U.S., I often don’t think of this part of the country (or any part of the U.S.) as being as exotic as other parts of the world. When Americans talk about their travels, you’ll likely hear stories of Europe, Mexico, Canada, and sometimes Australia, but when’s the last time you heard someone talk about their trip to Idaho? South Carolina? Kansas? Each state is very unique in its culture, history and people. And the geography, climate and sheer land mass in the United States make every turn a new and wonderful adventure, unlike anything else on earth.

My journey begins in Southern California, the place I’ve called home for the last several years. Lately, my reasons for leaving have outnumbered my reasons for staying, and it’s time to find the next place to call home. As I watch the last of my things leave for storage, and pack the last suitcase in my car, it dawns on me that I’m technically homeless now. Yes, homeless. A little tough to wrap my head around, for sure. It’s not a concept I ever thought I’d experience firsthand. But in a weird hippie kind of way, it’s also very liberating. I’m no longer a citizen of Southern California, but now a citizen of the world. No more confinement to a particular state, city or building; no more “stuff” weighing me down; no more complacent routines of daily life; no more obligatory lifestyle merely to blend in with everyone else. It’s freedom. Total freedom.

On my way out of town (in L.A., on the much-despised 405 Freeway, to be exact), I passed a Range Rover, topped with off-road gear and various stickers from what must be a lifetime of traveling adventures. The license plate frame said “I’m not lost. I’m just roving.” What a perfect summation of the adventures that lay ahead.