Big changes are coming. As I settle back into civilization in Raleigh, I realize that it is time for me to start rebuilding my life -without Ellen, without Zack, without my cats and without many of the wonderful (and some not so wonderful) parts of my life before my wife died. I learned a lot…
Savoring The Moments
Fifteen years ago, my wife was undergoing a year long treatment for an advanced infection. Every Friday night she’d inject herself with medicine and take a handful of pills. Saturdays and Sundays she’d be nauseous, feverish, and in pain with flu-like symptoms. She’d start to feel better by midweek and then we’d start the…
It’s Over
After two months of full time travel, my life on the road has ended. I drove 8000 miles from coast to coast, visited 10 states and camped out for 54 straight days. I slept in truck stops, deserts, mountains and forests. I learned how to use GPS coordinates, to read topography maps and how to find…
Is This Real Life?
One of my favorite videos is of the kid in the back seat whose dad filmed him while he was still loopy from dental anesthesia. If you’ve never seen it, I highly recommend watching it now. You’ll thank me later.
The Dollar Store
When I lived in the city, I only went to the Dollar Store to buy 2 things – party decorations and holiday cards. Otherwise, I avoided this place like the plague. They were disorganized, disheveled, and full of cheap crap the wasn’t worth a dollar. They smelled bad, sold low quality merchandise and in general…
Eating Alone
Since I’ve been on the road, I’ve been craving good Mexican food. I’ve identified highly rated restaurants and local joints in several places I’ve camped near. But circumstances, timing and laziness prevented me from eating at any of these places. Instead I’ve eaten at Dos Tacos (fast food), Chipotle (I didn’t get e-coli) and…
Surprise…surprise!
Back in the dark ages when I was a kid, we had a black and white TV that got 3 channels. Sometimes. Other times the signal could drop down to 2. And after theJohnny Carson show or the news, the stations went off air until the next morning. So although I didn’t really like the…
Small Town America
I thought I would love small town America. After all, I have only fond memories of the first seven years of my life that I spent in Tamaqua, PA (pop. 7000). I remember walking down the street and talking to every person I saw. They knew me, my parents, my grandparents, my aunts, my…
No Blue Highways
Before I began my life on the road, I planned to avoid interstates. I would meander down the backroads of small-town America to get a flavor for what “real America” was like. I’d shop at local mom and pop stores. I’d eat delicious food at local restaurants, I’d have real conversations, meet interesting characters and…
Useful
Yesterday was the first day since my wife died that I felt truly useful. I didn’t plan for things to turn out that way.