what's next?

although my blog has cataloged most of the places i've gone and the people i've met in the last 11 months, it hasn't really detailed much of my personal story or thoughts on life.  elaboration on those deeper things has usually been limited to my in-person conversations.  so unless you've spoken to me recently, you might not know what my ideas are about what's next for me.   i know a lot of you blog followers care for me dearly and are curious to know what my post-trip plan is.  so here's a quick summary of "what's next?":

while i was in alaska (state #49) i got a call from my sister judi who informed me of her engagement!  the next week she told me her wedding would be in october near venice, italy!  when i got her call, i was already uncertain about having enough money to get to hawaii (state #50), and therefore getting to italy seemed unlikely too.  however, (as you already know if you've read recent blog posts) i did make it to hawaii.  and i'm happy to say i also made it to italy! 

the way i funded my hawaii trip was by working for my friend, bob in sacramento.  he's the one for whom i worked near the beginning of my journey.  i worked for him again the entire week of time between completing my states trip in sacramento and departing on a flight to italy.   my trip to italy was funded by my sister judi.  basically i'm going to be her main photographer and in return she offered me enough of her frequent flyer miles to get me there!  : )  isn't she great?  in fact, i'm writing this very post from padova, italy.



not wanting to waste a trip to europe by cutting it too short, i scheduled my return flight for a month later.  so now i'm in italy.  my sister is getting married here this weekend.  for the following three weeks my plan is to fly to berlin germany to visit friends danielle and matthias, then get on a train to visit another friend talitha in prague czech republic, then go meet talitha's friends in budapest hungary and in cluj romania.  then i have a random flight from romania to zaragoza spain (where i don't know anyone... yet : ).  then i fly back to milan italy to catch my series of return flights back to sacramento, california on november 10th.  it'll be my first time in the contries of czech republic, hungary, romania, and spain.  it'll be my first time in the city of berlin, though i've been to germany before.  all of this is being done on the strictest of budgets, and much thanks goes to talitha who helped me find inter-europe flights and trains that are super cheap.  i.e: my flight from zaragoza to milan is only $16.14!!

somehow i'm also going to squeeze in a round trip from sacramento to philadelphia for maybe a week or two stratling thanksgiving weekend because a good friend of mine jesse is getting married.  i'm currently eying some relatively cheap southwest flight deals for that.

all of this post-trip travel is licking the final crumbs from my savings and cussion and emergency funds.  finding work is critical, and i'm ready to work.  but where?  the options in front of me are pretty limiteless as far as where i could go next to live and work.  it's hard to make a choice because that means i'm choosing to Not do all the other great options.

without going into all the permutations or reasonings i've wrestled with, i've decided to move to houston texas by the end of december to try to make a living there.   that's the city where i met some really great people, including my friend betsy and my "texas family" david and elisabeth and maddy.  i'd like to get to know them better while i figure out what's further down the road in my life.

as far as what kind of work i'll do in houston, that's not certain.  i'm looking at a very broad range of ideas.

for now i'll keep this blog site alive to let you followers in on my major turns in life.  so feel free to check in periodically.  but don't expect any details on my current 1-month europe adventure because i'm taking a break from the effort required to generate decent and regular blog posts.  sorry if that's a bummer for you.  you'll just have to contact me directly to hear about it : ).

journey stats

i pulled together some statistics about my trip... for my own interest, and for your pleasure too. : )

TIME:
>11 months / 335 days (Nov 1 to Oct 1)

DISTANCE: 

>i drove my van over 50,000 miles on the trip.

>farthest drive for a calendar day was 900 miles.   

FUEL:

>i haven't added up the gas totals yet, but i hope to eventually...  i got gas about 175 times.

LOCATIONS: 

>drove through all 50 united states (flew to hawaii, obviously - then drove it) and DC and all 10 canadian provinces (ferried my van to newfoundland and labrador) and 2 canadian territories.  crossed the us/canadian border 14 times in 12 separate locations.  also crossed from san ysidro, california into tijuana, mexico and back by walking.

>drove to and put my feet in the atlantic, pacific and arctic oceans.

>i think i came within about 200 miles of any point in all 50 states with maybe a few exceptions, but i haven't figured this detail out quite yet.

EXTREME POINTS I VISITED:

>northernmost, southernmost, easternmost, and westernmost drivable points of both the contiguous 48 states and of the continental usa

>easternmost and westernmost points of canada

>various extreme points in several states and provinces as well.

>point of lowest elevation in north america

>highest elevation point of interstate highway system

>locations of the largest (in eastern canada) and second largest (in alaska) tide changes in the world.

>the longest bridge in the world: lake pontchartrain causeway in louisiana, also the confederation bridge in prince edward island (ranked #8), and the seven mile bridge in the florida keys (ranked #10).  plus i crossed or came close to #9 near san francisco and #4 in maryland.

NIGHT ACCOMMODATIONS:

>i slept in my van 101 times in 98 different locations, including nights at a walmart parkinglot (61), mcdonalds parkinglot (3), restaurant lot (1), casino lot (1), rest stop (6), pullout (14), residential street (2), campsite (1), national forest (3), national park backcountry (5), and blm property (1).

>the other 234 nights i slept in 95 other spots, including nights on a bed (138), couch (55), fouton (8), mattress (4), air mattress (3), floor (19), trailor (1), tent (2), ground (2), ferry (1), and plane (1).

NIGHT LOCATIONS:

>i spent a total of 32 of the nights in canada, spread over 9 provinces and two territories, with the most in newfoundland and labrador (7), nova scotia (5), and british columbia (5), and none in saskatchewan nor nunavut.

the rest of the nights were spread between 40 states and DC, with the most in california (42), pennsylvania (41), florida (31), alaska (16), new jersey (15), texas (15), Georgia (12), Louisiana (12), Washington (12), Hawaii (9), New Mexico (8), Oregon (8), Wisconsin (7), and Delaware (7), and none in connecticut, iowa, kansas, mississippi, nebraska, north dakota, rhode island, utah, vermont, nor west virginia.

NIGHT WEATHER:

>extreme temperatures while sleeping in my van were 14 degrees fahrenheit (though 28 F inside my van) and about 90 degrees at night.  also, day temps reached well over 100 on a few occasions. 

LANDMARKS:

>stopped in or passed through numerous national parks (including joshua tree, death valley, zion, grand canyon, white sands, carlsbad caverns, everglades, acadia, badlands, mount rushmore, grand tetons, yellowstone, glacier, crater lake, mount rainier, kenai fjords, olympic, redwood), several national seashores (including padre island, cape hatteras, assateague island, cape cod, point reyes), and many other "national" places (including devil's tower national monument, pictured rocks national lakeshore, big cypress national preserve, mohave national preserve, colonial national historic park), the hoover dam, and countless national and state forests and national wildlife refuges.  plus in canada i went to or through neat places such as fundy national park, banff national park, cape breton highlands national park.

FIRSTS - I had countless random "firsts" including:

>visiting mexico, all canadian provinces besides ontario where i'd been before, yukon, northwest territories, 11 states (iowa, nebraska, louisiana, wisconsin, minnesota, north dakota, south dakota, montana, washington, alaska, and hawaii), the arctic ocean, four time zones (newfoundland, atlantic, akaskan, and hawaii-aleutian)

>sleeping under the stars (while watching a meteor shower)

>sleeping at a walmart

>blogging

>being on a car carrying ferry.

>seeing an ice berg, a glacier, an icefield, and various wild animals

>eating various foods - local burgers, local lobster, local salmon, king cake, i could go on and on but won't...

>firing a shotgun, pistol, and semi-automatic riffle, 

>getting a flat on my vehicle

>getting my van stuck in sand

>riding in an amphicar on land and water

>hugging a cactus

>being on live radio at the station.

>being suspected by a sheriff of being involved in UFO activities.

>picking up a hitchhiker (and working on a scaled model railroad with him!)

>playing the cajon (at tgif, a cafe, and an outdoor market no less).

>doing a shotski

>being at mardi gras

>rock climbing

>and other firsts that don't come to mind at the moment

AWARDS!  and awards go to.... (drum roll)...

>awards really go to all my hosts, and the kind strangers, supportive friends and family, and everyone who helped me with cash and food and contacts and ideas and encouragement... and of course god who was with me by his angels the entire trip!  but also specifically to...

>jess and hannah who each encouraged me in special ways including by their examples of living life exploratorily, even as i was planning my trip.

>emily who hosted me in the most locations - each of the four places - two in philly and two in seattle - was her primary residence at the time of my visit.

>judi who hosted me in the most states: NJ, KY, NM; and met up with me in the most states: NJ, KY, NM, FL, PA.

>jolene and joel who let me "live" at their house (my permanent address) and were the behind the scenes support taking care of my life including bills and electronic backup details.

>jolene who was the only one that got a real-deal first-hand experience with me as a guest when we knocked on a friend-of-a-friend's door to sleep on their couch in orlando.

>jeni and mark who carried me through my worst sick day.

>jeni's family, eugene, and lance who washed my van on separate occasions, making a huge improvement to it .

>symcha and vanya who were the most distant blood-relatives that i stayed with, that i know of.  we are third cousins.

>joe and toni who were hosts of the most degrees of original separation: they are the parents of a friend of housemates of a sister of my friend from philly.

>doug and sue in hawaii who were hosts with the furthest distance from my trip's origin in philadelphia.

>ione who surprised me with an unexpected package in the mail - and my family who also sent me general delivery mail and packages.

>jeff who fixed my break fluid leak.

>my van - what a champion vehicle it was for me!

>david, elizabeth and maddy who became family within minutes.

>betsy who has become one of my closest friends through good and regular counsel and prayer and fun conversations since we met in houston.

>joe, ross, toni, and the other guy - strangers who helped me fix my flat within minutes in newfoundland.

>shamus, darryl, nancy, matthew, and vicki - strangers who pulled me out of the sand in prince edward island.

>the guy who jump started the car i was borrowing in hawaii.

>mama z - a stranger who fed me free meals at her restaurant in british columbia.

>the 50 people who posted about 170 blog comments - most notably libby, jolene, judi, josh, hannah, lisa, and joel who posted by far the most, and in that order.

JOURNAL:

>241 people penned their own and other's names in my travel journal. and there were several hundred more people that i met or stayed with who didn't sign it.

thank you

thank you to everyone who participated in my journey!  i was blessed in so many ways by so many people during the course of my trip.  Hundreds of people, in fact.   thank you for the encouragement, destination tips, hospitality, beds, floors, showers, foods of all kinds, company, cash, blog comments, calls, mail, and hugs.   it's impossible to recount here all the things i'm so grateful for.   how could i?  it's been a whole 11 months of hundreds of blessings.  so, i just wanted to say it to all of you...    thank you!!!!

point reyes national seashore - final stop

the view along route 1 was really nice...

my journey's last stop along the way was at point reyes national seashore.  apparently there was a lighthouse nearby, and it probably has some history attached to it, but i opted just to follow a sign to one of the beaches.   i sat on a large piece of drift wood.   it was foggy and cool.  the waves were rough and relentless.

sneaker waves.

what an amazing journey.  i finished the day out by driving to the sacramento area.  my long 11 month journey was completed.  amazing!  it was still only beginning to sink in just how amazing the trip was.  the fact that i had the opportunity to do it.  the fact that i was able to see all the states and provinces.  the fact that i had relatively little car trouble.  the fact that i got to see so many old friends and meet so many new ones.  amazing.  : )

thus ended my journey.

my journey's final people

as i continued down the coast of northern california, i stopped to use the internet at a starbucks.

i noticed on facebook that a friend i'd met in philadelphia a few years earlier was going to be in a small town called mendocino, just minutes ahead of me down the coast.  it worked out that we got to me up with liliya there and with her friend pj.   we caught up on some of life as we strolled the little town looking for dinner.  my friends treated me to pizza at a nice little place called frankies.

then as we made our way back to our vehicles, we peered in the windows of the cute little touristy shops that were closed for the night.   we also came across this cat on the sidewalk that was extremely friendly.  it entertained us for maybe 10 minutes.  it had the funniest looking face as it soaked in our free attention of constant petting and scratching.  his tongue hung further and further out as though he was in utter glory.   ha!

it was a really nice time.  i'm glad it worked out to meet up.  liliya and pj were the last friends i saw on my trip.

california coast

crossing into california i had to go through the customs check point.  all i had was an asian pare which i got from walmart and they let me through with it.   i really enjoyed my drive down route 101 and route 1.  lots of windy roadways through scenic areas, including redwood national forest.

i stopped in eureka to use the internet at has beans coffee.

i drove into the night, which was abnormal but i wanted to find a place with cell phone reception because i was expecting an international call in the morning.  it was night and it was also foggy.  i came close to hitting a deer, but was able to swerve in time.  i gave up looking for cell reception and found a pullout right at a ledge overlooking the foamy waves pounding the surf.

the waves made a constant loud hushing noise that overpowered the sound of the few cars that passed me in the night.  i slept with my side window flared open, listening to the ocean and smiling at the awesome spot i scored to park.  i pondered my trip fondly, knowing it was drawing to a close.  i was sad for it to end but ready for it to be finalized..

another friend in portland

my sister's college roommate jane now lives in portland.  it had been a super long time since we'd met last.   i found her at her counseling job in downtown portland.

she took me to a really cool restaurant called jakes.

then we walked to the powell's bookstore which was huge huge huge.

while we were drinking coffee in the cafe area i remembered that my parking time was overdue!  uh oh.  it had been 25 minutes, and a finding a ticket was certain.  but when we got back to my van there was no ticket!  wow, we were so not in philadelphia.  since i had to move the van anyway, jane got in the passenger seat and continued the personalized city tour for another 20 minutes as we drove around.   i was really glad it worked out for us to meet up on her extended lunch break.  we got to share life. : )

leaving portland i headed for a burgerville which jane had mentioned about.  

i got their tillamook cheeseburger because i figured that would be as local as it gets.  i loved how they broke down the info on the receipt!!

bend friends

my next destination was bend oregon.  on my way there i picked up a hitch hiker named bobby.  we didn't talk much but he was happy to find a ride for a hundred miles.

it was a very pretty drive

then i met up my friends jon and jamie and their new baby kincade.  it was especially nice to see them because i had missed them on two other separate occasions during my trip.  interestingly, my first attempt to visit them was before jamie was pregnant, the second was while she was pregnant, and the third was after kincade was born.  was my trip really that long?  : )

and of course, aspen!

after my visit with them i continued south

i stopped to sleep at a walmart just short of the california border.  a several day heat wave had covered the area so it turned out to be one of the hottest nights in my van on my trip.  it was a stuffy 84 degrees in my van as i went to sleep.  but don't get it wrong, i was still happy for the warmer weather!

olympic national park

i circled the olympic national park mountains, but didn't get very much of a good view of the them because it was mostly cloudy and rainy all day.  the sun came through shortly once or twice.

i continued driving west as far as i could... to the westernmost point of the 48 states which is on the makah tribe indian reservation. 

i continued south along the coast.  this was a point on the coast that was part of the olympic national park.

i stayed a night in a pullout and was startled awake several times by log trucks going by.

in the morning i found this lovely beach which i enjoyed for all of 10 minutes.  it was at long beach, washington.

i would have stayed longer but i had a few more people to visit to wrap up my journey.  this is the very long bridge that spans across the washington/oregon border.

oregon!