I have not always understood this, and I wondered what was wrong with me. Why am I not like everyone else? Why can’t I settle down in one place, build my career, put down roots, and be happy? The fact is, I did try to do all these things, but I wasn’t happy. I just do everything in my power to make it a location independent one so that I can travel while I work. As a child growing up in a small town in northern Idaho, I had an adventurous spirit and was drawn to the world around me. At that time it usually meant I wanted to be outside. It was the trees in the forest, the rivers and lakes, and anything to do with the wondrous outdoors that had my heart. My parents were divorced when I was only five years old and my father’s job took him to four states while I was growing up. Visiting my dad allowed for my earliest opportunities to see some of the world outside of my little hometown. My summers allowed me to visit Arizona, California, Montana, and Nevada. All four are magnificent states overflowing with natural beauty. My dad always loved the national parks and various other sites that caught his eye, and he was always eager to take us on adventurous trips to visit these wonders. As a child, I had the great privilege of seeing the Grand Canyon,Kitt Peak Observatory, the Pacific Ocean, Yellowstone National Park, The Canadian wilderness, Grand Teton National Park, the great expanses of the Nevada outback, and so much more. I finally left my little hometown in northern Idaho to move to rural Nevada with my father during my teen years. Once I had a driver’s license there was no stopping me. I zigzagged all over the state of Nevada and learned that state inside and out. Occasionally, I ventured to neighboring states too. I visited every site and every friend and made many more friends. I couldn’t stop myself. I didn’t want to stay home. It wasn’t because I didn’t have a great life at home. I had a wonderful father who gave us kids anything that he could and treated us well. I just had places to go and people to see. After high school it became even worse. My dad had relocated to Arizona so now I found myself zipping back and forth between Nevada and Arizona and occasionally to northern Idaho. It wasn’t the destination I was after. It was more about the journey. I never knew really exactly what I was looking for, but I always found great happiness driving down the road, seeing the sites, meeting new people, and finding new adventures. I didn't come to love travel in the way that so many others have - that is by growing up with world-traveling parents, or by living in a country where the gap year in the norm. In my younger years, like many Americans, it never really occurred to me to travel outside of the U.S. I may have been a late bloomer, but once I had a taste of how big the world is and how beautiful cultures and people are, though, there was no turning back. Join me and my friends and loved ones as I discuss and share all things travel and culture, and as we explore the world and all it has to offer.
