Welcome
WHY YET ANOTHER TRAVEL BLOG?
The basic point of life is to form relationships through shared experiences. What connects and bonds people is being authentic and vulnerable. Travel exposes you and strips away all pretenses. There is nothing more real than being a stranger in a new place. Minds expand past well-worn patterns. I want to connect with you through these experiences.
For the last 10 years, I have been dreaming about doing an extended United States road trip. It all started when I wanted to sell my house and buy a superstar RV. Then, I wanted to build a tiny house. Finally, I whittled it down to outfitting a Mercedes Sprinter van. Currently, my Insight is a substitute for my future fabulous van. My first road trip happened in September and October of 2017.
When I returned home in October, my new optometry gig became commuting to Alaska. I go every few months to give eye care to bush natives who do not have easy access to health professionals. We fly in bush planes and ride on snow machines to villages where there are no roads.
I had never been to Alaska. Motion sickness plaques me. I had never driven a snow machine. Are tiny planes safe? I love the sunlight. And I dislike the cold. Following along might prove comical.
I also travel throughout Maryland, Delaware, and Pennsylvania examining nursing home residents. The patients are lovely and comical and confused and sweet. The vignettes of this life are interesting and heartwarming.
When I would tell people about my work, the van, and Alaska, they would get excited and say “Send me pictures!” (And then ask where I will go to the bathroom in the van.) This blog is my lazy way of “sending pictures”. (And at some point, we will discuss the bathroom.)