I wish I had a better memory. I am so glad I made videos of
my travels. It makes it easy to go back and write about things that aren’t on
video. I don’t think I am very good at storytelling, but I’ll try my best to
make it entertaining. Most of all, I have a place where it’s all written down,
so my memory doesn’t degrade further with age. I turned 45 in April. I can
hardly believe I’ve lived nearly half a century. Where does the time go?!
For those that don’t know, as I suspect, most of you do not…
I went on the road in 2016. I quit my corporate, soul crushing job to live for
today, as tomorrow is not promised to us. I also had a painful medical issue
that I had to get surgery on, before I left, and needed time in nature to heal the
mental, emotional exhaustion that my life turned into. I was working a full
time, stressful job while I pursued my bachelor’s degree. After I accomplished
many goals, I was left with nothing else but my work, I felt empty. I studied
and worked all those years for what? Looking around at my life, just this?! We
are meant to do more than just “pay taxes and die.” I was miserable and needed
a change or I was headed down a dark path of depression.
I started looking into
how to live a simpler life. How to live a more fulfilled life with less
material things. I started looking into the tiny home trend. It was just beginning
to really take off back then. In my researching how to live tiny, I eventually stumbled
upon nomad living. I talked to people online in the then “Cheap, RV Living”
community forum. After much time and effort spent online, and even talking to
people on the phone about their travel modes, I realized I wanted a small motorhome
for me and Dresden (“Dresy”) to travel comfortably in. I didn’t want to give up
many of my creature comforts, as I was downsizing drastically already.
So a
Class B RV fit the bill – everything I need, nothing I don’t. I didn’t want
to do a “van build” nor did I have the resources nor the time. I was wrapping
up my life, trying to work, keep my head down, and save money while secretly (from
my employer) developing this plan, with one foot out the door. I felt an excitement
building, a feeling I hadn’t felt for a while. I waited for the right moment to
leave, August in Texas – always a good time to leave to head north for higher
elevation and cooler temps. I felt freedom, independence and I was happy.
Finally!
John went full time around the same time as I did. It seems our
paths were destined to cross at some point. He followed me on my channel, which
had very few subscribers back then, so when I received any comments, I was thrilled.
After a while I realized he was a fellow traveler as well. What started an
instant connection was our mutual love of cats. He expressed how much my cat at
the time, Dresden, reminded him of his beloved, Sinbad that passed away.
Honestly, I am not sure if he would have continued to follow me on my travels,
had I not been a “crazy cat lady.” (Do I still qualify as a crazy cat lady if I
only have one cat?)
John loved Dresy. For anonymity, he called him “Dilbert” in
his books, and me “Amanda” (which is a running joke because in real life I am
often confused for Amanda instead of Angela, for some odd reason). Or perhaps
he followed me because I was also a new nomad, still trying to navigate this
different way of life. We are both introverts. We are content being alone. But
having a connection with another solo traveler while being immersed in nature, and having someone to share that with, was a welcomed change.
In the next post, I will write about how John and I met.
