Blast off...

"You are doing what!?!"  It's been over three weeks since I embarked on this journey and I wish I had a dollar for every person I've met who have asked me that question!  I guess it's not everyday you run into someone who decided to sell all his possessions, go on a sabbatical from his job, rent his house, squeeze everything in a backpack and hit the road for a year by himself!?!  Describing my plans for the next year is something I've gotten good at explaining...

When you live in Hawaii its no easy task to travel anywhere.  Hawaii is, of course, the most isolated place in the world, separated by +/- 3,000 miles of ocean, it is a five hour plane ride to the nearest continent.  So the question is... where to first?  When I began my initial planning for this trip I was faced with the decisions of where and when to go.  I researched the weather patterns, surf conditions, tourist seasons, etc during many a night and, after chicken scratching (pidgin for "scribbling") dates and time frames on a world map, my game plan (see previous blog "Finalized Around The World Itinerary") began to take shape.  Never having had been across the Atlantic it was Europe I set my sights on as the priority destination and the decision that dictated west-to-east travel from Hawaii over the Pacific, across the US, over the Atlantic, and onward.

Originally my plan for this year long jaunt started with a month long cross country road-trip across the great ol' US of A:  The intent to catch up with friends scattered across the states, explore as many national parks as possible, and "break myself in" to life on the road (starting with seeing my own country before galavanting across the globe to visit others).  Well, after considering the cost of the prospect, as well the lonely nature of being behind the wheel for that period of time (is not the best thing about road-trips the bonds created with the people you share the experience with?) that idea was scratched.  In lieu of the road-trip, extending my stops on the west and east coasts (required stops on the route to Europe anyway), with the goal to visit various friends in the vicinity of each locale, proved to be the logical alternative.

As previously pointed out, one of the self imposed personal challenges of this trip has simply been the "plan to not have a plan."  And so far so good!  I've magically found rides, people to stay with, and got to where and when I needed to go/be...  The last three weeks have been about catching up with friends, getting used to being a nomad, and moving from more familiar places & faces to less familiar places & faces.  In the last three weeks I've gotten to experience a California "luau", have a mini reunite with my old college roommates, catch up with friends, eat a lot of frozen yogurt, gear up/suss out my packing essentials, break in my new shoes on some hikes, eat some amazing food, go to a baseball game, freeze in San Francisco, sweat in New York City, eat some more amazing food, surf in the Atlantic, and get comfortable with all forms of public transportation (no subway system on Kauai).  However, the best experience so far, has simply been the opportunity to see a snapshot into the lives of the individuals I am grateful to call friends.  

Leading up to leaving Kauai to embark on my travels I was sharing my feelings with a close friend and was struggling trying to express the emotions of leaving home, excitement of fulfilling a lifelong dream, and put into words my thoughts about looking towards a year of so many unknowns...  with one statement she perfectly captured what I struggled to: She said, "you are like Kauai's first astronaut."  I'm not quite blasting of into space but I can imagine the feeling would be similar.

In a few days I fly to my first international destination (London, England) and "blast off"!