We’re on Our Way!
I’m writing this from a hostel in San Luis Obispo, CA. Our apartment is bare, our car is packed to the gills, and our previous life is about 200 miles of road behind us. It was a bit sad, saying goodbye to the life we built up for ourselves in Los Angeles over the past three years. We made some good friends, with whom we’ll definitely keep in touch, we both had comfortable jobs, and we had a cozy apartment (and pets) to come home to every day.
That said, one day into our “pre-trip road trip,” I can already say with confidence that we’re doing the right thing. Now that the stress of preparation is behind us, we can actually enjoy our day-to-day. We spent most of the day wandering through the streets of downtown SLO with no real purpose, stopping into bars and shops that piqued our interest. We saw a Spanish mission that had been founded back in the 1700’s, and we walked through (and smelled) the infamous Bubblegum Alley, which is exactly what it sounds like.
I can already tell that we’re going to enjoy slow travel. We’re on a bit of a schedule for the next couple weeks, since we’re visiting friends along the way and want to maximize our time back home, so we can’t stay in each place as long as we’d like. There’s so much to do and see even in a small town like this one that I wish we could stay another week to explore it a bit more fully. Just from the spot I’m sitting in the hostel common room, I can see posters for hiking trails, wine tours, Latin dance lessons, farmer’s markets, and cooking lessons. Being able to take our time and explore, rather than making a beeline home, is definitely something I’m looking forward to.
Overall, I feel like a weight has been lifted. I’ve spent the last few years looking forward, so it’s nice to just slow down (a bit) and enjoy. Today we’re heading up to San Francisco to visit with some friends, and from there we’ll keep heading north from there. I’ll try to keep posting as we travel; it’s something I should probably get used to anyways!
cool