I have arrived

December 1st, 2013

I pulled into Breckenridge, Colorado where a new home awaited me.  It had been 127 days since I left Pennsylvania for my road trip on July 27th, and in that time a LOT had happened.  I originally planned to do a round trip in 2 months, but somehow I didn’t make it back to Pennsylvania.  With 11,577 fresh miles on my car, I was about 4,000 miles over the original estimate of 7,500 miles.  In all, I stayed in over 35 cities, towns, or national parks, and saw many more places on my trip.  It was nothing less than extraordinary.

Still, as a person who enjoys taking trips, for the first time in a long time I was actually glad to be home.  I had something to look forward to.  In a few short days I would be starting my new position as a snowboard instructor with the Breckenridge Ski and Ride School, at one of the most visited ski resorts in the USA.

I traded the office for the mountains.  The spreadsheets for the slopes.  The keyboard for the snowboard.  My life has officially been reformatted.

The thought of working with people on a daily basis – passing along a skill that has added so much enjoyment to my life – brought me overwhelming excitement.  My first day came and went, and I couldn’t wipe the grin off my face.  I was getting paid to snowboard.

I felt like I was home.  I made it.  But how did I get here?  Along the way there were many stops, many sights, many people who inspired me.  Without them I may not have found myself where I am today.

At some point, I was so overwhelmed with the mere act of traveling that I had to stop writing.  So in the coming weeks, I am going to pay homage to the places I’ve been, the people I met, and the inspiration they gave me.  I hope I will do them justice, god knows they deserve it.

I learned a lot in the last four months.  Hopefully I’ll pass some of that knowledge along.  To anyone reading this, I want you to remember one thing above all else:  LIFE’S TO SHORT TO BE STANDING ON THE SIDELINES.  Whatever it is in life, if you want it, GET ON IT.

To come full circle, I’ll leave you again with a short inspiring video that I’ve posted before at the start of all this, and one that I watch often.  Feel free to yearn.  Til next time…