My dream trip.

Yesterday was my 32nd birthday. It was fine. Not my best birthday, not my worst. And not a particularly significant birthday, by any means. But it held a slight twinge for me. you see, in college, my roommates and I had this theory about "ideal ages," or the age a person was born to be. One friend's was 7, one was 14, one was 50, one was 25 or so, and mine was 32. Thirty-two, because, by that age, I would be married, likely have a couple of kids and be a soccer mom living the suburban dream. But that's not where I am today. Far from it. And thank goodness for that. I am single, live close to downtown, have a great day job, am active in theatre, have a ton of activities, and fill my time with things of my choosing. I love the life I've built. Do I want it forever? No. But I want it for now, and that's what counts.

So, here I am - 32, single, living in what I consider to be the best city in the country, active, social, and mostly happy. Yet I'm feeling restless. I've been burdened by great responsibilities for years. And I love taking on responsibility in general, but I'm feeling a strong desire to shed those responsibilities for a while and experience life without them. So I'm planning a road trip. It's something I've been planning for years, and I'm now acting on it. Next summer, I will be traveling across the United States (with a couple stops in Canada as well) for three and a half months. My plan is to put most of my possessions in storage, find someone who can watch my cats while I'm gone, pack up my car and head out.

Being me, I have an extensive spreadsheet with my plans. And it's still in the works. The route and stops along the way are set, but seeing as I love the planning process, it all could change tomorrow. And yes, I'm planning on going by myself. Head out on the open road with only me and my stuff. I hope to see a lot of friends along the way, but there is sure to be a great deal of alone time, and I'm totally ok with that. Like I said, the goal is to get away from my responsibilities for an extended period of time.

Over the next 9 months, I want to document my planning process and see how things change. And when the time comes to pack up my car, I plan on continuing to write (hopefully not while I'm driving) to keep a record of this trip of a lifetime. So come along with me if you like. This is only the beginning.