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Published: March 3rd 2013
It is the beginning of March and 30 days ago my life was very different. Today I am completed moved out of my home of 5 years. I am temporarily living with my dad while my house is being sold. I don't have a job. I won't have a car shortly. In 12 days I am flying to meet one of my closest friends in New York with no return ticket to Anchorage, AK. Instead, I will be flying to Reykjavik, Iceland and onto London, England without any definite plan of what to do or where to go.
This is by far the most unplanned my life has ever been and I feel great.
Of course new beginnings are exciting, sometimes scary, but mostly full of hope. Travelers spend all of their time looking forward, that is, until they get tired and dream of home. While looking forward, spending almost all of my waking hours anticipating this adventure, duration unknown, I can't help but think that it is important to remember what I am leaving behind if for no other reason that to have some perspective on what I am looking to find. Perhaps I seek some form of catharsis or closure with one chapter of my life... I have spent the last 30 days putting my affairs in order and severing ties to everything I have built since I graduated college. There has been precious little time to second guess this decision since I have set the wheels in motion. There is a certain emptiness hollowed in my gut now that I can't define myself by my professional title, property rights, or income. When leaving on a journey like this, no matter who you are, we abandon all of the stuff in favor of character and experience. One can only hope that memory doesn't cheat us of this precious investment by blurring the vividness of the sites and wonders. But it is the same for all of the memories shunned when venturing off into the wilderness, forsaking the banality of home.
My fondest memories will be of sitting at the counter watching my dad make dinner; lounging in my home office; climbing in Hatcher’s Pass or Weiner Lake; long drives to Seward or Homer just to turn around and come back to Anchorage; fresh snow and a fire place; and cuddling with the dog on a lazy Saturday afternoon. I’ll miss reliably good Sushi. I’ll miss drinking with the fellow drunks in my normal haunt - despite the fact that some of them won’t miss me. But I think the only thing I am leaving behind that is of great value is the potential of those things that could have blossomed with a home and a rooted existence: relationships, family, walking the dog after work. I suppose there will be time enough for all of those things once the bank account is empty and my feet are sore from the journeys. I thought that the time for those things was right after college and that only retired successful people deserved vacations like the one I am about to embark on.
Fuck that! Time to get out there before my joints become more arthritic, my belly gets bigger, and my eye sight diminishes. I am never going back “home” until settling down is the only thing I have left. Home is empty until we fill it with the riches of life outside of our comfort zone.
Departing March 15th for New York, March 26th for Reykjavik, and March 31st for London. Tour of the UK and Ireland to begin immediately, with a pop over to France, Italy, Spain, and hopefully up north for a circle through Luxembourg, Holland, Belgium, and Germany.
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D MJ Binkley
Dave and Merry Jo Binkley
Congratulations on taking that first travel step!
You will not regret your journey. We did the same thing in 2007 and it has enhanced our lives by leaps and bounds. We traveled for 10 months, came back and worked a few years and have just returned from a 6 month trip. We were in Iceland in July....and it is AMAZING. Feel free to check out our blogs. If you want to use this web site you will find many suggestions of things to do and see on your travels. You can meet many travel bloggers as you travel around the world. This is a fantastic community of travels who can become your friends. Happy travels and we are eager to read your future blogs.