The desire to visit the rest of the country has always been there. In fact, it was quite like a splinter under my skin. At times being a slight itch and hardly perceivable but most times it was at the burning forefront of my consciousness. I am sure that our youth finds most of us with the desire to explore new people and places, but before long we are locked into a job while marriage and family start to take root. Of course, responsibilities take precedence over our Jack Kerouac fantasies and it's not long before we find ourselves wondering what it might have been like to take a year off and see the rest of the country.
Now I find myself at a unique junction in life. With no job, no wife, no kids, and no rent/mortgage to tie me down I am in a situation that I haven't experienced since I graduated high school. My future is wide open. A clean slate. To make a long story short (too late, I know) I decided to take the plunge and experience the rest of the country for a year or so. I applied to a truck driving school. An agreement to haul frozen freight for a year would mean that my tuition would be paid in full in exchange for my Commercial Driver's License. That's right, I am going to get paid to drive across the country for a year.
The blog was an afterthought. I know that I want to keep in touch with family and friends, but I won't exactly be keeping banker's hours in my new position. So, after much thought, I decided that keeping a blog would give anyone the chance to check in on my ever changing location and who knows, I may even have a tale or two to share about my journey. I hope you enjoy!
I will end this initial entry in the same manner that I began it. With a quote from the movie 'Shawshank Redemption.'
"I find I'm so excited that I can barely sit still or hold a thought in my head. I think it's the excitement only a free man can feel. A free man at a start of a long journey whose conclusion is uncertain....I hope the Pacific is as blue as it has been in my dreams. I hope."
