The two most hedonistic journeys I've ever done were both when I was stationed with the Army in Germany. I was going to get a free ticket back to the USA when I was done with my tour, so I traveled Europe with all my vacation time.
Once I spent a month living off of trains. I bought a month long Euro Pass and traveled from Denmark to Spain, to Italy and then the former Yugoslavia, soaking up the Dalmatian Coast. It was gorgeous.
The second trip was to France. My traveling companion and I had just arrived in Paris when we realized we'd forgotten our camera bag, with most of our cash, in a phone booth. Of course it was gone. We had our paperwork, our tickets and about 42 dollars for five days. We made the decision to get out of Paris and into the far cheaper French countryside, where we begged a farmer to let us to sleep in his barn, which he allowed as long as we helped out. We also discovered you could buy a bottle of wine, a loaf of bread and a hunk of cheese pretty damn cheap. Walks through the French countryside and good wine at sunset. It was a memorable trip.
Traveling is an adventure. I tell most people to travel in your 20's because your next window to do so with a lot of freedom is when your kids have left the nest or you're retired. My personal experience is the people who seem happiest in their lives got out and had some adventures in their 20's.
That being said, I don't regret settling down. I love being a dad and I love living my current suburban existence, but for some people settling down is more of a burden than a way of life. They discover the freedom and excitement of constant travel, setting out to create their own masterpiece.
The Friday Link for this week is a gem of a travel video series called Living On a One Way, featuring Minnesotan Shayla Hoheisel. For some reason her "Burning Man as a 'No' girl" episode came up repeatedly in my feed so I gave it a watch. I was hooked, not only for the incredible look at life on the road, but for the well displayed camerawork and narrative too. Shayla is a addictive gadabout. She headed out on the road and found harmony. She tapes her adventures, giving a realistic view of what life on the road is like. She's adventurous but practical, frugal but enthusiastically ambitious, and she's joyfully resourceful.
To put it simply, Shayla's fun.
Enjoy two clips from her which might ignite your own wanderlust. The first video is her latest, where she recaps her story. I'd love to know what restaurant she's referring!
And here's the one which got me watching, her trip to Burning Man. Looks like fun, but I think I'll pass. I'd rather watch her adventures. Too dusty for me!
Have a great weekend everyone and talk to you Monday!
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