My favorite poem is "A Road Not Taken" by Robert Frost:
"Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference."
I've always lived by that motto: To follow the road less traveled. Traveling solo is about freedom. It's about enjoying new experiences with me, myself and I. There is no one to tell me what I can and can not see or do. It's liberating and terrifying at the same time. To get over the fear of being lonely one must be comfortable with being alone. Once the fear is gone the open road awaits the next adventure. It's a journey of self discovery and triumph.
I've traveled to many places on my own but I have never traveled more than five hours in a car by myself. I think the fear of traveling long distances in a car alone, scared me. At the tender age of 49, I decide that I'm going to do it. My father and two younger sisters have done it so why can't I?
Selling the family home in the Fall of 2014 afforded me this freedom. I was able to use some of the inheritance money for the trip. I've been planning it for over 40 years ever since I was a child. The West was always calling me. At the age of 11 I traveled to Salt Lake City to visit my parent's friends. We went camping in the Rockies and to Bryce Canyon. An adventure I will never forget. Since then I've had the travel bug.
The United States is an amazing natural wonderland to explore. The geography and climate is diverse. Each state offers many beautiful landscapes. Over the course of the 6 months I took over 6500 pictures and videos. I would like to share with you my journey through words and photographs of the road less traveled. I hope you enjoy the trip as much as I did. It's a memory I will always treasure with eyes wide open. I hear the Johnny Cash song "I've Been Everywhere" in my head-it's my theme song.