This Requires an Explanation...

For much of the past 5 years I've lived out of a suitcase. For many weeks and months, I unpacked just so I could wash my clothes and then pack again for Monday. Finally, it wore me down to where I couldn't do it anymore. Even thinking about staying in a hotel room literally began to depress me. I felt an ache. I found myself missing the people and things of Knoxville way more than the level of job satisfaction I was receiving. I knew I wanted to get off the road that much.
However, I'm about to take off for 4 or 5 straight weeks, by choice, living out of my suitcase right after I make the decision to quit living out of my suitcase. That almost sounds hypocritical. What's the decision Andrew, which will it be? What's with the 5 week trip then?

Maybe its because I am this odd combination of curious explorer and deep-rooted oak. When I take a look at the 2 sides of my family, I see how this could happen. One side is definitely the restless settlers that never seemed to stop. This side of the family has both US coasts and both shores of the Atlantic inhabited. The other side has mostly remained within a few hundred mile radius in Virginia for a few hundred years. 
I don't think either one is better than the other, they're just different. I am really glad I have both. I am somehow able to pull off each without losing sight of the other. I have a deep curiosity of the world which drives me to go and see new places and try new things. Try anything at least once I like to say, legality permitting. But I also want to have a home where I have long-standing relationships with people I love and conversation is more than surfacy. That requires time, consistency, and feeding, much like the oak. 

How does this trip play into that? In about a month I start a new job where I won't be living out of my suitcase much. I am excited about that. It means I'll get to see people more often and get more involved with the things I want to be involved with. I can make decisions and plans based on me being home, rather than being made around when I will be gone. But before then, I've got all this time! I'm an opportunist and it's rare that the combination of time, savings, and lack of significant responsibility line up to allow you a month+ trip. So here's what the next month will look like...Lord, I pray for cheap gas prices...

I chose this route because it gives me the chance to make a trip relational in addition to seeing places. I will get to see people I know at many of the stops along the way. So I'm going to go climb some mountains and see some things and hang out with some people out west. I'll be doing a lot of driving and will have portions of this trip where I am by myself a lot. I'm praying God will speak to me a lot during these alone times and I would covet your prayers in the same regard. I have a lot to process and unfold from the last 5 years and things ahead to think about, and hopefully this time will allow me to gain clarity on those things.

I hope to keep this blog up as a way to keep interested people up to date on how things are going and what I'm learning as the month passes. Updates will depend on how deep into the woods I find myself on a given night, but should be somewhat consistent. Check back for stories, pictures, and insights.

Well, see ya in August.