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This weekend marks the third anniversary of my life as a hobo. I remember that weekend like it was yesterday. I was supposed to leave on Saturday, but an ice storm caused me to wait a day. I remember getting in the car and driving down I95, my first destination was North Carolina. When I embarked on this adventure, I never imagined I’d have crisscrossed the country as many times as I have, and I definitely had no idea I would still be on the road three years later. As I sat down to write this blog post I realized I only posted one blog in 2024. I think that’s because after three years, it is a way of life for me and not a temporary state. Not that the adventure of it all has gone away. It’s exactly the opposite.
2024 was definitely an eventful year, I finished my bucket list… DONE! I created the list specifically for this journey back at the end of 2021. Not only did I finish the bucket list, I traveled from one corner of the country to the other.
Last year I covered a lot of ground … I started the year in Pennsylvania, and then made my way to Illinois, Tennessee, Texas, Florida, South Carolina, North Carolina, New Jersey, Missouri, Colorado, Wyoming, Montana, Idaho, Washington, Oregon, California, Arizona, Utah, New Mexico, Arkansas, Tennessee, New York, and back to New Jersey, in that order. Not counting a few flights back to NY for Yankee Baseball.
The biggest difference in 2024 was that I had more company in my travels than I’ve ever had since I started this journey. The norm for me is to go from place to place checking off the destinations on my bucket list on my own. Granted, I did put most of those miles on my car solo, but I was also fortunate to have some wonderful, shared experiences. Admittedly, traveling with a group or sharing space is not something that comes easily for this only child. Every time I do I learn a little more about myself and what to adjust when I’m not on my own.
In the beginning of the year I enjoyed Yankee Spring training games with my Fantasy Camp Teammates. We spent the weekend together in Ft Myers and traveled to a few different ballparks to see our Yankees play some of their rivals. I had lots of people to visit in Florida and we watched lots of baseball.
Once again, this year I spent a good amount of time with my friends I met on the Grand Canyon camping/rafting trip in 2022. I spent time visiting them in their home states again and this year’s adventure together was to Montana. In Montana we went hiking, kayaking, horseback riding, and white water rafting. It was an action-packed trip; it’s going to be difficult to select the pictures to add to this blog post. I am so grateful they included horseback riding on that trip = another check on my bucket list! On the Red Bus tour in Glacier Park our guide named us “The Adventure Ladies”. I don’t think there’s a title that suits our group better. This crew has planned some amazing trips over the last few years. I am so happy we continue to plan adventures together. I don’t know how I could possibly convey how blessed I am to have these ladies in my life and call them my friends. Each one of them are extraordinary women. At the end of the trip one posted our pictures on FB with the caption “These ladies feed my soul.” When I read it, I thought that is the absolute perfect way to describe our time together. Every trip we learn more and more about each other and every time I love them even more. I am so very blessed to know each and every one of them. They are exceptional ladies.
After Montana, a few of us continue the adventure to Idaho and Wyoming. We visited Yellowstone, The Grand Tetons, Jackson Hole, and spent the 4th of July at a local parade before going to the local rodeo.
I also returned to my favorite spa last summer in Carefree, Arizona. This time with my new friend I met there the summer before. We enjoyed yoga classes, spa treatments, relaxing by the pool, and a Bull Riding Competition at the Buffalo Chip Saloon. She was brave enough to get on one of those bulls, I was happy to be the photographer.
This journey also brought into my life someone who has introduced me to more fun and exciting experiences that I would never have known without him. We’ve traveled through Oregon, Washington, Arizona, Utah, New Mexico, and New York together. Thanks to him, I saw Lake Powell again, but this time from a completely different perspective… riding on a jet ski. We spent almost eight hours on those jet skis, and we only covered about a quarter of the lake. To say it is beautiful would be an understatement. The photos videos don’t do it justice … there were sites that took my breath away. For the last couple of years, I’ve been saying Arizona is the most beautiful state, but Utah is creeping up past Arizona, in my opinion. In Page, AZ we took an excursion with a guide to White Pocket in the Vermilion Cliffs. From there, we drove north to a town near Bryce Canyon where we did some great hiking, not only in Bryce, but also in an area we found off the side of the road. From there, we moved on to Moab for a sunset rock crawling tour. It was exhilarating, to say the least. These were things that weren’t on my bucket list, but they are now etched in my memory as a few of the best experiences of my life. We visited Arches National Park, Canyonlands, and Dead Horse State Park. Our hike to Delicate Arch started before the sun rose. I didn’t expect how emotional that site would be. I found myself sitting there, staring at Delicate Arch and was overwhelmed by the emotion I felt. I couldn’t believe where I was. I was thinking about the life I used to have; it was so small and now it is so very BIG; taking full advantage of the gift of working from home, seeing and, most of all, experiencing this beautiful country of ours. That late summer adventure ended in New Mexico where we crossed off the last item on my bucket list, riding in a Hot Air balloon in Albuquerque. The flight was so incredibly peaceful.
I am excited as I start year four of my life as a hobo. Excited to continue to travel and share time with old friends and new people I’ve met along the way. Since my bucket list is complete there is just one thing to do … start a new one!
