But first, I drive

So, how’d the plans end up going? Pretty well, pivoted a bit the business transaction, but in the end I drove away from San Diego in a camper van.

No shoes required for the owner

There’s a lot of miles in the US. Big country, don’t know if you were aware. Use your favorite map app, you’ll see. I’ve actually done it for you.

A long way

I get on the road mid-afternoon Monday, knowing full well there are a few obstacles in my way. The first is, I’ve got to work the rest of the week. Had the day off as a holiday, but my calendar has meetings on it. So I’ve got to balance that with driving because, the biggest issue…a winter storm was set to hit.

I decide to make it to Phoenix and, more specifically, El Mirage, AZ the first night. I get to see two sets of Aunts/Uncles on my father’s side who I haven’t been in person with in a long time.

Snow birding in AZ

Catch up with fam, end up going to sleep for the first time in the van. Vastly uneventful, certainly a bit of getting used to it, but overall, no issues. Got up early, was on the road and eastbound. Stopped at a Planet Fitness, which will play two roles for me on the trip. A place to exercise and a facility to shower. Yes, the van has one in it, but with limited water in the tank, I’ll likely take advantage of the gym facilities while on the road. I stop for the night east of El Paso, TX at a rest stop on the highway after checking out a brewery prior.

Find the cat…

I’m on the road early again, get through Dallas right around rush hour, pull over to deliver a webinar. Had a lot of energy still, so kept pushing until around midnight local where I stopped in Vicksburg, MS and slept overnight in a hotel casino parking lot right there on the border with Louisiana.

Thursday’s work schedule actually opened up a bit so I made it to Atlanta in good time and, like the major metro before, hit rush hour. As you may know, the ATL is horrible for traffic. Could have sat and waited it out, but pushed through and got clear of the city after a few traffic incidents that I avoided. Made it back to Charlotte around 11 PM that night. Somehow in 3.5 days of driving got about 2,500 miles on the van. Beat the ice storm (it was mostly as advertised) and was glad to do so as I would not have wanted to drive in it.

And now…to start the journey.