11 June 2021 – Exactly seven months from today, I will be 50 years old. I have lots to pack into my life before then. Not because I have a bucket list or because I am afraid to be 50, but because why not? There is no reason not to do whatever I want between now and then. I am ramping up for my summer and fall adventures. I have not actually planned anything out except when I will leave Virginia, when I will visit Virginia and when I will be done adventuring for 2021.

The rough plan is Part 1 will be to visit the western US in June and July. Part 2 will be to visit New England in August. Part 3 will be to visit the Gulf Coast in September. Part 4 will be to visit Michigan in October. Between each part, I will visit Virginia for a week or more. I will also visit my parents in Colorado a few times in there as well. The key to the new adventures will be to enjoy myself. I will not sacrifice enjoyment for schedule. I want to try new things and have great adventures, but I also want to do nothing and enjoy being me.

Part 1: Western US – I plan to leave Virginia on Saturday, June 19th and travel to Colorado to see my parents for a few days. I will leave there and travel throughout the western part of the United States. I have a few spots I don’t want to miss, like the Grand Canyon, San Diego, the Pacific Coast Highway, Yosemite, the Oregon Coast, and Yellowstone. Along the way, I will stop and see and experience anything that strikes my fancy. I may stay minutes, hours or days. I plan to hike as much as possible, read lots of books, find new adventures, and write.

Toby Keith has a song, 
"Should Have Been A Cowboy" 
with lyrics about adventures different from the ones you originally planned. Some of the lyrics are:

Go west young man, haven't you been told?
 California's full of whiskey, women and gold
 Sleepin' out all night beneath the desert stars
 With a dream in my eye and a prayer in my heart

I really need to spend some time on my own, getting to the point where I can do it without feeling lonely. I have only really lived alone once in my life. About nine months after I got married, Dave went to Egypt for three months. It was the only three months of my life when there was no one else in the house. However, I was in college full-time, and I worked full-time. I wasn’t ever really at home except to shower and sleep. Weekends were spent doing chores and spending time with friends. I was never really alone. This trip will be different—no one with me and a different place most days. There will be many people in most places but no family or friends, just strangers.

I already know that some days will be hard for me. I don’t talk to strangers easily, and they definitely don’t talk to me. Although I enjoy my quiet time, too much quiet is isolating. There will be times when I crave meaningful human interaction, and it won’t be available. I have come up with a few coping mechanisms to help me out, but that means I have to use them. Books and writing and work will be a good distraction, too, but they aren’t everything. The good news is that I don’t feel any anxiety or darkness about these new adventures. I am anticipating great things.

When my adventures are over at the beginning of November, it will be time to figure out where to sleep every day. My new adventures just like my life will all happen just as it is supposed to. Whatever it looks like.