xjaugie
Adventurer
April 19,2012
The Alaska Journey begins
The possible quotes and cliché sayings to open this blog fill my mind. We’ve all heard them, but do we really hear and take action. Well, thanks to a few close friends I’ve mustarded the strength to take this crazy journey.
At 2:53 PM on Thursday April 19, 2012 I left Westminster, MD and began the 3,500 mile trek across the country. Yes, at the age of 45, I quit my professional career, loaded my 17 year old pickup truck full of camping gear, kayak and clothes, and am off to Alaska for summer employment.
I had been complaining about my job for years. The pay was good. The benefits were really good. The scheduling freedom was unbelievably great. But still I complained. So in October, God took it away from me. The job had been my safety net for almost twenty two years. No more safety net. The new job held me at a desk for nine hours a day, five days a week. It provided a paycheck. The benefit package that made the commute to Baltimore and beyond worthwhile was now gone.
Please do not miss understand me, don’t think I am not thankful for the job given to me following my separation from my long time employer. For I am. It got me through the hard times of the marriage separation and maintained my finances’. But through it all, I was pushed to finally understand that a desk and four walls are not for me. At least for now.
So that brings us to today. The personal belongings are in storage. Goodbyes have been said. The savings account will cover the child support and health insurance for the next several months. The oil has been changed in the truck. Time to take that almighty big first step.
This morning I said my prayers, even wept a few tears of fear. But by mid-afternoon the 1995 Toyota Tacoma fully loaded with camping gear, kayak, fishing gear, and clothes pulled onto interstate 70, heading west.
For the next twelve days or so, I will be making my way across the northern reaches of this grand country of ours, stopping here and there to explore. Then once almost to the western edge; I’ll turn right into Canada for another 900 miles to Ketchikan AK.
Wow, just what have I gotten myself into? I don’t know, but it’s going to quite the adventure.
The Alaska Journey begins
The possible quotes and cliché sayings to open this blog fill my mind. We’ve all heard them, but do we really hear and take action. Well, thanks to a few close friends I’ve mustarded the strength to take this crazy journey.
At 2:53 PM on Thursday April 19, 2012 I left Westminster, MD and began the 3,500 mile trek across the country. Yes, at the age of 45, I quit my professional career, loaded my 17 year old pickup truck full of camping gear, kayak and clothes, and am off to Alaska for summer employment.
I had been complaining about my job for years. The pay was good. The benefits were really good. The scheduling freedom was unbelievably great. But still I complained. So in October, God took it away from me. The job had been my safety net for almost twenty two years. No more safety net. The new job held me at a desk for nine hours a day, five days a week. It provided a paycheck. The benefit package that made the commute to Baltimore and beyond worthwhile was now gone.
Please do not miss understand me, don’t think I am not thankful for the job given to me following my separation from my long time employer. For I am. It got me through the hard times of the marriage separation and maintained my finances’. But through it all, I was pushed to finally understand that a desk and four walls are not for me. At least for now.
So that brings us to today. The personal belongings are in storage. Goodbyes have been said. The savings account will cover the child support and health insurance for the next several months. The oil has been changed in the truck. Time to take that almighty big first step.
This morning I said my prayers, even wept a few tears of fear. But by mid-afternoon the 1995 Toyota Tacoma fully loaded with camping gear, kayak, fishing gear, and clothes pulled onto interstate 70, heading west.
For the next twelve days or so, I will be making my way across the northern reaches of this grand country of ours, stopping here and there to explore. Then once almost to the western edge; I’ll turn right into Canada for another 900 miles to Ketchikan AK.
Wow, just what have I gotten myself into? I don’t know, but it’s going to quite the adventure.