It’s mid-December and my feet are itchy. A few minutes into a do512 search for “What to do for NYE”, I decide that Austin doesn’t have the cure this time.
30 years of life and I’ve never set foot on the California coast. I book a January 2nd flight from LAX to AUS. It’s done. How do I get there?
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- Book a one-way rental car
- Look at a map and draw a wavy line from Austin to Los Angeles
- Book an Airbnb in Las Cruces, NM
- Book a hostel in Phoenix, AZ
- Book a surf hostel in Hermosa Beach, CA
- Pack a bag
- Go!
I think about downloading music and podcasts to fill the time, but I forget and I just drive. I look out the window at the landscape refashioning before my eyes and I think about how I’m changing.
I get lonely. It passes.
I feel tired. I stop for coffee.
I make it into Las Cruces and I can’t take my eyes off the Organ Mountains. I’m content to be 10 hours from my home, in a new place, with no real reason other than the thrill of a small adventure.
I ask my Airbnb host for an authentic dinner spot and her suggestion doesn’t disappoint. I bring my book and I feel calm.
I rise early for yoga, coffee and a morning hike. It’s better than I could have imagined it would be.
Everything is lovely.
Day 2 is sunshine in my pocket, waving my arms outside of the car window and enjoying the scenery as my body and soul move west.
I pull into a hostel in the middle of Phoenix, Arizona and check in with the owner, a kind-faced older gentleman. After dropping my bags in the shared female dorm, I contemplate dinner options and say hello to a middle-aged woman emerging from the showers. “Where are you coming from?” she inquires. Her face lights up at my response and she tells me that her sister lives in Austin. She shares a brief summary of the past 20 years. Originally from Australia, she traveled to New York and worked in the medical field for the better part of her adult years. “I’m tired” she declares. “It’s time for me to leave the US and return home.” She expresses frustration with various political and social issues in the US. I’m so interested in the intricacies of her personal story, I forget that I was hungry 2 hours prior to our conversation. She encourages me to continue exploring and wishes me well on my trip.
I’m grateful for the encounter and for the wealth of knowledge and wisdom from a veteran traveler.
I find a sandwich shop and sleep blissfully.
I wake with the sun on my face and notice that my conversation partner has already departed. I wash my face and hop in the car.
Today is a good day to be alive. Next stop: California.
I enter Joshua Tree National Park slightly disappointed. I came with the expectation of finding something magical about this chunk of nature. Continuing a few more miles, I drive around the bend and then I see them – rows and rows of funky, colorful plants. I’m delighted. Gradually the drive through Joshua Tree becomes increasingly satisfying, marveling at the variety and originality of vegetation. I stop to climb some large rock formations. Once seated at the top, overlooking a section of the park, tiny flurries land on my face. I hop back in my car, open up my voice recorder app, and capture a quick melody with simple lyrics:
I’m alone but I don’t feel lonely at all.