Read my thoughts from a year ago on my 2 year travelversay.
On March 13, 2007 I sat in the offices of Edina Realty near my home in Minnesota and signed the documents which transferred ownership of my house to the family which purchased it. I handed them the keys and from that moment, I was a man without a home. That is the moment I mark as the beginning of my adventure.
Fast forward 1097 days later and I’m in a pub in Bangkok, Thailand writing my 1,550th blog post on the second laptop I’ve gone through since I’ve started. Someone reading this will probably leave the 7,402nd comment to be left on my blog. 1,250,000 have taken a look at my site and tens of thousands have bothered to follow long on various social networks. I’ve been to over 70 countries, 110 World Heritage Sites, and I can’t even count the distance I’ve traveled. A helluva lot has happened in three years.
It is difficult to describe just how much my life has changed. In the last 1,000 days I’ve seen and experienced more than most people do in a lifetime. I’ve been on islands, mountains, caves, forests and deserts. I’ve seen the lights of Hong Kong and the ruins of Rome. I’ve swam with jellyfish in Palau, whale sharks in Australia, and the ruins of the Lighthouse of Alexandria. When I write posts like this and thing back on the totality of what I’ve done, I have a hard time believing it all.
In that time I’ve also been witness to many people beginning journeys just like mine. Of the hundreds of people who have contacted or met me on the road, I have yet to me one who regretted the decision to take a long term trip. Those are pretty good odds and something those who are sitting on the fence about making such a decision should consider.
I want to thank everyone that has been following along online, both new readers and old, all the people I’ve met around the world who have showed me their cities, and all the other travelers and bloggers I’ve met along the way. You have all made the last three years the best years of my life.
Turning over the keys to my house and hitting the road was the best decision I’ve ever made, and I hope to still be doing this come March 13, 2013.