I’m a Traveling Man

They say that a change of scenery can be good for the soul, and I have found that to be true. There is a different energy that comes from exploring somewhere else, somewhere that isn’t home. In May I went to my sister’s in California and when I returned, my batteries were recharged and I felt truly alive.

It is interesting how that happens, even if you jam pack the time with activity, you can feel what comes from a well spent trip. I was sad to leave California, but I had made new memories, and felt the love and welcome that comes from a visit like that. Visiting the right people at the right times is what it is all about.
Next week I start off on a new adventure, I am traveling over to Seattle and then up to Vancouver. These are two cities that I have visited before, and I fell a little bit in love with them when I visited. I guess I am a west coast kind of guy when it comes down to it. Admittedly I haven’t visited that many east coast cities, but from what I remember and have discissed, they are more about the hustle and bustle. I like the more laid back nature that the west coast has, it just feels right.

As the excitement mounts, I start to think about what I want to do, how shall I spend my time, what should my money go towards?

I will be in Seattle for just a couple days. Initially I was going to spend a week in Seattle and then return home. It was timed around the Braves being in Seattle for a couple games against the Mariners. I liked the idea of an adventure by myself in a big city, liked the idea of only knowing one person in the city, and how that could push me outside my comfort zone. Things evolve though, and so did this trip.

I paid off my student loans back in January and began to think about a trip to Vancouver in addition to Seattle, a good friend of mine threw the idea at me of combining the two and I was off and running. So now the trip is a couple days in Seattle and twelve days in Vancouver, and it is exactly what I need.

So, what do I want to do?

In Seattle…

I want to see my friend Amanda.

I want to wander around Pike Place Market.

I want to walk around in the city a bit.

I want to get reacquainted with a place I haven’t been in three years.

I want to see my Braves play and hopefully win.

I want to relax, and starfish in the big hotel bed.

In Vancouver…

I want to see my friends I first got to “meet” a couple years ago.

I want to “meet” my friends I wasn’t able to last time I was there.

Hell, I wouldn’t even mind meeting total strangers that I have never spoken to before.

I want to eat poutine, but the kind that has melty cheese, squeaky cheese weirds me out.

I want to do touristy stuff that I could get made fun of for.

I want to go go to the art gallery, and not just so I can say I went to the VAG.

Maybe check out some museums again.

I want to sit on a patio with good company and good drinks.

I want to wander around by the beaches.

I want to explore new areas.

I want to get my second tattoo, which I will be doing.

I want to have sushi again.

I want to try new foods of all sorts.

I want to check out the local sports teams that will be playing during my trip.

I want to take pictures.

I want to make memories.

There are so many things I want to do, but mostly I want to do enough that I am sad to leave, but damn glad I went.