Tons to Talk About

My last blog was back in September of 2025 and here it's April 8th of 2026. Good grief time flies. I've really not felt like writing much. I usually write when I need to express my feelings or work through something but things have been pretty calm other than the 4 jobs I've went through in a year's time and am currently without a job now.

I think I attempted to write but I deleted it. I do that, delete my writing because I feel as though, what's the point. Then I get frustrated and delete it. Currently I'm fighting the urge to do that now. However, i need to do this for my sake.

I've hit a wall, but let me catch you up. I got a job back in September at a Chapel taking wedding pictures. That kept me busy so through the holidays. After, in mid January, I got fired. The narcissist boss didn't like my way of doing things and he felt threatened I guess. Anyway, water under the bridge. After that I spiraled a bit trying to figure out what I was supposed to do. Then it hit both my wife and I. What if we finally travel full time! We'd been looking for a camper for a couple years and had been back and forth on what to do and we landed on a camper van. Not a pre-built one but an empty one we will build ourselves. 

We will be full time on the road starting in October 2026, just 6 months away. Before that May 1st we are headed out west for two weeks to do a test run. Income while traveling? We are trying our hand at social media and earning a living as content creators. You heard me right. Yeah I'm shocked too. 

We are in our 50s,  trying to build from scratch, social media pages and channels and that's where my anxiety has hit hard.

I love being behind the lens, not in front of it but eventually I need to be comfortable in front of a camera, talking to an audience, editing and publishing my videos. My real issue, i don't like mediocre stuff. When I do something, I want it to look professional and polished. I hate the learning curve. I tend to be a perfectionist when I do things. I don't attempt something unless I have a good grasp of how I'm going to do it. This social media content creator stuff has me doubting myself again. 

It's a new day and a new experience and I won't grow unless I'm taken out of my comfort zone, right? Right! 

I can't stop thinking about our year trip. Her and I both have said, can't wait to get the two week trip out of the way so we can focus on this trip. 

I am up at 4am because my mind can't stop planning it out. Speaking of which, wanna hear some of my plans. Great!

We are leaving around the first of October, probably on the 3rd, which is a Saturday. My thought was to go to the spot where I proposed to her in the Smoky Mountains, it used to be Clingmans Dome, now called Kuwohi. It's the highest peak in the Smokies. I proposed to her on August 22, 1994 so it would be 32 plus years. From the parking lot, it's a mile hike to the top. Thought we'd get a good cry in as we say goodbye to home for a year.

Next, the Blue Ridge Parkway, another nostalgic trip. Our van life started in September 2021 when we took our first van conversion up the BRP for a week. I took out all the back seats in our Honda Odyssey, built a bed platform and off we went. It was the trial run for our last two week west trip in September of 2022. So I thought it only fitting to do the BRP as our starting point. It goes from Cherokee NC to the end near Waynesboro VA. We'll continue into Shenandoah National Park on Skyline Drive. Both roads are connected at the same point over I-64 in VA. Back when we did this trip in 2022, we didn't finish Skyline all the way to the north terminus, so this time we will. It ends in a town called Front Royal. From there to Richmond VA, on to the Outer Banks of NC, and down the coast to to visit family in Florida. Key West is on the list after visiting family, then up the west coast of FL into the panhandle. Another family visit there, then back home to TN for the Christmas, New Year's holidays. Back on the road on New Year's day to pick up where we left off along the gulf coast. Head west along the coast until we hit the Pacific Ocean in California. I was born in Santa Barbara California and I've always wanted to go back and see it. We'll hug the coast all the way up to the Canadian border, then go across the northern states east to the great lakes. Visit family in Ohio and the on towards Niagara. Now, we might go up into Canada to go above Lake Erie from Detroit to Toronto. Not sure yet but would love to try it. Come back into the US at Niagara Falls and continue up towards Maine. Then back down the east coast towards TN again. 

Timing looks like this: Oct leave home, work our way up BRP and Skyline Drive and Richmond within October. During November, make our way down the coast to Florida with Key West around Dec 1st. Be in the panhandle just before Christmas. Home for the holidays then gulf coast towards Texas in January and February. Southwest states in early March, April up the west coast arriving in the northwest in May. Travel east to great lakes in June and July. August in Canada and Niagara area. September in Maine then work our way home by October. 

After a year, not sure where we'll be. Maybe continue the AdVANture or not but if we don’t do this while we can, we'll regret it. 

I'm nervous, I'm excited and I'm ready to go.

We'll see how it all turns out.