After reading about epic adventures of other people, and writing about some of my own semi-epic ones, I've finally decided to do something unimaginable before - to go on an epic adventure around this beautiful country !
The thought that I could do it, came to me after my trip to Mexico. I did a lot of driving around the Yucatán Peninsula, and now, I realize that if I could do it in Mexico, I sure can do it in USA !
They say that travel is mostly about dreams, and I know that as long as you have a dream, you can make it happen.
As a teenage boy, growing up in Russia, I had a dream of traveling to America. I didn't know how, I didn't know when, but I knew I would make it happen. My dream, from back then—from the time, when I first heard the name Kerouac—was of driving across the United States.
13 year after my arrival in this country, the dream of driving across America... is still a dream.
I did a lot of traveling around my state ( WA ), lived in Oregon and California, visited New Orleans on Mardi Gras, and traveled to Florida several times.
But mostly, over the past couple years, I've got to know this country by reading and writing about some of the most epic and unforgettable adventures : stand up paddle surfing in Hawaii; airboarding and sandboarding in Oregon; bungee surfing in Idaho, speed flying in Colorado; cavern diving in Florida; zorbing and zip lining in Pennsylvania; dog sledding in Michigan...
And now, I think it's time to fulfill my childhood dream, and see for myself all the beauty and diversity this country has to offer.
As Robert Louis Stevenson ( Scottish novelist, poet, essayist, and travel writer ) once said : “For my part, I travel not to go anywhere, but to go. I travel for travel’s sake. The great affair is to move.”
For my part, through this journey I want to inspire my readers to travel adventurously. There is nothing wrong with traveling for travel's sake, or any other personal reason.
But I think that adventure isn't a single event but rather a different way of thinking that becomes a different way of approaching and living life.
Adventure thrills us, enlightens us, strengthens and stretches us, inspires us and answers our curiosity. It’s the most awake and aware life that we can lead.
No comments:
Post a Comment