Do you ever get the itch to just drop everything and go? I'm not talking about a weekend in the mountains or even two weeks at a resort in Hawaii drinking mai tais. I mean really go. Put your shit in storage, break your lease, sell your car and disappear. For some it would also include quitting your job but, I have the benefit of not worrying about such things. Well, I get that feeling a few times a week. Lately, it's been a few times a day.
Don't get me wrong. I love my life in Hermosa Beach. I'm incredibly spoiled. I have an ocean view from my living room, I ride my bike everywhere, have two amazing chocolate labs, work a few days a week when I want to, and live in a spot that people vacation to every summer. I live a very charmed life. The problem that plagues this charming life is a restlessness in my soul to be on the move. And in truth I'd prefer to be on the move on my own. All alone. Deficiency of character? No. I'm an escapist.
There is no amount of money or level of success that can compare to the feeling of tramping by ones self. All possessions in a single backpack, no computer, no cell phone, no credit card. It is incredibly freeing and it's a feeling that I am long overdue for. J. Maarten Troost says it best in his book, 'Getting Stoned with Savages'. "The escapist doesn't want to get ahead. [She] simply wants to get away."
So, while I may be taking the logical route this weekend by spending a few days snowboarding with friends, I know for certain it will in no way satiate the urge to hit the open road with my backpack and a one-way ticket to..........
xo jahnel
