Homesick

So, I've been back home from Leo and I's road trip a couple of weeks now. Once I got back I had some sort of upper respiratory infection for about a week. Physically, I am better; mentally, I am as homesick as they come. The problem is, I am home. With the exception of a couple of short stints in Alabama and Pittsburgh, I've lived here my entire life. I shouldn't feel homesick here (I could do with moving back to Pittsburgh, but Hellabama... No.). I'm not homesick for any place I am familiar with, I am homesick for the places I've never been. I'm homesick to see Igazu Falls on the border of Brazil and Argentina, for the Petra in Jordan, Plitvice Lakes in Croatia, the fjords of Norway, Angel Falls in Venezuela, the Matterhorn in Switzerland, Ha Long Bay in Vietnam, and the Great Wall of China. I am homesick for the world. I live in it, and yet I haven't seen it.


So I'm going to.


A while back I had planned to take a couple of months leave of absence from work to go backpack through Europe. That plan fell through when my leave wasn't approved, and I resigned to take a week long road trip in the US. The road trip only exacerbated the issue. I've never wanted to come home from vacation and return to work, but this time was different. Not only did I not want to come home and go to work, I didn't want to come home period. I didn't want to drive my own car, use my own shower, or sleep in my own bed. These are all things I always look forward to when coming home. Especially sleeping in my own bed. I am in love with my bed, we have a special bond. If I'm gone and someone else sleeps in it, I get jealous. It's bad. But this time all the usual comforts of home tasted like dirt. Since coming home, it's just felt like I've had the worst case of cotton mouth in the history of man. So I did the only logical thing I could do. I put in my notice at work and booked a one-way flight to Spain. I leave in six weeks.


While this sounds like a spur of the moment type of decision, it's actually been brewing for a long time. And by a long time, I mean that pretty much for as long as I can remember it's been my dream to just quit life and disappear to travel the world. Ideally, I would leave without telling anyone, and just share my stories upon my return. Seeing as how my family and a few friends would probably be worried about me, I decided to share my plan with them. I've been obsessed with this idea to the point that I literally carried my passport and $2,000 in my school bag throughout most of my college career. Nothing made me want to run away more than college did. Especially after I returned from Pittsburgh. The night that I watched The Secret Life of Walter Mitty, I told my best friend Juli that I was about to turn it on. She must have set an alarm for the length of the movie, because as soon as it was over, she called me. I was on my laptop, credit card in hand, looking for the cheapest international flight I could find. She knows me too well. It took her a little while, but she finally convinced me that it would be foolish for me to quit college in my last semester, and that it was about to be cold in Europe anyway (but it would have been warm in the Southern Hemisphere!!!). So I finished school. Probably a smart move.. Thanks for that, Juli.


But now here I am, a college graduate who has yet to move out of her parents house. I've become increasingly annoyed with my job. I love what I do, but it was only ever meant to be a stepping stone, and I've been firmly standing on it with both feet. That hasn't been sitting well with me. My options were to look for a real job and start my career, or follow what I've always wanted to do and travel the world. So, I bought a backpack and a couple other essentials. I've sold all of my big ticket items except for my bed (I just can't let it go!) and my car. I sent the final payment for my car and the title should be here next week. Once I get it, I'm going to sell my car as well. Then it'll be off to Europe!


***** Update *****
The Havok Journal was kind enough to feature this blog post on their website this past Tuesday. They are part of an up and coming company called Blackside Concepts that is dedicated to veterans issues, and they have some incredible and eclectic reading material on their site. They have started a "Travel Tuesday" portion to the Havok that will feature Leo's trip through South America. Check them out!

What Happens In Vegas...

After our rock climbing venture, Leo and I headed back towards Sin City. No, we did not get married by a preacher who looked like Elvis, though we may have joked about taking a picture portraying just that. Alas, there was no time for such shenanigans. Upon our arrival, we found our hotel, the Excalibur, which looks like a Disney castle and the guys started arguing over who was going to sleep in the Cinderella bed and who was going to get to sleep in the Belle bed. Once we finally got to our rooms, they were all quite upset to find only normal beds, and Leo immediately tried to open our 22nd story window so that he could rappel down the side of the building. Thankfully, it was sealed pretty well and he was one drink past putting real effort into opening it completely. 

I got to meet the Blackside Concepts crew that Leo works with, and needless to say, it was a sausage fest of Rangers. While they were all really cool and complete gentlemen, I honestly couldn't have been much happier when they said they were leaving to have a business meeting. Leo is great and all, but man I love my alone time! And after not having had any for almost a week of living in the van with him, I was quite content to walk the strip alone and then take a nap for a while. 

The next few days basically consisted of us all attending a few parties. First was the article 15 party at the house they rented. It was a rather nice place with enough whiskey to drown a dozen camels and plenty of beer. Leo and JT wound up serenading everyone at the party for a short time, signaling for a few fellas to strip down to ranger panties and jump in the hot tub.

JT and Leo serenading everyone

 For everyone's sake, I'll not show a picture of the fellas in their ranger panties. A few beers into the night I got dared by Tawny (aka @tacticalbikini of instagram) to punch Mat Best. For some reason, I thought this was a wonderful idea. I didn't hit him hard, and he took it like a champ, imploring me to box with him, to which I was obligated to oblige. He feeds pads (or palms, whatever) quite different than what I'm used to, so I kept throwing the wrong jab, but it was actually quite fun. Also, they introduced everyone to their new "Lead Slinger's Whiskey." I have to say, I hate whiskey. I can't shoot it, and I can't really mix it either because I'm a total bitch when it comes to alcohol. Honestly though, that shit is smooth. If I have to drink any kind of whiskey, it's going to be Lead Slingers. If it's stout enough for a bunch of rangers like the art 15 boys, and smooth enough for a bitch like myself, it's good shit.

Boxing with Mat Best

The next night Leo had a black and tan party to attend that was for members of the 75th Ranger battalion. It was on the 57th floor in a pent house in the Palms. The view was spectacular, but unfortunately, I don't have a photo. Immediately afterwards, we headed for the Ranger Up party at the Chateau night club in the Paris. Despite my failure to remember my ID, the door man was easily convinced that it had simply fallen out of my bra in the bathroom, and I was in fact old enough to get into the party. Win for this girl. A few folks from the black and tan party were there, and we had full access to the VIP lounge. I also got to meet Tim Kennedy, the SOFREP founders, and several other interesting folks. It would appear that Leo knows just about everybody. I was doing quite well with my alcohol consumption until the end of the night. Leo had just bought me a drink when the lights came on. Being someone that's not from Vegas, I took this as an indication that I needed to chug my drink before exiting the building. That was a horrible idea. I won't say that I would have fallen over had I not been holding onto Leo's arm, but he definitely provided me with a good bit of welcome stability.
The following day I woke up still drunk with a sinus infection and a low grade fever. The perfect way to fly home. Thankfully, Leo had given me a pink beanie earlier in the week that provided me with just enough darkness to try and sleep on the plane. Since my return, my pursuit of all things Europe has begun. I've sold several of my big ticket items, and only have a few more to go. Next I have to file my taxes, quit my job, and sell my car. Then I'll be on a one-way flight to Europe!