It happened. With my separation paperwork in hand, my girlfriend and I packed her car full with camping supplies and left our house.
I’m out of the navy.
It is December 23, and yesterday we drove six hours through West Virginia to a small town called Westernport, Maryland, to visit her grandma for Christmas. Currently cuddled up on her grandmother’s couch (we call her Gaumetter), I couldn’t be more at ease.
Leaving Norfolk, Virginia was bitter-sweet. On one hand, it had been my home for three years and I’d made lifelong friends I had to leave. But on the other hand… I’d been waiting for this moment for six years. I can finally live where I want, be close to loved ones, and travel as I please. I was finally a free man, free to do anything and everything I could want. Currently, not ironically, the only thing I want is a beard.
So we’re kicking this new life off with an adventure. A winter trip across the country, destination: Oregon.
I’m starting this blog to give myself a sort of direction, document our adventure, and share stories and gear reviews for the public to hopefully learn something. I have no idea what direction to take. But the best way to start is to… well, start.
Westernport, MD
Westernport is a town the size of a fingernail, with about 2 thousand inhabitants and shrinking. It’s dead and rundown. The houses are row houses made over 100 years ago for the paper mill at the center of the town. This paper mill has since shutdown.
The dying town gives a sense of stillness that is hard to come by. Cars rarely drive by. People stay inside. Dogs don’t bark. The wind blows. Strangers stare from their collapsing porches as you walk by and birds flutter silently from fences. I took the picture above while walking Pete this morning and I had a sense of peace and unease as I walked.
We’ve spent all day inside, ordering takeout pizza from Stefani’s favorite childhood pizza restaurant. It was FANTASTIC. It was a 5 min drive for us, crossing train tracks that are still in use, passing a whopping three cars. We came back and shared it with Gaumetter while watching Hallmark movies. What a great first day of being homeless and unemployed.
Well, I guess this is my first post… here’s to the posts and the adventures getting better and longer.
The Art of Breathing 