Vagabonding

Everyone always asks us how we were able to take the time off and afford to go and travel for as long as we have.  Americans especially don't seem to get why or how it's possible to travel for a year.  I was inspired to do this after studying abroad in college and meeting Europeans and Australians who are able to take a year and tour the world and it's the norm in their culture.  Annie & I originally discussed doing a round the world trip and just a few months in the US, but as we started talking about all the places and people we wanted to visit in our own country we decided we could easily spend a year driving across America. Plus the gas expense to go across the country is the same if you do it in 3 months or a year.  You can do a lot more by extending the time between driving. The 9 months we've been on the road together have honestly not been even close to enough time to see and do as much as we wanted to.  The longest we stayed anywhere was in Jackson Hole / Yellowstone area for 2 weeks.   We easily could've stayed longer there and that was the recurring story everywhere.... we want to stay longer!   We had nice flexibility with our trip, but at times we had certain places we had planned to meet people or see a show or keep away from the cold as much as possible, so it did keep us moving.  That has it's advantages along with disadvantages.

How we did it.  Financially
GOAL:  $300 / week between us both. 
We saved money for this trip for a 1 1/2 years.  Before we started the trip we looked at how much money we had,  what we estimated our gas expense (with our excel spreadsheet of mileage & how much we would spend on gas), and added a bit more for food, entertainment, etc. From that figured that if we could keep to $300 a week (just on the road daily travel expenses) we could travel for a year and have enough left in case of a car emergency and while we searched for jobs after the trip.  I got the AMX / Costco card shortly before we started our trip.  We get 3% cash back on gas, 2% travel related purchases, & 1% on everything else.  I put all the charges on this card and we kept track daily of every dollar we spent on anything from coffee to road tolls to groceries, bar taps, gas, etc.

 I put 25,000 miles on my car from the time I quit my job in Atlanta and drove up north for Christmas and back down again.  Since Annie & I were traveling together we were able to average spending under budget... $290 each week.  We had as high as $445 one week and lows of under $100 when we were hardly driving. Here's how we did it.

• COUCHSURFING- anyone who wants to travel for an extended amount of time has to check out this site.  Even for short vacations if you really want to meet really great locals that will help you out.  Through Couchsurfing we got soooo much.  
• Free place to stay with some extremely interesting and fun people! 
• Cooking food at someone's place!
• Sometimes people would cook for us, other times we would bring food and cook them dinner. This saves a ton of money.  We rarely ever went out to eat. (Never when it was just Annie and I together).  When we did we would typically split one entree. 
• Drinking and socializing with them at their place -- learning about the area and getting ideas
• Free wine tastings, free halibut fishing trips, brewery tours, new recipes, personal guided tours around national park & cities, free camping in national parks, free rafting trips, etc
• Camping is another great option. Usually it's free.  National Park campgrounds  technically charge.  National Forests seem to be free to set up where.  We've also slept in the car a handful of times. 
• GasBuddy app on cell phone.  Find cheapest gas around or in next state.  Just put enough gas in to get across the border fill up!  (whether we stuck to budget or not primarily came down to how much driving we did during the week)
• The National Park Pass saves tons if traveling out west. 
• Buy Groceries.  We always had apples, granola bars, oatmeal, rice, beans, peanut butter etc. 
• Groupons - we would look for restaurant discounts, car maintenance deals, extra money for a grocery store or different fun activities we wouldn't otherwise do.  
• Travel with water bottles and coffee mugs.  Refill coffee is usually much cheaper. 
• Costco - have tons of samples around lunch time to fill you up.  Also really cheap ice cream & food.  We'll stock up on granola bars and such while there. 
• We stayed out of cities as much as possible.  They get expensive. (parking, tolls, public transportation, street vendors, etc.  Money goes quick for some reason in the cities). Riding bikes around the cities help with this. 
• Free music shows.   
• Rideshare on Craigslist (sort of like couchsurfing, but less professional)  We used this in Alaska when we didn't have a car.  Posted an add that we were looking for a ride, someone called that was going that direction and we split the gas $.  
• Timeshare presentations in Vegas & Sedona, AZ.  We got practically free Cirque du Soleil tickets in Vegas and $75 on a visa gift card in Sedona for spending a couple hours listening to them give us the sales pitch.
• Pick our own strawberries, pears, apples, etc. 
• Hotel free breakfast.... stock up for lunch. 
• Take food into sporting events or concerts.  Flasks also save you from spending $8 on a beer! 
• Going out & Bars - this one we had to justify some our alcohol expenses... we did meet a lot of amazing people who hooked us up with places to stay, things to do, other people to connect with, etc.  Without the joining alcohol factor it may have never happened.  $10 on beer to meet someone who will take you fishing for a week or white water rafting.  Totally worth it.  
• Hiking, mountain biking and outdoor activities are all FREE! 
• Know the Right people - for example Dad does business with guys that got us free baseball tickets!

Almost 9 months together driving cross country with your sister is an epic experience that I'm so lucky to have had... saying that it's not always the easiest thing in the world to do.
Some of the hardest parts about Vagabonding:

• Self Control: It's important not to get into the attitude that "oh well I'm on vacation"  A year without income traveling is different than a long weekend getaway.  
• Having Alone time was really tough.  Traveling in a car moving a few times a week never game you much personal down time... there were always new people to meet and talk to.  
• Long car rides -  Annie was always cold, I wanted the windows down, what music we listened to, how loud the music was, were a never ending battle.  Personally I really enjoyed the long drives through the deserts and mountains.  6 - 7 hour drives not that big of a deal with some good music and podcasts.  
• Technology - this is a blessing and a curse.  I couldn't imagine planning and sticking to our budget and connecting with people without the use of internet and cell phones, but really getting away, almost impossible.  
• Staying healthy - cheap food doesn't equal always healthy.  Annie and I love food and really love eating a lot so when we've had hosts and family cook us a nice meal it's hard not to eat a ton.  (especially thinking well I'll fill up now so I won't be hungry later when I'll need to buy something).  Drinking too much! (really?)  haha well every couple days we were in a new place with new people and nothing brings people together like a good beer.
• Keeping Balanced - over stimulation, minimal down time, not enough sleep, being effected by altitude changes.. lol 
• Leaving Places - There was always more we wanted to do everywhere we stayed, or spend more time with our new friends or reconnecting with old friends and family.  It was so hard to leave yet we'd be excited to go someplace new.  
• Picking a Favorite Place - We get this questions a lot... Most of the time we give a different answer.  Wherever I was was my favorite place.  We had a hard time even remembering a place that we really didn't like. 

The Purpose of life is to Live it, to Taste it, to Experience to the utmost, to Reach out eagerly and without fear for a NEWER RICHER EXPERIENCE. - Eleanor Roosevelt. We discovered a lot of other travelersare morning people, like we are.  I think when you travel it's much easier to wake up everyday and be excited for life.  You intentionally do as much as you can to soak it all in and to learn and do as much as possible.  We forget that in our day to day lives.  Traveling is great for you to connect with these essentials of really living and enjoying life.  The important part to remember is not to leave it on the road.  There is always something new to do if you just have the right attitude. 

Things we Learned (or relearned) 

• Time is Precious.  You'd think that having an open ended sabbatical time is the last thing we'd worry about.  "Not much changes in 20 minutes" - someone in McCarthy Alaska commented as someone missed the bus.  This is true, and we tended to be relaxed with this attitude.  On the other hand, we had to be sure to enjoy those 20 minutes even if it was sitting on a bench waiting for the bus.  When you look back a week, month, or year that time went quick! 
• Books on Time are great - I'd never read any Harry Potter.  Thanks to Annie, Aunt Jac & Claire I read the first 4 and we listened to the last 3 during some of our long drives out west. 
• Keep it simple - less is best.  Seriously I probably had 6 outfits (sleeping, hiking, going out clothes).  I was fine wearing more or less the same things days in a row.  Having a small bag makes it much easier going in and out of different houses too.  
• Love your neighbor as yourself  - the golden rule, as our 6 year old cousin in California understands it means that if someone kicks you you're allowed to kick them back because you do unto others what you want them to do to you.  lol There are a lot of good people willing and wanting to help and share with you.  Be grateful for their gifts and always give back. Pay it forward when possible! 
• People unite behind freedom and peace message all across america.  There are certainly different problems and ideals throughout the country, but I think when you talk to different people and listen to what everyone basically really wants the same things. Although there were always exceptions.. 
• Keep an open mind!  Be flexible.  Go with the flow.  A good trip and plan could go sour quick if someone gets a negative attitude about the situation.  Have patience.  Relax your grip of "certainties" of life and see what happens when you just go and do.  

Like all great travelers, I have seen more than I remember, and remember more than I have seen. - Benjamin Disreali 

I highly recommend reading Vagabonding by Rolf Potts.  I discovered this book from a friend in Kelly, Wyoming.  It completely made sense and affirmed many of my own thoughts, just way more eloquently written. Travelers can relate to it and anyone that hasn't can be inspired through reading it.  Anyone can travel though.  If it's something your passionate about and really want to do you can make it happen. It just takes you making the decision and actually doing it! 

Anne & Jess in Zion National Park, UT.  Angels Landing.

If travel truly is in the journey and not the destination, if travel is really an attitude of awareness and openness to new things, then any moment can be considered travel... with this in mind, it's important to remember that your vagabonding attitude is not something you can turn on or off when it's convenient.  Rather it's an ongoing organic process that can be applied even as you unpack your bags and adjust to home.  After all, hitting the road to get traveling out of your system rarely works, so the best remedy upon returning home is to make travel (attitude)  part of your system.

- Rolf Potts,  Vagabonding