Traveling Can Be Hard Work

Well, let's see. I've been on the road now 300 days. That seems like a milestone to me--a nice even number. Though my original intention was to travel for a year, I may not make it that long. I want to settle down. Traveling is fun and I love it. I will always be a traveler. But having no homebase, no headquarters, nowhere to call "home" is tiresome.

Traveling is hard work.

I find myself today in the small hamlet of Solvang, just north of Santa Barbara, California. Solvang is a Dutch community founded in 1911. Back in those days the town's economy was based on farming, of course. Today, it's tourism. I've read that more than 2 million tourists a year come here to see the Dutch architecture, taste the Dutch pastries and food, and sample the wine that is abundant in these parts. Vineyards and orchards are everywhere. So wine-tasting is a major attraction. I'm being tempted to live here.

My writing schedule has been in a mess since I've been traveling. I have a number of projects I'd like to finish, or maybe start, but have been too busy seeing and experiencing places on the road. Most of my writing has been done on my travel blog at http://www.myroadart.com/.

However, time has probably come for me to leave the road for while, catch my breath, settle down, and do some serious writing. I need a home. I need a place I can retreat to once I leave the road. I need to make some money, too. I'm not a rich man.