the NEXT big thing

winter gets me down.

don't get me wrong. the winters down here are way mild compared to those of new england. daytime lows rarely drop below 40, and in the sun it can still be downright balmy. but it's definitely winter. and winter gets me down.

which starts the chain of thoughts that leads to my non-traditional lifestyle. namely, long distance self-propelled travelling.

john and i moved to asheville with the intention of escaping the northern climes of our youths, enjoying the community of a hippie town, and putting down temporary roots while we planned our next adventure; plans are in the works. i hesitate to write them down, because, notoriously plans change, especially when they are as far off as these, but they are so exciting, and writing them makes them feel more real.

the short-hand version is "PCT 2012." gotta get it in before the world ends, obviously. the longer version is more exciting, tho. our goal currently is to leave asheville early (possibly as early as Jan 1) 2012, and head south by bicycle, escaping the cold mountains for the beaches of south carolina, georgia, and florida. travel all the way to key west (the southernmost city in all the continental US), and then make our way (by bicycle, of course) across the southern portions of this country to SoCal, probably closely tracing the route mapped by adventure cycling. all told, we should arrive in Cali with comfortable time enough to ship our bikes up to BC and make our lives once again about walking.

of course when we finish the PCT we plan to continue travelling, but where exactly and to what end is not allowed to be on the radar yet. that's just too far off. but with skill and forethought we're hoping to make this next trip last upwards of 2 years, ideally even longer.

so the question becomes: can we convince ourselves to stay put for that long? 2 years is longer than i've lived in any one home since moving out of my parents house at the start of college nearly 8 years ago (actually i believe the current record is held by a dover, nh apartment at 15 months), and i'm obviously already feeling the itch, considering how much planning i find myself doing for a trip that's supposedly 24 months away. lately my average seems to be about 6 months in one place or doing one thing, which will only get me a quarter of the way there.

anyway that's our current plan for the next big thing. assuming we can wait that long.