7/5/2020

To My Grandkids,

     The past month and a half has been the best of my 19 years so far. In May, I bought my dream van, and decided to hit the road, driving wherever the wind took me, and exploring the west coast. Along the way, I met the coolest, sweetest, most ‘far out’ people I’ve ever come across. I made memories- good and bad- and explored the depths of my own self as well. 
     When I first left, I didn’t know what to expect. I was taking a leap out into unknown waters with no expectations. I started in Montana and drove through Idaho, Washington, all the way down the west coast, and then cut over through Arizona, and went through to Louisiana. I’d have to say my favorite parts were the hippie commune we had inside Cali, going to the Grand Canyon, and then Yellowstone! 
     I know I wasn’t on the road for super long, but I still got a good taste of the life of a traveling gypsy :)
     So far in my life, there is nothing more freeing than the open road, music playing, windows down, hand out the window, destination undetermined. Life is so beautiful, and it’s all about perspective. I met a LOT of people on the road, some on work trips, group travels, soul searching journeys, retirement adventures, and some with no place in particular to be, just enjoying the moment and where they are. I also met some people who weren’t in the best situations, and weren’t traveling from choice, but living out of their car with no other option. In specific, I met a young man in California in that situation, and my heart went out for him. When talking to others about living from their van, he would say “Oh, I’m sorry to hear that, Its no fun when you have to live from your car… It’s been the worst 11 months living in mine…” In which the response would always be that living in their van was amongst the BEST 11 months of their life. Given that those 2 people were camped on the same beach at the same beautiful time of year, life is all about perspective.
     Another thing being on the road taught me is that there are a lot of good people left in this world. The people (for the most part) that I met were GENUINE, LOVING people! The most spontaneous people too- when you live on the road, you can’t plan every detail, it’s just impossible. As much as you may think you have a perfectly carved out plan, the wind will take you wherever it wants you, and align you with the right people.
     Life is so good. Life is so good. Life is so good!!
    The road has taught me so much, paired me with amazing people, thrown things in my face when least expected, and at the same, shown me that I don’t know sh*t yet. Life is massive, and I haven’t even grazed the surface.
     Someday, I hope you get to experience your wildest dreams. I hope you never let anyone get in the way of where your heart calls you, no matter how wild it may be. 
I'm so excited to have adventures of our own someday! Even though you don't exist yet, I LOVE YOU!!!
 Love, 
Your Gypsy Granny J :) 

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