As I’m writing this, I’m taking a quick break from arranging my work in order to leave tomorrow morning and head—completely unprepared—to Boston, MA for the first time. I have a wedding to attend in Rhode Island on Sunday, but I figured I might as well take advantage of the area and swing through Boston and—what the hell—Niagara Falls on the way. I’m from Ohio, so this is around a 13-hour trip one-way.
Why is random traveling so fun? I can’t really explain why, honestly. I think it adds a level of adventure and excitement to the whole affair. It’s the wonderment of whether you’ll be sleeping in your car (or somewhere worse) for the next few days and whether you’ll make any money busking.
I’ve sent out a couple of Couchsurfing requests for this week, but alas, with no replies. So I’m leaving tomorrow with the same game plan I’ve had on so many other occasions: I’m going to my destination, and I’ll figure out the rest when I get there. When I went to Europe for the first time, I had one hostel room booked on arrival and nothing beyond that. I ended up finding beautiful Platja de Nudista at Begur on the advice of a local. Out west I was given a secret local hot springs destination that I wouldn’t have been able to see if I was stuck with an itinerary. You just never know what you’re going to expect. I stress this to people all of the time. Just go for it and figure out the rest when you get there.
This type of traveling surely isn’t for everyone, as I’ve established many times, but I think it works great for a lot of people who truly want to see and experience destinations in the most honest way. Sure, the next few days may be an utter disaster, and I may end up sleeping in my car or playing tunes to keep food in my belly again… but that’s just part of the adventure!
My brother will be joining me this week. We’re going to try and get some music videos from Niagara Falls, Boston, and possibly some other places along the way. I’m still working out all the bugs with the new recording equipment I’ve got for the big South America trip this winter, so bear with me on these next few music videos. Hopefully they won’t fail too hard. 🙂
For now, you can check out this video we made last week while backpacking around Lake Vesuvius in Ohio for a couple days. That’s me, my brother Rob, and you may recognize Corey—my eccentric; bearded drummer—from previous videos. If you like this kind of stuff, subscribe to my YouTube channel (I do travel videos on there as well) and leave a comment below. I’m going to be on the lookout for local Boston musical talent to share as well!
-Tom
2 Responses
See, if you tried to sleep under a bridge where I live in Europe, you’d wake up with no shoes and someone pee-ing on you :p
Do you live in the ghetto, Sara? lol