Well after several years in the Mystical Mini Van, I decided to upgrade to a truck and camper and left the first part of June on my third “Flying Solo” journey.  Being in an actual RV is a game changer.  It is a lot more to lug around and not so good on gas but it is so much more a home on wheels and when hooked up to power and water, it is a life of luxury, in many ways.

I ended up selling my van bed to a beautiful friend who is launching her own “flying solo” journey in her new minivan.  So the very comfortable van bed lives on and continues to travel.

Many people asked me if I would be blogging this journey and there were so many options of what I could be doing with my time, I wasn’t sure.  I have a book, wanting to be written, and yet this summer seems like the time to heal, grow and expand in order to be in the best place to write the book.

Rather than being a travel blog, “Flying Solo” has been more about the deeper, spiritual path of traveling alone and embracing the relationship with myself, and the God within.  I enjoy being an inspiration to others who may not have considered the ventures of traveling solo.  Because when we fly solo, we need to become very self reliant.  We need to solve all of our own problems, and when traveling, there are plenty.

There is also the issue of loneliness.  There are long stretches of time, and road, where there is just me and no other human contact.  I have to make very good friends with the inner voices; and I say “voices” because there are sometimes more than one.  There is the voice of intuition, the voice of inspiration, the voice of frustration, the voice of self-defeat, and mostly the still, small voice within.  There is a whole tribe of us, living within one being.  Yet it is important to choose which voice I really empower.  I can say to myself “I understand that you are frustrated right now, and tired and you just want to be over this ordeal you are facing, but you will make it through and everything will be okay.”

It is in our ability to offer ourselves that kind of love, attention and compassion that deepens our relationship with ourselves and builds our inner strength.  The stronger we are in ourselves, the more confidence and courage we have to face what is next.

I arrived at my first hook-up campground in SandPoint, Idaho yesterday and had the opportunity to try out the power, my new power surge protector, and hooking up to City Water with my new filtration device.  I was making a joke to my kind neighbors that this was the first time I had hooked up to power and water since I left home nine days prior and I talked about the transition from a mini van to a camper.  They told me I was very courageous, and without thinking about my response I said “I know!”

What is there to be humble about right?  It takes courage to do this journey, regardless of the method in which you choose to travel.

I met a man a few nights back traveling on a bicycle.  He was about seventy years old and had gone many of the places I had just been, only by bike.  I admired his courage, and also how he managed in the pouring rain, with nothing more than a small tent.  I’m sure he had hours upon hours of listening only to the wind, and the voices in his own heart, mind and soul.

The more time we spend alone, the more deeply we connect with our inner being and our deepest truth.  We become more our authentic selves and have so much more “realness” to offer those we meet on the journey.  I am excited to be on this journey and to share it with you who choose to follow and listen.  Perhaps I can be an inspiration to you as well.