Homeward Bound

What a long strange trip its been. I've been on the road for 43 days, I've covered at least 6,323 miles, stayed in 11 different cities, took at least 19 different rides, met up with a great number of friends and had one hell of a good time.
But now its time for a bit of a change. Right now I'm on a plane headed for home. The Lancaster version. The home where parents and family are. The home that really is.

Of course the past many weeks of staying on people's couches, guest rooms and behind parking lot hedgerows has been great too! In the beginning adventure was top priority. But over time that's changed.
Hitching rides and meeting kind strangers was thrilling, trying at times.
Getting ahold of my own wheels led to a whole new dimension and allowed me to begin meeting kind friends to whom I didn't have to reintroduce myself to every time I met one of them.
Prearranging rides then through craigslist took me to yet another different travel experience. Meeting new people without having to deal with the uncertainty and anxiety of waiting on the side of the road combined with the convenience of knowing that I'll be getting the whole way to my destination made ridesharing a great way to get from place to place.
Aaand.... Now I'm on a plane. Knowing that not very long ago my sister and roommates dropped me off at a truck stop with well wishes and a cardboard sign saying 'South' is quite something. Although I rarely like to philosophize or psychoanalyze changes in one's setting or sleeping places I will say that experiencing a stranger's hospitality, fending for myself and sleeping in a ditch, or making myself at home in a friend's house all feel every different and has certainly gone a long way in broadening my comfort zones in new ways.
And now it's time to do that again. Traveling and transience, despite seeming to bring new experiences daily, also brings with it it's own mindset; sleeping on a couch and having two options of what to wear is a constant reminder that I'm going somewhere new soon and that the people I meet are more often than not simply fleeting encounters.
This past week, however, has been notably different. I am planning on going back to Tucson around the end of January at very least to pick up my belongings that I can't fly with (bike, knife, cooking stove etc) but hopefully I'll be returning for the long haul (in my world that's maybe a year or so). It'll be a new way of looking at the world and those around me; maybe I'll need to start learning who people actually are and not just the 5 hours worth of introduction that I've been so used to lately.
Although I also must add that I'm not there yet. Things still need to work out, and come together. On Wednesday and Thursday I had a great time with CHRPA building a wheel chair ramp and going to their Christmas party. On that front things are worked out. I have meaningful work with good people to keep me occupied. On the housing front things are less certain but possibly more exciting. I still need to figure out, with MVS and those living at the house, how living arrangements may work. Spending the week on the couch at the MVS house might not have made for the best nights sleep but spending a week with Emma, Kat, Carrie, Darlene and Jon was simply a blast. To be fair it might have had something to do with all the marvelous parties, 5k fun runs and the festive holiday spirit but I can't ignore how great it was to get to know all of them and spend the week with them!