road trip

road trip: (n) a journey via automobile, sometimes unplanned or impromptu

This July I returned to the United States after living and working in Honduras for a year, and traveling throughout northern Central America. Those who had been in touch with me for the duration of my time abroad know that much has changed in my life. The state of being I found myself in upon reentering the U.S. was nowhere near anything I could have ever pictured for myself at the prime age of 24. Though surprising and unexpected, it was also a very exhilarating feeling. With a bachelor's degree from the University of Michigan and a year of teaching experience in a foreign country, I also had no job awaiting me, grad school to attend, or boyfriend to base decisions around. I was uncommitted in every sense of the word and ready for a brand new chapter in my life.

Among the thousands of life lessons I have learned in the last 12 months, one of them is how important it is to be happy with where you live. This, in combination with my recent life status and incurable desire for adventure, is what put the "wheels in motion" for my next journey.

This fall I am traveling the country in pursuit of a new place to call home. Other objectives include visiting prospective graduate schools, searching for jobs in architecture, reuniting with physically distant friends and family, exploring cities for the first time, and seeing national parks and monuments. After living in the tropical mountains of Honduras for 12 months, HOURS away from a swimmable water source, I've narrowed my search down from the entire country to the east and west coasts where I can be near to the water again. Part one of my journey is an east coast road trip.

My uncle Eric has so graciously loaned me his 1992 Ford Mustang for the next month as I set off to visit 12 cities on the eastern seaboard in 36 days. On the itinerary: Cleveland, Ohio; Niagara Falls, New York; Poultney, Vermont; Boston, Massachusetts; New Haven, Connecticut; Woodbourne, New York; Washington, D.C.; Quinton, Virginia; Raleigh, North Carolina; Charleston, South Carolina; Blacksburg, Virginia.

East coast, here I come!