Eternal Internal Motion
Olivia posted this in In Travel, Olivia's Diary
While the Dutchess gambles away our fortune in Las Vegas waiting for our return to the road, possibly in August, I’ve been unable to shake this unstoppable momentum inside myself. Nathan, Tristan and I have been loosely couch-surfing between Pittsburgh and Johnstown friends and family, living out of small suitcases (Nathan’s being the smallest, a guitar case with a few pieces of clothing stuffed around his guitar) and its a strangely comfortable setup for me. As long as I have access to the internet, a desk and a chair, I can keep a few dollars rolling in, and so far I’ve been really lucky to sleep in an actual bed every single night. Some come with a variety of cat hair, some with Egyptian cotton sheets.
Although I am very much enjoying our brief break away from the Dutchess with her temperamental breakdowns and the hair-raising hail storms we’ve endured under a paper-thin, leaking roof, I still want to keep moving, even if it is just plans to keep moving, 2-wheels, train wheels, any new form of transport, in the pursuit of adventure and seeing old friends again.
In particular the idea of crossing continents by foot in the ancient tradition appeals to me more and more each day my back heals, inching me closer to the dream of hiking the Appalachian Trail solo next year. It spans over 2000 miles, from Maine to Georgia and with Nathan’s amazing support I’ll be able to take off 3 months in 2010 and another 3 in 2011 to complete the trail. It’s been all I could think about for weeks, planning my gear list, figuring out how I was going to save up for it, creating a website…
Well, until Nathan went and bought himself a beautiful Stella scooter… we’ve been zipping around Pennsylvania on it having so much fun… and now I desperately want one too, so that I can strap on a backpack and go on a fantastic cross-country roadtrip! This dream has been on the backburner for a few years, inspired 100% by the amazing woman behind Vespa Vagabond. Her story and photos are spellbinding. I would love love LOVE to meet her one day.
This is Nathan’s Stella (he has the blue one):
I really fancy the retro army green one for myself!
But it in the interest of choosing something different (with an automatic transmission) these are the other two I’m mainly deciding between -
IL BELLO 150cc
(lots of storage for cross-country trips and a fantastic classic waspy shape)
TNG Baja 150
I love its ugly bug-eye, rugged looks. Fantastic off-road setup, lots of areas to strap on a tent and backpack. I’d probably paint and customise it – its just begging for it!
It also looks like something I could ride on through Africa some day… seriously though, I have an overwhelming amount of adventures to save up for and think about so I’m going to just let that thought drift away!
In 2 weeks I fly out to Portland to visit some of my oldest friends who run the surprisingly famous Sock Dreams. I love visiting them – always feel so at home, and Portland is one of those places I could comfortably live forever and feel very very content. It’s scary how content I feel there. Scary, because someone like me should really keep moving…
I’m hoping Nathan will meet me in Portland where we can take a train ride back to the RV in Las Vegas. A multi-day train ride together would be so much fun!
