Canceled family Christmas plans, an abundance of vacation time and a love of photography is all it took to convince myself to go on the (mostly) solo road trip across the USA that ignited my love of travel.

The destination wasn't set in stone, but given that it was December, I knew that it was probably a good idea to stay south. So off I went, headed west, determined to find out if a solo travel would be a boring, lonely endeavor or an enriching one. Through the Louisiana bayous, through the Texas plains and the high deserts of Arizona, New Mexico, and Utah, I discovered that not only was enriching, it was liberating. I got up when I wanted to get up, went where I wanted to go, ate where I wanted to eat, and went to bed as early or as late as I felt appropriate. Not only that, I met new people, made new friends, and found out that even the troublesome things about travel could become an exhilarating adventure.

This was the trip that ignited the desire to travel whenever and wherever possible, whether alone or with others. This Walkabout was the beginning of my travel addiction.