Trip planning

Dear life,

I have 20 days until I depart on my trip around the country.  My room is a mess, my calendar is overfilled with things I forgot to do, I don't have the trip totally planned yet, Christmas is clouding my realization that I'm leaving very soon, and of course now, for the first time since last winter, my adorable cat wants to snuggle with me every time in the house. The fuzziest little fluffball all warm and cuddly... there's a part of me that still wants to figure out that harness for her so I can take her along with me.  It's a terrible idea, but shucks. She's so cute! You see?

But yes, I'm leaving on a trip around the country.  It has come about for numerous reasons. To name a few...
- Reconnect with myself.  Life has changed me greatly in the past few years and I need to step away from city life and realize who I am away from all my constant influences.
- See lands.  My wish to exist in other landscapes besides the deciduous forests of the northeast have only come true in short visits, so I want to pursue that more fully.
- See friends/family.  I want to reconnect with friends & family around this northern part of america within their own context in life, not just at conferences, shows, or in my city when they come through.
- Getting some space.  The last year in particular has been hard for me and although I intend on coming back to Philly, this is reminding myself that I am not stuck in any place.  I started planning this trip months ago - maybe in the spring - and its possible that I should have just left then.  But in order to save $ and finish some commitments I had here, I decided to wait.  I'm in a different spot now in my head than I was back then- a better spot for sure.  So now I'm finally leaving and it's not because I'm running away any more. It's because I'm leaving and going on this adventure.
- Art. I am shifting gears with my art and want put my skills to work in new venues. Also, traveling will be great as inspiration.
- And stuff and things...

So here's the trip! Click on it to make it bigger.

It's not set in stone, especially the northern route back to Philly which is not planned hardly at all, but that's what it is so far. I have about a month and a half to get to California, where I will stay for a couple weeks, and then I'll have about a month to get back to Philly. I aim at being in Philly for Easter, 2013.  We'll see how it goes.