I need to write! I need to write... When will I write?!?

"I look forward to sitting in the airport," I said aloud to my travel partner Katie. After a 5 week roadtrip in the US and then 2 weeks of spending time with my loved ones back at home and as much trip prep as I could handle, I craved some downtime to do my favorite solo acts. Just that thought about getting the chance to do nothing. Ahhh. Read, sip a coffee, and watch people.

Throughout this trip I've had multiple writing topics pop in my head, some based on quotes from the book Vagabonding, by Rolf Potts, some based off question that myself or another has asked, or just my usual introspective realization. Unfortunately, it hasn't been until this morning, more than two weeks into our trip that I've found the time, and a quiet location, and quiet mind, to dig into this mind of mine and pull out all the words that are scratching at my skull from the inside.

I woke up at 6am, after 6 hours of sleep, post 10.6 mile hike, over 7.5 hours, with a 3.7k descent, while recovering from a cold, and then continuing the day onto some fireworks in the back alley of a bar to celebrate the national holiday, and some precious moments at an open mic night. Currently, I am sitting in one of the common rooms of the Cheateu Franz backpackers hostel, in Franz Joseph Glacier, on the West Coast of the South Island of New Zealand. I'm sipping my second instant flat white coffee of the morning, from my favorite mug here, glancing at a piece of those glorious snow covered mountains out the window to my right, and feet up on the rustic wood bench, and a crazy old school typewriter to my left. A lovely older gentleman that we met at our last hostel, in Punakaiki, during our storm and cold sit in, is enjoying his breakfast, and just gave me his leftover eggs, ham and tomatoes.

"It's not that we're lost, we just don't have a destination." - me

Everything is unexpected, but not surprising because we are living this life with arms and eyes wide open. 90% of the time we don't know where we are sleeping at night. I don't know what I'll be doing 30 minutes from now - who I'll be talking to or what I'll be wearing. It's incredible. It's exhilarating. It's addictive.

...

Well it's 30 minutes later now, and just as I said, another amazing experience occurred. Got to talk with our hostel mate while he was enjoying his eggs and toast. Learned all about his travels and his career. He gave his insight and advice about teaching and owning a restaurant. And also about the importance of finding yourself and your career when you are young, "like you," before you have a life partner and kids.

Yup. Doing just that.

"Tourists don't know where they've been. Travelers don't know where they are going" - Paul Theroux

Still don't know what the answers are, but I'm loving the journey to discover them.

-Traveling' Tash