My name is Chris G and I am about to embark on a journey that I would have never considered possible. My beautiful girlfriend Liz and our crazy pit-mix Ziggy are planning a trip of epic proportions. But first some background.
Even though I was putting in 50+ hours a week and commuting to Trenton area everyday (2+ hour drive one way), I managed to find time to get on that internet dating scene. OKCupid hooked me up with one or two prospects but none of them compared to the gem of a girl I finally found. Liz was like no one else. Our similar interests were on par along with our strange interactions and communications that felt way too natural to ignore. She truly intrigued me. One date led to another and this little relationship got more and more serious. In November 2015, it will be three years since our first meet.
Eventually my fieldwork prospects dried up, the company went through a division of sorts and lost a lot of its employees which had given it its merit. I was thrown into an office with no windows in the back of a building and asked nicely to perform the clerical duties of a science monkey. I knew that's not what I wanted to do and pleaded with the boss to find me bigger and better opportunities. Alas, those opportunities never arose so it was onto the next place.
I landed a gig with a similar company, once again acting the part of a profession consultant for their geology department. This time however, the company was much smaller and interacted with both home owners and high rollers. Field work was now a thing again and I got to be outside in new places I had never visited before. I have seen many nooks and crannies of the 5 boroughs, new jersey, and PA that most people on the tourist circuit will never see. I was writing reports and interacting with managers, coworkers and clients all at once. It definitely was an interested ride but there was a tension growing.
It started with a thought. Liz was struggling with her position, also as an environmental scientist, yet denied the beauties of fieldwork. She was set behind a computer and told to do excel spreadsheets and other menial task that once again, a foreign temp worker could complete. This wasn't what she spent four years studying for. She wanted more. She begged the question.
"What if I quit my job?" Each day it was a challenge for her and I could see it wearing her down. Days turned to months, turned to a year and she still wasn't getting satisfaction from her employment. So you quit your shit job and then what? Find the next one and hope it's better? What else is out there? What if its a job on the other side of the country? What's the game plan?
She proposed the notion to travel. See the USA and go places we haven't been. Maybe the opportunities we seek are there hiding in the woodwork of this fine nation. A vacation is one thing but she wanted bigger. At first, I was very hesitant about the whole operation. I was a hermit to New Jersey and only ventured outside the 'comforts' for brief periods on vacation. Luckily, my parents were willing to take me to Yellowstone, Acadia, Muir Woods... and so that passion for the outdoors was there in my subconscious.
It grew on me. The idea of a long term travel arrangement stuck in my mind. It grew and festered into something beautiful. Traveling seemed like a magnificent dream with way too many details for someone with acute OCD to figure out. I confronted Liz about this new desire to be a runaway with her and our dog Ziggy. -'Were strong, smart, passionate people and can make it anywhere we find our hearts to reside.'- This is the theory I will try and run with as this experiment goes on.
The Experiment: See how long we can make it in the wild as jobless mid 20-somethings with a few skills and dollars in the bank and a desire to find what's next.
The Plan: As of February 2016, Liz and I will have cut ties with our companies and cashed that last pay check. We will boost our wanderlust with a short two-week trip to New Zealand with our fathers. (Separate Story) Then on our return, we plan to start our trip around the country.
The Home away from Home: We poked around Craigslist for a while looking for our home-on-wheels. We needed cheap, OK-Good condition with a few necessaries such as larger living space and a fridge. We saw many options from distant locations but didn't seem to fit the bill. Finally, we found our craft. She was posted for $750 but with my GF's awesome haggling skills, we got it for $600.
The 1983 Starcraft Galaxy 24' Popup Camper is complete with two beds (Queen), ample storage, a sink, fridge, heater but oh was she a fixer'-upper. We knew from right off the bat that the flooring was 'soggy' and some other cosmetic options were to come for the wood paneling everywhere. If only we knew what we were getting our selves into.
With the money burning a hole in our pocket and the tow hitch freshly installed on the Subaru Outback, we purchased the behemoth of a pop-up and schlepped it to Belvidere NJ; our dedicated destruction and hopefully continued reconstruction spot.
This blog will be dedicated of the times to come. The continued redevelopment of the GalaxyGnome (our camper mascot) and our journeys from the road. Please check back periodically to make sure I'm still alive. If you don't see posts, were boondocking with no coverage and enjoying life off the grid.
Thanks - Chris
