When I told friends I was moving away from the island of Maui, in disbelief they would ask, “You’re doing what?” It didn’t surprise to me – it was the same question I received when I told people I was moving to Maui twenty-five years earlier. Luckily, I’m too bullheaded to let another’s doubts direct my path.
At twenty-four I moved to Maui with a one-way ticket and my possessions packed in the two purple suitcases I was given for college graduation. A Seattle native, I longed for sunny days and all the pleasures that accompany warm weather. And while the unknown I was facing was scary, the excitement of changing things up in the tropics made more sense than standing still and being stagnate.
I made a new home for myself, explored every inch of that beautiful island and enjoyed the easygoing life as an island girl for the next twenty-five years. As I approached fifty, I realized I was halfway through my life and instead of time being on my side, like watching a microwave timer, it was ticking away in front of me.
So I decided to make a change. It was time to complete this chapter and write the next one in my life story. I left as I came – with a one-way ticket and a couple of suitcases. I sold my house, my belongings, quit my jobs, shipped my truck to the mainland and bought a Phoenix Pop Up Camper to serve as my modern-day stagecoach.
With this camper and some change, I lived and traveled around the American West discovering new places, collecting new memories and searching for my new home.
A Camper and Some Change 