Wanderlost : Bye-bye, 2013

Well, here it is. My first post of 2014. . . a strange idea, indeed. 2013 was an overwhelmingly eventful year for me and it went by in such a blur, I honestly can't believe it wasn't a dream. Josh and I drove across 38 states this year, plus 10 countries in Europe. We met countless new people and reconnected with old friends we hadn't seen in years or decades and spent quality time with both our families. I've spent more time in my home state of Georgia this year than any time since high school. These are the perks of not having a "home" or "job".
This year was my first time without a traditional home. . . something so many people can't imagine. I'll admit, it's been really hard at times. But I try to think of home in more abstract terms now. And we've been so amazed by all of the people, many total strangers, who have opened their homes to us. I think we spent a total of maybe 10 nights in a hotel all year and another 5 or so camping, but otherwise we have been provided for by so many generous folks. I know we have a negative balance in the good karma piggy bank, so when we do have a house again I plan to have lots of visitors- musicians, travelers, friends-of-friends. . .

I know this is the time of year that we're supposed to be making resolutions and plans, but I am deciding not to do that this year. In fact, I remember some of my so-called resolutions from last year, most of which I have not followed through on, and one was to "live in the moment." A cliche, I know, but something I'm getting better at. However, even totally zen people like me (ha!) have to plan ahead a little bit. And that's the really hard part about where we are now. . . I feel like we've been on this crazy ferris wheel for 15 months and we're not sure if it's a good time to get off. And where do we get off? I've always said that one of the advantages and curses of our generation is the abundance of choices. Josh and I have cut ties, whittled down our belongings to a very small pile and seen what's out there. Now we have to decide whether to keep touring, go back to our old lives in Madison, or maybe start over somewhere different. It's an overwhelming decision, and I don't feel like I'm ready to make it yet. So for now I'm just going to reminisce about 2013. . . here are some of the highlights:

Gettin' back to my roots. Like I said before, we got to spend more time than usual with our families this year, including aunts, uncles, grandparents, cousins, siblings, second cousins. . . everyone. And we stopped at interesting landmarks whenever we could.

the tiny log cabin in North Carolina where my paternal Grandma was born

Josh outside the farm in Massachussetts where my maternal Grandma grew up

Mountains! Driving and hiking through the Rockies, the Cascades, the Alps, Appalachians. . . I just can't get enough of these huge geological marvels!

the Highlands, Scotland

Mt. Rainier, Washington

Yellowstone National Park

Food, Glorious Food our mantra for the last few months was "the diet starts tomorrow". We had so many amazing meals this year (and I got in the habit of taking photos of most of them. . . honestly, I should start another blog)!

an afternoon "snack" in Austria

crazy good Vietnamese food in NYC

amazing gluten-free vegan pizza from Silly's in Portland, ME. . .and our homemade version

And, oh yeah, the music Technically the whole reason for this year of travel was for the music. I had the honor of seeing Josh perform around 185 times this year in a wide variety of venues. . . no, I never get tired of hearing the same songs! (that's only a tiny bit sarcastic) Also, we got to see some incredible performances from other folks.