The Sunrise Tour, explained

As I have been preparing for this trip, I've been talking about it more. I haven't been real vocal about my plans until they started to look like they could all happen.  People have had a lot of questions about my trip, which I enjoy answering, so thought I would post a few of them here.


Q. Why are you choosing to travel now? 
A. I had been planning a major travel year aka gap year for many years, since I took my very first backpacking trip (Ireland and England).  It hasn't always been this version, but for the past 4 years, it's been pretty close. 


Q. Are you going alone?
A. Originally I had hoped to travel with my friend S., and our plan was to buy a camper and travel through Mexico, Central America, and South America for a year or more, and then head to Europe to work for a few years - she was thinking about Saudi Arabia and I was (and still am) considering the UK, Northern Ireland if possible.  My plan is still moving forward as my funds are being gathered as expected.  She was relying on playing the stock market, and had been doing pretty well for a few years, spent hours a day researching and talking about the market with other investors.  But this past year or more, the market took some heavy losses, so while she didn't lose her shirt, she lost her gains that she had hoped to use to travel with.  So I am striking out alone. However, having said that, I do expect to be traveling with other travelers at times, and have friends/relatives that are hoping to join me for a portion of the trip, depending on where they are and where they want to join me.


Q. Why do you need a Gap year? 
A. Well, I have been busy my whole life, fulfilling the needs of others, as well as my own, and have been a slave to my education - first the years of university and then the years of paying off massive student loans.  I need a break, time to breathe.  I've gone from adolescent student to adolescent bride and mother to single parent university student to single parent university graduate with huge student loans to pay.  The marriage has been over more than a decade, the child has grown up into a lovely young woman (23), and my student loans are going to be paid off this spring.  Now it is time for ME.  I need to find out who I am, what I want to do with my life now, with no deadlines or debts.


Q. So what will you be doing for a whole year?
A. Well, a great deal of the time I will be driving, as I'm planning a road trip.  I also plan to stop in and visit with friends and family along the way.  A good bit of time will be spent exploring either on foot, car, or water. I'm taking my kayak. I also expect to read a great deal, one of my very favorite things to do when I have the time to get into a good book. My main focus for the entire trip however, will be to increase my writing time. I've been writing for most of my life, but never an actual book.  I've had a smattering of newspaper articles published, a commentary for CBC, some info for a Lonely Planet guidebook, tons of newsletters/newspapers here and there, other bits and pieces, all of my university writing, and of course, my many blogs.  I feel like I have a lot inside to write, but need to get away from debts and deadlines to get it all down without feeling rushed. 


Q. How can you afford to go?
A. Well, it's plain and simple. I am paying off my student loans this year with money I am getting for my house in Newfoundland. My other debts are very minimal, and will also be paid off, leaving me debt-free. That doesn't happen often.  I'll get a good tax refund, as I have some good deductions. I'm selling my car, that will give me some more.  And then my apartment burned down on New Year's Eve, leaving me with nothing to pack, and a sizable insurance check.  If things get tight, I'll either head north or get a job. I have my education, and as my wise father said to me many times, your education is never too heavy to carry around, so get it when you can.  And if I really want to dream, I may get paid for something that I write on this trip.


Q. What will it cost to travel for that long? 
A. Well, having the VW camper is key to the budget. I can sleep in the camper anytime I want, almost anywhere I want. So costs related to that would simply be the purchase price, the insurance, gas and occasional repairs.  Much less than renting an apartment for $1000/month($12, 000 a year!!!) and I can cook in it. I have camping gear, propane stove, and there is a small fridge in the camper. So with cooking for myself, and accommodation out of the equation, my living costs are pretty low compared to other trips I've taken where I had to pay for hotel/hostel, restaurants, and bus/train fares from town to town. I'll be keeping detailed notes and books regarding the costs, so will know what the trip costs me in the end.



Q. Where are you going?
A. Well, from Nova Scotia I'm  heading to New Brunswick for a few days, then through Quebec to the old city, then down into southwestern Ontario for a few weeks to visit friends and family. Heading west from there, stopping in Winnipeg and Calgary before heading north to visit my girl in the Yukon (my daughter) for a week or more. From there, back to BC to visit my sister, then into the lower mainland for some visiting before heading to Victoria for several weeks. I'll be exploring the islands of BC during that time, and checking out the job market just in case.  From there, heading to San Francisco for the rest of the summer, then down into Mexico for the winter before heading north again up the eastern seaboard. Nothing is written in stone, at all. Anything can change and influence the journey's direction.


Q. Aren't you afraid to travel alone? 
A. Well, in Canada and the US, not so much. I've traveled quite a bit in my life alone, and in the career that I've had as a social worker, I've encountered a good smattering of some of the weirdness out there. I don't expect to be by myself all of the time, and I intend to spend several weeks in the some places. I am not planning to hang around the bar at night in Mexico.  I'm planning to keep to the smaller villages, away from the tourist traps and rich Americans they are looking to rob.  Anything could happen. I'll just have to take it one day at a time and not be stupid about safety.


Q. What if something happens to the bus? 
A. I'll cross that bridge if/when I come to it, however I reckon I will simply continue on foot or get another vehicle.  I make no promises on this journey, I just want to experience life, and what happens, happens.  I've learned to be very adaptable over the years. The camper will be my 34th home in 43 years.  I can handle it.  Hmmm, interestingly enough, those last two numbers are the exact birth years for my parents. Dad was born in 1934 and mom in 1943.  Interesting.