After spending time in Korea and eventually catching a Space-A flight to Seattle, I was back in America.
What followed was several weeks of travel that took me across 18 states, reunited me with family and old friends, gave me plenty of opportunities to eat my way across the country, and even required me to move my belongings. It was a busy trip—but a very enjoyable one.
Arriving in Seattle
My first stop was Seattle, where I checked into the Renaissance downtown.
After spending so much time traveling around Asia, it was nice to settle into a comfortable, upscale American hotel for a few days. The Renaissance was a particularly pleasant place to begin my time back in the United States, and I enjoyed having access to the executive lounge. The lounge made things especially convenient, with meals and refreshments available throughout my stay. It was a nice opportunity to relax, enjoy the hotel, and recover from the long journey across the Pacific before continuing on.
Eventually, though, it was time to get moving. I flew on to Alabama to spend time with my sister and her family.
A Home Base—and a New Gym
Since I knew I would be in America for quite a while, I wanted to maintain the fitness routine I had developed while living and traveling in Asia. So I joined Planet Fitness.
One of the advantages of Planet Fitness is that it has locations all over the United States. That turned out to be perfect for a trip like mine. Instead of having to find a new gym every time I reached another city, I could simply find a Planet Fitness location and get my workout in. And I did exactly that.
During my travels, I worked out in different states, which was actually kind of fun. It became another little piece of continuity during a trip that involved constantly changing locations.
Buying a Honda Odyssey
With so much driving ahead of me, I quickly realized that renting a car for several weeks wasn’t going to make much financial sense. So I bought a car. I found a fully equipped Honda Odyssey, and it turned out to be one of the best decisions I made for the trip.
Having my own vehicle gave me the freedom to come and go whenever I wanted, carry all the things I needed, visit family and friends, and make some very long road trips without worrying about rental-car costs piling up. The Odyssey became my transportation, storage space, road-trip companion, and eventually my moving vehicle. It also allowed me to see a lot more of the country than I could have managed by flying everywhere.
18 States in One Trip
Over the course of my time in America, I physically visited 18 states:
Washington
Georgia
Alabama
Tennessee
Virginia
West Virginia
Ohio
Indiana
Illinois
Wisconsin
Minnesota
South Dakota
Iowa
Nebraska
Kansas
Kentucky
North Carolina
Texas
I drove to most of them, although I also flew four times when that made more sense. The mileage added up quickly. There were long stretches of interstate, small towns, big cities, familiar places, and plenty of scenery along the way. One of the things I enjoyed most was simply being back on the road in America. After spending so much time traveling around Asia, there was something comfortable and familiar about jumping in the Odyssey and heading down an American highway. And driving on the right side of the road while sitting on the left – completely opposite of the way I drive in Thailand.
The Big Moving Project
There was also a practical reason for much of the travel. I needed to move my belongings out of a storage unit in Virginia Beach, my previous hometown, and get them to a new location closer to my family. That turned into a fairly substantial operation. I rented a 26-foot moving truck, loaded it up with my belongings in Virginia, and then drove for two days to the new destination. After arriving, everything had to be unloaded.
It wasn’t exactly a vacation day. But it was one of those things that needed to be done, and having the freedom to make the move myself made the whole process considerably easier. Once the truck was unloaded, I could get back to the more enjoyable parts of the trip.
Friends, Family, and a Week on a Boat
A big part of this journey wasn’t about seeing new places at all. It was about seeing people. I spent time with my sister, brother-in-law, nieces, and nephews and was able to spend Easter with family. I also caught up with old friends and stayed in a variety of places along the way. There were hotels, relatives’ homes, good friends’ homes, and even a week aboard my best buddy’s boat. That week on the boat was one of the highlights. After so much driving and moving around, it was nice to slow down for a while and simply enjoy being with good friends. Those are the kinds of experiences that are difficult to put on an itinerary.
Eating My Way Across America
Of course, food was another important part of the trip. One thing I particularly enjoyed about being back in the United States was making an effort to eat local food rather than simply eating at the same national chains everywhere I went. When I was at the beach, seafood was on the menu. In the South, I enjoyed country cooking and the kind of food that you simply don’t get quite the same way elsewhere. And when I got farther north, there was excellent pizza along with plenty of other regional favorites.
After spending so much time eating throughout Thailand and Asia, it was fun to rediscover American food. The regional differences were especially enjoyable. The food wasn’t just something to eat—it was another way of experiencing the places I was visiting.
Chicago and a Night at Wrigley Field
One of the highlights of the trip was spending time with my brother in Chicago. We caught up, hung out, ate out, and did some exploring around the city. We walked to Navy Pier and enjoyed simply having time together without having to rush through a short visit. And then we went to a Cubs game at Wrigley Field.
The Cubs won, which made the experience even better. There are some places where simply being there is part of the experience, and Wrigley Field is certainly one of them. Walking into that historic ballpark and watching a game with my brother was one of the memorable moments of my time in America.
A Lot of Driving, But a Lot of Memories
Looking back, my American journey was a strange combination of vacation, family visit, road trip, and logistical project.
I visited 18 states.
I flew four times.
I drove thousands of miles.
I bought and sold a Honda Odyssey.
I joined Planet Fitness and worked out in different states.
I rented a 26-foot moving truck and moved my belongings from Virginia Beach to a new location closer to family.
I stayed in hotels, with relatives, at friends’ homes, and on a boat.
I spent time with my sister and her family, my brother, nieces and nephews, and many good friends.
And I ate a lot of really good food.
But perhaps the best part was simply having the freedom to spend several weeks traveling around my own country without being tied to a rigid itinerary. I could decide where I wanted to go, who I wanted to see, where I wanted to stay, and what I wanted to eat. After all the planning and logistics, I genuinely enjoyed the journey.
Back to Thailand
Eventually, the work was finished, the belongings had been moved, the family visits were over, the friends had been seen, and the road trips had come to an end. My American adventure was over.
I sold the Honda Odyssey, said my goodbyes, and headed back to the airport. My next destination was Thailand. After several weeks and 18 states, it was time to return to the part of the world that had become normal to me. The trip had been busy, sometimes exhausting, and occasionally complicated. But it had also been filled with family, friends, food, road trips, baseball, boating, and plenty of memories. And that’s what made it such a great trip.
Sometimes travel isn’t about checking another country off a list. Sometimes it’s about going home, seeing the people you care about, taking the long way around, and enjoying the journey along the way.