April-October 2023

2023 All Road Trips Map — My 2023 travels took me to 34 U.S. states and four Canadian provinces

The hard part is wading into the unknown, but that’s also where the reward lives.

On 13 March 2023, I learned I would be losing my job.

That day began like any other day. I had a meeting scheduled with my supervisor that I felt would go well, per usual. A few minutes after it began, someone from human resources joined the call and I immediately knew what this meant.

Even with my many years of corporate experience, I never saw it coming. Or so I thought.

I came to terms quickly with the fact that I manifested this layoff. I had been kicked in the brain for years; I was simply tired, and I wanted to actually experience life. I didn’t know who I was outside of my profession. I had been saving for a sabbatical I planned to start in 2024.

As I watched some of my laid-off colleagues find other positions within the company, I decided to recognize this layoff for the gift it was and run. With my annual medical check ups ahead, I did have to wait a bit to take off, which gave me more time to plan.

For the first time in my life, I would have the time and money to just travel and be. While it was scary for me to go into the unknown, I started filling the void left by leaving my job with planning trips to places I had long wanted to see and experiencing life fully and freely for the first time ever.

In 2023 alone, I drove to 34 U.S. states and four Canadian provinces. After traveling via Google Maps, I visited places that would have been hard to visit if I has been working with limited time. My very long bucket list got shorter in 2023, but I got mentally and physically stronger.

These travels made me realize that this is part of my purpose in life. I was hooked. I also had the goal of visiting all 50 state capitols, and I now had the time to meet this goal as well. By the end of the year, I completed 43 stamped visits in my capitols passport. (I have been to the Texas State Capitol many times living in Austin, but I’m saving this passport visit for last.)

Learn more about these amazing road trips (Check A3 News for content additions and updates):

Quickie Midwest Loop: With a week between medical appointments, I decided to use this time wisely to explore Oklahoma, Kansas and Missouri.
Great Midwest Loop: The first long road trip of the year, I went as far as the Dakotas and back.
Western Swing: I had wanted to drive through the U.S. West for a long time, and oh-em-gee, it’s stunning!
Mid-Atlantic, New England and Montreal: My uncle and I went through 12 states to visit state capitols and visit Montreal during an important holiday weekend.
Amarillo…By Afternoon: You know you have the tune in your head. The shortest trip of 2023, I had some remaining bucket list items leftover from the previous year’s road trip.
New England Fall Foliage and Atlantic Provinces: Long wanting to see the Atlantic provinces of Canada and revisit New England for the fall foliage, this fun trip also features my longest destination from Austin by drive time.

I view this time as the beginning of the rest of my life. I have traveled (mostly solo) for many years; the taste of real freedom from corporate life has put my life on a new trajectory. Even if I somehow end up going back, I will be going back with a much better knowledge of who I am, what I can do and how I have the ability to always make myself better, even when it’s hard.

What would you do if you had the time and money?

That’s your life’s work.