It’s been a (intentional) month since my last post in early September. I decided to step away and focus on some more pressing projects. You all survived right? A lot of positive things have happened in the last month in all aspects of my life.  Taking time off can be a lifesaver, a masterpiece sparking, or brutal realization stretch that really puts your priorities in order. The same thing can be said about traveling.

Growing up, my parents made sure to take us on at least an annual trip to somewhere new.  They weren’t rich so it was usually somewhere pretty close by or in the state. They thought it was important to travel. They’d say that it changes you. I always thought that sounded so cliche’ and would roll my eyes when my mother would repeat it, but they were right. All of those trips somehow have manifested their way into my artwork, my writing, and even some future goals/plans. Some of my most influential trips were trips to New York, San Francisco, Duluth, Redwing, Hibbing, the California coast, LA, Connecticut and Boston. It’s not just the major cities that I remember though, it’s the parts in between those, the actual traveling part. Small towns with character thicker than cold molasses. Questions would form in my mind like “what if you grew up here?” “What if you could never had the chance to leave?” Questions like that rake your emotions over the coals. Waves of depressing realizations and beautiful comforts, all between a couple of mile markers in a car or eyelid movies in a plane. Sure, traveling costs some money, but you have to keep in mind it is worth it. The memories from a trip to Napa Valley will certainly outlast that newest iPhone.

So, when’s your next trip?

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