The past couple weeks have found me moving around a lot, in every sense. From Costa Rica to East Texas to Nicaragua back to East Texas and then to Central Texas. I’ve also been readjusting to American life. Part of that means I’ve been eating terribly. There are so many freaking options here, and most of them include tons of sugary evil-goodness. My fundamental diet has switched suddenly from beans and rice, to donuts and Cap’n Crunch.

For healthier food, it was a nice idea to revisit Whole Foods here in Austin. But I was overwhelmed by lunchtime traffic and downtown parking challenges and overpriced imported everything and clove smokers  and indoor-worn designer sunglasses and “Is that Brad Pitt?” and lobbyists and protesters and miniskirts and everyone worshiping smart phones while lunching “with” their coworkers and no one’s shit stinks here especially if you’re into AcroYoga and…Where’s the pause button? …Yes, I started freaking out  a little and getting cynical and judgmental in order to make myself feel more comfortable. Anyway…

It has been very nice to be around friends here in Austin. I’ve lived here more than a decade, and it was my home until I left for Costa Rica. It is a wonderful town, but I’m not sure it will be my home base anymore. It might, but as I’ve desired for years, I want to get back to the sea. That’s one thing that brought me to Costa Rica.

I’m not sure I want to live full time in Costa Rica right now, and I’m feeling a tug to have a home base of some sort, near the ocean. Just not sure exactly where. So I’m going to audition places.

That’s Phase 2 of this experiment: I’ve procured a big truck and a camper and I’m going to travel around North America for a bit, living in my camper, feeling out where I might eventually want to make a home base. While I no longer believe that a permanent, owned house is necessary for a settled, content life — even if I think I might be a little more location-independent in my life — I really want to be able to consider some place as my home base.

At this point, the idea is to travel around from August through November. But who knows, this thing could last just two weeks, or could go on for two years. We’ll see. But my plan is to work counter-clockwise, from Texas to Florida to New York (hitting some of the AT on the way), to a bit of east Canada then on to the Pacific Northwest and Vancouver, then down the west coast and back over to Texas. But again, we’ll see.

One thing I want to mention, which I learned from my time in Costa Rica, is that I prefer not to always be alone on this trip. Although I will meet many people and never really be alone-alone — m ore people live in RVs than live in the jungle, after all — it would be nice to have some traveling partners. So I’ll put the call out there: If you’re up for a little adventure, consider joining me for a leg of my journey (or just a day or two).

My camper has a queen bed and a double bed and sleeps up to three comfortably, plus a toilet and shower and oven and stove and refrigerator and all that; and I have a crew-cab truck with plenty of seating. (I plan to post more details about my rig later.) Obviously there are details to this and it’s not for many, but if you think you might be interested, email me at ReStartExperiment@gmail.com and we can talk more about that. Caveat: Yes, I realize this call opens up some concerns. And I don’t yet have this all thought-out, so bear with me. With that in mind, please note that (1) self-reliant adults 21+ only and subject to certain criteria and… (2) axe-murderers will not be allowed to bring their axes, but small hatchets are okay…and (3) rapists need not apply, because I wear a chastity belt. Also, if you think you might be willing to offer a parking spot or accommodations for a night or three, or even just meet up for a meal, you can email me too.

Now, let’s see where this goes….