A reasonably heavy load

I just weighed myself, both with and without the stuff I've been carrying around for the last six weeks, to see how much weight I've been lugging. Without the bags, I weigh about 167 lbs. And with the bags, I weigh about 211 lbs. So it looks like I've been carrying about 44 pounds of stuff on my shoulders.

The extra weight really did not affect me much except in the beginning, when my body just wasn't used to it. And most of the weight was in a duffle bag slung over only one shoulder, which made it much tougher to carry than if I'd had a more ergonomic backpack that distributes the weight over more areas of my body. That's cool for a couple reasons: 1) Because I had too many shirts, adding a lot of unnecessary weight, and 2) Because I most certainly will use a more ergonomic backpack and better shoes when I head out again in a few months.

There won't be any hitchhiking, motel rooms, or emergency credit cards the next time, either, which will make things considerably more difficult than the trip I just finished. However, the weather will be warmer, so I will be able to sleep outside whenever I have nowhere to stay. I can't wait.

I have learned so much, in so many different ways, over the last six weeks. I can't even begin to explain, but I'll try once I start writing about my experiences.

Message boards

I think I am going to just get rid of the Aimless Forums. No one reads them or participates, and spammers have found their way to them, so I just spent a while deleting a bunch of spam posts.

Screw that.

Back in Ohio

I am home. Wow, what an adventure!!!

I made my way from southern California all the way to Nashville before taking a bus from Nashville to Cincinnati, arriving in Cincinnati at about 5:30 AM on Christmas morning. My brother picked me up at the Greyhound station in Cinci, then let me get a few hours of sleep on his couch before we headed to Grandma & Grandpa's house near Dayton, where no one expected to see me. Needless to say, my presence was a huge surprise to everyone.

I have pages and pages to write about the last leg of my journey--from California to Ohio--and I also have to make some major changes to the rest of the Aimless web site, so keep an eye out. I really want to edit and post some video stuff soon, but I have over 20 hours of video from my trip across the country and back. It will likely take a while to watch all the video, classify everything, edit things, and a whole bunch of other stuff, but I'll be working on it. I hope y'all will enjoy it.

I cannot possibly describe how much pain and joy I've experienced over the last several weeks, but I now know I'm doing the right thing. I can't wait to get out and do it for real, maybe beginning in the spring of 2007 (perhaps March or April).

So much to say. Check back soon.