In early January 2011, I left my hometown of Atlanta, Georgia on a pilgrimage to San Francisco. I’ve lived in Atl all my life but for the last few years, my heart has been in SF. So after the sudden ending of a long term lesbian relationship, I did something very uncharacteristic for me…I packed up my car and drove cross country to SF. Really, I did. I didn’t even bother to say goodbye to most of my friends. I’m not normally impulsive or irrational or spontaneous; I’m right-brained, organized, I make lists of lists. But I just felt like it was now or never…
I was born in downtown Atlanta and every friend or relative I’ve ever had lives within 30 miles of this southern city. For generations my family has never ventured more than 50 miles from the heart of Atlanta. So it took years for it to even occur to me to leave, and it was only after my life-partner started taking me on trips that I thought – what the hell am I doing in this one horse town? I’ve never much liked Atlanta: there just wasn’t anything to do there. But I never had a good enough reason to leave. That is until my now ex-girlfriend told me she had met someone else and wanted to be with her.
I couldn’t get packed up quickly enough. Now or never.
And then it snowed. In Atlanta, where it hardly ever snows. It snowed 5 inches and shut down the city. The temperature didn’t get above 20 degrees for 4 days. The snow didn’t melt, the city didn’t reopen, and I was literally trapped in the house with my ex. Fun times. But it gave me time to pack up my car, yell and cry it all out, and make a few plans so that when the streets thawed, I could hit the road. I left my family, my friends, my neighbors my home, my job, my dentist, my many doctors, my hairdresser, and my dog. Just up and left. So unlike me.
This is the story of my journey.
- Destination: Memphis, TN
- Destination: Shawnee, OK
- Destination: Tucumcari, New Mexico
- Destination: Flagstaff, AZ
- Destination: Barstow, CA
- Destination: San Diego, CA
- In San Diego, CA
- Destination: San Luis Obispo, CA
- Destination: San Francisco, CA
- Destination: Berkeley, CA
