Actual text-message responses I received from people when I told them about the decision to move east:

What?… Why?!

Really?… Are you serious?

Shut up.

Don’t screw with me man.

Funny.

Man, am I making that stupid of a decision? I had to laugh when I received them. I guess leaving California in the dead of winter does sound quite backwards, perhaps even conspicuous.

There are so many reasons why the move makes sense – and so many reasons why I am nostalgic about leaving. That said, I haven’t wasted my time out here, which makes it easier to move on. I had a list of things I wanted to do out here, and I think I did pretty damn good in two and a half years (although I’m bummed I didn’t catch Yosemite).

Grand Canyon , San Francisco (x2), San Diego (x4), Las Vegas (x3), Los Angeles (x a lot), Paso Robles. Napa, Sonoma, Hearst Castle (x2), Channel Islands, Catalina Island, Big Sur, Death Valley, Yosemite, Lake Tahoe, Drive Highway One (North and South), Buy a sailboat, Skydive (x2),

Other places I’ve been since the move to California in 2009 (that I’d never been to before):

Los Cabos, San Luis Obispo, Rosarito Beach, Puerto Vallarta, Manzanillo, Playa del Carman, Tulum, Coba, Tulsa, Bahamas, Pismo Beach, Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico, Chicago, Detroit, Cincinnati, Forth Worth, Dallas, Tuscon, Syracuse, Ithaca, Finger Lakes, Georgia.

Combine those two lists with living in Santa Barbara, perhaps the most beautiful of the California cities, and I’d say I’ve had one hell of a run.

It seems I’m not out of gas yet – wait till you see the list I’m making for the East Coast.

The journey continues – I’m departing bright and early tomorrow morning, hoping to find myself in Sedona before sunset.