Facebook | Kevin Seney Author of “midlife drive”
“The test of an adventure
is that when you’re in the middle of it, you say to yourself,
‘Oh, now I’ve got myself into an awful mess;
I wish I were sitting quietly at home.’
And the sign that something’s wrong with you,
is when you sit quietly at home and wish for adventure”
~ Thornton Wilder
I cannot remember, specifically what triggered the idea, but one day last January 2010, I was sitting in my RV, parked in my brother’s back yard of all places, and realized the obvious, “this thing has wheels.” My first thought was, “well, if I am going to live in a box, and it has wheels, I might as well point it down the road and go somewhere!” I was going stir crazy, and decided that a “road trip” might be the perfect cure, at least for the time being.
I tend to think big, no matter what I am considering, and just a simple road trip, to who knows where, was not “big” enough. The more I thought about the idea, the more it became clear that what I needed to do was go on a BIG Road Trip! Where? Well, who cares! I am sitting on my ass in San Diego, going crazy. It is winter. Why not head East to Florida!
That same day, I saw a news item, that the Space Shuttle was launching in March, and there were only a few more missions to go before the shuttle was retired. That was it! Now I had a destination. But, where from there? Why worry, just go!
So, I realized that if I was going to just head out into the unknown, and was thinking 3 to 6 months, and then thought even more, that I had better do some preparation, and get my RV in “expedition ready” condition.
I also got the crazy idea to start a blog, and tell my story as I drove, randomly around the country. “Why not,” I said? A friend had proposed a similar idea months before, but I never thought much of it, but I decide on “Midlife Drive” as the name for my blog. The random adventures of the “Midlife Dude!”
I was a bit slow at disconnecting myself from my comfort zone. Too much preparation, and multiple excuses. But, after a few weeks of procrastinating, one day I just drove away. February 23, 2010. Not much better prepared than I was the day in January, that I decided to go, but at least I left.
I drove all the way around the USA, from San Diego to Florida to Maine to Nashville, Dallas, Wyoming and on to Seattle, WA and back to San Diego. It took me 5 months, 5 days and 5 hours to complete the 15,003 mile trip! I lost my engine, I blew a tire, I camped in some pretty crazy places. I met hundreds of strangers, and many are now my friends. Overall, it was an amazing journey. Now, I am ready to tell my story.
Thanks for riding along with me…
Kevin Seney • Seney Point Resort 