Solo Road Trip across America

12,575 miles, 53 days, 31 states, and 1 little Subaru — what a great way to see and celebrate Fall in America! Last week, I made it back home to Austin, Texas, after spending the better parts of September and October on the road by myself. I loved the adventure—the open road, the changing of the seasons, the new sights, and the freedom to go wherever I wanted. It was everything I had hoped for and often dreamed of!

My first trip started-off on a whim — I arrived home a little early from Ireland and had two weeks before my high school reunion, so I hopped in my trusty little Forester, opened the map, and said, “let’s just see where the road takes me!” The adventure took me to 10 states … up and out of Texas into the Midwest, across the beautiful open-spaces of Nebraska and Southern Wyoming, and into the gorgeous, prehistoric-looking lands of Utah and Colorado.

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My “fall foliage” trip was something I had wanted to do for years and was a big reason I didn’t take-off across the globe for months-on-end. Growing up in Texas, where Autumn consists of “brown and down,” I’d always dreamed of seeing the vibrant colors in New England — and my goodness, they did not disappoint! 36 days, 21 states, 7,845 miles, and endless landscapes of gorgeous color. From Austin to Albuquerque, across Route 66 to the Great Lakes, through fall colors of New England, down the rugged coastline of Maine to the crazy streets of NYC, across the Appalachian Mountains down the Blue Ridge Parkway, back to my home state of Texas! It was truly an epic road trip and my head is still swimming with visions of red, orange, and yellow leaves fluttering in the daylight.

And now, I’m in Austin for a few weeks—sorting through thousands of photos from the last few months, updating this blog (because I discovered it’s difficult to pull yourself away from the in-the-moment beauty to sit in front of a computer screen), and preparing for my next big adventure, which starts mid-December in Hawaii!

Also, a big thank you to everyone for following along on Facebook and Instagram. Be sure to check out my photography site for the high-quality, sellable images — ready and uploaded by Thanksgiving — and stay tuned for more content right here on Workday Wanderlust!