It took me 50 hours to drive 3,280 miles from San Francisco, but on Saturday, January 9th I finally pulled into Charleston.
I'd booked this amazing AirBnB a few months back and was thrilled when I pulled into the historic district of downtown, South of Broad and saw it. My flat in this grand home included a sweet one bedroom with a glorious kitchen and one of the wrap-around porches. It was everything that I'd hoped for to start my year-long adventure.
Here's my welcome message the AirBnB host had waiting for me along with the key (yes, this is the actual key for the door).
I guess I shouldn't have been surprised at how quickly I was able to unpack my car. It's just that it took me so long to figure out what to bring along for this year traveling. I made lists and created piles and added and deleted to them for weeks. And then I agonized over what bags I should use and how exactly they would fit in the car to get as much as I needed but not too much as to be a burden. I drove myself mad with options trying to find just-right Goldilocks approach to packing for a year.
Yes, I was excited when I arrived and energized to be in Charleston. But it honestly surprised me when the entire car was empty in just 10 minutes.