Bucket List 2.0: My Hobo Life Continues...

Here we go – Bucket List 2.0! Finally!

I’m just a couple months shy of the anniversary of crossing off the last item on my original bucket list: riding in a hot air balloon over Albuquerque, New Mexico. Since then, I’ve kept traveling—but it’s been way more loosey-goosey than before I completed the list.

A few weeks ago, my friend PJ asked what my plans were for the summer. For the first time in over three years, I didn’t have an answer. No plan to rattle off the top of my head as I usually do. When she pointed it out, I was just as shocked as she was. That moment made me realize something: my bucket list wasn’t just a list—it was my guide. It’s what keeps the fire going for traveling across the country and gives me purpose.

For months now, I’ve been thinking about a Bucket List 2.0. But every time I sat down to write it, it felt forced. Aside from completing the goal of seeing all 50 states, I was adding places just for the sake of adding them. So I started adding things that popped into my mind rather than sitting down and writing it out. Now I have just over 20 new places I want to visit and experiences I want to chase.

Before I could commit to this new list, though, I had to ask myself a big question: Was I ready to plant roots somewhere? Or was I going to keep living my hobo life? The question itself gave me the answer.

"Plant roots somewhere" sounded so uncertain. When I first hit the road, I thought I’d stumble upon the place that made me want to stop traveling. For a while, I was sure it was Tennessee. At the end of 2023 and early in 2024, it felt like that was it. But when things fell through and I kept traveling, I realized Tennessee wasn’t meant to be.

Now, four and a half years into this journey, I still don’t have that conviction for one place over another.  I do believe one day I will know, unequivocally, where my home will be. So for now, my hobo journey continues, and I am looking forward to where the road will lead me and the people I will meet along the way. Anyone want to join me?

Bucket List 2.0 (also see my bucket list page)

• Visit All 50 States, remaining states:

  • Alabama

    • Muscle Shoals

    • Helen Keller Museum

  • Alaska

    • Anchorage

    • Denali National Park

    • Lake Clark National Park

    • Fairbanks

  • Indiana

    • Basilica of St Francis Xavier (In Vincennes)

  • Mississippi

    • Tupelo: Elvis’ Birthplace

  • North Dakota

    • Roger Maris Museum

    • Teddy Roosevelt National Park

  • West Virginia

    • New River Gorge

    • Harpers Ferry National Park

• See a Civil War Reenactment

• Smithsonian Museum

• Olympic National Park

• Capital Reef National Park

• Hike Pike’s Peek

• Take a cruise on the Mississippi River

• Carhenge (Nebraska)

• Tour the White House

• Lake Havasu

• Antelope Canyon

• Roosevelt Arche in Yellowstone National Park (because we couldn’t find it last time I was there)