I've Always Lived Life On the Road, But Things Have Changed Forever

Like most of you, I’ve always had the travel bug and I’m extremely blessed to get out on the road regularly.

As documented on my YouTube channel, over the last 8 years of my life I have crisscrossed the United States. My favorite cities (pre-COVID) happened to be the ones least highlighted by the social media marketing machine...

Pittsburgh, Nashville, and Biloxi are all at the top of my list of places to visit and I make sure I make the trek regularly (I’m flying back home from Biloxi, MS while writing this).

Pre-COVID explorer.

I got used to being away from home.

Aside from being tied down for a brief but interesting moment with the daily grind of being a restaurant owner, my mind was made up early in my adult life that it would be spent on the road.

The first time I visited New York was the greatest ever. We actually flew into New Jersey and immediately took the train to Manhattan, booking the hotel while in transit and staying directly across the street from the world famous Waldorf (which is currently under construction). That NY summer expedition took us through Queens, Sunset Park, Brooklyn, and more.

The food was great, street festivals awesome, live music in the park was incredible, and shopping expensive. I even played chess in the park with a couple of street legends.

We flew from there straight into Myrtle Beach where we laid in the sand, drank, and later attended a minor league baseball game.

On another trip we found ourselves heading to the airport on a whim, booking flights while in the car based on where the weather was most ideal… turned out to be Boston. And Boston was epic!

I bought my first Rolex in Chicago unexpectedly. We were literally at a birthday party the day prior before hatching the great (and expensive) idea to head there.

And when I’m home here in Detroit, I continue to explore the new and old of this phenomenal city.

Everything on lockdown.

When the world went on lockdown earlier this year because of COVID, it was weird (that’s the best way for me to describe it).

No more traveling. No going out to eat daily and having drinks afterwards. No Pistons games (with plenty left on my season ticket calendar, including the LeBron led Lakers I never got to see). We were now spending our time on home projects and trying to figure out when my daughter would be going back to school… which is still unknown.

My youngest brother was temporarily hospitalized, so his two kids were now mine to care for also.

The news and social media had everyone losing their mind over toilet paper and water like there was a shortage. I literally had no reason to own two cars. Neither seemed to move for a while.

However, we made the most of it. Personally, I started designing new apps that will hopefully launch some time in 2021. Also, my new iMac had just been delivered prior to the pandemic so I worked and recorded vlogs more than ever.

I launched a new business and rediscovered my love for collecting sneakers. I even tackled my long neglected basement where I kept the overwhelming majority of things I was too busy to get to while on the road.

Nevertheless, I missed the road dearly.

Post lockdown globetrotting.

Right before the lockdown, we were in Chicago enjoying the 2020 NBA Allstar game festivities. And while on lockdown, I had the opportunity to put into perspective how things had changed, forever!

No, I’m not talking about me traveling… since July I’ve partied in Las Vegas, explored northern Michigan (Boyne Falls anyone?), Reta and friends spent a week or so in Cancun, and I’m on my way back from Biloxi now (2nd time in a month, Labor Day weekend was awesome).

I’m specifically speaking about companies and schools nationwide being forced to embrace the idea that the biggest city in the world is the internet.

Recently Microsoft and Twitter announced plans to have the majority of their employees work from home forever. With my daughter thriving while taking classes online, we actually are having the conversation about traveling and living on the road more often.

We have the equipment and know how to make this work ANYWHERE in the world. The only reason I was home the majority of the time was because my daughter needed to attend grade school classes.

But everything has changed.

Prior to the pandemic, we didn’t plan for this accelerated lifestyle to go into action until my daughter graduated high school years from now.

In December we are temporarily moving to south Florida (Miami) to dodge some of this Michigan snow... and we haven’t booked return flights yet.