https://twitter.com/BrianMc_Fadden/status/1489388730003636224?t=J5teV7GbvF3Wk_6sQWCErg&s=19
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I used to really enjoy traveling alone but I gotta say it’s much less enjoyable as I get older. Would much rather have shared experiences with my wife.
There’s no real point to this comment just a thought.
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On my big trip I went back and forth as various friends came to visit. The change up was nice. But I had many more book-worthy experiences when traveling alone.
I’ve enjoyed both (at least in the before-COVID times).
I used to love traveling solo, I still certainly enjoy it, but doing it into your mid 30’s get’s kinda tricky sometimes, as it’s more difficult to find relatable people close to your own age (for me anyway, not a type A personality). I find myself doing more stuff where group camaraderie is basically built in, being on a scuba dive boat, package hiking trips, etc, as opposed to just rocking up to a hostel bar. Also the off the beaten track places are nice because it’s an older crowd and you’re kinda forced to befriend whoever you meet!
I just need to find a travel girlfriend again, heh.
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Oh you mean like maybe a group photo trip - the thing you always used to razz me about? ORLY? (unless you’re not the poster I think you are on 22)
But yeah - look for cool hostels that have a mix of ages. Some of the places I stayed at in Mexico and Central America were social hubs - very easy to meet people. The hostels that host overlanders and normal hostel kids were almost always a wide range of ages and super fun.
This is also why I want to do the whole world in my car. You can get way off the beaten path any time you want. You don’t wind up on the same backpacker trail constantly seeing the same 22-year-olds. And when you meet people, you sometimes end up giving them a ride and maybe hanging for a few days.
Travel girlfriend would be nice. But I’d have to upgrade my vehicle to something we can sleep in. And apparently I meet someone who can put up with me about once every 20 years.
But travelling solo does force you to get outside your comfort zone and meet other people. I hardly met anyone when I was traveling with friends.
I’ll post when I go back out obviously. Maybe we can meet up for a part of the trip.
Haha ok maybe I was a little harsh on the photo trips, the older I get the more I do find the group stuff more and more appealing. But the idea of getting shepherded around to good photo spots still turns me off though 
Yea Mexico and Central America it’s a decently diverse crowd, and I do get out of my comfort zone plenty when on the road, but I just feel too weird if it’s a hostel and basically everyone is 18-25. Like I know some people who can literally mix with anyone, but that’s not me.
Traveling with your own car is sweet obviously. I was always super jealous of the van people in South America and Africa! So whenever your trip does happen definitely give a holler, I’d love to meet for part of it if we’re anywhere near the same part of the world!
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Will do.
Yeah I did the photo trips mostly for the adventure and camaraderie. I was always the one who let everyone else get the best spots for the shots because I just didn’t care that much. Also a photo trip like that is generally the only way I get up at 4am to go shoot something. I just don’t have the willpower when I’m on my own, with a few rare exceptions.
For hostels I tried to find places with a good mix of ages. There were a few times I was the 48-year-old around a bunch of 23-year-olds. One place, Paradiso hostel in Nicaragua had a trivia night that was a good mixer. I would say the kids tolerated me, which made me proud I must not be giving off too much of a creepy sex tourist vibe. There was one guy there my age, but I wasn’t going to talk to that weirdo, probably a sex tourist.
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haha probably 
That’d probably piss Graves off if he was still alive but he’s been dead for almost 80 years.
Lucy’s still alive though.
Also wtf kind of name is The Crimson White for a newspaper? I get the first two words but not the last.
Its also my nickname when I go to the beach.
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I am pretty sure this building is “protected” by one of those “don’t erase history” laws and the university is legally prevented from removing his name from it.
BTW I used to live directly in the middle of a line from Lucy-Graves hall to Foster Auditorium (where George Wallace made the “stand in the schoolhouse door”).
Happy “Jesus Christ shoveling snow sucks, we need to get a snow blower. But this is probably going to be the only big snow of the year, so it’s too late” Day. Can’t wait to have this pissed off internal monologue again next year.
Could be worse. You could own a snowblower but instead of snow you keep getting heavy, wet slush that has to be shoveled by hand. And then it freezes solid and your whole world is ice. We’re getting round 3 of that right now. I would honestly prefer 3 feet of powder over this shit.
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I’ve got worst of both worlds now - huge dumps of snow all Jan followed by above freezing temperatures on Wed followed by huge dumps of snow and now sub zero Fahrenheit temperatures again. So we have a couple of feet of snow on top of an slick sheet of ice. Fun times.
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Thank you for joining in my misery. Fortunately a very kind neighbor came over with his snowblower and cleared a path down our driveway.
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I was informed that the weather in LA is boring and undesirable. Can’t remember where I heard that.
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There is a dude in my building who does that for me before I even get up. Recommended.