The long road ahead and the one behind.

I took a road trip recently, backtracking along the route I used to get from Las Vegas to New Orleans. It was a much easier trip this time than it was the last. The last time hurt, despite it being a move in the right direction. I had nearly 2000 miles to think about the end of my marriage, starting over again, the complications of what I do having an effect on my ability to have a normal life or even find someone that would understand mine is all of it's unconventionality.

This time I made the journey with a friend; someone who despite all of our obvious differences in age, lifestyle, outlook, has become a very good friend (one of my best, really). She made the trip with me and this time around it wasn't so hard, but I was thankful for her company because that's part of what it was easier. We had a few moments of tension, as is going to be the case with any two friends in close proximity for any length of time, but all in all, it was a good trip. I took her to places I'd liked to go in the past, introduced her to a good friend and saw the place I'd lived once before with fresh eyes, new perspective.



I'm packing now, because my time here in New Orleans is up. I came back here to recharge, live a little and gather my thoughts on what to do next. I needed to break the cycle that i'd established in Las Vegas and get away from the things that hadn't worked for me while I was there. New Orleans was the place that I wanted to do that, because I felt like I needed to reclaim it as my city ; that's what it was before Sara, that's what it is again.

New Orleans is what I needed, what I wanted and I think it's been good for me. It's shown me the sort of love I'd hoped for and also made me give true, deep thought to what I want out of life. I'll always love New Orleans for this; for being my place to learn to live again, despite the fact that I hadn't even realized it's what I needed to do.

I've got more of the world to see though. There are more adventures waiting for me. I've got places to go, people to meet and things to do. I'm leaving New Orleans in a week, but I'll never really put it behind me, because I love it too much to really say goodbye. It's part of who I am, and I'm really, truly grateful that it is.