When One Garage Door Closes: Moving On

There have been many days and experiences since the adventures at the Dragon, but the memories linger fresh in my mind.  In the days that followed my inaugural run up the highway, I experienced the privilege of exploring more of the area and much of that will never be conveyed into words in a way that does justice to the firsthand experience. One thing I've always loved about traveling is the experience, the way that a new environment really broadens the horizons of a person's perspective and the way it stays with you; the way the majestic and breathtaking views etch themselves into your memory in a unique fingerprint molded from your own viewpoint.  Some days when I look back on it, I can still feel the cool sticky night air on my skin.  It still brings a smile to my face and a small pang in my heart reminding me of what lives on in my soul of those incredible days. I knew this adventure would be one of a kind and on the following day when I rode up the Cherohala Skyway, I found myself oddly at home and immediately enamored with this stretch of scenic roadway.

One friend and I had decided earlier that morning that we would make a grand loop of an excursion.  We followed US route 29 all the way around until it reunited us with the Skyway.  We made a few unanticipated detours (we won't call it getting lost, though), but managed to find our way back in time for my pilot and I to depart on the next leg of our adventure... this time taking the airplane from the dragon to a little Island off the coast of South Carolina by the name of Hiltonhead Island. 

It was during this leg of the adventure that I would really be introduced to the thrills of flying.  And as we made our way across the rest of the globe in the Ladybird, we encountered more adventure than we expected... then again, that's par for the course for us folks.

Still, there was a humble pause in my heart as we made our way toward the airplane and I took in the last of the experience that would be my visit to North Carolina.  As the sun prepared the make it's final descent, I watched my friend approach the airplane with his green rucksack slung casually over his shoulder, like a gypsy toting his essentials as he moved along in his life journey.  For that week we were exactly that: gypsies making our way across new territory and charting an ongoing course for adventure and experience.