April 3, 2024. Sold my home, gave away most of my belongings, got a small storage unit for sentimental items that will be passed down to my kids…and here I go!
I’ve looked forward to this day for a long time.
In addition to my LifeQuest, I also have an international quest. I plan to visit all 330 Travelers Century Club territories. Well, at least the ones I legally can with a USA passport. Between that and my USA LifeQuest (see Rules tab above), I have quite a lot to do for the rest of my life. The world is beautiful, and I want to see all of it. I will document my international travels on a different blog, www.trishellistcc.com.
First stop is South Dakota where I will establish residency. South Dakota allows you to be a resident of the state after just 24 hours of staying there and without owning/renting a home. The folks at the DMV and the people handling car registrations are used to people using South Dakota to become nomads. You do need to intend to come back and live in SD after finishing one’s travels, which is fine with me because I love the Black Hills.
I’ll post about my South Dakota residency process after everything is complete.
Do I feel sad or nostalgic? Not anymore. I spent the last year going through all the emotions as I went through my home alone and gave most everything away. Heartbreak, grief, fear, a longing for the times my daughters were little..I felt it all deeply. I also love the White Mountains and feel like they were my home, and that they took care of my daughters and me as we hiked our way through their childhoods. I will always love the Whites, I will always feel at home on those trails and on those peaks. The time has come for me to move on, though. I always knew I wanted to do my LifeQuest full time once both my daughters were in/heading toward college. I always knew that once I was an empty nester, I would want to never live in one place again. And here I am, the time has come, and now all I feel is peace and joy.