Farewell to Bellingham

I feel the weight of the pack again on my back and the equal and opposite reaction of the hard road ahead pressing against my feet. The burden of the pack is made heavier by having to leave a beautiful place, and even more beautiful friendships. Bellingham exudes a sense of comfort and warmth. From the chalk drawings on the street and the sails passing gently in front of Lummi Island. From a kind stranger welcoming you into his home for dinner to the smiles of stylish, unapologetically hip, girls wasting afternoons smoking cigarettes and drinking the best coffee in the world. It is a world that is difficult to leave.

Traveling alone offers a person the unique opportunity follow a magical trail - a trail that has brought me here - of coincidences and chance encounters in the search of something divine, yet strangely indefinable. Along this trail are vast stretches of loneliness and sadness testing the depths of your courage and strength. In between these long arduous stretches of life are beautiful oases of friendship and love. Music and art. I have been fortunate enough to recently pass through one of these beautiful, yet fleeting oases of life. I will need its memories to sustain me for the long road ahead.