Hello. This is my first ever blog post. I want to start off by noting that the name of this website stems from the name of my YouTube channel, Sensatious Hiatus. I started uploading videos there in 2015 and this is the official blog associated with that channel. The fella writing this is the fella in the videos? Yes, indeed. If you’re one of the 2 people that will ever read this, then I want to thank you both and I hope you’re impressed by how I use words good.
At the time of writing this, I have about 300 videos uploaded to my YouTube channel. I haven’t uploaded anything there in about 2 years so it’s pretty much a dead channel as of writing this. The channel mostly highlighted my travels and long distance hikes, but I also made vlogs, drone videos, and informational videos as well. It’s kind of all over the place to be honest. Below is a list of categories for my videos that I’ve made over the last 9 years or so:
1. 2015: Appalachian Trail thru-hike
2. 2016: Living in Australia for a year (traveling in Australia and New Zealand)
3. 2017-2018: Working as an Appalachian Trail Ridgerunner in CT/MA
3. 2018-2019: An Around the World Trip through Europe and Southeast Asia (4 months)
5. 2021: Attempting to thru-hike the Pacific Crest Trail (my first documentary)
6. 2022: Living in North Carolina – backpacking and hiking trips
7. Vlogs
8. Drone Videos
What I’ve Been Up To:
In my last video update, I mentioned I was going on a long roadtrip. It was June of 2022, I had just quit my job in Asheville, NC (as a forklift driver) and the plan was to go visit my parents in Nashville, TN before setting off for the West in my 1995 Honda Accord (my car’s name is Rhonda). Here’s is an unreleased video of me showing off my ride as it was all packed up for the road trip. My plan was to head toward the Pacific Northwest making a large loop to come back home to Nashville after stopping at several National Parks, Monuments, and other places that interest me.
I was planning to spend about 4 months on the road, but that trip would’ve basically left me with zero doll hairs and that’s only if Rhonda the Honda was able to make the journey without issue (probably unlikely). I ended up calling it quits after 1 night on the road. I think what happened was I was either thinking rationally, or I was just being a weak ass bitch.
So after the road trip that never was, I ended up doing what many Millennials are doing nowadays…I moved back in with my parents. I then managed to land a job within a month driving a cherry picker forklift in the Nashville, TN area. Here’s a cherry picker forklift:
The summer of 2022 was a pretty uneventful summer for me in terms of travel, big hikes, and shit like that, but this was the year that I became an Uncle! My brother lives in Australia with his Italian girlfriend and I am now the Uncle to a beautiful little Australian bloke. Since my nephew’s birth, my family and I all decided we were going to take a trip to Italy where we would all meet him and my brother’s girlfriends’ family in Rome to celebrate my nephew’s 1st birthday.
So fast forward to the Spring of 2023 (I quit my job…again) and I’m on a plane with my parents going to Italy to meet my nephew. We stayed in the coastal town of Nettuno near Rome and really didn’t do much site-seeing as these first two weeks in Europe were exclusively a family trip. Seeing my nephew for the first time and spending time with my new extended Italian side of the family was extraordinary. There was a bit of a language barrier at times, but love prevails over language. In hindsight, it was the best trip I’ve ever been on.
So after a couple weeks in Italy, we all said our goodbyes, my parents headed back to Nashville, and I stayed in Europe to be a travel bum. I traveled in Northern Italy, Spain, Switzerland, and Holland during this trip. I had only been to a few countries in Europe before so I was really excited to travel here again. I had planned on walking the Camino de Santiago (the Camino Francés) in Spain, but, like the road trip that never was, I backed out at the last minute. I even set foot on the Camino in Pamplona, but in the end, I didn’t do it.
I had done a lot of research and even had all my gear sorted out for the Camino, but I got there and, for whatever reason, decided it wasn’t for me that year. I don’t know what the hell is going on with me, but I’ve really been struggling lately with making decisions. Even this website; I’ve literally had this thing on a to-do list for over a year and have been paying for the hosting for longer than that. I’ve written and re-written this article over and over. I think I’ve fallen into the trap of being a perfectionist, a “man with a plan,” and ultimately someone who gets to the edge and turns back before taking that ever important leap. I think I’ve just been in a rut lately; or perhaps I was just being a weak ass bitch.
Maybe I’m being too hard on myself though. So you didn’t do your little walk? Who gives a fuck. You’ve already walked thousands of miles on trails. You still made it to 4 different countries, met new family members and fellow travelers, and saw some incredible places. Switzerland’s natural beauty blew my fucking mind. I camped in the Lauterbrunnen Valley for nearly a week. I didn’t even hike that much, I just sauntered around looking at impressive waterfalls, huge mountains and shit. It was nothing short of refreshing. Holland was incredible as well. I camped North of Amsterdam, visited an old friend I hadn’t seen since Australia in 2016, and walked on the shore of the North Sea. The contrast of giant mountains in the Swiss Alps to the serenity of the beach is striking and really captures the variety of this trip in a nutshell. I’m definitely going to release some footage I shot in these countries on the old dusty YouTube channel some time soon, but for now, here’s a few photo’s:
Well, it’s 2024 now and, except for a few months in Europe last year, I’ve been living with my parents for nearly the last 2 years. Holy shit! How? What? Why? What the fuck? I want to add that it’s been really nice spending time with my parents and they love having me here (hopefully not just because I pay them rent). I’ve spent a lot of time away from home over the last 9 years and it’s nice to be home and make up for some lost time. I often mow the lawn, clean out the gutters, and try my best to NOT be a little shit. So yea, that’s me. I’m that guy. I’m 37 and I’m back living at home with my parents. I’m trying to be easy on myself, but I can’t help but sometimes feel like a loser for living with my parents at this age. I often justify it by saying things like, “well, I don’t have to shovel an outrageous amount of money in rent to some scummy landlord or put up with some of the bullshit that comes with living in an apartment.” That is definitely true, but just as with all things in life – there is a trade off. Sometimes, I think that these trips might have set me back from advancing to the “next level” in life, but when I really step back and dissect that thought; I think, what the fuck is the “next level” anyways? It disrespects everything that I’ve learned in my travels to think that way. Saving for a house or property kind of just feels like I’m just checking a box because it’s something that you’re “supposed to do” at my age. At least that’s how I feel as I’m writing this. I might feel completely different about “settling down” at some point in the future, and that’s ok. It’s ok to change your mind. It’s ok to set off on a 4 month road trip and turn back after 1 night. It’s ok to get to Spain with the intentions of walking a 500-mile trek along the Camino Francés and bail when you’re literally on the trail. It’s ok to live with your parents at age 37 (especially in 2024). It’s ok to keep living this cycle and blow all my money again when I go to Australia again to meet my newly born niece!
So what’s the plan with this Blog?
To be honest, I don’t really know. My plan is to write some words every once in a while and just put it on the site. I wouldn’t expect there to be any rhyme or reason to these posts. I might write about travel and hiking or I might talk about astronomy, drone flying, dogs, juggling, or another one of my interests. Depending on when you read this, my YouTube channel might be more up to date as I am planning on uploading some footage from previous travels there before the end of the year. Follow along if you feel obliged…thanks for checking it out!