My Vision

When I first started writing this blog, I didn't have much of an agenda. I had been thinking about blogging for a year or two and I've always had great travel experiences, but I wasn't sure that I really had anything to contribute to the blogging world. I certainly didn't consider myself a blogger, influencer, or travel expert. But I started writing anyway.. without putting any pressure on what shape the blog would take. I had never built a website from scratch and had never written a blog post in my life. I had been off social media for over 3 years and wasn't too engrossed with popular culture and really didn't follow any blogs with regularity myself. So my intention was certainly not to gain followers or start any kind of revolution. Truthfully, I've always been a pretty under the radar kind of guy who doesn't like the spotlight. But I was going through a weird time in my life and wasn't feeling too passionate about my career track so I decided I might as well start pursuing something that I actually enjoyed and could relive some of my best memories in the process.

About 8 months prior to starting the blog, I had embarked on a pretty epic 2 month South America trip. I had always wanted to go to South America and promised myself that I would do it before I was 30. My 30th birthday was just around the corner so in January 2023, a few days after New Years, I set out for Colombia. I spent a few weeks in 5 different parts of the country before heading to Santiago (Chile), into the Atacama Desert, and eventually down to Patagonia where I spent about 4 weeks exploring the incredible terrain in various national parks. I finished my trip in Buenos Aires, Argentina after seeing incredible mountains, glaciers, and lakes in both the Chilean and Argentine sides of Patagonia, then enjoyed the city life in Buenos Aires for a couple of days before flying home. I figured after that trip and the last few years visiting US national parks, different states in the American Southwest, lots of coastal and inland California, and a couple of Europe trips in my lifetime, that I had enough content to at least get started.

For me, travel has shaped my life in countless ways. My first solo trip gave me a lot of confidence and really started a burning desire within me to see the world. I had always somewhat stayed close to home until about 25 years old when I decided I wanted to relocate from New York to California. I lived in Denver for a short while before deciding with certainty that I was ready to make the coast to coast transition and landed in San Diego where I have been for the last 4 years. Ever since I had taken a west coast road trip about 5 years earlier, starting in southern California and working my way up to NorCal, through Oregon, and finishing in Washington, I was pretty hooked. Southern California seemed like an amazing lifestyle. And the Pacific Northwest blew me away. I actually almost moved to Seattle, but in deference to the weather, I chose San Diego and am pretty happy I did.

When I first moved to San Diego, I decided to ship my car to Denver, Colorado and give myself about 7 days to drive the rest of the way to California. I had a vague itinerary along the way; I knew I wanted to hit the Grand Canyon and wanted to stop in a desert town in southern Utah called Moab, but that was really it. As I made my way towards Moab, I started seeing signs for national parks. I really didn't know much about national parks at the time- I had been to one before (Mt. Rainier) with a tour group and probably didn't even realize at the time it was a national park. But after seeing sign after sign for Arches and Canyonlands, I obliged. And that's where the legend was born... I ended up visiting all 5 national parks in Utah on that road trip, then the Grand Canyon, and since then have been to nearly 20 national parks in the US.

So... what's the point of all of this and why is travel great? Ok. Let's get back on track. For most of my teens and even my early 20s I was pretty stuck. I was a "low frequency" person. I didn't have much enjoyment in life. Sure I had solid friends, a good job, and a great family, but there was nothing really setting my world on fire. I always had somewhat of the same cultural, nightlife, and travel experiences. I had done some international travelling but mainly with family or friends. I certainly wasn't exploring places the way I am today. Things were different then. I was different and my mindset was different. It wasn't until I started travelling solo that the world opened up for me. I saw things in a different way and quickly realized that there was no expectation or timeline. I could do whatever I wanted, see whatever I wanted, go as fast or slow as I like, eat as often as I like- it was liberating. As I started to see new parts of the world, learn about different cultures, and meet kindred spirits along the way, I became even more fascinated in what I was realizing would become a lifelong journey. I decided that as long as I lived, I wanted to be able to travel extensively whenever I could for as long as I could. I knew that I had to find a way to make it happen, to do as much as I could while I was still relatively young, and get most of my "bucket list" trips out of the way before I settled down and had a family.

So what is "Lost on Purpose"? Pretty ironic name for a blog considering the author says he really doesn't have a purpose for writing it. Fair. Here's what I could say though... Lost on Purpose is for people craving authentic travel experiences that transcend just seeing some beautiful scenery, cool monuments, or trying new foods. This blog is written as an homage for those people who are looking to be reinvigorated or even dare I say- reborn. For those who may have or still do feel "stuck". For those who have bigger dreams in life, but are not exactly sure yet what they are or how to attain them. For those who have gone through tough times and want to improve their lives. For those who have a desire to see just a small corner of the world- no matter how obscure or mainstream. Or to go on a beautiful hike and experience the restorative effects of nature. Maybe they want to see ancient artifacts that are halfway across the world. It doesn't matter what your reason is. You might not even be clear on what the reason is.

This blog is not going to fix anyone's life problems. I am certainly not a life coach, psychologist, or cult leader. But if I can inspire one person to take the trip that they've always dreamed of- then writing this blog was absolutely worth it. Because that one trip to that one person might have a larger meaning in their life. It might even start them on a new path or give their life new perspective. I know it did for me.