I’ve been on a bit of a life adventure recently. When my lease expired at my humble abode back home, just south of Atlanta, in March, I loaded up my two Australian shepherds and hit the open road.
With nothing to my name but whatever I could fit into my Subaru Forester, I headed west, in search of my next chapter.
My first stop was Fredericksburg, Texas, where I hung out with flying friends, flew plenty of cool airplanes, and enjoyed all the honky-tonking I could withstand. After a thoroughly enjoyable, two-month long stay in the beautiful Texas Hill Country, I did what I had done only two months before—packed all of my belongings, gave the dogs some sedatives, and headed out for the second part of my trip.
But this time I was heading to the place my soul has called me to be for quite some time—Montana.
For anyone that has up and left their home, their routine, and their family and connections, you know moving across the country isn’t for the faint of heart. But the one constant that has been in my life throughout all the change has been aviation.
Whether it was a Top Cub on floats in Texas or an Aviat Husky over Glacier National Park in Montana, aviation has been my grounding force among all the changes. There is something so comforting about climbing in an old, rented Cessna 152, pushing the mixture forward, and knowing the airplane is going to hum to life. In a season of life where I am having to use my iPhone just to find my way to the local coffee shop, I am finding so much peace in the familiarity of the processes and procedures that come with flying.
Aside from the actual act of flying itself, aviation has also provided me with a leg up in the friend department.
Thanks to a shared love, language, and passion for taking flight, I have been fortunate to quickly create new friendships within this new environment I have found myself. Although I might not be able to relate to whitewater rafting close calls, snowy driving experiences, or moose encounters just yet, I can connect with many fellow Montanans on the shared experience of high density altitude flights, backcountry airstrip adventures, and the dreaded price of 100LL.
Without aviation, I’m sure I’d be resorting to late night bar scenes in an attempt to make friends. Simply put, that sounds like quite the opposite of where I think I’d meet like-minded individuals.
Whether I’m in Milan on a work trip, with family in Atlanta or Michigan, or on my own personal adventures in Texas and now Montana, aviation has been with me across the world. Thankfully, GA is not something physically tucked away in a bag, but rather a skill, story, and love that shadows every stage, experience, and moment of life.
It’s a true constant and grounding force of my ever-changing life.
