Seeing my country in an all new light

These past few days in the states have been surprisingly eye opening to me as I've visited several new spots within the USA. I realized that its been over a year and a half since I was last abroad, and in some regards I am really ready to go. On the other hand, I've seen a lot of my own homeland, whether it was my two trips to the southwest, California, living in Alaska and now the East Coast. I've hiked new sections of the A.T. in New Hampshire, dined on Maine lobster, see the sights (and smells) of NYC, and enjoyed the pubs of Boston. Now I'm about to leave with a new appreciation of my own home. Granted I've been cussed out already in NYC, but I've found a far greater number of good souls upon this journey. I've enjoyed catching up with many old friends, and even unexpectedly running into one in a city of 11 million at the NYC train station today. It all makes me realize that when the time comes, I do have a lot to come back to. Not all who wander are lost, and I certainly wander to be found at times. But I don't wander aimlessly from home either, and I have far too much to run from in this homeland of mine.

I prepare to fly out in less than 48 hours. It will be a great journey. Although technically its only starting, I feel like I've seen a lot of unknown ground to me so far.