“Creation is a better means of self-expression than possession; it is through creating, not possessing, that life is revealed.” - Vida Dutton Scudder

As you may have noticed, over the past few months, I’ve been taking 1-2 week-long trips; basing myself out of Los Angeles and exploring the South Western US. Aside from the fun and adventure that these road trips brought about, there was an underlying purpose for my experimentation with various transportation and living arrangements.

From luxury cars and hotels through to renting motor homes of all sizes, I’ve been determining the most suitable way to see the rest of the country in 2010. After getting over the initial fear of driving a 21…25…and finally a 31 foot RV, it was clear that a moderately sized motor home could take me most places and provide me with a home on the road. For all of the places that it can’t take me, I’ve attached a small motorcycle to the back of a Winnebago Outlook. (Until I am debunked, I’m claiming to be the youngest Winnebago owner in the world)

And so, three weeks ago I finished selling and donating most of my non-essential physical possessions and left Los Angeles to spend some time exploring the Central Coast of California in my new Winnebago. I’ve since spent sunny days and windy nights in the deserts of Nevada – and just left Las Vegas after a few nights on the strip.

It is both an odd and invigorating feeling to know that I don’t have a “home” to return to. Everything that I own is with me right now as I set out to see and experience more of the United States from the ground level. Below is a tentative road map of where I’ll be heading; although routes and plans will most definitely change based on interesting discoveries along the way.

Have any unusual landmarks, glorious landscapes or fantastic food recommendations along my route? I’m always appreciative of local suggestions!

If you’ve known me over the past year, you’ve probably heard me rave about my discovery of the region just north of Santa Barbara, CA, known broadly as the Central Coast of California. Specifically, this region is the San Ynez Valley, which is a quick, two hour drive up the Pacific Coast Highway from Los Angeles.

Aside from the green, rolling hills and lush farmland, I often find myself daydreaming of the local food that initially brought me up to the small town of Los Alamos 12 months ago.

While reading the back of a frozen flatbread pizza box that I bought at Whole Foods, I was in complete disbelief that the pizza that I just ate was made by hand and was mostly composed of locally grown ingredients. It was a fantastic pizza, a simple cheese and fresh herb flatbread, but my mind imagined machines and production lines. The box mentioned the use of a single wood oven – and that got me curious.

After reaching out to Full of Life Flatbread via their website, I was contacted by Clark Staub. An extremely friendly and open guy, the owner of Full of Life Flatbread invited me to visit on the weekend, when their production facility was converted into a restaurant. I took Clark up on his offer and was amazed to find that not only were his pizzas made by hand in a wood fired oven, but more importantly, the ingredients truly were the product of local farmers. I actually saw the fava beans that were in my dinner salad being dropped off in the afternoon. That was the surprising thing; Full of Life Flatbread pizzas are amazing – even better fresh out of the oven, but Clark and Chef Brian Collins prepare some of the best dishes I’ve ever eaten.

After dozens of meals at Full of Life Flatbread over the past year, I’m still amazed by what’s on my plate each and every time. This weekend, I had the opportunity to shoot (and sample) most of the menu, including house-made ricotta gnocchi with artichokes and garlic butter.

If you’d like to know more about this gem , you can read about Full of Life Flatbread in depth on my food review site. If you’d like to learn more about the Central Coast of California, stay tuned, I’ve got more on this area (including photos) coming soon!

In late 2009, I traveled to Thailand for the first time. At first, I was dreading the 19 hour flight from Los Angeles to Bangkok, but Thai Air made the trip as pleasant as possible. I spent a week in and around Bangkok, then headed down to the island of Phuket, where a tsunami hit in 2004. The area had recovered, but water marks on the walls of inland restaurants served as reminders of the devastation that nature can cause on our civilizations. While walking home from dinner one night, I came across a group of local musicians performing their version of the popular song by Beyoncé, “Single Ladies”, which I found amusing:

I posted a few other videos of a tuk tuk ride through Bangkok, trying out new foods from street vendors and children playing with blown up condoms.

As I explored, as always, my camera was in hand. (surprise, surprise) Here are a few shots from my explorations of Bangkok markets and temples (click to expand):

I’ve been on the road for almost a week now, driving along Route 8 from San Diego through to Tucson, Arizona. With no solid plans, I’ve managed to find out about upcoming highlights and worthwhile detours from my Twitter followers and Facebook fans – as well as a few people I’ve met along the way.

One of the first unplanned stops that I came across was the Desert View Tower in Jacumba, California. It is a stone tower in the middle of nowhere that was built in the 1920’s by a local land owner (Bert Vaughan) to commemorate a route which was once a difficult pass, but was becoming more trafficked as railroads and improved roadways were being constructed nearby. A stone sculptor added some carvings around the tower in the 1930’s, which I came across while hiking across the field of boulders leading up to the tower.

I met the current owner, Ben Shultz, who has lived there for the past 10 years. He has so many pets running around, I suggested that he start a zoo to bring more people in to see the tower.  Being quite a prankster, he sent me on what turned out to be a wild goose chase for the famed “desert springs” up on top of the tallest peak in the area. Here are a few snapshots from that hike up to the springs (click to view full size). The Desert View Tower can be seen in the background of the final shot (behind the springs):