While I won’t say I’ve found my calling in life, I’ll say I recognize what makes me happy. It’s true that many friends of mine can list off the favorites that seem to define me,  such as purple, puppies, polar bears, plaid, New Zealand, Alaska, and Michigan State. However, the kind of life that I enjoy doesn’t necessarily revolve around those.

Here’s one moment in Hawaii that just gives me a kick. I’d returned one rental car in Kona and then taken the bus to the Hilo side to pick up another. Since it was just me traveling, I went for the cheapest option. Once the Enterprise woman had finished up with paperwork at the counter, she led me to the parking lot as she said, “So you have a Ford Mustang convertible.”

“Oh, wow!” was my immediate response as a goofy smile spread across my face. (Since when are convertibles the cheapest rentals?) I wasn’t going to complain, and I’m guessing that they had just run out of economy cars and given me a free upgrade.

“Is that a good wow or a bad wow?” the woman wondered aloud.

“It’s good. I hadn’t been expecting a convertible.”

“Do you think you’ll want to put the top down?” the woman asked, explaining she’d show me how.

“Well, I live in Alaska, and you’ve just given me a convertible in Hawaii. I think I kind of need to take advantage of this,” I replied.

During my time with the car I got some second glances and gave a few people some laughs to see a single redhead driving down the road in a convertible. I also cracked myself up as I slept in the passenger seat in random parking areas in Hawaii Volcanoes National Park a couple times. Something tells me I’m not the typical convertible driver.

That was just one snippet of happiness during my recent trip to Hawaii. Although I hadn’t initially planned on renting cars, being 25+ years old is possibly the best thing that’s ever happened to me. With a rental car, I can easily park somewhere and sleep, thereby having “free” lodging and the freedom of my own schedule.

I’m back in Seattle now, and I insisted on continuing to wear shorts and sandals out of the airport, on the lightrail train, and until I was inside a house. Isn’t living in denial of the wet, cool, windy weather a beautiful thing? Why did I leave Hawaii again?

This evening I needed to buy some food for my train ride south to Thanksgiving in Napa Valley. After grabbing a quick bite to eat, I got distracted by Elliott Bay Books. While scanning the shelves in various sections, I found myself writing down 10+ titles to check out at some point. Honestly, I would have liked nothing better than to have filled a shelf with books, stuck that shelf in a car or tiny house, and headed back for the excitement of travel. A travel buddy would be nice, as well.

I’ve found that as soon as I return from the field or come back to “reality” from vacation, even if I had been alone at times then, I only feel alone when I’m surrounded by unfamiliar people caught up in the bustle of day-to-day life. As I’ve said before, I just don’t fit.

If anyone wants to help build me a library on wheels and support my travel, feel free. I’ll happily live off of ice cream and finding the occasional puppy to pet. Without further ado, here’s a variation on my equation for happiness.

Books + wheels + good people + open road and country to explore = happiness