I was raised in the shadow of the Las Vegas Strip, where I stepped off a long yellow bus across from Caesars Palace and continued home on foot. At the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, I biked around campus, wrote for the college newspaper, studied abroad in Munich (and stayed for ten years), and earned a degree in German.

My thirst for adventure ignited at age 10 when I pedaled my ten-speed down The Strip hoping to discover where the long boulevard ended. Since then, I’ve cycled the Alps, picked pineapples in Hawaii, hawked beer at NASCAR, hung placards in subway cars, walked barefoot across hot coals, and even hitched a ride on a freight train through the Mojave Desert.

When the relentless grind of long hours slowly squeezed the joy out of my job in media and community relations at a tech company, I searched for a way out. I’m not anti-work. I’ve always craved challenges that put my skills to the test. But after fourteen years, the idea of quitting my job pressed more heavily on me and I started asking the tough questions: Am I genuinely happy here? Is quitting the only path to salvation? Is there more to life than just work?

One day, I came up with a bold idea—a yearlong travel sabbatical. That leap – leaving the office behind for the open road – became the story I’m telling here. Are you considering a life reset too? Maybe a new adventure is just the ticket.