Getting Ready To Live On The Road Again, For the 4th Year...

It's the time of year where I start thinking about goals and what I want to do when I grow up.  I just had a birthday and now I'm diving into my (cough) um, later years and I think  time, all of a sudden started going by faster.  Like, really fast.

This past year I decided to stay in one place and go to school.  My year is up soon so now it's time to get out and see the country again.  I toured around the first year in a teardrop trailer, the next two years in a tent and now I am going to roam around in a van.  I am pretty excited about it.  It's really the little things like waking up and making coffee without anyone seeing me. What a luxury! Usually it's me slowly getting off of the ground in the tent to an upright position and walking in slow motion to a bench to put water in a pot to boil for coffee.  I can barely see out of my eyes and during this time you will usually see an early morning camper already cooking breakfast after their morning run waving to me across the way yelling, "good morning."  Thank god I will escape that torture in the future by not being seen.  Ok, I am really not that groggy in the morning but sometimes this is how I feel in the morning when I try to sleep cozy in a tent in 28 degree weather.

The other luxury is saving money by sneak parking to sleep somewhere and not having to pay the hefty fees some campsites are charging these days. Needless to say, I am looking forward to the adventure.

As with years past, I plan to document my travels here and write about the people and places I come across, including any tips that I might have to share.  I hope to capture even more people in photographs than I have in the past.  I don't know how long I will be living in the van, but it will be a while since I can go pretty much anywhere with it in about any weather.

If you are new to the blog, below are some links to topics that might be of interest to you about my travels.  I can't wait to get going and I will be sure to let you know when I do!  As always, any suggestions of places or people to meet are appreciated.

I wasn't sure what to name the van.  My teardrop was named "trailie" and for some reason, "Campy" came to mind so it's going to be me, max and Campy!

xo Alison and Max

Click on topic to learn more about:

My story on quitting my job to live on the road that was published on Salon.com
How you can do it too!
What I did in 2009
What I did in 2010
What I did in 2011
Tips on Traveling with your Dog

At The Beach With Ariana

My friend Ariana has the best hair and the most brilliant blue eyes. I always knew I wanted to photograph her.  We finally were able to take a day trip to the beach for a photo shoot.  She was a great sport this day to roll around in the sand and plants for me.  Thank you Ariana!

Long Beach Transit Photographs

I am thrilled to be a part of the reopening of the Long Beach transit Mall in downtown Long Beach.  In the next few weeks, work will be completed on the project including eight canopy shelters, serving an average of 20,000 commuters daily.

Eight selected photographs that I took of Long Beach will be on display in and around the new mall to coordinate with the "nautical" theme expansion.  I spent about four months walking on the beach each night and a few mornings with my point and click camera capturing everything I came across on the beach. Images from these moments will be blown up and installed around the mall so people can experience the beach without actually being at the beach.  I look forward to the completion and encourage you to use public transportation.  You never know what you might come across.

The photos from this blog are some I took during those months, but you will have to see the chosen ones once they are installed in a few weeks.

The press Telegram writes, "After months of work, improvements to the Long Beach Transit Mall downtown are nearing completion.
Eight canopy shelters and public art should be completely installed in the coming weeks and transit operations will move back from Ocean Boulevard to First Street on Sunday, said spokeswoman Marcelle Epley on Monday.
Last August, Long Beach Transit announced that it would begin a $7 million modernization of the regional transit hub on First Street between Long Beach Boulevard and Pacific Avenue.
The Transit Mall, which serves an average of 20,000 commuters daily, has grown since opening in 1982 and now accommodates passengers taking Long Beach Transit buses, Metro Blue Line trains and buses and Torrance Transit.
Funded with federal stimulus money, the project will feature improved night lighting, upgraded landscaping and newly designed bus shelters with public art.
Done in partnership with the Arts Council of Long Beach, the public art will feature photographs by Long Beach photographer Alison Turner and nautical-theme poems by Long Beach poets, as well as poets from Long Beach literary magazine, Pearl."

For the full article, click HERE