When I started my sabbatical in March 2017, and Karla and I started traveling for her nursing work, we did not know how long we would travel, where it would take us, or what we’d do along the way. My goal was to write most days, with the long-term goal of publishing a novel. On August 1, 2018, I accomplished that goal by publishing Thoughts of an Eaten Sun. Along the way, Karla and I have driven a lot of miles. Plus gotten married! We are still traveling but, as of November 2018, I am back to full-time work as a software enginner. Since the sabbatical has officially come to an end, I wanted to reflect and see what all that time included. Some numbers come to mind.

• Was a full-time author for 625 days
• Published 81,230 words in Thoughts of an Eaten Sun
• Married 1 wonderful woman
• Celebrated our marriage with 63 friends and family members
• Been in a relationship with Karla for 4 years
• Honeymooned to 2 cities in 1 country abroad
  • Bergen and Balestrand, Norway
• Drove over 11,000 miles between locations and on side trips
  • A majority of the miles were traveled with each of us in our own vehicle
• Traveled to and stayed in 5 new cities across 4 states
  • Bakersfield, CA
  • Coos Bay, OR
  • Alexandria, VA
  • Fort Bragg, CA
  • Atlanta, GA
• Visited 7 National Parks
  • Bryce Canyon, UT
  • Zion, UT
  • Joshua Tree, CA
  • Death Valley, CA
  • Sequoia, CA
  • Kings Canyon, CA
  • Yosemite, CA
• Drove through 7 new states that I had not been to before
  • Arizona
  • Oregon
  • Idaho
  • Oklahoma
  • Arkansas
  • Mississippi
  • Alabama

A Note of Gratitude: I calculated it out and my sabbatical lasted for 1 year, 8 months, 15 days. There is no doubt in my mind that without Karla, I would never have taken the sabbatical. I love her and I am more grateful to her for supporting my dream than I can convey.