Software engineer quits job, lives out of car, explores the lower 48

 photo by Andrew Fu

Imagine that you are single, have a comfortable corporate job as a software engineer, have been accepted in an MBA program, and are poised to climb the corporate ladder. Now imagine that your next move is to quit your job and explore alone cross-country for six months while living out of your car. Unbelievable?

Not for Andrew Fu.

Andrew Fu contacted me a couple of weeks ago. He was in Baltimore, halfway through a six-month tour of the lower 48.

What did he think of Baltimore? "There's a lot of high-security areas in the city. A lot of blue-light cameras. There is a large health-care industry. Baltimore is big enough and diverse. There are a lot of Mom-and-Pop shops - not like in California where chains dominate."
Did he have a memorable meal here?
"Crabs! Great crabs. I don't remember the restaurant, but we ate crabs on tables with brown paper."
 

 graffiti by Adam Stab (photo by Andrew Fu)

Anything else?
"I met some fascinating graffiti artists and learned some of their technique."
What else has happened to him along the way?
"I have stayed in a homeless shelter, driven tractors in Kansas, learned to fish for crab in Key West, played with street musicians in New Orleans."

 What is the point of all this, and why should you care?

First of all, doesn't this sound familiar? Does anyone remember "On The Road with Charles Kuralt"? Fu's blog is similarly named "The Open Road". Combine that with elements of the movie "Easy Rider" and Andrew Fu's story seems a little more plausible. In his blog, Fu waxes philosophic about the experiences he has had and the people he has encountered. In the Baltimore segment he explains graffiti as a component of hip hop culture, something he wants to delve into more when he hits the South Bronx of New York.

Through his blog, Fu demonstrates a combination of youth, curiosity, openness, and gumption. He also displays a touch of naivete. Several times he has the best experience/meeting/conversation of his life. He eagerly draws conclusions and peppers his commentary with big words like sagacious, plethora, reciprocation, venerate, and mellifluous.

  New Orlean street musicians (photo by Andrew Fu)

The bottom line is that Andrew Fu has determined that traveling to new places and having new experiences is its own reward. And that an adventure such as his is too spectacular to keep secret.

You may not sleep in your car in the South Bronx just for the experience, but at the risk of sounding mellifluous let me suggest something that Andrew and you and I can agree on:

Travel is good.

For more info: Follow Andrew Fu's progress at whereisthefu.com 

News coverage of Andrew's adventure at WBOC Delmarva, InsideNOVA (Northern Virginia), HuntingtonNews.net (West Virginia), Andrew's press release

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