So many ways.
For starters, 18 months ago my dad unexpectedly passed away from complications from surgery. My parents had been married 53 years at the time and my mom took it very hard. She's a very introverted person as it is. I was living in another state and renting month to month from a friend of mine. I was able to move home in order to spend time with her. There are not many jobs or even other self employment that would have allowed me to do that.
Over the past 3 years I have shopped in ~35 states. Some of the more interesting things I've done or places I've visited on those routes that I would not have been able to do otherwise:
A weekend in Vegas with no work
Petrified Forest NP
White Sands NM
Drive down CA 1 through Big Sur
Several trips to New Orleans with more sightseeing than work
Multiple visits to friends in the DFW area
A weekend in Burlington, VT with no work
Arcadia NP
Valley Forge NP
A day of sightseeing in Philadelphia
Falling Water and Kentuck Knob
2 weekends in Boston with no work
Several visits to NYC
More visits to South Florida than I can count
Auburn Deusenburg Cord museum (I'm a car nerd)
2 trips driving around the mountains of West Virginia and Eastern Kentucky
I'm sure there are tons of others that I just can't remember off the top of my head.
On top of that I accumulated hotel points that I spent on a 5 day trip to London a few weeks ago.
I've had quite a few good meals I probably wouldn't have had otherwise, and stayed in nicer hotels that I might have otherwise as well.
I get to have large periods of time off. The last 2 years I have not worked between Thanksgiving and Christmas. I took a month off this summer.
There are reasons that a body stays in motion
At the moment only demons come to mind
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 07/30/2017 09:59PM by bgriffin.