Where I've Been and Where I'm Going

It's been some time since I've posted!  The reason is slightly embarrassing.  I've been sulking.  A number of weeks ago I was about to get a job I was hugely excited over.  I was essentially told that I'd be employed in early January.  Then, my would-be employers changed their minds and hired somebody else.  I was... demoralized and deflated, to say the least. This, compounded by other matters, caused a little breaking point, I think. So, I went traveling. First to Iowa, to visit my sister and brother-in-law.  Then overseas, the day after Christmas, to Hastings, England to visit my aunt.  Now I'm in Florida, for family vacation.  I'm wandering.  I show no signs of stopping.  In fact, this May I'll be traveling to Amicalola Falls State Park in Georgia to begin a thru-hike of the Appalachian Trail.

The Appalachian Trail is 2,185 miles long and meanders through 14 eastern states — Georgia, North Carolina, Tennessee, West Virginia, Virginia, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Maryland, New York, Vermont, New Hampshire, Connecticut, Massachusetts, and Maine.  It ought to take me around five to seven months to complete... around half a year.  My friend Anna and I have been chattering about hiking the Appalachian Trail for a long time.  We were supposed to hike the trail last summer, but this plan fell through for a whole barge-full of reasons. However, the stars are aligning for us in 2015.  It's actually happening this year!

I am beyond excited for this expedition.  May cannot get here fast enough!  I've begun to plan like a maniac in the meantime, researching gear, combing the forum on WhiteBlaze.com, and reading scores of trail journals.  I've also been thinking about this blog, and what a potential six month absence will mean for it.  I decided that I simply couldn't let my baby fall by the wayside.  I'll be updating from the trail, whenever wifi presents itself or by using precious data minutes.

I will be taking my kindle with me OF COURSE, and will write book reviews, but I also thought I'd shift gears a little bit and post my trail journal as well.  It's sort of a weird jump.  This is a book blog after all.  At first I thought to start another, separate blog where I'd post about my Appalachian adventure.  Then, I considered the nature of this blog.  It is a book blog, but I also named it Quest Reviews, in salute to the vicarious adventures I've had my entire life through reading.  Now, I'm going on a real quest!  I'm so excited to share it with you guys!

I've done a good deal of reading whilst sulking, so expect a slew of reviews in the next few days!