A decade ago, I was a college sophomore who had never flown before. At this time in two weeks, I will be crossing the Atlantic Ocean for the third time in four years. For a while, I never saw myself as “well-traveled,” preparing for my next trip made me step back and reflect on where I’ve been the past ten years:

• Spent 27 hours on the ground in Miami for the 2006 Orange Bowl. (This triple overtime thriller ended after 1 AM in Miami, but I was back in State College for my new RA job by 3 PM!)
• Participated in an alternative spring break course in 2006 for Post-Katrina relief (Somehow, my journal project is still online!)
• Took a five-week bus tour across Europe (Dublin-London-Paris-Lucerne-Munich-Austria-Venice-Florence-Rome-Pompeii-Corfu-Athens) in 2011
• Participated in a Gilder Lehrman Seminar on the Cold War at UC Santa Barbara, and subsequent road trip through Southern California. (Steve’s pictures)
• 72 hours on the ground in London over President’s Day Weekend 2013
• A NEH Landmarks of American History Seminar in the Mississippi Delta. (Photos from Delta Center)
• A weekend in Indianapolis for the Big 10 Championship, courtesy of my brother and his colleagues at ESPN. (Steve’s pictures again)

This summer’s adventure will be the most ambitious yet. On Tuesday, June 16^th, I begin traveling to St. Jean Pied-de-Port in southwest France to begin the Camino de Santiago Compestella. It is a 500 mile walking trek that begins in the Pyrenees and crosses the entire Iberian Peninsula.

The path follows old Roman roads to the spot where a group of Galician farmers allegedly found the bones of St. James. For centuries, christians traveled from across Europe to Santiago’s cathedral to visit the relics there. In the Middle Ages, Santiago was third most important holy place in christianity behind Rome and Jerusalem, before fading into obscurity after the Renaissance. While most modern pilgrims have a healthy skepticism over the legend of St. James remains, the Camino has seen a revival over the past thirty years. The pilgrim’s office in Santiago issued 237,000 compestellas (certificates of completion) last year alone.

I first became interested in the Camino after watching The Way, a film about the Camino featuring Martin Sheen and Emilio Estevez. Admittedly, it’s not their best acting performances, but the film does a great job introducing the Camino to those who are unfamiliar with it.

After sharing my travel plans with family, friends, and students, several people asked me to keep a blog so folks can follow along from home. So, I plan on posting updates on this site frequently for the rest of the summer. I don’t plan on writing every day, but I will try to check in when I can.

Right now, I’m expecting three more posts or so before departure, and posts every 2-3 days while overseas. So stop back throughout the summer to see how it’s going!