For Laura Austin, traveling alone isn’t something to be feared, but an experience to embrace. Over the course of her career as a graphic designer, photographer, and author, Laura has undertaken her fair share of solo travel. Now she’s setting out on a special Endless Caravan trip in the new Nest by Airstream™.
“I think this trip is going to be an eye-opening experience for me,” said Laura as she prepared for her two-month journey. “When you’re traveling on the road alone, you’re going to have some sort of revelations – you’re going to learn something from it.”
Traveling worldwide as a commercial photographer, Laura has experienced firsthand the joy, freedom, and introspection that comes from traveling unhindered by a group.
“You really get acquainted with yourself,” she said. There’s a spontaneity, she said, that is inherent to making your own schedule and determining your own path. “When you’re traveling alone you’re more apt to meet strangers. People come up to you – they’re curious about what you’re doing traveling alone.”
Hitting the road alone also gives Laura time to shed the distractions that can clutter up life.
“Road tripping is kind of my thing, and solo travel is my form of therapy,” she said with a laugh. “Loneliness can be manufactured. I’m very intentional when I’m traveling alone.”
Laura’s hope is to inspire others to undertake their own adventure. She’s collected her insights and the wisdom she’s learned on the road into a book called Solo: A Guidebook for Traveling Alone. The book will soon be on shelves at Urban Outfitters stores across the country, but you can purchase it now at Laura’s website.
“It’s about what solo travel can provide you,” she said of the book, which reads like a hybrid cross between a photography portfolio and a travel diary. “It’s really about getting acquainted with yourself, overcoming adversity, and becoming an open-minded person.”
Laura is excited to be one of the first to set out in Nest™ and experience firsthand its functionality, high-end design, and premium features.
“Nest is incredibly cool,” she said after spending her first day getting to know her home away from home for the next two months.
She has a loose plan to circumnavigate the country in a wide loop, but as always she’s keeping options open. Along the way, Laura will meet up with friends and fans as she seeks to examine the ties that bind us as human beings.
“People often stay in their own bubbles,” she said. “My idea was to do an interview series with people who exist in those stereotypical roles. I want to humanize people, and create a cross-section of America.”
Her goal, she said, is to demonstrate that no matter your politics, culture, race, or background, we all want similar things.
“We want to provide for our families and feel safe – we’re just going about it in different ways,” she said. “Trips like this prove the kindness of humans.”
You can follow along Laura Austin’s Endless Caravan here on our Airstream blog as well as on Facebook. On Instagram @laura_austin,@airstream_inc, and @airstream.nest.
