What it's like being an LGBTQ couple traveling across the U.S. in a trailer
While I learned that I couldn't judge people based solely on their license plates, anti-LGBTQ hate stopped me from feeling comfortable with kissing my wife in public.
My wife and I are fortunate enough to travel around the country in our 21-foot teardrop trailer. Midway through 2021, we decided to retire early (I was 62, and she was 59) and fulfill our dream of living a nomadic and unencumbered life.
We sold our home in Olympia, Washington, in the fall of 2021 and hit the road. While there are many benefits to living like nomads and traveling back and forth across the U.S., we were leery when we began our first cross-country trip.
I’ve realized the foolishness of judging people based on their license plates. We’ve been surprised to find welcoming people in central Texas and opinionated bigots on the Oregon coast.
As a same-sex couple, the seismic political and cultural divide that has been rapidly spreading since the 2016 presidential election made us fearful about traveling through ultra-conservative Southern states. The uneasiness increased as I heard talks about the possibility of the legality of same-sex marriage being in danger and read accounts of states mandating against even mentioning the word “gay” in schools. I wondered how this anti-gay sentiment would affect us as we explored, but our cross-country travels opened my eyes to my own biases.
I’ve realized the foolishness of judging people based on their license plates. We’ve been surprised to find welcoming people in central Texas and opinionated bigots on the Oregon coast. Perhaps we all need to get out of our silos to remember that hate can be found anywhere — and so can respect and love.
Rating: 5