Chadds Ford resident Michael Burlotos felt he had hit the jackpot: The West Chester University grad had landed a new tech job in Atlanta, working for a Wall Street firm. He was happy enough, with his Siberian Husky, Bailey, but began to yearn for more, writes Fran Maye for the Daily Local News.

Then, the pandemic hit. Burlotos lost his grandfather to COVID-19, and the fleeting nature of his life started stirring his soul. He loaded his car with just some personal belongings (and Bailey) and headed west, with no specific destination in mind.

Burlotos spent months on the road, meandering toward the Pacific. He and Bailey led a simple life filled with daily new experiences and meeting new people. He cooked outside, bathed in lakes, and worked his fintech job in coffee shops and parking lots. Then, he rented a minivan and headed to Alaska, where he spent several weeks.

His itch to travel temporarily scratched, Burlotos returned to Chadds Ford, but only long enough to move out of his apartment, sell the majority of his belongings, and move to Washington state. In a 1986 travel trailer, he and Bailey moseyed back eastward, hitting 25 states and logging 12,000 miles.

He is currently back in Chadds Ford, readying another adventure. The trailer has been replaced by a school bus that he converted to a home on wheels. Electricity and Wi-Fi are powered by rooftop solar panels; it contains a kitchen, queen bed, and a couch. There are water tanks on the undercarriage of the bus for eco-friendly plumbing. The transport provides the means to live and work comfortably and take his nomadic life to the next level.

“My journey has taught me so much,” he said. “It inspired me to change the shape in which I was living.”

Read more about Michael Burlotos in the Daily Local News.