[MUSIC PLAYING] “Check out my birthday hang. Everybody came out. You guys ready to rage? Good sheep.” [MUSIC PLAYING] [GUITAR MUSIC] “So Orcas Island is one of a group of islands called the San Juan Islands off the coast of Washington State. Evergreen forests, hiking trails everywhere. I mean, it’s just — everything about is kind of return-to-the-basics. A lot of whales and dolphins and such hang out around those islands. To see them in the wild, it was a dream come true. Wow.” [MUSIC PLAYING] “People have asked me a lot on this trip so far about loneliness and how I deal with traveling alone all the time and spending so much time alone. Being alone doesn’t necessarily mean loneliness. Although, there are times when it does. And there were a few moments on Orcas where I did feel that loneliness set in. You know, being there during Labor Day weekend meant that it was all families, couples, groups of friends, and then me. When I was on a hike in Moran State Park, which is this beautiful state park that covers a lot of the island, I was feeling kind of down. And then I hit Twin Lakes. I was so taken aback by the beauty at first that it took me a while to realize I was alone. And it was O.K. that I was alone. Let’s do this. And the moment I hit that water, all that loneliness just turned straight into elation.” [MUSIC PLAYING] “Wow. Just to be in that moment, have it all to myself — There’s nobody here! — it’s one of the happiest I’ve felt on this trip. There’s nobody. It’s just me.” [MUSIC PLAYING] “The next day was my birthday. Happy birthday to me. To be honest, I was kind of dreading this one just because I knew I’d be by myself on my 31st birthday. But I didn’t spend my birthday alone. I’d slipped it into a conversation with Zach, who’s part of the family that runs the farm that I was staying at. And he’s like, oh, we got to do something. And do something they did.” “We are taking care of this duck for his birthday. It’s going to be his birthday dinner.” “This farm has a no-kill policy generally. They’re all about taking care of the animals. They have eggs and fruits. But they are also dealing with an overpopulation problem with their ducks. So to commemorate the occasion, they killed a duck. And then we cooked a feast. It doesn’t get any more farm-to-table than that. But more than the food, it was just having that experience. I didn’t spend my 31st birthday alone. I spent it with this amazing family on this beautiful farm.” “Happy birthday, Sebastian.” “Happy birthday.” “Happy birthday.” “We’re celebrating my 31st.” “31 today.” “It’s another of the many experiences that have proven to me that, one, loneliness is surprisingly rare when you’re traveling alone, and, two, people are just the best. Loneliness happens. But it can turn. It can turn quickly. That’s what Orcas proved to me, at least. Now let’s see what 31 brings.” [MUSIC PLAYING]