Wandering Bus Dude: Meet the Pa. man traveling the country in a converted school bus
CHADDS FORD, Pa. - "Chase what makes you feel alive" – These are the words a Chester County, Pennsylvania man has been living by each day, as he travels the country inside a converted school bus.
Michael Burlotos has been on the road for almost a year. The Chadds Ford native recently purchased and converted an old school bus that he now calls home. For now, he's in West Palm Beach, Florida.
"If you told me at the beginning of last year that I was living in a school bus, I would have thought that I lost everything," Michael explained to FOX 29's Bill Rohrer.
Michael journals his travels and experiences to his thousands of followers on Instagram, but don’t let the beautiful photos fool you - it’s a lot of work.
"Growth doesn’t come from comfort zones. You have to be comfortable with the uncomfortable. That was the mentality that I had going through all of this. This is going to stretch me. This is going to create memories. This is what it is all about," Michael explained.
At the start of the pandemic, Michael felt trapped inside his Atlanta apartment and he says he started to struggle mentally. Then, after the death of his grandfather, Michael decided it was a time for a change.
"That really just opened up my perspective of just life and how fragile it is," Michael said. "With that it really pushed me to think differently and live a life that I was proud of that I can wake up think what is something that my future self could thank me for."
So he packed up his Jeep and left his apartment behind. Originally, Michael lived in a 1986 travel trailer before he bought and restored the bus.
"That really changed my mindset that maybe collecting my life up with experiences instead of things was the way I wanted to go towards," he said.
He travels with his 4-year-old Siberian Husky, Bailey, right by his side for every mile.
"She is an absolute saint, she is the best adventure buddy. She hikes with me, travels with me, she sits in the car right next to me," Michael added.
He takes life on the road one day at a time, working remotely, enjoying life, and meeting new people.
"The places that you see come and go. You are never going to forget about how someone made you feel, you are never going to forget a face and a physical encounter with someone," Michael explained.
Michael says he has plans on eventually driving out west, but he doesn’t have a set plan.
"The beautiful part about life is you never know what is going to happen, you never know the direction, you never know what tomorrow holds. That’s the beauty of it," he said.
You can follow Michael and Bailey on their adventures on Instagram at @wanderingbusdude.
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