The closest I ever did to this was one nice summer morning when I just decided I didn’t feel like working. I told my supervisor I was taking the rest of the day off and left. I walked down to the lake and then to the planetarium where I caught the afternoon sky show. Afterwards I lay in the grass by the lake and people-watched until I felt like going home.
The summer after I graduated college I put my stuff into storage, loaded my little red truck and took off Pacific Coast Highway all the way to Seattle. It was good to learn I was strong on my own, but also how to make friends of complete strangers, and that the world wouldn’t disintegrate if I did my own thing, whether Mom would approve or not.
Got too much junk to leave like that now. Whenever I notice I have an urge to drive past the turn off to work I know I need to get away. I take out a map, figure how much driving I can do in the time I have and take off for a few days. It’s good to go out into the world and just as nice to come home.
Yup, I do it all the time. Longest has only been three weeks at a stretch, but it’s actually very typical for me to take “off time” and just jump in the car or saddle up the bike and simply hit the road with no plan, no intent, no direction and not knowing when I’ll actually return.
I’m discovering as I get older and my job gets more stressful, however, that the longer and longer I stay away, the less and less I want to come back. I sense a big change coming soon.
I don’t do it often enough but in March I’m running off to sunny CA for a week with a friend. There’s been alot of stress in the past year and it’s time we had that girls week of fun and relaxation which usually means I get into a pile of shit some how 
When I was a teenager, yeah.
My then b/f and I got in my truck and headed for California. The truck threw a rod in Beaumont, TX. We hitchhiked the rest of the way. I stayed with him about a week at his sisters, then he threw me out (jerk !!). So I took the bus to Valencia and lived with my sis for a while. I ended up living in Newhall for two years.
It surely gave me an appreciation for what I’d left back home. I’ve done some traveling & moving around since then, but I no longer want to run off. 
I like it here.
I did during a spring break. Hopped in the car, told the 'rents I would call the following day, and just drove. Went through the backroads of Wisconsin, cities so small they are simply “incorporated”, consisting of a car repair place, a church, and a few bars (all named with initials-- JJ’s Bar, RK’s Auto Repair). Ended up in Northern Minnesota, saw Split Rock Lighthouse. Drove back down to the cities following the Mississippi River Road all the way. VERY releaxing.
The ex also did a bolt job after high school. He got into trouble (high speed chase, police, potato field, etc), decided to run. Spent a year in Florida, bumming around. Staying with people he met on the beach, playing guitar for money. He loved it. Sadly, I know he feels the itch coming on again. I don’t think he would come back if he left.
about two weeks ago, I quit my job, shipped home all of my clothes and hopped on a train. 14 hrs later I was home and happy. It was kind of a whim but was solidified when my mommy said “Please come home.” cant say no to that
As a college senior, my then-gf and I took off in the middle of the night, two days before finals. We intended it to be permanent. During three lovely weeks, we drove from Athens, GA to Portland, OR and back as far as Boulder, CO. We stayed in Boulder for about six months, where we got jobs and an apartment.
Then we came back to Georgia to finish school. Boulder was a great time in my life and certainly changed me for the better, although I wish I hadn’t put my friends and parents through all that anxiety. That was almost ten years ago now, though, and I’ve pretty much been forgiven.
After college (in Atlanta), I ran off to Houston, where my best friend (at the time) and sister were.
Houston sucked, so after about 10 months I ran back to Atlanta.
A couple of years later, I got my little heart broken by a Georgia boy 
and ran back home to Topeka, Kansas, to hang out with my grandmother for awhile. I knew I couldn’t stick around Topeka TOO long (who wants to live in Topeka?), so while I was shacked up with her, I applied to grad school and went to San Francisco (I don’t count that as running, since I actually had a plan in place, money lined up, and something to do once I got there) about a year later.
After grad school, I was invited by another friend to live in her big new house in Philadelphia with her and her new (Trust Fund Baby) husband. So I ran cross-country again.
About 9 months later, my brother died, and since the only gig I had going in Philly was substitute teaching (hey, I was living for free–who needed money?), I ran back to Topeka because I wanted to be closer to my family (well, actually, because my sister set me up like a chump, but I’m not bitter . . . ).
And here I am today.
Living in Topeka.
I can attest to the fact that it’s a glorious feeling, the moment you decide to go with the whim and (pardon the Nike marketing phrase) just do it, the second you know you’re going to leave. However, part of that glorious feeling, for me, stemmed from the fact that I could just go without reneging on any big obligations.
Now I have a house, two dogs (and a rat), a “real” job, and a fella.
I think my runnin’ days is over.
I ran away from home once. I got fed up with everything and packed my shit and went to Vegas for a week. Once I was there I applied for a work permit and danced in a club. I was by myself the entire week and it was heavenly. I explored the strip and also made some serious money.
I couldn’t do such a thing now, but I’m sooo glad I did it then.
Were you a stripper??