Nothing spells serenity like viewing the open road from her huge motorhome windshield for Texas native Malia Lane, a self-employed virtual assistant and freelance writer who traded in her legal assistant career and brick and mortar lifestyle to travel the country.

For years, Lane of Austin told herself she didn’t have “enough money, courage or time” to follow her dreams. Then everything changed in 2001 after bought an RV and became a full-time RVer.

Sixteen national parks and 21 states later, Malia Lane is still hitting the road. Lane 66, a single mother of two grown children, she talked to MRV: The Buzz recently from her campground in Sedona, Ariz., ironically where her journey first began.

She has no regrets other than wishing “I had started my journey sooner” since giving up her house, brick and mortar job, and lamenting over when she could retire and live out her dream.

Lane’s journey began in 2001 in Sedona where she attended a spiritual retreat.

“My big dream then and still is, is to travel. My story of how I came to that "crazy" decision is called “Inspiration's Journey” I tell in my journal," she said. Lane talked freely of being “paralyzed with fear” then and sometimes now, and how none of that should stop anyone from pursuing their passions. 

“For years I told myself I didn't have enough of some things and too much of others. I didn't have enough money, courage or time to pursue my dreams — and I had too many responsibilities and too much fear.”What helped her get started, Lane continued, was reading a study featuring people at the end of their lives.

“They said that in review, their regrets were for what they hadn’t done, not for what they did,” Lane related.

Lane’s decision to pursue her travel plans came after the Sedona retreat. She had no money for her dreams and when the person running it asked her what she was afraid of, she said, “Everything.”

A friend introduced her to RVing and soon after Lane bought her RV. She had been working as a legal assistant at the time. Lane left her job and hit the road, she continued.

Initially, her plan was to support herself by staying in places she wanted to explore and taking “temp” jobs as a legal assistant. It worked fairly well for a number of years, though involved commuting from campgrounds that were sometimes “remote” then being anchored to desk eight hours a day — not her idea of fun, she said. 

In 2007, Lane’s daughter told her about the “virtual assistant” workplace, a career move that’s proven to be successful, providing she has internet access. Clients find her through her website so nowadays it’s her main source of income, though she continues to write on a freelance basis.

“I always wanted to travel but I also had a lot of fears. Today, I realize it’s okay to have fears. That shouldn’t stop anyone from doing what they want. I’ve seen so many people who talk about planning for years for their retirement and don’t do what they planned because one of them got sick or died. As I age I have less stamina to hike and do some of the things I love. I was a lot younger when I started. I’m glad I didn’t wait. My only regret is I didn’t start sooner,” Lane said. 

Despite being on her own — and a woman especially - Lane says she’s not lonely, rather interacts on a regular basis through her website where she recounts her trips and with the people she meets at state parks she visits.

That’s not to say there haven’t been scary times for Lane while driving her 35-foot motor home and towing a Honda Fit.  “I’m scared,’ she said in the interview and tells other women. "I have a lot of fears when I think about what I’m doing. But fear is not necessarily bad. It shouldn’t stop anyone from doing something.”

Lane said she likes hearing from women who comment on her online journal, about her courage for RVing, a woman and alone.