The main thing is to get both a bike and the time to ride it. If you're not independently wealthy, this means don't blow a lot of money on a nice bike. I toured for years on a Univega Viva Sport, by simply adding a triple crank (A "T.A." found in the parts bin at the local store) and putting on the biggest tires that would fit. It would wobble and flex with more than thirty pounds of gear, so I took less. Eventually, I found another bike at a swap meet, a fancy pant Bruce Gordon Rock n Road for $450. I'd no idea what a Bruce Gordon was, but I did recognize the ride of a nice steed, so I bought it. (1993, it was).

Anyways: your hometown is pretty big - Baton Rouge, right? - so you should be able to find a pretty good used bike for 200 to 300 bucks. Overhaul it yourself - new cables, pads, tires - then hit the road. If you time it right you can get one of those hurricanes to fling you towards Arizona. It's just like your state, except with different people, history, landscape, and climate.....

Good luck.