I used to think that I had to travel quite far to find beautiful places to paint. However, after 16 years of painting, I have found that some of my best paintings have been done within a short distance of my house.
Perhaps it was around 1995, I was studying Architecture at Nottingham university and it was not going well.
Learn everything you need to go and paint outdoors. Although this is a very thorough guide I only give you the minimum of materials you need. And there is a downloadable eBook that you can buy for $10.