Friday, November 27, 2009

THIS LAZY BLOGGER IS READY TO ROLL – SACRAMENTO, CA

I received an email this morning that cracked me up, from our friends Doug and JoAnn: “We liked your old computer better.....it wrote blogs.” 

Yes, it did, much more frequently than this new one!

It is obvious to me that I would not blog if we did not travel.  New experiences and new sights – and flavors - nudge me to the computer in a way that walking the same bike path, visiting my dentist, buying groceries at Safeway and driving the familiar streets of Sacramento does not.

Doug's (my BIL) Smoked Turkey - Fantastic! Our time here in Sacramento is winding down, and it has been alternately fun – great times with family and friends – and productive.  Now that the big Thanksgiving meal is over, our thoughts have turned completely to hittin’ the road.  We’re planning to leave on Monday, by noon, after my last doctor appointment (yes, can you believe it – still one to go).

2003, our first year of fulltime travel, was a whirlwind.  We only stayed a few days (frequently, just one) anywhere, always anxious to see what was over that next hill.  2004 wasn’t much different – just about everywhere we went was new to us - but then we began to revisit places and campgrounds we had seen and liked in prior travels.  2005, 2006, and 2007 were a mix of longer stays in favorite spots interspersed with explorations of new areas. 

2009 was a different story.  With our prolonged stay in southern California last winter, our two-month volunteer job in Oregon, and an unanticipated several-week-long trip back to Sacramento last summer, this year included very little new ground for us.  Instead, we concentrated on repairs, maintenance and upgrades to Scoopy, bringing her back to tip-top shape after her 7 years of travel. 

Time to fill those white spaces!Now we are ready for adventure!  If 2010 unfolds as we envision it, we’ll be filling in some of those big white spaces on our travel map.  Instead of our usual winter months in the southwest (no visit to the Quartzsite gathering for us this year), we’re going to head east, beginning a big, slow, counter-clockwise exploration of areas east of the Mississippi.

We’ll hit Texas shortly after the new year begins. Winter 2010 will be spent in Texas and Louisiana, and on into uncharted (for us) territory: Georgia, Florida and the Carolinas.  In spring (late April?), we’ll head back west to Memphis to visit Odel’s family, maybe as far west as Little Rock, Arkansas, for a longer (re)visit there.

By early June, we picture ourselves in Maryland – maybe via Cincinnati to see Joy and Greg? – for a visit with Odel’s daughter and her family.  While we are close, we might as well explore those little New England states before we head across the top of the US enjoying the Great Lakes, a highlight of our first year of travel.  For fall… maybe a return trip to Glacier National Park?  Yellowstone?

As all full timers know, this isn’t a plan, it’s a seed, ready to germinate and flower as we travel.  The details are blurry (or non-existent), but the desire is strong.  With Scoopy in great shape, it feels almost like our first year, but better: all the happy anticipation, far less of the “what if” anxiety.   

So, Doug, the travels resume soon, along with the blog posts.  Good times ahead.

5 comments:

  1. We can feel your excitement building from way over here in southeastern Arizona:))

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  2. I'm with JoAnn and Doug! We enjoy reading your blog.
    www.tinteepeelogcabin.blogspot.com

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  3. Hey, you're back!! Great to see you are getting back on the road soon. I am looking forward to enjoying your travels along with you. And I am thinking this working for a living is not a great idea. Time to get my own rig out of the quonset and head south, and then who knows where.

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  4. As much as I enjoy your blog, and have come daily looking for one, you give me justification for my blog-laziness. I think to myself, if Laurie's not blogging, I don't need to either. Ha!

    I like your plan. Maybe we can meet in Florida, if you get there before we're ready to leave.

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  5. You have set an ambitious schedule and a good one. I'm trying to figure out how I can get the New England states on my map - always in the area of NY too late in the season to venture further north.

    I'm glad you'll be posting again - missed ya.

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