Monday, April 18, 2011

Another Departure Looms

Yes, we're leaving first thing in the morning for parts north. We've been dawdling in Central California. Our friends here may miss us after we leave, but we’ll certainly miss them more. They’ve spoiled us rotten. The kids (read that as one dot and two exotic birds) have kept us entertained each day. And we’ve had wondrous weather while we were here that we could not fail to miss our resting time here.
My writer friend, Mikki, and I have had the opportunity to talk writing, and projects, and gripe about all those things that writers feel the need to vent about. It’s been marvelous. I don’t get the chance to do that face to face normally. It’s gonna hurt, giving that up.
After our opportunities to roam beaches, watch elephant seals, and tour local wineries, we have plenty of material for whatever projects we wish in future. We've sampled local produce from the open air market, enjoyed meals at the local eateries, and generally luxuriated in California's Central Coast environs. That's not bad for an otherwise stormy April in the rest of the country.
Were we privileged? You betcha, and we don't feel one whit of guilt over it, either. Oh, yeah, we've enjoyed ourselves very well, thank you very much.
So, today we’ll get the last of our laundry done, repack the car toward evening, get ice in the cooler tonight, get final showers taken, and God willing, get my hair cut. Before bed, we have to get the car gassed up as well. We’ll pull out first thing in the morning, coffee in hand, and good-byes on our lips.
We’ll try to remain smiling, but it will be hard. We’re part of their herd now, according to Dylan, their Corgi. He believes we belong here, not out wandering the highways in search of new sights and interests. And we feel the same way about Mikki and Richard.
Once we get on the road, though, and point the car north, we’ll do Monterrey first, where we hope to do the aquarium during our stop. Neither of us has seen it. Now’s our chance.
From there we’ll move on to the Redwoods where we plan to camp for a couple of days at the least. Of course, assuming the primal urge doesn't force us to remain longer so that we can soak up all that serenity, we’ll try to keep it down to a couple of days. I’ve camped there once before, back in the nineties¸ and know the spell with which the forest blankets the area.
We’re not putting an itinerary on the calendar this time in any form. When we feel like stopping, we will. When we need to move on, we will. Much of our return will depend on how we feel on any given day. We’re old enough now to allow ourselves that luxury.
So now you know why we’re taking our time going back. We want to spend a few hours in San Francisco, too. We’re both looking forward to that.
The Oregon coast calls to us along Highway 1, the scenic highway. Sunsets along there and the lighthouses there make for great photo ops. That drive also allows for great photos.
In the Tacoma area we’ll take the time to see Jo’s kids and family for a couple of days before heading east along I­-90. We’ll see her oldest son in Central Washington during that trek. We won’t be able to get into an apartment until the middle of the month of May, so there’s no real hurry. It’s not snowing here at the moment. It is up there.
And there you have the situation with us. We’ve had our ups and downs, mostly with the weather and the continuing rising costs of gasoline and, consequently, everything else. We just didn’t budget for that kind of rise in costs.
Yet, when we look back, we managed to huge amounts of material and experience  in 20 states in five months, and much of that while stationary in only a few of them. That’s not a bad track record, don’t you think? The really hard part will come after we re-establish ourselves in Kalispell. Jo gets to put in months of work in PhotoShop while I work on the book and the articles for magazine submission. If luck and writing perseverance prevail, those articles will help us put money back in the savings account. So, keep those fingers crossed.
I can’t promise when I’ll get to post on anything again after today, so you’ll just all have to keep an eye peeled for the slightest blip on your radar screens. I’ll try to pop in again before getting back to Kalispell.Take care and God bless.
Claudsy

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