Notes on a Journey

We are back in our ordinary, sometimes mundane but beautiful life here in Maine and thankful to be back safely. It is cold, rainy, damp and dreary even though May is nearly gone.

We've put away almost all of the stuff we carried in our van for 71 days and 17,000 miles and I can finally see out of the rearview mirror again. I've even found all the items I thought I'd lost.

But already I can't remember the names of some of the towns and cities we stayed in or the fine details of an early morning drive through Arizona deserts or Idaho's mountains or the switchback roads in Northern California. And if memory is really all we have of any great adventure ( aside from blog entries and photos), what remains??

It'll have to suffice that we planned and executed our trip, enjoyed every minute of it and felt the freedom of being mistresses of our own destinies for 10 weeks where we could avoid listening to the daily disastrous news broadcasts, answered to no one and had only each other to rely on.

But I did learn some things on this trip:

What a safety corridor on a highway is.

That I still dont like Indian food

That I prefer not to have to scan a QR code to get a parking space or a meal

That its fantastic to have no cars ahead or behind us on the highway

That my hair can grow quite long and gray in 10 weeks ( who knew it was gray)

That you can sleep comfortably in your car

That though Im still a city girl and would prefer to stay at the Plaza, I can put up and take down a tent.

That people are mostly friendly, helpful and good

That our country is more beautiful than I could ever have imagined.

I guess that's enough. I know it is!