Tag Archives: Planning

A Journey of Unforeseen Changes and New Beginnings in 2024

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In the Spring of this year, 2024, I announced I was going to Alaska. I was ready to go. I was traveling with two fellow Roadtrekers, Gregg and Bruce. I was finally going to achieve a dream I had since I bought EmmyLou (my RV) in 2013. Alaska Bound.

I was ready to go. First, I planned to visit friends in Oregon and Washington, and then drive east to meet up with my travel companions in Banff National Park.

The trick is not in the planning but in seeing it through and making it happen. Unfortunately for me, I had some medical issues to deal with, and it did not make sense to follow through at this time. Yes I was disappointed.

My plans changed, and they continue to change as spring has moved into summer. I don’t mind creating my travels on the fly, yet I have not been comfortable truly not knowing what is next.

And I have been waiting. Are the medical issues under control. Do I have to visit one more Kaiser? I currently have guest memberships in all the West Coast Kaiser facilities. What? How did that happen? Oh, life can change, just like that.

I am doing well and have plans, knowing they can change. After visiting with my Oregon and Washington friends, I have been on Vancouver Island, BC, since early July. I decided I needed to make a plan so I didn’t spend my whole summer waiting.

I am attending a 5-day workshop on Cortes Island on the Salish Sea. Hollyhock is a retreat and learning center on the island. I have known about it for a long time and have always wanted to attend a workshop there. It is good to look forward to something.

I will explore Cortes Island by land and sea while taking good care of myself, eating well, and attending yoga classes. Someone pointed out that I decided on a workshop looking outwards instead of inwards. I believe there is some profound truth in that statement.

I have spent the last four days in and around Victoria on the island’s southernmost tip. I visited Bouchart Gardens, saw a Maori performing group, attended Pride weekend, biked the paths, and even got my kayak on the water. It was a very diversified four days.

One of the best parts of my time was staying with the same Boondockers Welcome Hosts I stayed with when I explored this island in 2018. Ann and Ian are a delightful couple. They live in a little bit of paradise north of the city. They welcomed me with arms wide open. Our friendship deepened. It was delightful to spend time with them. We found we had a lot in common. Absolutely delightful.

Yesterday, I moved north to Qualicum Beach on the eastern shore of the Island. I have friends I am going to visit here as well. Cathy and David I met through Boondockers Welcome in 2018. Tonight, however, I am camped on the coast of the Salish Sea and tomorrow I will explore this area while doing my laundry. One can travel all they want but there are still chores to be done.

My Sunset View for the Next Three Nights.

Where to next? I have plans. They could change so you will have to stay tuned along with me to see where I head after my time at Hollyhock. Plans are out there but it appears that waiting is still part of my summer and I won’t reveal them until I know I am moving forward.

Stay tuned. When I know I will let you know. It is just that kind of summer.

Today I am thankful for my health. Today I am thankful I am up and traveling and exploring, inward and outward. Today I am thankful for these beautiful places I am seeing. Today I am thankful for friends who greet me with arms wide open.

Today I am Thankful

A Year of Travel & Attempting to Plan

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I don’t like to plan. I am a last-minute planner. I figure that everything will work itself out and no matter where I am or what I am doing, I will love it to the best of my ability. Vacations and life are an adventure, after all.

People ask me what is next and I often reply “I don’t know”. I think that response bothers others more than it does me, although, it makes me edgy and uncomfortable because I really don’t know what is next.

This year I am planning three trips. Whoa, what? Planning? Janet is planning? Yes, I am, to the best of my ability. Whew. Some require more planning than others.

Where am I going?

Trip One-Heading East

  • My rig and I are heading east. It has been almost four years since I have seen my family and east coast friends due to Covid. I decided it was time to go visit.
  • This feels like a similar trip to the first trip I made in my RV all those many years ago, in 2013. I expect this trip to be a bit different. That first trip was made out of grief and desperation and need. I needed love and support. After ten years the grief has settled and I have found my way toward acceptance. Ah. Not that I still don’t need love and support.
  • My first major stop will be in Englewood, Florida. I have very good and dear friends there and look forward to seeing them. How long will I stay there? I don’t know.
  • I will make my way up the east coast, visiting friends as I travel north to New Jersey.
  • New Jersey will be my first lengthy stop with family. My sister and her husband live on the lake where my sisters and I spent our summers growing up. As Ginny says, “the door is always open”.

Trip two-Brazil and the Amazon

  • Brazil and the Amazon River are calling. A small group of friends and soon-to-be friends are traveling the Rio Negro and Amazon Rivers. Birds, wildlife, music, and friendship. Who could ask for more?
  • This trip will be more concise. Some of the planning has already been completed. I had been procrastinating on making my flight reservations from New Jersey to Florida, where we meet up prior to flying to Brazil. With the encouragement of my friend Mary, I finally made the reservation while we were in Mexico in January.

After that trip, it is back to New Jersey and family and friends and summer on the lake. But wait, there is more.

Trip Three-Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island, Newfoundland, and beyond.

  • As I make my way north through New England I will visit friends in Vermont and Maine.
  • I will be joining my friend Cori and we are off to explore the Maritime Provinces. Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island, and New Foundland. This is an interesting dilemma. Cori and I don’t like to plan. Shoot there is no one to take the lead. I am sure we will work it out. And as Cori says, since she has never been there before she will like whatever she sees. Definitely a beginner-mind attitude.

After trip three, I give up. No more planning for me. I will wander my way west to visit friends as I move. When will I return west? Before the snow flies. I just don’t like crossing mountain passes in the winter. As you know, I really don’t like to winterize my rig.

What happens between all these waypoints is totally up to me. I hope to find new places to explore and be amazed at. Maybe I will visit other friends I have not mentioned here. Maybe I will make new friends as I move east. Maybe, Maybe, Maybe-it is totally up to me.

March twenty-first is my departure date. I have one more trip to Santa Barbara. My rig needs a once over and Dan, all things Roadtrek, is in Santa Barbara. I will start my east coast adventure from one of the furthest land points in the lower forty-eight. It will be a true west-to-east adventure.

Currently, I am finishing things up in San Diego. Repeat labs were normal and that is good. A dental cleaning is done and the report was mostly good. Whew. I am visiting with friends and spending time cleaning out my storage unit. It is work. It is time I need to prepare.

The first two months of the New Year has brought me amazement and adventure. I hope to continue the adventure for the rest of the year and you can come along for the ride. You are always welcome.