Doesn’t that just look perfect: temperature in the low to mid 70s, clear skies, calm winds? Ah. Time to take a break. I wonder how people do that? I guess I’ll have to do some research. Nah. Go! And yet, taking a break is another opportunity to explore and react to life in the modern world. In no particular order, here are some thoughts that are rolling around in my brain this sunny Friday afternoon.

Take a trip

It’s been a while.

The answer is probably in this blog, but I’ll let someone else do the research. I think, but do not know, that I haven’t taken a week off since I walked across Scotland. (Walking Thinking Drinking Across Scotland) I did that because my doctors and the doctors they referred me to, recommended >$8,000 of testing (2009 dollars). They suspected my issue was stress. I agreed. But, I didn’t need $8,000 of testing to prove that. Besides, that was for testing, not for curing. I took the trip for less than half of that. One day, I had a revelation, which inspired me to write about it. So, I got a trip, some exercise, and a book. 

I just got back from a doctor, who was referred by a doctor, who was providing a second opinion about another doctor’s prognosis. They suggested different testing that touched on a separate complication. The testing would require mild surgery with the expected conclusion being that I should switch my medication for an unrelated condition, but which is related to the condition from 15 years ago.

Thousands of dollars to test, again? How about I try changing the medication? 

How about I try relaxing?

To assist in their scheduling, I asked if I had time to take a trip first. They were so adamant about my condition that maybe I shouldn’t leave town. Fine, they said. No problem, they said. Come back in a month or so. 

They triggered my anxieties for something that isn’t immediate? Is this all to appease insurance? Could be.

Maybe I’ll try relaxing.

Trip Preparation

I’ll spare you most of the details, but with that anxiety postponed, my mind went to the various details that go into getting ready for a trip.

Car

I have an aerospace engineering degree. Why do I want to drive? I’m 66. I’m in no hurry. I want to see the country and the people in it, not just point down at them from an airplane. 

Yes, a car trip is more expensive, but measure the trip from when I leave until when I get back, and the car trip might be cheap. I’m heading to a tourist town to visit folks I know. Those extra days not driving might be spent at tourist prices. Motels in North Dakota may be cheaper, and if not, I can drive on to the next town.

A car trip is also handy. There’s no need to minimize what I carry because the car’s going to do the carrying.

One shop said the tires are okay. Another shop said the rest of the car’s okay. Okay. And if not, there are shops along the way.

By the way, someone joked about bicycling the coast-to-coast trip because I did that (WA to FL) in 2000/2001. Nah. Got too much to do.

My car may be looking forward to a Midwest rainstorm. The Seattle area gets dry in Summer. Time for a rinse.

House Prep

Have you been to my tiny house blog (MyTinyExperiment.net)? Prepping a tiny house for a vacancy because of a vacation is like prepping any house. The plants are the thing. A friend can come in and water them, check for miscellaneous stuff, and that’s it. Minimalism has its benefits.

Itinerary

Ha! Do you think I’m going to tell you exactly where and when I’m traveling? Of course not. But that’s largely because I don’t know. I’m 66. I’ve taken planned vacations, and finally realized that they weren’t vacations. The itinerary was an excuse for yet another to-do list. Be in this town, along this route, to see these sights, at these times. Or, generally head east and a bit south because that’s basically the option within the US borders from up here in the upper right corner. If I don’t get to the family event, well, rats, but compared to the other threats and challenges in the world, that’s not so bad.

Oh yeah, and return.

Me Prep

When was my most recent multi-week trip? I’m not even on my way yet, and I’m finding that I’ve become indoctrinated by debt to continue working, and I forgot how to not work. (Debt Free Again – One Year Later) I have forgotten how to see a day with nothing to do, then to fill it with relaxing or play. It sounds silly, but is actually sad. I get to crowbar myself out of my recent ruts, just as I did before I rode across the US. 

Work may be natural, but working 361 days a year for more than 10 hours a day is only natural in response to imminent disaster. Fifteen years of that… Even typing those four words made me pause.

Yep. I need a break. I need a vacation. Life is for living, and each day is one fewer towards the end (assuming there is an end – which leads to decades of distractive considerations.)

I couldn’t take this trip until now. This most recent twelve months has been spent adjusting to being debt-free, living in a tiny house, living in a new community, and pondering what remains. Prior to selling my home, I was protecting my home. 

It is time for me. 

I do not expect to post photos or write blogs, or take notes for a book, but about half of my books weren’t planned. The world is too fascinating to be boring. I’m sure I’ll see moments of surprises amongst hours of monotony. Okay. I can like that. 

Too many of us have to worry about work because it isn’t easy to live. Everyone gets the opportunity to explore, or at least consider, the appropriate balance between work and life. Intentional living is precious, and is the reason I feel sorry for people trapped in riches or who have fallen into corporate distractions. Riches can be comfortable, but they can also take someone away from the realities of life, both their life, and the lives of others. Road trips mean meeting more people than the two on either side of you in a jetliner’s middle seat. 

Hmm. I suspect it will take more than one trip to remember how to truly relax. Maybe I never learned it. More trips? Okay, but after I get back from this one, finish the current manuscript, and next year’s book, and this year’s photo essay, and a few more of those, and there’s the screenplay, and…, and…
I think I need a vacation. Good!