Trying to Get on the Road Again

Yesterday I began checking things off the list. By 11 a.m. I had finished the last of work chores and enjoyed meeting friends for brunch. Afterwards I went to the Post Office where there was a package. I left my purse and briefcase with laptop on the front seat because the trunk was filled with items I was donating to a yard sale for the homeless in St. Augustine. When I returned to the car, purse and briefcase gone.

Instead of leisurely packing and cleaning my apartment yesterday, I spent the day frantically on the phone trying to remember everything that needed cancelling or replaced. I cried a whole lot too because the laptop represents much of what I have come to define myself as: a writer. It also kept me connected to the world as did the cell phone that went with the purse. For several hours yesterday I contemplated cancelling the trip, but then cooler heads - such as Joy's - prevailed and with the help of several other friends managed to get things done. By 2 a.m. I fell into bed exhausted and welcomed sleep only to wake at 6 a.m. to finish packing.

The road beckons and Jack Kerouac would be proud.

Counting Down

I like preparing for a trip. The past week has been filled with frantic movements so my life is in order when I embark on this three-week odyssey, but as of last night as the work load lessened I began to get excited about the moment I walk out the door with my luggage and step into my friend, Tamara's, car for the ride to the Jacksonville airport.

Before we take off on Route 66 on Monday I head to a family reunion with Anna in South Haven, Michigan. I'm staying with my long-time buddy Linda Miazga during the weekend when 30 members of the Camburn family descend on this beach resort town in southwestern Michigan. Linda and I met in 1973 at Crystal Lake in the upper part of the mitten of Michigan. Although neither of us remember the weekend very well, the memory stuck enough for us to become best friends while enrolled in the same psychology class in early 1974. Another friend, Karen, will be there too and I met her through Linda and another mutual friend. It's been a long, happy 34 years of friendship. We've gone from silly high school girls to focused wives and mothers to crazy single (i.e. w/o children) women. It is fitting this journey starts with them.

Now the family is another story for another blog.

Route 66 Pre Trip Jitters

One week from today, my friend Joy and I and our daughters converge on Chicago from all around the country. After a night of Chicagoing we get in the mini-van stocked with camping and writing gear, and head west on what remains of Route 66, even if it is buried under 9 inches of asphalt.

The anticipation of a journey buzzes around my head, but I cannot allow the buzz to become too strong as I struggle to get all of my work done before hitting the road for three weeks. Magazine deadline today keeps me somewhat focused although here I am writing this blog instead of preparing copy for the production team.

A sigh of relief when the day looms for departure because it will all be done and I will be exhausted.