ITCHING TO TRAVEL

It's been a long, long time since I have packed a suitcase and headed off into the sunset.  Something like 3 weeks ?  Does my trip to see Kyle and the family count as "travel"? I guess it does since a suitcase was packed and tickets were bought. But for someone with the travel bug I have gone through withdrawal these past few years. I came across some photos today of Ger and I on our last adventure and it brought back such wonderful memories of all our travels. We used to laugh that we live in Paradise and yet we never stay home to enjoy it.  I'm ready to start making some adventures of my own. I've got lots in the works so the suitcase is out and in the guest bedroom.  It hasn't gotten opened yet or put up on the bed but at least it is out of the closet. I'm one of those people who pack weeks ahead of a planned trip. I freak if I haven't "gotten organized" well before lift off. I think I get that from my dad who was forever GETTING ORGANIZED. We would ask him how he spent his day and inevitably he would say he spent the day getting organized. I don't think he ever reached his goal but he had a great time keeping busy.  I totally relate to that. My catch phrase seems to be DIGGING OUT, as in "I'm in the garage digging out." (If you ever saw  my garage/playroom you would understand the literal term digging out.  There is usually a pile of toys in the middle of the floor that I have to dig through to put away.) Like Papa Danny I don't think I will ever achieve success. But it keeps me out of trouble.

Back to the travels. I think I would like to be like "Waldo" who is constantly lost in a hive of activity. I can have friends and family play, "Where's Cathie?"  Or for those of you old enough to remember the movie. "If It's Tuesday It Must Be Belgium".  I love not knowing what the day will bring or where I will be.  I get up in the morning and always find myself embedded in some task or adventure, large or small.
That trip to Atlanta a couple of weeks ago brought back just how much I love to travel. I'm itching to do a road trip. Just me, a good book on tape and a map. I usually picture a large shaggy dog sitting on the seat beside me but that's not going to happen.  I think I see a short trip in my near future. Up till now I've been content to drive to Pompano to see the twins and Smith but I think I'm ready for a little more of a challenge.  What I'd really love to do is another road trip with Sharon and Jeanne but I honestly don't think Jeanne will ever do that again. I think we put her on overload with all our silliness. And since Sharon broke her leg this winter I don't think she is up to doing hours and hours in the car. But that's all OK because I'm going to see them next month so we can have some adventures close to their home. God do I miss those two !  There is nothing like "old" friends who know everything about you and still love you in spite of what they know.

Thank goodness for Google Maps. They take all the hassle out of travel. Just pop in an address and voila! You have a road map to your destination. Remember the old days of going to AAA to get a TRIPTIC ? We used to go every summer with a list of all the places we wanted to see on our summer camping trip and the agent would pull all these little pages from cubicles that they would put together as a map for the trip. We got to see some of the most wonderful places thanks to those agents. They always had some out of the way place that we just HAD to stop at. Camping at the bottom of a canyon in Texas was the most memorable but there were so many others. The computer doesn't do that for me but as long as I have my route mapped out I can stop where ever I want.

So if I should disappear for a few days you can assume I am on the road again gathering stories for my blog. Until then I'll just keep boring you to death with my ramblings on paper.