Last week I was touched by nature in a special way! Read More…

Ah, Reunion!  Here’s me with Sara (the instigator of this six-month trip) and son Michael (who recently relocated to Austin).  Yes, it was a sunny day, and then the rain set in, and it’s starting to feel like home.  Grey skies, drizzle, humidity (yay, my hair’s getting it’s curl back!), trees, grass.  We’ve left desert lands and mountains behind us. Read More…

Oops, it’s been over a month since I last wrote about the road trip I’m on with my daughter Sara.  OK, here’s the poop on where we’ve been and what we’ve been doing since December 7th.  Wow, that was last year Read More…

Some years ago I was in Rhode Island.  It was early June, and still quite cold.  Just after daylight I bundled myself up and walked to the beach.  When I got there, I found a dense fog had enveloped the entire beach. Read More…

The Monday after Thanksgiving we left the desert behind us and found ourselves staring in wonder at the Pacific Ocean, on a perfect day filled with sunshine.  The New Mexico skies were wonderful; the Arizona sunsets amazing; the desert growth fascinating.  And this?  This is — well, pacific!

When we find ourselves in a surprisingly beautiful place, it behooves us to linger a bit, whenever possible.  This little strip of road right on the California coast has places for RVers to “boondock”.  For those of you not  RVers, boondocking (also called dry camping) is parking in a place with no water or electricity or sewer access: parking and using the onboard facilities only, and because RVs are self-contained (they have water and electricity and sewer built-in), they can park anywhere and be functional. Read More…

Has it EVER happened to you?  I mean (even perhaps as a child), asking for something you want, but receiving something oh, so much better?

In 1991 I knew I wanted to be a fulltime RVer when I retired, which would not be for another 10 or 15 years.  I knew I didn’t want to be a stay-at-home-in-one-place empty nester, sitting on my porch waiting for grandchildren.  I knew that if I did that, I’d have ants in my pants forever.

I love my children more than life itself, but I’ve never had an urge to “keep them home” once they hit their stride as adults.  So I assumed I’d be traveling alone, and that was just fine with me.

But Life is so full of happy surprises!  When it was time to sell everything and begin my nomad life, I still had a daughter at home, and her choice was to travel with me for a while.  We had a glorious two years traveling and working together — an experience I’ll always treasure — before she hit her stride.  I’d never even thought to ask for that.  But the Universe is so generous.

I’ve always wanted to travel through the Southwest, but because of the drastic differences in landscape and climate, I didn’t want to find a seasonal job there (they normally last for about six months).  I also felt intimidated by mountains, because my little 6-cylinder truck would probably not be able to haul my trailer up and down those mountains safely.

Lo and behold!  My other daughter tells me she’s buying a motorhome and invites me to travel with her, for six months, throughout the Southwest!  What?!? Universe, you rascal, you!  I never asked for this, but WOW, how you can lift my heart to the heavens with your surprise gifts!

These gifts not asked for are possibly the most treasured, and the greatest evidence that the Universe is so in love with us that it sometimes can’t help itself, and showers us with loving gifts that we didn’t think to ask for.

Love is mind-boggling, you know.