Note: This is the first of three parts.
You may have heard me talk about wanting to do a road trip across the country after I publish my next book. My idea is that I will take my memoir, Divine Renovations, several works by clients, and the new work of fiction, Unleashing the Sun with me cross country. I’ll stop to do readings at Spoken Word and other like-minded events. And sell books, of course.
I got the idea for this adventure after visiting the Marshall Islands two years ago and Hawaii last year. Both trips were precipitated by wanting to visit my daughter, who lived in Majuro in the South Pacific for two years. I learned I love to travel far more than I knew I did.
Since Ed died, I have also had a compulsion to get in my car and just drive.
Molly moved home this summer and now lives in Burlington, Vermont—a cool place to visit in the spring, summer, and fall—so I need a winter destination.
As I thought about where I might want to go, I had the idea that I could test drive my road trip idea by driving to Florida to visit my brother Jeff and his wife, Wendy. They have a home there about three hours from the Orlando airport.
What a great way to learn things like: Do I like driving hundreds of miles? Do I like camping and staying in hotels alone? Do I want to be a nomad?
I think the answers to these questions are, “Yes!” Maybe even in eager all caps. I am eager to confirm the theory.
A few Saturdays ago, I spent several hours studying a map of the East Coast and creating an itinerary that would have me leaving in early March and visiting my niece in Virginia and then exploring Savannah, Georgia, where I have never been.
I plotted the entire trip out and, in typical Janice style, then realized there was a fatal flaw: I had forgotten a commitment in the third week of the month and needed to be home sooner than expected.
I have since altered my itinerary, which now calls for flying down to visit Jeff and Wendy, and then traveling around via my rented vehicle. There are pros and cons here: lots more time on the beach, but less opportunity to test the bug.
I do still hope to spend a week wandering about and hope to stop in at least one campground, if I can figure out how to pack my tent for the plane ride. I will also certainly cut across the state at some point and visit Sanibel, Florida. I’ve been there five winters in a row and love and miss it.
I will be blogging about my travels and roadside adventures. Lucky, lucky you!
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