life change

Day 13 – Clinton, Oklahoma to North Little Rock, Arkansas

360degreechange's avatarAn Epic Journey

We started the day off by stopping at the Route 66 Museum in Clinton, Oklahoma.  I figured it would be a tourist trap that was designed to only suck your money away.  I was wrong.  It was an adorable, yet small, museum dedicated to preserving the history of Route 66.  The displays included quite a few authentic photographs, props and even cars of the time.  I am really glad we stopped as it was informative and fun.

I love the history of Route 66!! It is true Americana! I love the history of Route 66!! It is true Americana!

While driving in the west, one cannot help but notice all the casinos along the way.  I totally understand that those casinos bring tourist dollars into the community, provide decent wages to local people and they allow people to better themselves.  I get it, I really do.  But when you look around and you see big, bright and shiny casinos surrounded by…

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Day 1 – Cleveland to Dubuque, Iowa

Day 1 – Cleveland to Dubuque, Iowa

Finally, I get to start writing about the trip. Here goes:

Well, my first couple of days were a mixed bag for sure:

Thought I was downsizing, seems like an awful lot of stuff to take.

Thought I was downsizing, seems like an awful lot of stuff to take.

I was planning on leaving Saturday, July 25 but I got a late start, so Sunday ended up being my new launch date. The plan stood to get from home past Gary, Indiana and Chicago, Illinois and then somewhere after that. The ride to Gary, Indiana was lovely, the weather was great. I was feeling very optimistic about my latest life choice. Then I took a wrong turn and was stuck in Chicago traffic for over an hour. Not just traffic, but stop and go and almost get hit a few times traffic. I was freaking out and was low on gas (my bad!). I do not know how I got so turned around. Sammi, my GPS, was just about as confused as I was. I considered turning around and going home but I did not.

A gift from my friends and a great way to start my trip!

A gift from my friends and a great way to start my trip!

I got to Dubuque, Iowa at the end of the day. I had a city campgrounds in mind but could not find it because of lack of signage. But I called the number and the camp host came right over to get me. He was awesome and put me close to the front. The temperature was very hot so I rolled the windows down and quickly taped up some screens Mike had made me to keep bugs out and cool breezes in. It worked perfectly. As the sun went down, the temperature went down also. No sounds but the songs of crickets, passing traffic and the melodic sounds of a faraway train. This semi-outside experience was a first for me.

My view from my very first campsite! Very close to the water!!

My view from my very first campsite! Very close to the water!!

Unlike at home, there was no television, no loud refrigerator, and no other household noises. Just the sounds of nature and a little traffic. It was so incredibly peaceful. I have yet to be in peace mode, I am still in stress mode, but it will come to me. Soon I hope!!

Devi did a great job camping!!

Devi did a great job camping!!

As far as car camping, I have never done it but I had an “idea” of how it should go. Boy, was I wrong. I struggled with getting comfy, staying cool, trying to get undressed, eating (dinner last night was snacks given to me by a friend) and generally getting used to sleeping in a SUV down by the river (yes, I was really next to the Dubuque River). I fought and struggled for a couple of hours, but then got my “blankie” out of storage and my pillow and drifted into dream land. Just needed some comforting items.

I never realized how beautiful Iowa is!!

I never realized how beautiful Iowa is!!

Unlike at home, there was no television, no loud refrigerator, and no other household noises. Just the sounds of nature and a little traffic. It was so incredibly peaceful. I have yet to be in peace mode, I am still in stress mode, but it will come to me. Soon I hope!!

Amazing Iowa Sky!

Amazing Iowa Sky!

I learned a lot last night and feel like I am well on the road to becoming a car camper aficionado or not. This morning I woke up reorganized the car and started on my way to Nebraska.

Just a cool bridge -- looks like modern art.

Just a cool bridge — looks like modern art.

As I think back on the last few days, I am very impressed with how beautiful this country is.  The corn fields of Iowa are amazing but also feed us and feeds the farm animals,  fuel our vehicles and have been known to be a main part of certain adult beverages.  Corn as far as the eye can see and it was truly stunning.

Sammi, my Garmin. She can be chatty at times :-)

Sammi, my Garmin. She can be chatty at times 🙂

“Too much time on my hands, It’s ticking away with my sanity…” Written by Tommy Shaw (Styx)
The clock clicks ever slowly when one anticipates a major change.

The clock clicks ever slowly when one anticipates a major change.

A wise friend once told me that only boring people get bored. I always agreed with that statement until now, because right now I am so utterly bored and I do not believe it is because I am boring. I have been planning my Epic Journey on and off for approximately 37 years. I have wished and wanted for this trip, anything to get out of the rut my life so conveniently fit into right from the start.

During the last few months it looked like the dream might come true and planning began. The exhilaration from this trip finally happening has been amazing. Then one thing by another has tried to rain on the parade that is my journey; financial setbacks, illness, self-doubt…you name it. I am trying to stay positive, which is not in my nature. I always felt it was easier to be a pessimist and never be disappointed, then to be an optimist and always be disappointed. Let’s face it…life very rarely works out like you imagine it will. How many dreams have you had that have had to be re-thought, picked apart, or just plain forgotten? Me, I have had plenty.

Now I am less than a month from my projected “Launch Date” for my trip and I am still working out some things. There may be a slight delay, but it looks like it is still a “GO.” The problem now is the waiting to-go part. My new-found sense of adventure has taken over my ability to continue doing the mundane things in life like laundry, cooking, cleaning and dishes. I am so completely bored with it all. I could just scream. I know I have some romantic notion that everything having to do with my Epic Journey is going to somehow be exciting and new. That is totally unrealistic and I logically know it. But my heart is feeling something different.

I feel like I have too much time on my hands, yet I am still working, trying to sell off my gift shop inventory, preparing for the trip, trying to keep up with the minimum in housework and just get through each day. Please do not get me wrong, my life is not horrible. It has just been the absolute same for a long, long time. The same type of work, the same house, the same sort of life and I am ready for a change. The only thing I do not want to change is my husband, he is awesome; everything else is fair game to alter!

I suppose this is what a mid-life crisis feels like? I never dreamed that I would go through a mid-life crisis. That was always someone else’s issue. But here I am at almost 53 years old and I am ready for the epic change. I probably never mentioned that during this trip, I hope to find a new place for Mike and me to live.   We want, maybe, a Tiny Home or some sort of downsized lifestyle that will allow us to explore some dreams we have while we are still physically able (not too old).

I am banking on a lot of things to come out of this one journey. Maybe I am expecting too much. I am sure I am not thinking about the hours of monotonous driving during this trip, only concentrating on the fun and excitement. I have romanticized how fun it will actually be to sleep and live in the back of my SUV day after day. No, I am sure I am overthinking this trip and all I will walk away from it with. But this is my first intentional foray into optimism. I guess if that is where my mid-life crisis takes me, I could be doing worse.

As far as having too much time on my hands, I have decided that travel creates that feeling inside the traveler. For if it was not for the longing for change, no one would have ever left home. No discovery of new lands, no inquiries into other cultures, no new discoveries would have been discovered. Boredom, now as I see it, is the very reason for travel. My soul has reached its current level of mediocrity and it must now move on to another phase or chapter in order to remain. So for now, I will look at my boredom as a gift, the gift that is making this trip actually happen. I may have too much time on my hands right now, but it will not be that way for long.