Up & Away
I ran away to Mexico with my lover today. Doesn’t that have an exotic sound? The very words taste delicious when I roll them off the end of my tongue. The reality of it verges on intoxication. We got up at o’dark thirty, the first hint of fuchsia sunrise in the east, and fled into the friendly skies. We winged our way at 37,000 feet to palm trees, warm-your-bones sunshine and the certainty there was a world of possibility waiting at the Guadalajara airport to welcome us to our new life.
Preflight, as we prepared for takeoff from PDX, securely cinched into our seats, the pilot kept apologizing and explaining the plane was “undergoing difficulties”. In my excitement at finally launching into our new adventure, I heard it only as background noise, completely missing the nuances of possible problems getting into and staying in the air, and had not a twinge of concern. Read More…
Anything Can Happen
Last minute details before we board the plane for Guadalajara. Get a haircut this week, a manicure/pedicure – who knows when it will happen again – if ever. Hmm… looks like I can still slip off the curb into melodrama sometimes. Another bottle of shampoo, more moisturizer, toothpaste, another 1 terabyte external hard drive for backups, a killer portable Bluetooth speaker that fits in my purse, an extra suitcase that will hold an inflatable mattress, sheets & pillows…
Wait a minute. An inflatable mattress?! You’re packing an inflatable mattress all the way to Mexico?! What the heck for?! Ahhhh. This is where a little travel experience comes in handy. Read More…
Good-byes
The good-byes are coming to a close. We’ve spent the last six weeks with family and friends and somehow, the connections have been more intense and full of flavor than I could have ever imagined. Like a shot of great tequila without the margarita mix. Straight up. No rocks. The very idea of this new adventure McDean and I are going on seems to add a slow burning intensity to the air between us as we talk about it.
“You’re going to Mexico?! To live? Permanently?! Wow?! I wish I were that brave! What a fantastic adventure!! I’m so jealous!! I wish I could just pick up and go do that!!” And a far away look comes into their eyes as they envision getting on a plane and flying off to an adventure full of surprises and no responsibilities. At least the ones they’re familiar with.
Second Thoughts
We left Vancouver Island today. Perfect day. Detached, mackerel clouds in a tall, blue sky, scudding in front of the rising, warm summer wind. A crow watched us leave from the top of an ancient cedar towering on the shore, calling out how crazy we are to be leaving this breathtaking beauty that has the feel of home in my DNA.
Choppy waters today. Leaving day. No easy slide to the mainland on the mid-day ferry. Whitecap froth reached up to say ‘good-bye’, call us back, slow the leaving. Do I really want to leave? That’s a question already asked and answered a hundred times. We’re leaving. For a new adventure. We just don’t know what it looks like yet. Funny how that’s getting harder and harder to swallow with any enthusiasm. Read More…
Serious Road Trip
How do you feel about road trips? Throwing a few things into the car, a change or two of clothes, snack food, loading up the iPod with your favourite tunes, your favourite travel mug, a map, a full tank of gas and GOING somewhere!
The anticipation builds the last few days before you start out, imagining not just the arrival point, but the journey itself. New roads, new scenery, new people, stepping out from under the weight of the day-to-day responsibilities and just going into discovery mode. Fresh and full of possibilities around every new corner, and if it’s a place you’ve never been before, every corner is new. It’s invigorating!! Read More…
Cloud Watching
The little motel where we’re staying in Port Alberni on Vancouver Island is just down the street from the storage locker we’ve rented. It will be home to all our ‘stuff’ until we figure out what we’re going to do next.
The car is packed with what we’ll be living with for the next ‘who knows how long,’ until we find our way into our next step: 2 suitcases with clothes, toothbrushes, deodorant, a few favourite earrings, etc; 2 backpacks with laptops, iPad (of course!), iPod (Yep. Gotta have tunes for a road trip), digital camera (more important than the toothbrush), an inflatable bed with sheets & pillows (important to get a good night’s sleep along the way to wherever it is we’re going). And if we end up experimenting with living in a foreign country where it’s cheaper to live than Canada or the US, we have all the basics we can get onto an airplane without paying for extra luggage.
Wrapping Up
Endings & Beginnings
We went for a walk on the beach today. Chesterman Beach in Tofino, BC. It’s been ours for the last three years. Only five more sleeps until we leave for a new adventure. Five more walks on this astonishing beach. How can I leave this place?
When we moved here three years ago from metropolitan North America, it was the quintessential adventure. Picture it. A large island off the west coast of Canada, pristine rainforest on the edge of the Pacific ocean, small village, wild beauty that snatches your breath away every time you open your eyes. Makes you think about redefining heaven. Great job: small, new, not-for-profit organization; young, energetic board of directors; ideals and possibilities and passion enough to refloat the Titanic. Hooah!