You Can't Get Anything at Alice's Restaurant
5 hours ago
Wednesday, February 27, 2013
Wandering life
I'm home less than a week and yet I find my thoughts already turning to the wandering life. Maybe it's seeing fresh snow on the sailboat. That just doesn't look right.
There's the old saying that it's about the journey, not the destination. Most of us focus on the destination. With our modern means of rapid travel the journey has been reduced to something to get over with quickly so we can get to the good stuff. That attitude makes sense for those with more money than time.
Those of us who focus more the journey have a different attitude. The destination is almost immaterial. Ask them where they are going and you might get an answer like south, or west. My wife and I spent quite a few winters traveling in our car and living in a tent. Sometimes we'd leave a campground and have absolutely no destination in mind. We'd pick a random direction and drive. As the day wore on, we'd look for some place interesting to spend the night. Even places we absolutely loved couldn't hold us much longer than about 3 days.
The nomad life is even stronger when your vehicle has even a few more amenities. My sailboat is small, yet it easily carries everything needed for two people for at least a week. The boat is home. Even my van feels pretty homey. It goes beyond having a secure place to sleep and food to eat. I keep a small library on board. Pull the curtains closed, grab a good book, and it almost doesn't matter where we are.
While nice, it doesn't even take a vehicle to get that home in motion feel. A small backpack and the right attitude and the trail is your home.
I'm trying to be semi-nomadic and have the best of both worlds. Travel stimulates the mind. There are new people to meet and things to see. However, roots have value too. It's good to be in one place long enough to brew beer, plant and harvest a garden, and connect with friends and family.
With my winter travels cut short, my guess is that there will be a lot of shorter trips and adventures before the next big trip. A month and half trip didn't quite slake my thirst for travel.
-Sixbears
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You're absolutely right about the journey being the main thing for some. When I was young, I used to hike and camp in our mountains. Even just a day's drive there was enjoyable to me. After I got married, my wife informed me that there was nothing to DO there, so it's now been several years since I've been there. Instead, we go to Amish country where she can shop while the dog and I sit on the porch of the furniture store. I probably still have as good a time as she does, and I don't have to spend anything doing it!
ReplyDeleteMy wife knew I needed time alone in the mountains and never wanted to take that away from me. When her health was better, she often joined me on my hikes.
DeleteYes Sixbears, everywhere you are at any particular moment is the destination.
ReplyDeleteI actually travel very few miles in the course of a year and I find I don't have to to keep discovering new things each day and somehow interesting people come by to where I am.
I actually go looking for very little.
Being out there is sufficient...
Being out there is the main thing. Find a good spot and the world will come past your door.
DeleteSometimes I just get wanderlust and want to be somewhere else! Anywhere else!
ReplyDeleteBack in my single days and when I wasn't looking out for mom, I would head out every weekend. Wandering the back roads around Austin was always an adventure! I miss it!
Some of us just have it in our DNA.
DeleteI understand so very well, yet here I am with roots deeply secured in this soil.
ReplyDeleteFor now. You never know what changes life may bring. Hope yours are good ones.
DeleteFor so long my health had me housebound with only a few forays on to the bike paths/trails keeping me sane. No longer, this spring. There is a kayak depth stream just a few yards away. That stream joins to another bigger stream and leads to the river...Well, we call this 3 rivers country and they open up to the world at large. I'm looking forward to discovery and rediscovery of all those small places forgotten by the society at large. Our watershed is huge.
ReplyDeleteThat's my wanderlust. Some folks just aren't made to sit and watch the world go by. The place I considered home is a memory and I buried most of the folks that mattered. That's why I'm headed out on a boat I built with my own hands. Just a few more small problems to workout and I'll be ready. Right now, I can't wait for spring.
You'll get spring a bit earlier than I will. Happy wandering.
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