This week has brought many things and many emotions.  Most nights we stay at campsites for free.  Some right off the road and some we hike to and stay for a couple days.  Josie has been so happy hiking, camping and having lunch on the Parkway overlooks.  At one of these lunches B got stung by a bee behind his knee (sorry I got all Dr. Seuss on you).  I felt bad for him (and the bee), but I was happy it wasn’t me (again, sorry).  Well, two days later, at lunch once again, I went to put my shoes back on after lying in the sun and I got stung on my ankle.  Then I felt B’s pain, although it lasted much longer for me and the first aid sting gel didn’t work that well.  Now, it itches.

            We are in Virginia now, heading to DC to see several communities and several friends.  The other night when we slept in our car in a church parking lot, B called a couple friends near DC and they not only welcomed us with open arms, they are going to help us out with Josie while we are at a community.  Listening to them talk, I felt so grateful and so amazed at the love.  To better understand, B had not spoken to this friend in 4 or 5 years, but they spoke as if not a day had passed since last seeing one another.  I love those kind of friendships.

            Am I very sappy lately?  Maybe, but I’m so happy.  Don’t get me wrong, we get frustrated now and then due to finding a place to camp or sleep every night and sometimes cause we didn’t sleep well cause a road is close by, but most of the time I feel so free, especially up here in the mountains and the forest.  Like today we were eating lunch on a hill overlooking the mountains covered in all the colors.  I laid down to wrestle Josie and I could feel the hill pulling me, so I just let go and rolled down the hill while Josie tried to jump on me.  When B did it after me, I warned him about the rocks, but forgot to mention the thorny brush at the bottom that I had just stopped in time for.  Unfortunately, B didn’t.  But he said he’d do it all over again, even so.

            We have met some very friendly people and some not so friendly people.  One night w camped out in a field between a college and a retirement home.  In the morning we were making pan(a)cakes by the car parked by the retirement home and a woman came out with her hoe in hand and began to hoe the grass by our car.  She asked if we were hungry and said we could have come in and she would have paid for our breakfasts and if we wanted we could come in for lunch.  We thanked her and told her we were making pancakes.  She laughed and told us not to go hungry and walked away.  We met a couple today from W. VA that sat down and talked to us about retirement, beautiful places to visit and the economy.  I won’t go into the not so nice people and just suffice it to say they have been few and we’ve tried not to absorb their negative energy.

B said something very insightful the other day.  He said taking pictures was our desperate grasp to hold on to the here and now and I think that is very true.  It is so hard for us to think that the here and now is just that and that the next moment will be just as good.  I still like pictures, though.

            So, here I am, it’s getting time to find a place to sleep and settle down to eat dinner.  But I like my life as a nomad so far.  I like being retired.  But in the end it all comes down to finding a home and some where to plant roots, roots and a home I can be proud of.  Until next time, happy trails to all and to all a good night!