IMPORTANT CHOICES

A couple of years ago we traveled nearly across the country. It took us three months, because we stopped many times and traveled at a leisurely pace. (For the details, you can order our A Hundred Nights in a Cab-Over Bed from stonecottage2@juno.com.) There were some very sad interludes—I had to go home for a while when my mother died—but overall the trip was a peak experience for both of us. We saw waterfalls, mountains, and cities, visited wonderful museums, met interesting people. Though we had hoped to reach Maine in time to see fall color, we didn’t make it. In the eastern part of New York state, we decided it was time to turn south and to begin the long journey home to California.

Could we possibly travel that far again? We still yearn to see the leaves turn red in Maine; seeing sunset colors together there is for some reason very important to us. Of course, Maine would be just the main goal. We could visit my friends in the Midwest, revisit some of the places we loved last time, see new sights that we missed then. On the other hand, there are things we need to do at home. My companion’s solar home is still unfinished 22 years after he began building it; I want to landscape both homes with native plants that can survive future neglect; I could really use an iPad and a new computer! Neither of us has much money, and traveling always uses up funds that may be needed elsewhere.

Since our last RV journey, there have been some changes in our lives. Many old friends have become ill. One has Alzheimer’s, others have died or been sickened by circulatory diseases or cancer. My mother lived a long, full life, but her last few years were spent in dementia and physical illness. We have our own health problems that may worsen at any time.

Maybe finishing the native-plant gardens and carpeting the living room should wait a while. They can be tackled when we can’t travel any more. And if we die or become bedridden before finishing those jobs, someone else can worry about them.

So, we probably will take another cross-country trip. We will spend whatever we have to, trusting to fate that we can manage financially afterward. This time we will reach Maine and see fall color!