2/3 Musings

Written on Tuesday August 3rd

It has been 58 days and over 6300 miles since we left Chicago. Now, at Crater Lake in Oregon, we are enjoying our eighth National Park and our fifteenth campsite. It's hard to believe that we've been gone for over two months, especially since we still have moments where it seems unbelievable that we're on this trip at all. But now, two thirds of the way through, I find myself reflecting on the experiences we've had and anticipating those that await us.

This truly has been an incredible journey thus far, and one that's hard to describe during my occasional phone conversations with family and friends back home. We've seen so many people and places and had such a wide array of experiences that there's no way to really distill everything to a few essential talking points. The best I can figure is that our stories will make occasional appearances in conversations over many months as we discover their relevance to our lives back home, which seem quite distant at this particular juncture.

Serendipity and luck continue be our good friends as we drive up the west coast. In addition to the immeasurable natural beauty we've had the privilege to witness (and not a single drop of rain since CO!), we were able to attend the All Star Game in L.A. (thanks to our dear friends who work for Stub Hub), stay at a beautiful house in Santa Barbara (thanks to a cousin's generosity), view an amazing collection of impressionist paintings at the DeYoung Museum in San Francisco (thanks to renovations currently underway at the Musee d'Orsay in Paris), attend my childhood best friend's 30th birthday party in Oakland, have a private tasting with the owner of the greenest winery in Russian River, and see two fabulous shows at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival in Ashland. Friends and family continue to open their homes to us, which gives us the dual pleasures of their company and use of their showers/washing machines (luxuries we have come to appreciate greatly). Complete strangers have quickly become campsite friends, offering everything from conversation and travel advice to firewood and even air mattresses.

And really, appreciation is what it's all about. I keep thinking about what I want to take away from this trip in the months to come, and I think that the most important thing I can do is make sure I continue to take the time to truly appreciate things once we are back home. As a constant and relentless "doer", I often have a hard time taking a deep breath and smelling the proverbial roses, so often concerned with the next item on my to do list, with the next project, audition, performance, meeting, event.

And now, as much as I have to make a real effort to restrain myself from over thinking the impending job search, wedding planning, Aftermath remount, etc., I have come to appreciate so many things--how numerous and bright the stars are far from city lights, roaring campfires and the way their scent lingers in clothes long after they've been extinguished, Willie's excitement when we take her to a new dog park, the perfect s'more, early morning hikes, Aaron's delicious dinners cooked on a little Coleman stove, getting away with not wearing a bra for a whole day, the comfortable routine with which we now set up and break down camp, waking up from the heat of the sun, deliciously fresh west coast produce, having the time to read or play cards, spending real quality time with each other and loved ones scattered around the west. The scenic views are stunning--mountains, waterfalls, canyons, the tallest trees and bluest lake you'll ever see in your life--but so are the smaller components that comprise them--the doe feeding her two young fawns, butterflies resting on wildflowers, a burned out tree trunk sprouting new life, a colorful cluster of lichens on a rock. I hope that I am never so unfortunate as to take any of these for granted.

And then there are all of those things in our normal life that I often forget to appreciate but are considered rare on the road--daily showers, clean clothes, a glass of ice water whenever you want it, a comfortable bed to sleep in, a dishwasher. It is easy to forget how wonderful these things can be!

But regardless of where we are or what we're doing, this trip reminds me constantly that every day is a gift. And I'm resolved not to let myself forget this when we resurface in the real world:)

Shakessnarfle!

I went to Ashland, Oregon! It is the land of Shakespeare! It put me in the mood to write a sonnet!

Willie's Sonnet #18

Shall I compare me to a summer's hay?
I shall because I am quite temperate.
Rough winds to chase the pesky bugs away
And Willie's leash hath all to short a gait.
Sometimes too hot the sun above me shines
And often the shade is too early dimm'd
And every bear from bear we must decline
Though gainst my nature, so we aren't unlimb'd.
But my eternal summer shall not fade
Nor lose the memory of the camps I know'st.
Nor shall my spirit wanderest from this shade
Een in eternal lines to time I grow'st.
So long as dogs can breath or eyes can see,
So long this lives, and this gives life to snarfle!