Being Wanderlust

Wanderlust is not a thing that can be satisfied; it's just a part of who you are. I moved across the country to be closer to family and live in a place that nurtures my soul. That place is Silverton, Oregon.

Winter and spring are dancing now, pushing and pulling one another, bringing wind, rainstorms, and power outage between moments of sunshine. But nothing cuts though the stretches of gray like a road trip to anywhere.

Steve and I hit the road yesterday and drove over to Bend. Sometimes I can't even believe I am saying that .... Anyway, as soon as we got up in altitude just a little bit we were in the countryside with the sun beating down on us. We took route 22 passed Detroit, got on route 20, and stopped in Sisters at our favorite little funky coffee shop and bar that we always stop in, Hop and Brew. We ordered a few cups of coffee that we didn't need and some food. It was good, but I was slightly disappointed that my vegetarian sammie didn't have any cheese, just lettuce and tomato. I'm not a rabbit. Oh well. We arrived in Bend shortly thereafter where we purchased a 1973 Honda CB 750.

Afterward we tried to get some good photographs but a storm rolled in and soon we were caught in heavy rains. A fair amount of snow remained in the pass and the recent fires left the trees looking like matchsticks delicately placed in the white snow. I snapped a picture in my mind.

Being on the road is freeing. Steve and I talked about all the places we want to go and things we want to see. We still haven't given up on that dream. In fact, we spent a lot of time talking about our school bus, Sunshine, and when we are going to get her. She's still back in Virginia. We miss her but we don't have a plan for her yet. We have nowhere to park her here.

On the way back, we heard that someone won the more than $700 million Powerball. We thought about that for a bit. When we passed the Pacific Crest Trailhead again I thought, if anything, I'd rather have less than more. A lot of good could be done with all that money, but I'd never tell anyone I had it. I'm really happy without it, which is good because I almost never play the lottery, so there is no chance for that to happen.

When we got home I felt like my soul had been nurtured by the Mother Nature. Getting out had done me a lot of good. I got back to work researching stuff for a new writing gig. All that late day coffee kicked in at midnight. I got up and finished the article by 6 a.m. this morning. Then climbed back to bed and slept a few morning hours away!