Traveling US routes: a Bucket List entry-

My bucket list includes the following US Routes:

Route 1- This is the East Coast north/south route that takes you through lots of states to see lots of stuff.

Route 2- Starting west to east in Everett, Washington and running to the Great Lakes. There is a bit on the east side of the lakes which is not as important to me, but I would probably incorporate that part in the Route 1 run.

Route 61- This is the route along the Mississippi River. I would probably take this route going north to south following a west to east run on the western part of Route 2.

Route 395- From the middle of the desert in California (about parallel with Anaheim, indicating a probable side trip) north to Canada, this route includes much of the eastern side of California, a bit of Nevada, and Eastern Oregon and Eastern Washington.

In all probability, I will do the 395 first among these routes. Since Disneyland is so near to the starting point in the south, I would begin by going there for a few days. Then, off to the desert and a journey north. It just looks like a fun journey with a lot of interesting places to visit along the way. Plenty of vistas and small towns. I really like vistas and small towns.

Relative to my bucket list, the 395 run would comprise a goodly bit of exploring California, Oregon and Washington. It also covers a bit of Nevada. That is a nice dent in my bucket (list.)

Since Route 2 (western portion) will bring me near to the starting point (in the north) of Route 61, I would probably plan to combine the two into one epic journey. Crossing several major mountain ranges and bringing me to the Great Lakes, and then down the length of the Mighty Mississippi. Epic, indeed.

Again, this provides a bit of exploration of Washington state. Another dent in the bucket (list.)

This journey also passes close to several National Parks along the way. Since National Parks are listed generally in my bucket list, I would naturally have to stop in for a visit. Dent. Hey, once I have reached the Gulf of Mexico on this journey, I would have to get home. I think the return route could cover some exploration in several states, and possibly another stop at the Disneyland Resort.

Giggidy!

A less defined journey will be a run from Canada to Mexico along the West Coast of the United States. This journey will be comprised largely of Interstate 101 and California Highway 1, plus such incidental roads as are necessary to complete the journey.

Oh, and a stop by Disneyland Resort on the way back. It is right on the way, so it simply must be done!

Route 1 would be very interesting, but logistically the most difficult. Camping on the East Coast is a bit more challenging, and so I would have to anticipate a larger expense in completing the journey. Additionally, I would have to cross the width of the United States just to begin.

The up-side is the number of items on my bucket list which would be accessible via Route 1. Disney World in Florida. The Smithsonian in D.C. and Boston and New York City are along the way. Savannah, as well, but I suspect that at least that one would be a separate adventure to share with my wife, Linda.

Anyway, the Route 1 thing is farthest in the future. Much could change between now and then.

At this point, it is all a dream. Once the house is sold, and we are moved and settled, I can begin planning the Route 395 journey. Even the planning phase will be fun.

Perhaps I shall have opportunity to to travel all of these routes, and more. There are far more roads than I have days to travel them. However, my travel philosophy embraces the journey more than the destination. Every individual journey enriches my life, and the end of my days shall see a life that has been rich and full.

Until then, I shall dream, look at maps and web sites, and generally enjoy the anticipation.

The Wheel of Time: a Bucket List entry-

I have included the reading of The Wheel of Time as part of my bucket list because it is important to me to complete the reading of that epic fantasy series. The death of the author, Robert Jordan, complicated the reading, but a successor author was appointed and is drawing the series to a conclusion.

Earlier portions of the work I have read several times. It is a huge tale, and a daunting task for anyone not a voracious reader and a lover of the fantasy genre. I find it quite worthwhile.

There remain two more volumes to complete the series. I await the next with great anticipation. That said, it shall be the first of the works I shall purchase in electronic format. Eventually I shall purchase the earlier volumes and have the whole thing available for future readings on my Nook. My last recap took about three months. I am current enough that I don't have to recap to continue with the next volume.

I have read other epic fantasy series in their entirety, some several times. Lackey, King, Goodkind and  others. Some I shall eventually collect into my electronic library. Reading them again is pleasant, like visiting a place you know and love but haven't been to in quite some time. Lord of the Rings is like that for me and for many people. Some of the others are equally worthwhile.

I shall, perhaps, soon return my hand to my own work. I have written the first book, and have begun the sequel. I have not yet finished the final polish on the first, but it won't require much. Shall I publish? Perhaps, one day. The first book was actually just an exercise for therapy, a tool in fighting to overcome depression. It was a valuable tool, though I am still not sure it is worthy of publication.

We shall see.

Disneyland Annual visit: A Bucket List entry-

At the top of my bucket list I have placed Annual Disneyland visit. The family loves Disneyland. I love Disneyland. At various times we have held annual passes and visited the Disneyland Resort multiple times for multiple days. We have not yet reached the point where we just could not stand another trip to Disneyland.

I love going with the family. I love going just with my wife, Linda. I have not yet gone to Disneyland by myself, but I suspect I shall love that just as much. With the MMC in campable shape, I can cut the cost of a visit a bit, at least a solo run. The nearest RV park to Disneyland is just a few minutes away by regular shuttle. The cost of a space there is around fifty bucks, which is much cheaper than most other accommodations.

Linda does not care much for camping, nor would she necessarily like my slow journey to and from the resort. So, a solo visit will probably only occur sometime during one of my other journeys passing near enough to Anaheim to make the visit practical. Who knows?

An annual visit can be planned for, including accommodations and flight. My parents don't understand the spending of so much money on visits to Disneyland, and I think a lot of other family and friends consider this obsession to be obsessive. I consider it a worthwhile investment in happiness and mental well-being. Those are good things, I do believe.

So, Annual Disneyland Resort visits are top of the list. If I must abandon all else, I plan to keep this one.

Why Disneyland? Why so often? I think that I enjoy the engineered environment that is truly geared to create a sense of adventure in safety, an environment intended to aid people in achieving a state of happiness. It feels good to be there. It is fun, reaching down and capturing the childlike sense of fun and giving it physical form.

This, of course, works best if you are a willing participant. I go there with that will to participate in the magic, and cooperate with the engineering. I want to have the Disney experience.

With the grandkids the right age, and having recently reread Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn, I am anxious for a day on Tom Sawyer's Island. It has changed over the years, but I think for the better. It is a great place to play and imagine. A few hours of running around having island adventures could be fun.

There are also some new features which have been completed and which will be new experiences. We have been in the parks frequently enough in recent years to have watched the progress on several new features, and I enjoy watching that development.

Watching development goes a long way back, for me. I remember as a child going to Disneyland with my parents. While up in the Swiss Family Robinson Tree House (Now Tarzan's Tree House) I recall seeing some construction. That construction later became The Pirates of the Caribbean.

I saw other progress in features presented on "Walt Disney's Wonderful World of Color." Recently I have watched the development of a feature in California Adventure by that same name. I look forward to the experience.

Disneyland is a place to have fun. It is as simple as that. It is fun to be there, and I value that experience of fun in an environment engineered just for fun. That is why I want to keep going back to Disneyland Resort, year after year.

Bucket List-

My bucket list is rather small. This is largely due to the size it could get if I don't tone it down. After all, I have about twenty more active years of living to do. Maybe more, maybe less, but twenty is a reasonable number to consider. Additionally, I have not acquired wealth in the course of my lifetime, and so there are limits to what I can do. Indeed, this list stretches any anticipated resources considerably.





Now, my Bucket List-

Annual Disneyland Trip
Finish reading The Wheel of Time

Travel US Routes:
West Coast Canada to Mexico to include California Highway 1/Interstate Highway 101
1
2
61
395

Explore:
Oregon
California
Washington
Nevada
Arizona

then

Idaho
Wyoming
Utah
New Mexico

Visit:

New York City
New Orleans
Savannah
Boston

Mackinac Island
The Smithsonian
Disney World

All  U.S. National Parks
Northeastern U.S. Leaf Tour
Tour Rogue River

I have already had a lot of jobs, including what could be called a career from which I have retired. I have saved lives, flown airplanes, ridden motorcycles, designed and built things. I have written poems, written stories and written a book. I have done blogs and such. I have raised a family and am participating in the lives of my children and grand children. I have been on a life-long spiritual and intellectual journey.

Life has been full. I have seen great evil, and much more that is good. Out of full experience I have formed this tiny bucket list. Were I wealthy I could do these rather quickly and expand the list considerably. I am not, at least in money. So, my more humble list must do.

I do not long to stay at home and cultivate a garden. Most of my dreams involve travel, at this point. Quite a number of them meet in various ways, and so in fulfilling one I can easily fulfill another. I shall in future posts break the list down a bit, explaining what I want from each entry, how they relate to one another, and why they seem important to me.

I expect to learn a lot about my own desires in the process. Perhaps I shall learn more from myself about identifying dreams and bringing them to life. It would be a very nice thing if the process, shared here, aids someone else in defining and following their dreams.

A Report from the Mobile Man Cave-

This is where the MMC sits. I sit in the MMC, or just outside. I am waiting for someone to buy the house so that the MMC can hit the road to Oregon. There the MMC will sit a bit, as we buy housing for the clan and then get everyone settled.

I live in the MMC, just where it sits. I had gotten it pretty much ready for the move, back before our buyers backed out on the deal. I had all of my stuff on-board, at least everything that didn't ship with the household items. We were so sure the deal would go through that we were 90% moved to Medford. Then, epic fail.

I did not want to move my stuff back into the house. Having converted the MMC into a camper, I decided to camp. I have been there ever since. I have made modifications and adjustments, making it more comfortable. Just recently I removed the center passenger seats. They cluttered the living area and did not provide the kind of seating I wanted.

Now there is room to move around a bit. The camp chair provides a better seat, and can be taken outside for seating as well. It can be folded and stowed for travel. I plan to add some hooks inside to hang some more of the necessaries, and have found some area rugs for the floor to protect my feet from the mounting plates that held the old passenger seats.

The sleeping area uses the original fold-down rear bench seat for a base. I am using a twin sized mattress, which leaves an area to the side of the mattress which holds boxes and bins for storage. One bin is modified to hold the fuel canister of my catalytic heater to properly position the heater for use. It can be seen next to the fire extinguisher. It is positioned with safe clearances, I have adequate ventilation, and can start the heater from the comfort of my bed without getting out from under the covers.

At present things are warm enough that the heater is not needed. Generally, unless the temperatures inside the MMC drop below 55 degrees, the heater is not necessary. I have adequate comfortable clothing and gear to keep me warm. No area for cooking inside has been established. In a space this small, cooking is best done outside.

For me this is adequate living space for solo travel. Some of the items currently on-board will be removed once a new home is established. I shall rearrange things a bit to allow for stowing necessaries, and hopefully actually get out on the road.

I have dreamed of traveling for a great many years. Since the MMC is the embodiment of those long dreams, I spend as much time in and around the MMC as I can. I have been fortunate enough to have traveled a bit, but not yet as the MMC shall allow.

It is the going I enjoy, not just the getting there. I am fond of coming around the bend and seeing a new vista. I very much enjoy passing through small towns. I long to travel slowly, stopping often and experiencing life along the road. I want to take pictures, and write about the things I see. This remains largely just a dream, but the MMC brings me a bit closer.

Moving to Medford will alter the location of the base from which I shall travel, but will not alter the dream. I expect to spend a lot of time just exploring the Rogue and Applegate valleys. Then outward. If things go well I shall see where a great many roads in the area might take me. Once I am able to gather the necessary funds I hope to make a dent in my travel bucket list. The content of that evolving list shall have to wait for a future post.

Bifurcated Lap Robe-

The process of selling the house has proved a bit arduous. Initial preparations, the subsequent move of a lot of the family to our target location in Medford, Oregon. Moving everything (just about) to storage, and from storage to storage, then to storage in Oregon, has been challenging.

The initial buyers made an offer the second day we were on the market. Thirty day escrow. We figured we were almost done. Then inspections. We needed a new roof. We put on a new roof. The buyer's couldn't get financing. We gave them time to work on another loan. Almost, almost it all went through. However, it didn't go through.

So, now we sit with an empty house and little to do but putter around and keep it ready to show. We putter around, and keep it ready to show. We go on Facebook. Do email. Look at YouTube. Read. Still, there is much time and a lot of waiting.

I needed something to do with my hands. So, I started juggling again. I still suck, but I suck less as a consequence of the practice. I started whittling a bit. That was good. I like whittling. I broke out my old tin whistle. I practiced on that a bit. I whittled a bit on the wooden case I made for my tin whistle.

Essentially, I have been keeping busy. However, juggling and whittling cannot be conveniently done in the confines of a van. Since the van is where most of my stuff is, it is pretty much my home. So, I sits and thinks. I remember the kids knitting hats on knitting looms. Hmmm. That's not too messy, and it is something new to learn.

I got a set of looms. I made a hat. Turned out OK. I looked at some videos on YouTube on loom knitting. I reflected a bit, and came up with a next project.

When I sit in the van and use my computer I place the computer on a folding table that fits between my legs. To keep warm I can cover my legs with a blanket, but the bulk interferes with placing the table between my legs. I remembered my great grandfather used a small blanket he called a "lap robe" when he was sitting. An idea was born.

Using my looms I made two little lap robes, one for each leg. I called this set of lap robes my "bifurcated lap robe." The family thinks I am a bit wacky, with this knitting and sitting. They are right. The knitting thing is a bit weird, but it has proved satisfying and provided me with some practical stuff. A warm hat, and a bifurcated lap robe.

I have a few more little projects in mind, just exercises for the most part. Plus another idea for staying warm in the van as I sit through the process of selling the house. A serape! Yep, a blanket I can poke my head through, to keep more of me warm.

That's not all. I have been watching a video on making knit socks using the loom. I remember my grandmother making me knit slippers every year for a great many years. I got them for Christmas. Yes! I can make my own wool socks!

I really hope this house sells, soon. Really.

Minimalist RV-

This just popped up recently on an ad for Amazon.com. It is a trailer to be hauled by a bicycle, providing a pop-up tent with a cot built in. Pretty cool. I thought it would be interesting to camp like this. I have friends who bicycle and camp, traveling considerable distances. Of course, my bicycle might have to be a little different.

There really are a lot of options for traveling. I wouldn't do this for real, of course. I don't motorcycle anymore, due to the plague of stupid on the highways. I don't think I would do this bicycle camping thing, either. Same reason. I just don't want to be taken out by a distracted SUV-driving soccer Mom who is managing the kids, the dog, texting while driving, and operating her Internet business from the car. You gotta admire a Mom like that, but I don't want to do so posthumously.

Considering that the trailer dry-weight is nearly 70 lbs., I have to wonder if I could pump the total weight once the bike and trailer were loaded and my fat ass was in the seat. The world is not level enough for me to get far managing such an RV system. Still, it is an interesting direction in which to think.

Wheelbarrows, maybe? Ara certainly sets the bar for minimalism without resorting to a wheelbarrow. I just don't see myself sleeping on the ground that much, however. My dog is also a bit too old for this form of adventuring. Still, it is a worthy dream, beautifully fulfilled. There's a motorcycle and sidecar somewhere in all of that gear. And, a dog. The art of traveling is supplemented by the art of packing in this case.

At present the Mobile Man Cave will probably be sufficient for me. This one and the ones that will probably follow. I hope to keep this one on the road for quite a while, but things happen. I suspect there might be a MMC II and perhaps a MMC III. The passage of time and the plague of stupid will probably see to that. Not to mention, building the MMC II might just be fun.