On the Road Again...

When I was a little girl, I used to run away from home...A LOT. I guess I averaged once a week (maybe more in the summer time). I don't know what possessed me to do this, but I have a feeling it had something to do with everything and everyone being completely unfair to my six-year-old self. Or at least, in my mind that is how things were. :-)

I never got far mind you. For some reason I thought there was a Greyhound bus station in the middle of McKee. I had never seen it, but I was sure it was there. If only I could make it the roughly ten miles from my home in Gray Hawk to the bustling city of McKee, then I would be set. I was pretty sure that they would just let me ride the bus for free, seeing as how I was only six and wouldn't take up much space. Just in case though, I always packed provisions. These provisions being a pack of saltines, a Little Golden Book, some change from my piggy bank, and an umbrella...all neatly stored away in my zip up Snoopy suitcase.

So where does a six-year-old from a VERY small town in Eastern Kentucky want to go when she runs away from home???? California of course!

I'm still not quite sure what I thought was out there, but I'm fairly certain it involved a set of really rich, childless parents that would shower me with attention and gifts and obviously appreciate what I was really worth. You know how kids are...

Anyway, I never made it to California. Actually, I never made it past the woods behind my house. I always got that far and decided that it really wasn't worth the effort it would take to travel all that way and besides, I was out of crackers and getting hungry again. :-)

Earlier this year my friend Cilla and I decided we would take a road trip to California. I was in the early stages of planning it all out when we decided that it couldn't be done...at least not how we had it planned. We both wanted to see very different things and go very different places and it just frankly, wasn't going to work out. Our trip would take at least two weeks instead of the one week we had decided on. So instead, we decided to go to Montana and Wyoming.

But something just didn't feel right about it. Not to me anyway. I love Cilla and I would follow her anywhere. She's great on a road trip. And it wasn't that my heart was just so set on California that I couldn't possibly go anywhere else. It just didn't feel right.

I've got a problem with telling people to trust their instincts and then I do the exact opposite of that myself. I listen way too much to the advice of others. Even advice that I asked for or that has the best of intentions. Someone told me last year that I needed to stop going to others for so much guidance and look within myself and that eventually it would work out to where I was right where I needed to be, right when I needed to be there. 

The lady that told me that was a genius by the way. I've been following her advice ever since. ;-)

Seriously though, it does seem that when I follow my gut, when I listen to my own head and heart, then things have a way of working themselves out. Call it Fate...call in Karma...call it God...call it whatever you want, it just is what it is.

And what it is, is telling me that my vacation this year doesn't need to be spent in Montana or Wyoming. My vacation, in fact, doesn't need to be spent with anyone but myself. Yup, just wittle ol' me.

So come May (I've already put in for my week's worth of vacation time), I'm heading out to destinations unknown. I have a trip planned, don't get me wrong. I kinda know where I'm going. I have a primary destination in mind. But for me, its not about the destination, its about the journey.

In a few short weeks I'll hit the road. All by myself. For an entire week. Its both exciting and scary. Its both brave and foolish. So basically, it suits me pretty well. :-)

In the meantime, all that's really left to do is break the news to my Father, who has no idea of my plan. Originally I wasn't going to tell anyone, I was just going to head out and call from the road, never revealing my location until I made it safely back home in a week. But...I felt kinda guilty doing my folks like that. So I finally told my Mom and this weekend I'll tell my Dad (no sense in making him worry those extra days). 

And don't worry...when I get back there will be plenty of photos and blogs (and hopefully a video or two) from the road. Even if I take my journey on my own, that doesn't mean I'm not willing to share it later on. :-)