starting

The best place to start is usually at the beginning, and here we are at the very beginning of a new adventure. If you've been following Greetings From Taos, you know that Rick and I are about to embark on a year-long (or more) road trip. A new blog seems to go well with a new way of life. And so, whether you know us well, or have just stumbled in here accidentally, welcome! I hope you'll enjoy Taking The Long Way Home with us.

What's up with the title, you ask? Well, obviously, Greetings From Taos won't work if I'm not actually in Taos. The original idea behind this trip was to take our time finding where "home" might be next, but it seems to have morphed into something bigger than that. Southern Oregon sounds good, eventually, maybe, but there are a lot of places that might be as good or even better. We need lots of time to check it all out. When we find "home", I think we'll know it. Until then, home is the world. Home is wherever we can drive with our truck and trailer. Home is bigger than we ever could have imagined, and smaller too. Home might just be a place inside of us that learns to relax and feel comfortable wherever we find ourselves. I might walk in the door and holler, Honey! I'm home!, or I might step out that same door, my hand over my heart, knowing deep inside that I am the home I've been looking for.

Of course it's too soon to tell all of this. I'm guessing and daydreaming and hoping for a most remarkable time out there on the loose. But the place to start really is at the beginning, and the beginning more or less started on Tuesday, when we drove to Moriarty, NM to pick up our trailer. We made it a party, by taking daughter Julia and Heidi-the wiener-dog along for the ride. After a lot of back-and-forthing, from Sandia Trailer, where we got the hitch installed, to Schwebach Farm, where we bought the trailer, and some good lunch in between, we were finally all hooked up and ready to roll. One last stop at Sandia Trailer on the way out of town got us some final adjustments, and the blessing of Jeff and Buzzard, two Trailer Guys who really know their stuff. We felt confident, and more than a little bit giddy, as we rolled out onto Old Historic Route 66, the original and ultimate road trip road. We were off to a good start.




On any trip south, hitting Santa Fe is something of a relief. It means about an hour and a half to home, and since we had started out really early that morning, we were ready to get back for a little margarita party in the driveway. But just as we were about to get on the highway to Taos, traffic stopped. As far as we could see, everything was just standing still, all the way back into Santa Fe, and way up toward the Opera House. We couldn't tell why it was happening, but we knew it was probably bad, and likely to take a long time to clear. So, we decided to backtrack a little bit, and take the mountain route through Las Vegas (there's one in NM too), Mora, Sipapu, and finally back to Taos. Laughing the whole way over the irony of taking the long way home, I knew for sure I had picked the right name for my new blog.



It was almost 9:00 when we got home. Too late for our Driveway Party. So we brought the dogs out to check out their new digs, and congratulated ourselves on a job well done and a day well spent.



Lucy is particularly pleased, because she gets her own "room" - the bottom bunk at the back of the trailer, with a big view of the world. I will decorate it especially for her...



The next night we had a few friends over for the real House Warming. We made margaritas, and the friends brought us sage and sweet grass to smudge out old energies. There was plenty of room for all of us, and even the dogs had a good time. (Do you recognize Sarafina and Mercedes? Go back to Greetings From Taos to meet them. Kat is doing great too, by the way.)







Thursday morning we started taking things apart. To me, a trailer always looks a bit too much like... a trailer. I want it to look more like a nice little house. We've ripped down all the, uh, window treatments, and have picked up some paint chips from the hardware store. This little decorating job is more challenging than I thought it would be, being relatively small, and pretty much all one space. I could really use Nate Berkus here! Oprah! Set me up!





And so, here I am on a lovely Friday afternoon, sitting in my trailer, totally enjoying my new place to write. I like hanging out here, just to get the feel of it. HaHa! We're not even out of the driveway yet. Still need to find a good renter for the house. If you know anybody, send 'em on over. We hope to hit the road in early June. We have a lot of work to do in the next few weeks, but this is where the fun starts. I do hope you'll join us.

Comments

  1. B O N V O Y A G E !!
    It seems you have most of the ingredients to make this a fun and happy trip: I hope you find the renters soon so you can be on your way. I love the picture of Lucy and Heidi at the door, looking outside: dogs are at home where their family is, but those two really look comfy and relaxed ;+)

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  2. Love the new blog idea :)!

    Have fun with your "renovations" and I look forward to cyberly taking part in your adventures across the beautiful land of ours!

    Blessings!

    Penny \IiiI

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  3. Hi, Sweetie. Just checking out your new blog. I LOVE IT!! I'm a Lucky Boy. R

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  4. Love the new digs, you all should have lots of fun and it will be nice to follow you on this journey.

    Beadily yours
    Susan Feldkamp
    aka nightbeader

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  5. Bit cheeky to ask for tips I think.

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  6. Is cheeky a bad thing? I think not! After all, I put a lot of time and effort into my writing. I provide interesting reading, links to useful sources, and a fun, vicarious look into a world that's pretty different from most people's. All for free! Putting out a tip jar is common practice these days. I'm not demanding anything, just offering the option to help keep me going. Either way, I want you to read on, my friend!

    xoxo, Kim

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