Country Road, Take Me Home, To The Place I Belong... On The Road Again

Antietam/this week

Not a single filter has been applied to any of these photos.

Country road, take me home, to the place I belong.

I did not grow up listening to country music.  In fact, my parents both did not like country music, and that is putting it politely.  I don't know why I like country music against the odds; it is something that is all mine.  

Sure, I have lived and traveled around this country and have seen sea to shining sea, but if it comes to the options of a sunny beach vacation or a mountain retreat, I'll be coming around the mountain when I come.  The vast spaces, the earth sounds of a forest, the sound of wind moving through ancient, historic, or untouched parts of the land, and the musical instruments that echo these sentiments all feel like home to me.

When I start feeling stir crazy, and/or the hustle and bustle all becomes too much for me, I find myself fleeing to vast spaces, Dolly Parton and friends blasting.  There's something about the experience of a long drive on an open road surrounded by vastness that heals me.  And Dolly certainly grew up with these same teachers of music and sound.

New Paltz, NY/October '18

Perhaps it is the type of company I keep, but I find that most of the people I know have some sort of desire to travel.  Wanderlust has been my constant companion, but sometimes I think it is more than that.  In fact, earlier this week I wasn't feeling well at work and the people who sit around me were all chatting the afternoon away, so I finished my work and left a little early and headed to the open road for some consolation.  On this drive is when I started thinking about all of this.

Stonington, CT/Thanksgiving '18

As you probably know if you follow me on social media, I am often taking small trips all around.  This winter, I've been to Connecticut, San Diego, Colorado, Arizona, and Los Angeles.  It can oftentimes feel hectic with one thing right after the other; the days are long and the months are short.

Garden of the Gods, Colorado Springs, CO/December '18

Inevitably, things eventually settle down, and I stay put for a few months.  Most people experience post-vacation blues, but I often think that it is something deeper with me.  A sinking depression sinks in, and I find myself having the symptoms of going stir-crazy without realizing the cause of it.  I'll get truly depressed and apathetic, and won't know why I am feeling this way.  

It happens every year, and you'd think that I'd see it coming and find a way to stop the train before it reaches the station.

Oatman, AZ/December '18

But I don't stop the train in time, and then I find myself pounding on the door of an unlocked cage.  It won't be long until I find myself driving on 70-West waiting for The Road and The Mountains and Dolly Parton to tell me where the car is headed.

North East, MD/late summer '18

It helps me to think of what a gift waking up in the morning is.  Some people never leave their house and are perfectly content; some people never leave their house because they can't.  

The things I have seen with my own eyeballs in my not-exactly-short life so far are things some people can only dream of.  Even the mundane days of driving to work (45 minutes on 695 each way), or the days working at the cat shelter or one of my many other volunteer jobs, these days are all gifts.  

San Diego, CA/November '18

Sometimes I lose focus of the grand picture, and upon realizing this, I will find myself marching to my car to find a vast space upon which to set my gaze.  

To be perfectly honest, I think my subconscious is the one grabbing the keys and marching me to the car, knowing that there is a lesson that needs to be learned and that I subconsciously know where to find it, in the absence of actual travel.

Glen Burnie, MD/this week

I spend most of my days/months/years feeling lost for some reason, and sometimes it takes wandering off to get found again.  It doesn't help the blues, but it does help me get my perspective back in place.

Let's do a road trip with this blasting, y'all:

It is Yes and Amen.

Send me funny memes please thanks.

Ice, Hiking, Swift

Exhibit A.

Ice

They are making an ice skating rink (click here to see) right outside of my building. It’s weird.

IM conversation with a colleague:

2:58 PM Colleague

Hello. I did crunches for the first time in weeks on Friday.  Now it hurts when I breathe.

2:58 PM Veronica

good.  :: grumpy cat ::

The Temp said that they are making the ice skating rink outside as a tribute to my ice cold heart. 

3:00 PM Colleague

He’s right on target with that.

3:00 PM Veronica

I know he is.

Hiking

Because of some stuff, I have recently not been able to be as active as I usually am.  But, now I am better, and am able to get back to regular activities, however, I have fallen out of the swing of things.  

So, when I had to run 7 blocks the other day (in heels) to get back to the office in time, by the time I got to the building, I was exhausted.  This is very unlike me.  So I decided that I needed to walk over the weekend, and Karen said she and her dog could join me.  

We went to Patapsco park, and got all 10,000 steps in for our Fitbits in a very short time.  I’m going to be honest with you – it was a hard hike.  There was actual climbing with my hands.  My legs were very sore the next day.  But it was a nice walk, and if you want to go on a hike with me, you’ve got my number. 

Don't fall...

Hell stairs.  They were half the size of me, they came up to my hip.

 Then, just as we were leaving the park and going to our car, a stray dog was walking down the street, so Karen flipped her freaking flip, and then we spent like another hour chasing this dog and lassoing and waiting for its owner to show up.  The dog was an older dog, and was very disoriented, and didn’t even register our existence for a while; it was just walking and walking, and then it went down into the river, and the whole chasing experience was basically horrible.  

But Karen chased her around, and finally lassoed the dog with a spare leash, and then we decided to just sit down right there on the trail to give the dog a change to chill out.  She didn’t let us near her head because she was too worked up and shaking and freezing, but after about 20 minutes, we were able to read the tag from a distance.  

On a related note, please make sure that your pet’s name tag is very clearly legible, not just engraved silver. Make sure it is something like white on green, or white on black, or black on pink, or something.  

We were sitting there for a very long time because it was so hard to make out the phone number.  But finally we did, and I called the owner, who was all, “oh, that silly dog,” and "oh, when she usually runs away," and acting like it was no big deal.  He also warned us to just stay put, as she is a chow mix, and might get a little aggressive, so we did the right thing by just sitting down for a long time and not pressuring her.  I have other things to say about the owner, but I shan’t.

Meanwhile, while we were sitting there on the frozen ground with our legs and butts totally numb, and Chance (Karen’s dog) totally behaving, the poor dog was howling.  She was howling when I was on the phone with her owner, and the owner said, “Is that her howling in the background?  I have never heard her make any noise.”  Again, I am going to avoid commentary.  So, after a while, we realized that we would not be able to silence her, so, if you can’t beat them, join them! 

Click to watch the video:

We were all singing, except Chance The Dog, who did not find this activity fun nor amusing.

The Taylor Swift

In other news, are you going to the Taylor Swift concert?  BECAUSE I AM!!!!   

Do you ever have moments when you are doing something, and in that moment, you have a small self-assessment moment – “What am I doing?  Is this my life??”  Even Taylor has moments like this.  Like when she was on Good Morning America (which I watch e’ery day, btw) and she said, “I’m performing in Times Square… What is my life right now???”   (Around 6:30 of this clip from GMA.) 

Well anyway, Kate and I were having one of those “What is my life right now??” moments whilst we were on the phone with each other purchasing Taylor Swift concert tickets.  There was squealing and other assorted noises as we clicked “Confirm Purchase.”  We  love her.  She’s like our invisible friend – she’s been on all of our road trips together, right there in the car singing along with us, and on all of our adventures, she’s been there.  

 Did you know that all the proceeds made from her single “Welcome to New York” from her new album “1989” are going to NYC public schools?  (NYC made her an official Ambassador.)  She is good.  

I can’t wait to meet her and instantly become BFF.   It’s only a matter of time now.

Oh hey, Melissa - I found your husband in Tinder.

 You're welcome.