Mile by Mile -- Tues., Jan. 15

Happy Birthday, Louise

Bob's mom's birthday is today. She can really party it up as she lives in Las Vegas. Seriously though, Mom, we wish you many more healthy, satisfying and fun years. 

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"Happiness is not a state to arrive at, but a manner of traveling." ~Margaret Lee Runbeck

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"You know how it is.
Sometimes we plan a trip to one place,
but something takes us to another."
~Rumi

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 "One day Alice came to a fork in the road and saw a Cheshire cat in a tree. 'Which road do I take?' she asked. 'Where do you want to go?' was his response. 'I don't know,' Alice answered. 'Then' said the cat, 'it doesn't matter.'" ~Lewis Carroll

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 "Though we travel the world over to find the beautiful, we must carry it with us or we will find it not." ~Ralph Waldo Emerson

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The woods are lovely, dark and deep, 
But I have promises to keep, 
And miles to go before I sleep, 
And miles to go before I sleep. ~Robert Frost

Mile by mile, one step at a time, one foot in front of the other, rockin' down the highway, I can't drive 55, runnin' down a dream. Walking, hiking, driving, snowshoeing, skiing, bicycling, jogging, flying, riding the train, ambulance rescuing, boating: all are ways we are mobile and able to move from one place to another. Some modes are slow, others fast.

We can take our time and walk, savoring the sights, scents, sounds, colors, photographic material, flora and fauna found along the way. It is our choice where we make our turns on our path. Slow is my choice for making discoveries in the natural world. I study a bird or startle a deer, watch butterflies of all colors float from flower to flower, enjoy the silence of walking in new-fallen snow, ingrain into my brain the sound and splashes of waterfalls, ponder the beauty before me a la Ralph Waldo Emerson or Henry David Thoreau.
 
Fast transportation helps us make our way from one place to another quickly and efficiently. Faster modes of travel help: 

• in a time of crisis, 
• travel the globe, 
• when we have business meetings to attend, 
• get to work 
• when we need to move out of the way of a big storm, 
• any time getting from Point A to Point B is a high priority. 

Fast travel can be something we do every day or not, but it's a choice we have available to us.

My "mile by mile" this year is the American Volkssporting Association Centurion Challenge. I signed up to do 100 Internationaler Volkssportverband  (IVV) events in 2013. My goal is to do 100 10K (6.2 mile) walks; that is about two 10K walks per week (620 miles over the course of the year). I have completed 31 miles and will keep you updated on my progress.

In my mileage-oriented post today, I also think of all the miles traveled by RVers all over the world. Following the blogs of people in Costa Rica, England, Canada and the U.S. is fascinating. Some are full-time, some are holiday RVers, but we all have that wanderlust. What makes us want to keep moving? Why don't we feel a need for sticks and bricks houses?  Not everyone "gets" our lifestyle. To each their own.
 
We have our own perceptions of what our lives look like. We must follow our own calling, do what feels right for us. Some have family obligations that keep them rooted in place; others have financial limitations, or fears to overcome. Not everyone is cut out to be a nomad, gypsy, wanderer. But I'm glad I'm one.

Here's a poem I wrote in high school, still as true today as it was then.

Where I'll Be Found

The fronded tree at the water's

side,

The river flowing deep and 

wide,

The moon's soft shadows on the 

ground,

In this place is where I'll be

found.

I love the natural wooded 

scene

Where everything is so 

serene.

My mind is filled with 

happiness

I know I'll never like it 

less.

It was created for you and

me

To go and enjoy every 

tree

All the animals, plants and

rocks

Nature doesn't have any

locks.

Susan V.

Copyright 1969

Welcome to Bob and Jo of How to Love Where You Are and Eat Where the Locals Eat. Whew, that's a mouthful. Please feel free to browse and enjoy. Perhaps we'll meet on down the road.

Travel Bug out wandering.