Time out for family

Entries here have been few and far between for the past several weeks. Apologies are due to those who visit often and have not been given regular updates – which were promised at the start of this adventure.

A long-awaited rendezvous with son Jesse ended yesterday in North Carolina. I’m not in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina – missing him a bit already. Having him around (though not to myself enough of the time) was great and I’d like a bit more…

I’ve also met two more representatives of the generation after Jesse’s. Though he’s not showing any signs of adding to the mix, some of his cousins have started the ball rolling. I had lots of fun with a pair of grandnephews in North Carolina.

It’s fun to observe and compare the siblings. The girls in Connecticut and these little Southerners are obviously from the same family, but have many different characteristics. The interaction between sisters and brothers is fun to watch.

I could go on and on about the kids and other relatives, but it’s clearly time to regain focus on the trip. So, I’ll put aside the urge to write about family and attempt to bring folks up to date on the trip.

Today, for example, I made my biggest navigation error. Because the facsimile copy of my itinerary was printed off center, the entry for Myrtle Beach was cut off. Then I failed to double check and ended up bypassing my actual stop and driving all the way to Charleston. The error wasn’t uncovered until I actually tried to check in at the wrong building.

The only good news was that there’s just 100 miles between the two stops. So, I had to backtrack a hundred miles – which means it was a 200-mile error, total. I managed to get back to Myrtle Beach just before it became too dark to read the map.

All’s well that ends well. And the drive during sunset and early dusk was very pleasant.

To those of you who have been patiently waiting for an update: I apologize. For those who weren’t quite so patient (and told me so): thanks for the kick in the seat of the pants. I needed that.

Though time is sure to pass more and more quickly, the pace will slow as I take a full month to travel down and then back up the state of Florida. Perhaps that month will present an opportunity to begin analyzing this experience.

Since Jesse’s been (and remains) on the road, too, updated photos may take a while. I will continue to shoot, though, and that body of information should begin to grow again, too.

Days are getting shorter and many places I’ve been earlier in the trip are now too cold for my customary short sleeves and pants. I’ll stay in the comfort zone, in the southern latitudes, though, and may re-encounter a few of my Canadian and New England friends as they fly south for the winter…

That’s my report for tonight. I will not make you wait so long for the next one.