Finishing my vision trip
I'm almost home. I left a few days ago to travel up north and find out if I really want to move up north when I retire in about 5 years. I've been really making my plans and believe that I need to make a vision board about what I would like my retired life to look like. So far, I've imagined myself with no house payment or car payment, but the owner of a relatively new Honda Pilot. This Honda would take me and my dog to a rental up north, a rental with some land that I could raise my organic vegetables on. I could use some of the vegetables and fruits to eat, some to can, and leftovers could be shared or sold (low cost to make sure that healthy food was accessable to everyone). I have a plan on how to have my house paid off in five more years. This will be great because if it doesn't cost me anything anymore, I can lease or rent it out and it would be a great source of income. (Remember to learn all landlady laws!). With my retirement money, too, I could actually eat, sleep, and travel modestly. So, that's a big part of this new vision, dream, plan.
Just a few notes on the trip:
1. If you drive a 2001 Kia Sephia, make sure you travel with a gas can. At least with my car, the newer gas nozzles don't always fit enough to create a vacuum and won't pump gas. This happened at two 76 gas stations. I have better luck at Chevron and Shell stations. It could just be my car....I have no idea. From now on, though, I plan to always keep a gas can in my car. One station was charging $21 for a 2 gallon gas can. I have two already sitting in my garage at home and didn't want another one. Thank goodness when I just took my car to the Chevron, it took the nozzle and I got my gas. I'm still not home yet....so I will be stopping at most of the Chevrons I see along the I-5.
2. It was super successful to bring a cooler with everything I needed to make wraps for lunch. I used Maru's traveling blender to make a watermelon/nectarine juice also...it was the best juice I've ever had. So, it's easy to eat raw on the road.
3. If you get a chance to go a bit further than you thought with your plans...do it. All the fun is right beyond what you had scheduled. Remember, you only schedule for what you know exists....the surprises are the part you didn't know to plan for..and they are the best! They are the discovery part of your trip!
4. Don't try to drive without rest. Surrender and get a hotel. All the coffee in the world isn't enough insurance that you won't slam your car into someone elses....maybe they have kids....maybe you'll really hurt someone....no....just get a room.
5. Weird hair happens when you travel in the summer. One sweaty night and your hair can be a frizz ball on crack. If your hair dries out from over-shampooing, just shower, get your hair wet and use conditioner. This works well if you are over 40 something. It helps with that dried out hair and gives you an opportunity to get the strange bends and waves out that your pillow styled for you overnight.
6. Don't put your cell phone out of the window for even the best of shots. My daughter's cell phone, even though it was tethered to a car charger, was sucked right out of her hands when we went through a beautiful but gusty canyon. We had to back up on the shoulder of a narrow highway, with menacing big rigs flying by within just a few feet of my car while my daughter scanned the shoulder for cell phone remnants. We got the body of her phone back, but the back and case were gone. Her phone was totally banged up but still served as our navigation device for the trip home. (That's why we bothered to look for it.)
We took a lot of pictures with that phone too. The idea is to make a vision board with the pictures when I get home. This was the first big thing on my check list for getting ready to retire. Now that I know that I love the north, I can put on my side blinders and stay focused on what I want.
Hasta pasta,
Fitness fighter
Just a few notes on the trip:
1. If you drive a 2001 Kia Sephia, make sure you travel with a gas can. At least with my car, the newer gas nozzles don't always fit enough to create a vacuum and won't pump gas. This happened at two 76 gas stations. I have better luck at Chevron and Shell stations. It could just be my car....I have no idea. From now on, though, I plan to always keep a gas can in my car. One station was charging $21 for a 2 gallon gas can. I have two already sitting in my garage at home and didn't want another one. Thank goodness when I just took my car to the Chevron, it took the nozzle and I got my gas. I'm still not home yet....so I will be stopping at most of the Chevrons I see along the I-5.
2. It was super successful to bring a cooler with everything I needed to make wraps for lunch. I used Maru's traveling blender to make a watermelon/nectarine juice also...it was the best juice I've ever had. So, it's easy to eat raw on the road.
3. If you get a chance to go a bit further than you thought with your plans...do it. All the fun is right beyond what you had scheduled. Remember, you only schedule for what you know exists....the surprises are the part you didn't know to plan for..and they are the best! They are the discovery part of your trip!
4. Don't try to drive without rest. Surrender and get a hotel. All the coffee in the world isn't enough insurance that you won't slam your car into someone elses....maybe they have kids....maybe you'll really hurt someone....no....just get a room.
5. Weird hair happens when you travel in the summer. One sweaty night and your hair can be a frizz ball on crack. If your hair dries out from over-shampooing, just shower, get your hair wet and use conditioner. This works well if you are over 40 something. It helps with that dried out hair and gives you an opportunity to get the strange bends and waves out that your pillow styled for you overnight.
6. Don't put your cell phone out of the window for even the best of shots. My daughter's cell phone, even though it was tethered to a car charger, was sucked right out of her hands when we went through a beautiful but gusty canyon. We had to back up on the shoulder of a narrow highway, with menacing big rigs flying by within just a few feet of my car while my daughter scanned the shoulder for cell phone remnants. We got the body of her phone back, but the back and case were gone. Her phone was totally banged up but still served as our navigation device for the trip home. (That's why we bothered to look for it.)
We took a lot of pictures with that phone too. The idea is to make a vision board with the pictures when I get home. This was the first big thing on my check list for getting ready to retire. Now that I know that I love the north, I can put on my side blinders and stay focused on what I want.
Hasta pasta,
Fitness fighter