Change of Plans

I've spent the last couple weeks packing, organizing and trying to sell stuff on Craigslist. (What a pain that is!) I've also had some private 'goodbye meals' with some very special people whom I will very much miss. Trying to move and get jet-setting before the summer kicked in was really starting to stress me out. With no contract on my house as of yet, I was being impatient and rushing everything (imagine that! Haha!) and it wasn't feeling right. Guilt and fear were setting in about just dropping off my son and bolting. It's one thing when they are going to the transition safety net of college, it's another when they have to completely support themselves without any sort of network of family and friends. His father has refused to be supportive in any sort of way, including something as simple as keeping him on his family health insurance. So, although I haven't scrapped my plans, they are delayed and sort of rearranged. We are still leaving for Portland in April but now I'll hang out, exploring the Pacific Northwest until December. I need the peace of mind knowing my son is settled, has a job and can survive on his own. After that, I'm going to head south to Baja California, Mexico and make my way down to Machu Picchu in Peru, Chile, Argentina and Uruguay with the goal of being in Rio for Carnival. :D That is definitely one of my bucket list items! From there, the plan is to make my way to Florida (hopefully via island hopping), and hang with my folks in Tampa until it is time to take the Queen Mary 2 transatlantic cruise to South Hampton, England. Then I will start my travels through Europe and eastward. At least those are MY plans. :)

In the meantime, I was treated to a wonderful weekend getaway in beautiful Levels, WV. We were lucky to get a nice hike in before it rained and snowed for the next 36 hours. And, Yaay, I'm keeping my car for the time being. I get to realize another one of my dreams: to drive that thing across country, top down, music blasting. Stay tuned, I'll try to keep things interesting even though they are going to be domestic for a little while longer than originally anticipated.