Wild Things

Well, that includes me right? 

When I grew up I wanted to be that kid in the book My Side of the Mountain by Jean Craighead George. I read the book and I was going to run off far away. I would escape through my bedroom window at night and go live in....

wait...

I didn't have a mountain to live by. And even if I stole a loaf of bread I'd still have to go home because bread would only keep alive for a bit. But maybe if I got a huge coat and ran off, I could take 2 loaves of bread and walk to my Grandparents' house to live. At 8 years old I wasn't very good at planning so I just stayed home and awaited my chance to go spend the summer at the tiny cottage away from the Suburbs that I disliked so much.

My sister tried running away once and that didn't work well for her either. She ran away to the back side of the garage but didn't stay there. She said it was icky with spiders and 'stuff'. 

I'm not saying that I had a bad childhood, I just thought that living in a tree or cave on my own would be nicer. No mom to yell at me and no sister to have to tolerate. My brother was an okay guy he had his own room which I always thought was terribly cool. 

I can say that we had the coolest family trips. We all went. One of the most memorable ones was the trip out west and back. A road trip in a car that we slept in, ate out of. Not all of the time, there were motels and swimming pools. But I fondly recall trying to go to sleep in the front seat of that old '65 station wagon and staring in wonder at the stars above us through the windshield. 

Fun gazing at Crater Lake 1965:

My father who is rarely ever in the photos as he was always taking them:

Arches National Monument. We camped out. My brother slept on the roof of the station wagon...I think.

The coolest part of the trip for me was not Disney Land or California. It was landing in Shaniko, Oregon. 

We ate a wonderful breakfast at a cool restaurant and outside we met THE Sheriff of Shaniko. 

I mean we really thought he was the sheriff and the law. I mean look at all the badges he had!

[I'm the one the flowered jacket.]

To say that I was thrilled was an understatement.

My father had a knack for finding out of the way places. And this place was a treasure. 

Funny.
I looked it up and it is considered a ghost town. Below is the museum we had our photo taken in front of.

So we did see the mountains and I revised my idea of living on the side of a mountain.

The mountains didn't look that friendly. In fact, they looked very scary.

I can't find a photo of the Grand Tetons, but I recall my Dad proudly announcing that we were approaching them.

My brother looked up from what he was reading and asked Dad if he knew what Grand Tetons meant in French.

Dad did not.

My brother replied: Big Boobs

Amazing how my parents stayed on the road and did not crash the car. I guess I'll never think of the Grand Tetons in any other way.

It was a fascinating trip so full of adventure and surprises. Three weeks of travelling.
I loved our family vacations.

As for the Wild Thing?

Well, I could always pretend.

Whoops, Reality Check...

Well.
My fanciful ideas of wandering are on hold. But that doesn't mean that I am giving up on them.

I am going to make plans. I noticed that some of the state parks I'd like to see are open all year 'round with...with snowshoeing available and hiking!

Now that would be an awesome time to go exploring I think. I will work on that and come up with a plan.

My zinnias in the garden are going crazy! They love this hot, humid weather and seem to be thriving in it. The four o'clocks have attracted humming birds. The green beans are almost done, the lettuce has bolted ... and the sweet corn is coming on strong!

We ate some the other night. It was sweet, it was delicious. And so far no raccoons have invaded and decimated the corn. Perhaps this is because I have mules pastured on two sides of the garden.

I'll be picking Miss Lily up on Saturday. She will visit for a few days and we'll be getting her school supplies. It will be a short visit, so I will try cramming a few fun things in at the same time.

We may go to Wyalusing State Park, they have some nice trails and gorgeous places to look down on the Mississippi River. I'm thinking about canoeing the Kickapoo River with Morris and her also.
If we can get the shopping done, we'll have time for some real fun.

I thought more about my traveling 'itch'. The parks I'd like to visit are open year 'round and most have snowshoeing/hiking/skiing trails. And not a big crowd! Maybe a late fall/early winter trip would work well. Or a frozen trip?

Heck I like cold. And there are no bugs.

My new wish. To try out kayaking. After my last trip down the Kickapoo River in a canoe, I thought it would be fun to try a kayak.

Perhaps a trip when the fall colors start to be-dazzle us is when I'll try the Kayak trip on the lazy Kickapoo. 

Well, off to the real world where chores await and painting, refinishing, and other mundane things await my attention!

Oh I wanna go back to ... Hawaii

The NOAA is saying that we are going to get down right frigid in the next few days.  Monday they are predicting something like -2 for the high.  That is -29 C to my friends abroad.

That doesn't not include the sustained NW winds at 30+ mph with gusts as high as 50?  Chill!

I really have started thinking about visiting there again.  I have never had a bad moment on any of my trips, other than putting up with the traveling part. 

While visiting with my mom last month we were talking about Hawaii and how fun it was when we had gone as a family. 

Mom indicated in a certain round about way when I'd told her I'd found Zander's son in the phone book and the marina we used to go to had been relocated...she said.  'You know?  I would absolutely love to go Deep Sea Fishing once more.'  

 [Photo circa 1973 ?  I am on the far left, my brother in the middle and mom on the right.]

She got this funny and heartwarming expression on her face.  
I indicated that we could dream about it and maybe even plan on that if all the 'cards' fell into the place in the future.

We changed the subject and went on to discussing other things, but I saw this far away look everyone once in a while.  
She'd glance up at certain photos on her living room wall and then back at me.

So can you blame me for thinking about it?
I also have a dream of getting back to Hawaii and just spending hours exploring some of the remote beaches that have to be hiked to with my camera. 
I want to see Pololu Valley again and watch the sun come up from the east side of the island.  Then watch it set on the west.

Winter is great for creating dreams, right?
Wow, it sounds like I'm making plans for more than one trip!

Meanwhile, on my list are places like Australia and perhaps New Zealand.  Don't know if I'll ever make it.  I thought also about a trip to Belize.  

Let the winds blow, I'll dream about cool places to visit some day!