October 10, 2018

It was the perfect weather day. I had waited months to be able to put all four of my windows down and let my short, stubby hair blow in the wind.   My thoughts were consumed with my upcoming New England Fall Foliage Photo Shoot.   I had a case of wanderlust and I couldn’t wait to show my camera the beauty of New England’s 4 states.
I had a list of so many things I wanted to do but had to limit it to 5 days.   As it turned out, which you will read about in the upcoming blog posts.  I loved Maine so much, I stayed an extra night in South Portland.  So, it became 6 days and 4 states. I would be spending the second half of my trip in Massachusetts with my mother, sister, brother-in-law, 3 nephews, 2 dogs and a cat.  It would be the first time in a long time I would be with family for my birthday.  I was so excited for the visit, but I had to remain focused on the first leg of my trip.

I wanted to start packing in July, but since I wasn’t leaving until October, I had to wait.  I did pull my suitcases out at the beginning of October, so my cat would know I was leaving.  He slept inside the suitcase a few times thinking it would stop me from abandoning him.  This would be the first time I would leave him in the care of others for more than 2 weeks.  It would take me a few nights to get used to sleeping without 10 pounds of fur on my chest.

I did so much research on where I was going, what I was going to see and where I’d stay that it became a bit overwhelming. My notebook pages were so convoluted with information, that I kept having to start over. 

I used a map online which was special for road trips.  That map became my daily and hourly bible. 

 

It was constantly open on my computer and I couldn’t stay away for more than a half hour.  Pathetic, I know, but I wanted to make this trip perfect and planning just wasn’t working for me.  I can’t tell you how many “saved” trips I created.  Honestly, I don’t think I knew the exact trip until I woke up my first morning in Massachusetts. 
I met someone on the plane from Spokane to Minnesota and we talked much of the way.  She told me all about college and her friends and family and we shared stories of life.  She’s from New Hampshire and was so excited when I said I was going up there.  I told her about my million road trip creations, showed her the book and watched her eyes widen.   Her advice:

 “Just hit the road and wherever it takes you, follow it.”

And, so I did.

But, I had to make it through the travel day, first.  It was brutal and very long but an adventure, nonetheless.  I also obsessed on having Dunkin Donuts as soon as I got off the plane.  (We do not have a Dunkin in Spokane, WA.) I left Spokane around 4:30am from my home and the flight was 6:30am.   The idea was to bring 2 suitcases; one for clothes, etc. and the other for things I would buy. I had a normal sized backpack for my camera gear and a bag of stuff for the plane.  (Yes, I’m the epitome of a “non-light packer.”)  

The end result:  2 full large suitcases on wheels, a (new) very big camera gear backpack, a smaller added – last – minute bag on wheels, a purse-ish bag for my money, my phone and snacks.  The idea behind the smaller bag on wheels was it would be easier just to bring that one in and out of hotels and leave the other 2 in the car.

No surprise to me, that was not the case.  I get 2 free bags for my flight, so I was good.  I also hoped they wouldn’t pay attention to the weight of the bags, so I kept talking to the agent.

I would never check my camera gear on the plane and figure d the backpack would be great since it was “ergonomically” made.  Also, I could carry it on top of the rolling smaller carry-on.

I couldn’t have been more wrong.  I walked through the airport looking like the Hunchback of Notre Dame.  The backpack was way too big to sit on top of the stupid suitcase.   All of these events made the start of my trip extremely memorable.  I’d only smile or roll my eyes when something weird or unexpected happened.  The thing I said the most was, “I guess I didn’t think this all the way through.”  That would be my tag line for the entire 2 week trip.  I knew I had an incredible long journey ahead, but I wasn’t stressed or cared in the least.  My only concern with the destination at Boston Logan Airport was picking my rental car up before it closed.

…to be continued.