#150 Nomad Diary. 2-8 September 2023. After 6 Weeks in Alabama We Fly to Portland, Maine to Visit Son Jeremy and Family. We Begin 8 Months of Travel with One Suitcase and One Backpack Each. Grandson Quinn Turns 3. Wadsworth-Longfellow House.
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| Lunch Out with Three of Our Four Sons (Eric's wife Erin, Owen and Esther were there but outside waiting to leave) |
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| Practicing Packing My Suitcase and Backpack. It weighed in at 48 pounds with a 50 pound limit. Saturday. 2. Morning routine: look to the sunrise for awe and beauty, exercise, breakfast with coffee, call from Jeremy, Andrea and Quinn, time spent on computers. Lunch out with our 3 sons including Eric’s family who live in this area. The weather has cooled from 90’s to 80ish with cloudy skies. Today I am continuing to think about my packing. I’m practicing putting it into my suitcase and backpack and weighing it. Today my suitcase weighed in at 48.6 pounds. It feels heavy. The limit is 50 so I will go through my things and remove items to lighten it. Sunday. 3. After removing a few items from my suitcase it weighed 43.8. That’s a good starting weight for me. And the weight limit only applies to the airplane rides we have on September 5th to Portland, Maine and then on September 20th to Vancouver, Canada. I also have found that pulling a suitcase around is easier for me when it is closer to 40 pounds than to 50 pounds. My suitcase itself could be traded for a lighter one of the same size. I’m considering doing this in Maine, but still not sure about giving up my case that is super sturdy and I like the features. |
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| Eric, Owen, Erin and Esther |
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| At the Portland, Maine Airport with the Animal Display Monday. 4. Today is our last full day in Alabama. Today we downsize by putting our crates and trunks into storage at Samuel’s house. Then Darrell and I will be living out of our respective suitcase and backpack. Darrell takes care of our shared computer. Today we do our last laundry load here, and clean out our refrigerator. We have lunch planned with Samuel and dinner at Eric and Erin’s. Tuesday. 5. Go to Eric’s at 7:30am to get a ride to the airport for our 9:30 flight. Arrive Portland, Maine sometime in the late afternoon. Jeremy picked us up at the airport. He’s between jobs this week and Andrea is working. |
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| The Big Beautiful Park in Downtown Portland, Maine. |
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| Jeremy's Last Time to Eat at the Best Biscuit Place: Tandem Bakery in Portland, Maine. Delish! |
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| Tandem Bakery Blueberry Pie |
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| Anne's age 25 Widow Portrait. She was the Third Generation Woman to Own the House. She Never Had Children, Never Remarried, and Lived Here Until Age 90. In 1901 She Bequeathed the House to the Maine Historical Society. |
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| The Kitchen Sink |
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| Anne's Room |
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| Quinn, 3, Playing at Home |
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| Delicious Dinner of Salmon, Rice and Salad with Jeremy's Family |
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| Me and Quinn Playing with His Cars Wednesday. 6. Quinn’s 3rd birthday! He’s already had a party. This is such a sweet time to be together. Jeremy is finalizing his entry into the foreign service for the government. His 5-6 month training begins in D.C. on Monday. We are here just as this move is taking place for Jeremy and his family. Andrea and Quinn are moving at the end of the month. Thursday. 7. Today we did our exercises on the back deck. The weather has been extra warm for this season in this town. Most houses do not have air conditioning here so running fans and keeping shaded is the best action. At night the screened windows are open and the fans blowing 65-70 degree fresh air feels great! In the morning the back deck is an enjoyable place to do our yoga. We each have a thin yoga mat and it’s just enough. Today we did fat burner routine, about 30 minutes. We made breakfast: eggs, sourdough toast and my avocado and Darrell’s cheese, jam and strong coffee made by Andrea. For an early lunchtime Jeremy walked with us to Tandem Bakery. He wanted one more stop there before he leaves town on Sunday. We ordered breakfast biscuits, a hot jelly biscuit, a jalapeno cheddar biscuit and a piece of blueberry pie. We shared all of our delicious biscuits and finished very satisfied. I wanted to go to the “Wadsworth-Longfellow” house a few more blocks into downtown. Jeremy wanted to go there too. We went and got our tickets. Darrell left us and took a long walk back to the house. The temperature was really warming up. The oldest house in Portland and now a museum had only fans. And that is good because when the family owned it, there was never electricity! There was a fire in Portland in the 1800’s that burned much of the town’s buildings and houses along with the museum collections, save one watercolor of a Portland street scene. The fire stopped just a block or two from the Wadsworth home, and that’s why it is the oldest house in town now. It’s a really good tour and story about how it became a museum and why it has all original furnishings. There is also a very nice garden behind the house. Once we finished with the museum exhibits and the house tour, we walked back to the house. In late afternoon we got a call from Owen. He gets extra happy when Darrell is on the call. He didn’t want to hang up when we said ‘good-bye’. It’s going to be a lot of phone calls and some days on the ocean with no call zones during our travels through next April. I will keep encouraging myself to be upbeat and know that this call is amazing and we are all well loved and cared for in our families. Knowing this makes my heart happy. We had a phone call interview for a house sit near Wellington, New Zealand at christmas time. We all agreed that we will likely be the ones picked for the job and know for sure in a day or two. Jeremy made a delicious salmon dinner. After dinner Darrell and I took another walk to the grocery and back. |
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| Looking From Jeremy's Back Deck to the Backyards. We did Yoga on the Back Deck Every Morning. |
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| Quinn's Daddy Jeremy Swinging at the Playground |
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| Darrell and Quinn |
Friday. 8. Playground time with Quinn and Jeremy. Lunch out. Laundry. Computer work.
Nomad Notes.
Saying good-bye to Owen our 2 year old grandson is the most difficult and heart-tugging relationship. I know that he does not understand that we are leaving and not coming back for dinner and a walk tomorrow or the next day for almost 1/3rd of his lifetime. He will see our truck in his driveway and ride in it with his family while we are away these 8 months. We will talk on the phone with video through our journey. But the pleasure of him pointing at Darrell as his chosen best helper for eating a banana, changing his diaper, or going on a walk will be a beautiful memory for us as we say good-bye for a time. Owen will grow and mature in new skills and vocabulary. He will be growing up responsibly in his beautiful family with his caring Mom and Dad. He will be loving on his little sister.
It’s Monday morning the day before we leave for our 8 month journey with a suitcase and a backpack. The emotional tugs and pressings on me are mostly about future unknowns. I’m curious about the conclusion and our return to this place next May. We seem fragile yet supported and blessed to move forward with our adventure. It almost seems impossible that we can do this long of a trip without an interruption or issue of some kind. Either our own needs or a family member issue. These are the daily truths of living in one place or on the road traveling. Something unexpected can come up. The way you thought your day would be is changed into what it is. Arrangements are made to attend to the needs of the day.
These thoughts cannot prevent or prepare for the unknown turn of events in any day. Living on the road and making arrangements a few weeks, months or days ahead of ourselves has become part of our current routine. It is very different than living in one place and having a familiar base to arrange and rearrange from. It is the lack of familiarity with the changing circumstances that becomes the challenge. The things that I don’t know and can’t control are the greatest sources of stress. So learning as quickly as possible what I can control by knowing what my resources are and how to use them reduces stress.
I’m breathing deeply, packing my things, praying, trusting and affirming the goodness in this moment.
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