Look for the Silver Lining

It's been an extremely long six weeks, yet I'm holding on to a vision of greener (sunnier? warmer?) pastures ahead. 

While holding my breath, I made it safely to Pennsylvania, and with much support, the Element is back on the road (a valve job).  The weather was inviting; much eating, walking and chatting occurred daily; and I was able to say "so long" to friend, Scott as he hit the road for another season at Yellowstone.  It was also quite good that I'd arrived four days earlier than planned, as I left four days earlier and fit in a visit with friend, Barbara in Rochester.  We caught up but neglected to take a photo. Much to my surprise, it was also the first time I saw the Erie Canal drained. I've always pictured it as a winter sport site as the Canadians enjoy on the Rideau Canal. Learn something new... 

In no time, I dropped into Ithaca, New York for a "Could I live here?" perusal. The first few days were sunny and spring-like with a rapid turn for what has been nearly a month of cold, gray, rainy weather. How cold? The heat has been on where I'm staying. How gray and rainy? I'm reading my 11th book this weekend. I've barely been able to bike, though I can walk the hills to the Cornell campus without a second thought.   

Within a week, I knew that Ithaca was off my list and weather isn't the only issue. While I'd camped at nearby Treman State Park last fall, this was my first visit into the city so my expectations were delusional. Indeed, it's a college town, but there is Cornell on the hill and there is Ithaca with Cayuga Lake, which seems to be the draw to bring the Cornellians downhill. Otherwise, it is two very separate worlds. 

For me, living downtown feels like living at the bottom of a fishbowl surrounded by a traffic circle that must be crossed to enjoy the lake. Ithaca is working hard on its traffic issues with e-bike and car share rentals, an active bike-walk advocacy group, a bus system, and a walkable downtown, but don't even ask me about parking. There's limited bike infrastructure so I didn't feel safe sharing the road with drivers from around the world, and city streets have potholes that feel like sinkholes on a bike. Alas, there is a very pretty bike-walk trail along 8 miles of the lakefront with an unpaved connector for another eight. At this point, I've biked 600-700 miles less than normal since arriving north on March 30th, and I can say that my body, mind and soul are none the better for it. 

The lakefront has offered a scenic view that alleviates the claustrophobia of indoor life and the day upon day of gloomy weather. Thankfully, Ithaca is a literary town with a marvelous library, an incredible biannual book sale, and as luck would have it, a free writers conference in the spring. All of this not only saved my sanity but introduced me to a wonderful Ithacan who has spent decades writing and creating spaces for writers.  

​So, where is the Silver Lining?
While weather has become noticeably different in the past five years, I've still been able to navigate through it. For the past three years, I've been in the Mid-Atlantic, the Northeast, and Canada for early spring through early fall with little impact. This led me to believe that a home base north was feasible while continuing to enjoy the international travel still on my list.

So, many thanks to Mother Nature for giving me a reality check these past six weeks of cold, wind, snow, gray skies, and rain, rain, rain. My planned summer travel has now become a question of "Could I somehow spend summer here?", and I'm back to the drawing board. "What does home base look like?" as I plan to continue to travel for a few more years while aging in place has become an issue for the not-so-distant future.