Tough Start, Sweet Middle, Tough Finish

In a word, December has been exhausting, with issues carrying over into my new year. Luckily, it’s time to digest the multitude of people, places & experiences that shaped 2022 before I step forward into the next 365 days:

• The year began in Florida once again, “camping along Memory Lane,” with a return to tent life at some of my favorite spots: Stuart, Sebastian, Cedar Key and Palm Coast. There were quite a few frosty nights; many tourists & transplants from west of the Mississippi; impromptu reconnects with people I’d met up to 7 years ago; and a scare with an insect venom allergy I’ve never experienced (red ants!). I did try to “retreat” indoors for a bit, but crazy can show up anywhere, right? In late March, I floated out of Florida.

• ​The Barwick-Dudley House brought me for a stay in Twin City, GA with a retired lit professor and writer. It was a very relaxing week of interesting breakfast conversation, cycling to the local state park, and late afternoons reading on the wraparound porch. Small town America comfort.
• I’ve been meaning to put up my tent on Lake Marion in Santee, SC for a number of years and yes, it was finally time. At the start, it felt like bygone days with cordial people there to relax, fish, kayak, and let the kids ride the circle. But Mother Nature had her own ideas as heavy rain and thunderstorms came through culminating with hours of a tornado watch. The camaraderie in the bathhouse saved my sanity!
• ​Ah, back to the indoor life in an adorable tiny house in the newly-discovered Farmville, NC. Talk about days of yore – a friendly Main Street, giant $2 cheese biscuits, thrifty thrift shopping, kids playing kickball, and more. I fell in love with this little town and a week wasn’t enough.
• On to my “state of residence” to an overdeveloped Easton; my first independent senior living experience with dear Lois; get-togethers with good friends; and a check-up for me and my stuff! Then time to see the Western Shore where the Potomac meets the Chesapeake, and a tour of the state’s first capital. I’m enjoying quite a bit of Maryland since I left.
• ​A return to North Carolina was in order where I survived the suburban sprawl of Clayton by joyously riding the Neuse River Trail most days. The hovering south was well worth it as a family wedding was on the itinerary in Raleigh-Durham and it was grand! I shared a sweet casita, ate & drank well, danced like a crazy woman, and enjoyed every person there. What a wonderful celebration of two kindhearted “kids” and a coming out party after a few years of social isolation.
• It was slow moving from here so the next stop was Pleasant Garden to put my tent up in the woods at Hagan Stone Park. From here, a week in Greensboro, which reminded me of Portland, Oregon about 30 years ago. That was a good thing.
• ​My decision to summer in Canada had me moseying north to peruse a number of new destinations along the way. There was Morgantown, WV – a town I simply don’t get, but I had 36 hours of fun with a friend and the best damn drunken noodles in a long time. Watkins Glen, NY was my first finger lakes experience and an active week of camping, cycling, hiking and catching up with a high school friend beside Seneca Lake. In the Slate Valley, I stayed with an interesting couple in Granville, NY, enjoying life along the Mettawee River and cycling the hills of nearby Vermont.
• I’m not sure how I found West Addison, VT but I was in my glory for 10 nights camping in the southern region of Lake Champlain. The Lake, the Adirondacks, the Green Mountains, Crown Point, the rural community, and the city of Vergennes have me wondering how this was my first visit. On my way northeast, I also had a premier visit to Montpelier, the smallest state capital. The Art Gallery Hostel brought me into Whitefield, NH to meet a friendly host and do some wicked hill riding in the White Mountains region.
• It was a great pleasure to be au Canada from July through mid-September. My French immersion began with Anna at L’ensoleillee and it was a restful, joyful, productive time in Saint-Louis-de-Blandford. After a month in a lovely auberge in Vieux-Levis, I know what heaven feels like -- a path along the St. Lawrence, daily warm baguettes, a ferry to Quebec City, and sunset views from my window.
• While I was originally departing in late August – mais non, ce n’est pas possible! I carried on with a stop in Saint Andrews by-the-Sea, a favorite spot of mine for years now, then boarded the ferry to Nova Scotia. Bear River, “the tidal village on stilts” offered a relaxing and inspiring time as I had a home share with a female artist of my generation. After just 18 hours in St. George, New Brunswick, I enjoyed 4 nights camping on private land in St. George, Maine discovering Port Clyde, Tenants Harbor, and the famous Marshall Point Lighthouse.
• ​Fall began in the old hometown in Massachusetts with a delayed birthday celebration and social events with no less than 16 family members and friends. A spectacular fall continued as I hid out at Harvey’s Lake then visited friends in Sewickley, PA. Harrisonburg, VA in the Shenandoah Valley offered 48 hours of fall and an equal tease of winter. Then, why fight it? I returned to Farmville, NC, and even a bike crash and auto trauma can’t taint this unique community.

• On Thanksgiving, I wasn’t talking turkey but shrimp & grits & key lime pie were the request of the day, as I celebrated friend Mark’s 60th birthday along the Golden Isles of Georgia. A solo week in the historic town of DeLand, Florida felt like a mini-vacation before indeed it was Christmas in the oh-so-busy Fort Lauderdale area.

• Of equal importance in my universe, I did: 

         - Cycle 5,010 miles (and celebrate with pie)
         - Read 67 books (bump to 70?)
         - Eat one fantastic reuben sandwich with Maryland gal pals
         - Enjoy a number of outdoor concerts; a joy I’ve missed the past few years
         - Look back from day one of this journey and begin to put thoughts to paper.

Yes, 2023 has officially begun but I’m still pondering what’s next on the agenda, and you?