Pace, our son, and I leave tomorrow morning for our big pilgrimage West.

Our first stop is Carlsbad, New Mexico, then onto Phoenix, then the Grand Canyon. From there, we’ll head to the California coast and make our way north to Portland. We ship the boy home to his grandmother, then we’ll take a short jaunt up to Seattle, back to Portland, back to Northern California for nearly a week, then repeat in reverse for the journey home.

Woo!

We’re seeing lots of good friends and some new friends. We’ll see parts of the country none of us have ever seen. We’re traveling together as a family for the first time ever – this is really the first time I’ve traveled with my son. We’ve moved over long distances, but moving is stressful and traveling is fun, so this will be an all-together different experience.

I spent all day yesterday running errands. This afternoon, we make lists and then we pack – slowly and leisurely, so we don’t have to rush. And come dawn Thursday morning, we’re off.

I’m a little nervous, a little scared, and a huge lot excited. I’ve been feeling the call to Northern California for months – my very first intuitive ping after surgery was, in fact, the first glimmers of this call. I bought a big map of the US, and when we mounted it on the wall, my eyes zoomed in immediately, and I tapped the top of CA, and I said, “Right there. We’re gonna get right there and want to go no further.”

Being my first intuitive ping after nearly eight months of nothing, that was a little intense.

And the intensity hasn’t faded. I don’t really know what I’ll find there, other than the warm, welcoming ocean and the gigantic trees (isn’t that enough?!), but I’m really looking forward to finding out.

It’ll be an adventure, that’s for sure.

I’ve found life far more exciting and far more fun since we started living it as an adventure. Since I started opening up to the possibility of drowning. Since I realized I’m not really in control, I can do my best and let go. It makes me more chill in general, and I’m loving it.

Over the next month, our blog posts might get a little scattered. We’ll be traveling, and I’ll be writing, and I’d like to post about what we’re doing and seeing and the experiences we’re having, so I’m planning on loosing up on my schedule. Thusly, things will be a little more… adventurous around here – but we’ll still be here, connecting and sharing.