Starting the Journey

“Are you feeling bad yet?” is the question Mum asks after a grueling barrage of “What about your children and grand baby in Springfield?” and “Your Dad and I are gonna really miss you, being half way across the country.”

“Oh yes. Thanks Mum” I reply, like I really needed the help.

Traveling across the country, and yes the globe has always been one of my goals in life. Mary and I are excited to start the adventure and sorry to leave friends and loved ones behind. Yes, we will be back to visit Springfield MO.

The biggest change I noticed right away, even before leaving town was my key ring. Only two keys on it! The car key and another for the cable securing the bikes on the trunk rack; the others left behind. No need for them.

Has my life already simplified to the point that I no longer carry keys to long since forgotten locks? I thought it symbolic of all the stuff we recently gave or sold away. Stuff that consumed storage space for rare moments we might need them. Yet serve me no purpose as I sit here in Albuquerque writing this note.

I felt lighter, less burdened with a sense of relief, but the feeling was tempered by the thought of missing my family and friends.

Relieving ourselves of possessions was exhausting, especially for Mary. It was a lot of work.

Trying to fit what Mary thought we would need in the car was an accomplishment as well. “Maybe you need one of those rear travel racks” Hannah suggested. Yet, if we need that we would have failed.

Travel light to maintain mobility. That is our mission.

Consume less, purchase little, experience the simple pleasures of our new surroundings is our new creed.

Can we accomplish this while staying in L.A.?

Ah, now that will be a true first test worth writing and reading.

P.S. If you don't recognize the above picture it is a pop icon in Amarillo. Ten Cadillacs half buried in the middle of a barren field.

Destination Determined!

Thousand Oaks! Dad, that’s the last place I want to go. I told you a large east coast metropolitan area with culture, and you sign up for a small planned development in California.

That’s how my conversation with Molly started when I told her where I am working this summer. Thousand Oaks is actually a suburb of L.A. and yes it is a planned community that is only a few decades old. Not exactly what Molly was hoping for. Not to mention being on the opposite end of the continent.

“It’s even the safest city in the country as rated by Money Magazine” Molly continues, “that means there is absolutely nothing going on there.”

I was prepared to argue that point, but I was surprised that she discovered this little tidbit of information. As it turns out however, while I will be working in T.O. (as it’s called by locals), I can still choose housing in the L.A. area. An acceptable proposition to Molly.

So how did I end up agreeing to L.A. and not the east coast?

That is a recent lesson learned.

Most nurse managers approach administration needing extra help and needing help ASAP. That’s good for me, except I need a license for each state, and that takes longer than what most hospitals are willing to wait for.

What I should have done is chosen a state to work in such as Rhode Island, and gotten the license well in advance, thus eliminating any wait time.

California is one of only a handful of states that are called “walk-through” states, that is, just a one day wait for a temporary license, thus rating high on my list because it also has an abundance of needs for travel nurses and large cities.

Being a walk-through state though means that I literally have to be in the capitol to pick up my license, in this case Sacramento, the day before I start my orientation in L.A. That’s of course assuming there are no problems.

Hmmmmm. The makings of a new adventure, and of course an update for you to follow.