The Route

Many of you have already asked, "What route will you be going?" So, I have settled on one. We will see how true I stay to it.

Night 1: Birmingahm to Houston, TX. I will stay with a friend from HS, Julie, and her husband. (est time - 12 hours)

Night 2: Houston, TX to Santa Fe, NM. I will try to make this stretch, but it could be doubtful. I do plan to stay somewhere in NM at least. I gotta get out of TX!! (est time - 14 hours)
***I have since changed my plans here after talking with someone. I will be staying in El Paso, TX. Since I'll be so close to the Mexican border, I don't need to take chances on where to stay. I pricelined a hotel, of course, IMO, the only way to go!

Night 3: I may play around in AZ. I want to see Flagstaff, Sedona and a place my friend, Heather, talks of - Slippery Rock. I even saw it on the Travel Channel the other day, even more reason to go. I have a friend in Flagstaff, one whom Stephanie, Deb & Chris love, who I hope to meet up with there. When I am done for the day there, I will make my way to the Grandest of Canyons. I hear the sunsets there are enough to make a grown man cry. I may see what that's about. Don't count on this girl doing a mule ride down to the bottom. I checked into it. It takes a day and $200. I, however, would love to raft down the CO River, so we'll see. I may just jump in and see where it takes me. (est time - 5 hours to Flagstaff from NM, est time to GC - 1.5 hrs)

Night 4: I had planned to stay in Vegas with my Uncle Tom. Uncle Tom isn't doing a good job of cleaning out his cell ph voice mail and so it's full. Not sure what will happen this night, I'm not really worried. I've seen the lights of Vegas. It isn't as much fun by yourself vs being with a slew of other trouble-makers and party people. Points of interest in this area I want to see are: Death Valley, NV, Kings Canyon NP, CA. I may make the haul into San Jose at this point by way of my lovely Yosemite. (est time from Grand Canyon to San Jose - 12 hours)

This trip is not like me at all, not in the sense of adventure, but of planning. Any of you who know me know what a "Patty Planner" I am. For some reason, this time, I don't give a flip.

I have had such an outpouring of support and love recently. I've gotten emails from old friends I haven't seen/talked to in years and even from acquaintances who I barely know. My good friend, Deb, her former boss emailed me yesterday. I'm going to post here what he said to me, as it brought tears to my eyes and made me realize again why I'm doing this. His words inspired me even more.

Deb is just bubbling over with enthusiasm for what you are doing. I’d like to join her in encouraging your undertaking. It struck a chord with me, as I’ve driven to the west coast perhaps a half-dozen times or more, various routes. Enjoyed every trip. Being an older man, of course I have advice for you, poor helpless young female, which should be promptly ignored. Take a camera and stop everywhere you like, to record scenes. If something interests you, stop and explore. By all means include Grand Canyon and Yosemite. Grand Canyon is absolutely the greatest natural thing you will ever see. Don’t be limited by 3 or 4 days. Let the trip dictate the time. Know in your heart the greatest adventure of this trip will be something unplanned, unexpected. And it will be a good adventure. That is the beauty of real travel. What you are doing is real travel.

Then, my dear, sweet great friend, Ryan. I wish I could see him more than I do. We've been friends for many years. He and his lovely wife, Anna, just moved from New Orleans to Grayton Beach. They have always wanted to live there, so they made it happen. Here's his email to me, which also, (the sap I am) brought tears to my eyes.

Beautifully written and I admire your decision. As a person who recently left a home, a job, friends, and comfort for a dream, I can say that it will not be easy. There will be times when you want to turn back (like after wrecking a Uhaul). The turning back is the easy decision but not the best. Read the "Dreamgiver" on your way to California (or join audible.com and download it to your ipod) for inspiration. Don't listen to the naysayers and trust your intuition, because a woman of such courage should at least be able to trust in herself.
Love you tons,
Ryan

Yet again, I want to emphasize, I am not sure how long I'll be gone. I feel the chances of me returning home are far greater than staying out there. Maybe a month isn't long enough for the things I want to see & experience, and that's OK. I may take 6 wks to explore everything out there. We'll see.

If any of you know friends/family in the areas I'm going to, let me know. It'd be fun to make a new friend here & there.