God willing, our plans for the upcoming year...

I've always felt as if I were just a pawn - sitting on a huge chess board and the two players are me and God. Even though I try to beat Him at His own game, in the end, I will only advance to the squares He chooses. I am planning to advance a few squares this summer, and as long as I don't get checked, I should find myself visiting grandchildren in North Carolina, family in Oregon, grandchildren in Colorado and several other interesting sights by the fall.

In 1972, when I was 16, I flew to Oregon and visited my maternal grandmother and maternal uncle and his family. I had only met each once prior, so it was actually the visit where I came to know them a little better. My mom had passed away 6 years earlier, so I think I was looking for some missing pieces to the puzzle of my life.

After all these years I still have vivid memories of the beautiful land, the wide expanse of the Pacific Ocean, huge Redwood trees, tubing on river rapids, sailing on a shrimp boat, camping in a pop-up and discovering a whole different type of living. 

The day we purchased our first RV I knew I'd be heading back out to see the family that remains and share the unparalleled beauty of the Pacific northwest with "G." I was fortunate to book campgrounds quite close to all the family we will be visiting along the way. My uncle and his wife live in Coos Bay, and my aunt and her husband live in Reedsport, both of which are on the coast. I have a cousin who was two or three when I last saw him, and he is now a grown man with a family of his own. I am looking forward to meeting them all.

In order to keep things straight in my head, I've broken the trip into three "phases." In Phase I, which has been revised, we will head up to North Carolina to visit my son and his family, with one stop-over along the way. Then, due to curiosity, adventurism and reckless abandon (and the difficulty getting into Croton Point Park), we decided to take a side trip to Nashville, TN for some sightseeing and then down to Sherman, MS for some shopping. The remainder of the journey will find us with one night stands along the way until we reach our beloved Croton Point Park. I can't believe I feel that connected to the park I couldn't wait to leave last year.

Round about way to NY

Phase II, consists of stops along the coast of Lake Michigan, Yellowstone, Cave of the Winds, The Badlands, Idaho Falls, The Tetons, Crater Lake, and the Oregon coast to visit family.

Phase II

Finally, Phase III, will find us visiting Klamath Falls, The Redwoods in California and then a 10 day stopover to see the other three grandchildren in Colorado.

Phase III

The entire trip will span about five months and Allie will add approximately 9,000 miles to her odometer. If my hours, days and weeks of planning go off without a hitch, we will be adding a few more stickers to our map, many more blog entries, and a tremendous amount of exciting memories. Let the game begin...Chess, anyone?

Deep thought for the day:  The proverb written by my favorite Chinese philosopher is quite appropriate for this blog entry.  "A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.  ~  From the quote 千里之行，始於足下, by Laozi  (c 604 bc - c 531 bc) in the Tao Te Ching, chapter 64. 

NOTE:  To view the complete list of dates and campgrounds, click on the tab marked "2016 Journey."