Just these past coupla days I've been hatching a Plan, kinda. It's a Plan for what I'll do after Mike finishes law school and Gets A Job, which, if all goes as expected, will happen five years from now. The Plan involves buying one of these, or something like it, and me and Saint hitting the road.
It's not as ridiculous as it sounds. There's a club out there called RVing Women that provides support for women who RV alone. I found this quote about it on a different website; I don't know how old the information is: "Today, the group numbers about 5,000, ranging in age from 25 to 85 with most between 55 and 62." I'll fit right into that last group in five more years, but I'm healthy and pretty fit.
I won't be able to retire at that time, but I could take a leave of absense for six months or so. I'd start out with a short trip over to the Blue Ridge Mountains, and if everything was working out I'd head over to West Virginia. I'd go down to the Smoky Mountains in North Carolina, too. I'd eventually head out west via a southern route, taking in New Orleans along the way. There are beautiful places I'd like to see all over the west; I can picture a route winding through New Mexico, Arizona, Utah, Colorado, South Dakota, Wyoming, Montana, and Idaho. Eventually I'd end up on the coast in Oregon, and if I were really loving the experience I might go up into Canada, and woah, if I'm really feeling adventurous I might even go up to Alaska.
That's the Dream at the end of the Plan, like the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow: I've wanted to see Alaska for years.
I can't wait forever. Saint will be six years old and still in his prime. I wouldn't dream of doing this without the feeling of security I'd get from knowing he'd raise the roof if anyone or anything approached the van at night. Besides, he's my buddy; I can see us taking long hikes together through national forests, but I can't see myself doing it alone.
Well, it's just a dream. Who knows, tomorrow I might forget about the whole thing. It's fun to think about, though. It's fun to Plan. I've been "becalmed" for quite a while now; it'd be nice to weigh anchor and set sail.
Now I can see where those travel blogs have been festering, er, incubating. And no, for someone in your position socially, financially, personally, it doesn't sound crazy at all.
In fact, it'll make me nuts not to want to tag along. :) Somehow I don't think a newly-minted librarian's job (which I'd expect to have by then) would look well upon a 6 month leave of absence.
Well I'm not sure a 6 month leave of absence would go over all that well here either, to tell the truth. It's hard to say. The contract we have now runs out in two more years but I think it's assumed it'll be renewed. They could hardly bring in someone to replace me for 6 months. I'm pushing that concern to the back of my mind for now.