Just yesterday we got some news that influenced our date of departure (which heretofore was cast in Jell-o), and we made the decision to leave Hopkinsville next Thursday, September 27. Even though we’ve been talking about leaving for weeks and doing the necessary projects that would make it a reality, knowing that we’re going to be here for only seven more days is kind of shocking.

It’s hard to believe we’ve been in this mobile home park for six months already. Save for just a few short trips that took us away for maybe a total of two weeks, we’ve stayed put. Our neighbors are nice enough, but everyone stays to themselves, which is fine with me. I really don’t have anything in common with anyone here.

While I’m blessed with a whole lot of good friends here in Hoptown, the majority of them can’t relate to our nomadic way of life. I almost feel like I did in St. Louis so long ago when we sold everything in order to live on a boat. Normal people who live traditional lifestyles just don’t get it. I certainly don’t blame them…it just makes me feel like an outsider, especially as the time here winds down. That is, until I find “my (other) people.”

That probably won’t be until December, when we get to where we’ll spend the winter, Bandera…same place as last year. Until then, it’ll just be Dave and me taking our sweet ol’ time getting to Texas.

Usually I have most, if not all, of our stays planned out ahead of time and we know exactly where we’re going and when we’ll get there. This time, though, we thought we’d play it by ear and not make any arrangements too far ahead of time. It really isn’t until we actually get someplace that we are able to make a wise decision as to how long we’d like to stay. We’ve made the costly mistake of reserving a spot for several days, only to find out that we didn’t like it as much as we thought we would…and then we just have to bide our time, waiting to leave.

We fully expect to stay in truck stops from time to time, and THAT ought to give me fodder to write about! We’ve done it before, so the idea isn’t too outlandish. We’re fully self-contained with a well-functioning generator, so it’s not like we’ll be roughing it. Doing that will cut down the expenses, and for us, that’s half the fun and a big part of the adventure.

Next month we’ll celebrate our 40th wedding anniversary and we’re playing around with the idea of renewing our wedding vows. Since we don’t know where we’ll be, we can’t invite anyone, but it’ll be perfect however it turns out. I am very blessed to have the partner I do. He’s my best friend, and I can’t imagine anyone else I’d rather go through life with. He puts up with all of my crazy, and I put up with his. I think we were truly made for one another.

I’ll be sure to chronicle our trip, the good, the bad, and the ugly. It’s therapeutic. Even now as I write this, I’m beginning to get a little excited. For the past 24 hours I’ve been dwelling on everyone here I’m going to miss, especially Kate and our grandkids, but writing this swan song has lifted me up a lot. I’ve got to think positive: The best is yet to be!