Having spent a good deal of time as a ‘yout’ in Saratoga (family worked for the track), and near Cooperstown, I am somewhat jealous.

Remember to drink the spring water by the Ben & Jerry’s in Saratoga - if you dare. Or bring some back for friends, perhaps ex-co-workers might appreciate the spring water, and it’s after effects.

Enjoy the trip.

Thank you. I’ll keep you in mind as I roam around. And I’ll try to blog.

I hope you have a safe trip and a really good time!

Enjoy those Harry Potter books. I started reading them at the urging of my son, who is a huge fan, and now I’m hooked.

If you have time to blog, send some pictures, too, with your new camera. A travel blog. All the kids who study abroad do it! They are usually very entertaining to read. But, of course, the main thing for you to do is to just enjoy yourself and have some fun!

Have a great trip. You would be less than human if you do not have all kinds of emotions. Just receive them and remember those days with Sharon. Tears will be fine. I would like to believe she will be watching over you on this trip.
Looking forward to your blog and pictures would be great. Have lots of fun.

Some say life is learning to live with loss.
Nobody gets out of this world without some rain falling on their life. The trick is to keep yourself active and focused on your accomplishments, of which you have many.Your trip will be more enjoyable if you phrase it in this way, ‘I’m traveling with myself.’ Have a great time!

She will be with you. She never left. You have her in your heart and in beautiful memories of a life shared. And yes, I understand, I just lost my husband. So I know the emotions. It does not matter how long ago the loss or how recent. Enjoy the trip and raise that glass of lemonade in toast. In honor of her and yourself.

Angela, so sorry for your lost of your husband. Yes, you do know the pain he has had. My lost was through a divorce, and grief is grief in any loss…and it hurts.

Joe, I hope you have a wonderful, peaceful trip.

You’ll be forever thankful to and for Sharon, the life you shared together. Love touches you one time and lasts for a lifetime… and you have a son and daughter that I hope you can see so much of her in. In a way, you’re lucky, though you may not see it that way. And people find love again.. I hope you do too.

And Angela, I’m very sorry for the loss of your husband. I lost my husband not that long ago also. We never had children & I can’t look into any eyes or see a smile I might recognize. I hold all the memories close to my heart , in my heart as I will cherish forever. Please don’t take this as being different.. a loss, very sad to say is a very big loss no matter what.. children or not. Losing your parents or a sibling.., every loss is a great loss.

Life throws us curves and along with that, big mountains we have to climb. We swerve, we fall but we gotta get right back up, .. we try to anyway & give it our best. What else do we do? We go on… and we give it our all,, we keep those memories and we will never let go of them & nothing can take them from us. One thing that has made a great impact on so many people I know after a huge loss…”live life slower, don’t take so much for granted, give thanks for what you have in your life right now.” We’re only here for a little while. Do what you can with your family & friends right now and take that trip you’ve been planning. And never forget to say “I love you” to the ones you cherish so. You never know when it may be the last words you say to them. You’re whole world can change in a minute. Please don’t waste that minute, hour or day.

Be safe ~

I hope you enjoy the Harry Potter audiobooks–the release of “Deathly Hallows” was both the high point and the low point of my summer.

Drive carefully, and have a wonderful trip.

Well, thank you. I pick them up at the library on Thursday.
Truthfully, I don’t know whether this trip is well or ill-advised.
I have much to do, a job to find and such. And I’m going alone, which may not be a terrific idea. But some things demand to be done, by some weird imperative.
I turn my life over to the fates. Apprehensively, as with everything.
Joe

The job search will be there when you return. As for the advisability of the trip, much less going alone, it’ll turn out to be whatever you make of it. Just keep an open mind and let the road unfold before you.

Was it you or Stephen King who wrote about going on a road trip and stopping whenever the urge hit? I’m embarrassed to admit that I can’t remember, though obviously the tale itself stuck with me as something to keep in mind whenever I hit the road. If it was you who wrote that, I hope you don’t mind being equated with Stephen King–I’m not a fan of his novels, but I do love his nonfiction writing.

Yes, S. King’s book about writing is pretty good. Can’t stand his novels, I think they’re poorly written and imaginative in a way I don’t like — scary.
I did write one time about stopping where you pleased and the like, but I’ve rarely had the opportunity to do it. I’m glad you reminded me of it.
My sense of trepidation is probably a good thing. If I just opted for the familiar places — the Outer Banks, the Low Country, even Texas — I’d leave with low expectations.
Nervousness implies challenge. As usual, my biggest handicap is that, without a reporter’s notebook in hand, I rarely talk to anybody. Gotta get over that.

Joe