Mile:20,363
It's a cold day here in North Carolina, maybe fifty or so. I just completed the third tour for the book, and am eagerly awaiting the final chapter. I started out a month ago traveling west towards Nashville, then down to see my brother in Florida, and am now back where I started. It was about three thousand miles in total, but the driving was easy. Erin blessed me with her presence half way through my Florida visit, and we did a lot together. We went canoeing at Jaime's work, an estuarian (sp) research center north of St. Augustine, and saw so many birds. The ride back in reminded us of paddling in Juneau battling the tide working double time to make progress. No alligators this time around, but we were ok with that. We then spent a day with Pj and Jaime searching for the elusive manatee in a river fed by a natural spring. In the winter, the manatee's and other fish swim inland to enjoy 78 degree water, but due to the warm winter, we only saw one or two. The state park was delightful, and we got lots of good shots of all kinds of critters. We then ate philly cheese steak sandwiches and headed home. Pj surprised me with Dogfishhead Olde School barley wine, that sent is both to the moon and back. This stuff was more powerful than a week old fruit cake that sat in the sun. After playing several games of darts, we turned in.
Erin visited her friend in Orlando, and brought back one of my favorite breweries, Orlando Brewing, beer! All of there beers are USDA organic, and they all dominate Florida's craft brews. I must admit after sampling hundreds of beers, OBC is at the top five for sure, not that I have any right to judge beer, I mean, it's beer, right? haha, I'm learning more and more about what I'm doing, and am super excited to move on to the next phase of the book, publishing.
Erin and I drove north two days ago, leaving behind the Pawelek's, and heading back to NC. My mind seems to be spinning, as there is a lot going on. I'm about to embark on a 6-10,000 mile journey, have enough money for gas, and have to say bye to my girl for two months! But this is the life I desire right now. Leaving loved ones behind isn't at all how I look at it. I'm in part doing this so our bonds become stronger, and building trust is essential to those who I love. I am super excited to go out to California to see Adam, and just as excited to share my time with Brad in Colorado. I look at this like I look at everything. My mind works like a chainsaw; it burns best when it's almost out of gas. It's a combo of the starving artist with the drive of a husky. I know that I might run into the storm, but the chase is all I see, whether it presents me with a perfect trail to run on, or labyrinth of loose leaves. These experiences will better my life, and give my kids something to dream of when they find themselves at a crossroads.
I have locked in only one sled dog presentation at St. Johns technical high school, at it was a blast. Erin brought the dogs in and tut immediately thought he had died and gone to heaven, I mean seriously. The chairs' legs had tennis balls on them to prevent tearing the carpeted floor, so Tut came into a room full of literally a hundred tennis balls, and he tried getting each one as fast as possible! It made the kids laugh, and the Ketza and Tut ran free during the assembly, which set an incredible tone. I can't thank the teachers who helped set this up enough, it means a lot to me to bring my life's experiences to guys and girls on the brink of starting their lives. Simply wonderful!
So as I engage full throttle light speed here we go Mush!, I am nervous as hell as to what awaits me around the next bend. I know that if my truck breaks down I have Tut and Ketza to pull the truck to safety, and enough twinkies from Uncle Joe to last a winter, so why should I worry?! I thank all that have helped get me this far, and I am truly blessed to have all of this love in my life. When I return from the trip I will be looking for work in NC while I finish the book, which will hopefully out by next December. Self publishing is expensive, but like Walt Disney said, "We don't make movies to make money, we make money to make movies." Talk to you guys and girls in a week! Stay tuned for a video of something....beer or music, probably both!
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