Wise people say that the only constant is death, taxes, and change, but why is time never added to that list? Time is always passing and will continue to happen even without you. During many of my hiking trips where I will completely unplug from everything reentering back into the real world is always a slight adjustment. A week or several weeks go by and things do not seem to have missed a beat. Unline your house coming back and nothing has moved and the air has that stale smell and feel. The world just keeps moving. Friends and family continued to live their lives albeit not much usually changes and the world keeps doing whatever it does and the news of the world’s happenings are always the same themes as when you left.
With that concept of time continuing to pass, it causes events to happen that one might welcome or might not. These events I have fondly called chapters or past lives. They are eras where something changes and a hard stop occurs and a new must start.
January was an interesting month for me. I ended my 39th year and entered the dreaded 40th. Growing up we would have parties for our parents and their friends where they would celebrate the dreaded over-the-hill birthday but hitting that number was quite different. It does not feel any different than the many that came before it.
The biggest excitement was the birth of my nephew. We now share a birthday. My brother the new dad sent a text message saying that they tried to make it all happen on a different day. While it sounded serious I know that it was said in jest, but I responded by saying that it was the best birthday present I could have gotten.
With the arrival of my nephew, I now must travel to see the lil one and welcome him properly to this world being the Fun Uncle and all. So a trip out east is a must for this year. In an effort not to play favorites, I will also need to travel to the east coast to visit my other brother and his family to visit my newest niece who is now 7 months old.
Another big event is I said goodbye to the Jeep. After a long time of not being able to sell it, I randomly decided to list it again on a Sunday. Thinking it would take forever I listed it and did not expect much. In under an hour, I had an interested party coming to pick it up that next morning.
It is odd to have an attachment to things but we do. Also, it seems very odd to have an attachment to a vehicle but many of us do and have. Seeing a vehicle we once had stirs emotions and memories in our souls. For me, this attachment is all about the memories made while driving the vehicle. So many miles driven listening to music seeing the world change out of the windows. Camping with friends and traveling alone.
I had just completed the inside to be a mobile camper/office to take on a big road trip and was soon to head off to visit my brother in Florida. The plan was to take my time along the way visiting many National Forests along the way. I had just taken it out for a test camping trip and on a random weekday, I went out to start it so I could go get my mail. It would not start and just did not sound well. A tow truck was called and off it went to the repair shop. The next day they called explaining the extent of what was needed and the costs. After much deliberation, it was decided that the money needed to repair it was not worth the cost knowing that there were still quite a few big price items that could go anytime. I had replaced many things during the time owning it but the items that were left were the heart, soul, and limbs if you will of the vehicle.
A new adventure mobile was acquired and new adventures were to be had. I spent the next month or so building out the inside of the new rig (photos and stories to come later). While I am very pleased with how it came out and really enjoy the new rig itself saying goodbye to the Jeep was a very bittersweet moment.
Cheers to you Red Baron we had many good times and amazing adventures.
Until next time get out and do something adventurous!
