Adios, Ciao, Goodbye!

Well I am on my way to see the world! I am excited, nervous and ready for the Unknown. Bring it on!!! see you all in 4 months!

Time with Family while Packing for overseas!

Monday Oct 22 to Sat Oct 27th-

This will be my 4 th visit this year! I think this is a record for me. I have really enjoyed all the time spent with my family. This week was a bit stressful for me. I have spent the week packing, shopping, bill paying, and travel researching! It might sound odd but it is a lot of work doing all this traveling! Worth every minute of course. I spent most of my time searching where I will be staying in India, and what to do in Thailand, Vietnam and New Zealand. I haven't even begun to look at Australia. I will be leaving tonight at 6pm heading for Nepal. It will be a 2 day trek to get there and when I get there I will be surrounded by some of the tallest mountains in the world! How amazing is that. Here is a quick view of what my very flexible schedule looks like. 4 weeks in Nepal doing a guided trek in the Himalayas. India for 3 days, with a quick visit to the Taj Mahal I hope. Nothing set in stone yet. Following India I will be going to Thailand for about a week or so and then to Vietnam for another week or so. Meeting Jeff and Maddie in Perth, Aus for 2 weeks and then to the East coast for 2 more weeks. The last leg of the trip will be a month in New Zealand. I am not sure what I am looking forward to most but I will let you know where I will be going back to or not coming home from.=) As of this moment in time Karen will not be going with me but I think she is thinking long and hard about it and hopefully will be making her decision soon! Please keep in touch while I am away, I will love to here from you all. I have just bought a new phone that has Internet so email me please.

Grandma Takes us out for a nice dinner again! She is such a giver! Thanks Mom

Sister Love!

Newlyweds! Amy and Cisco

A Tee pee: Karen wanted to stay in one on our trip but we never had the chance. This made me think of her. Next Trip Karen.

My Mom's Living Room!! Yes that is all my stuff and I have to figure out how to fit in all in the red backpack! It has been a challenge but I think I have it all figured out! We shall see. If I don't have it I will buy it! New motto.

My Dad was so kind to change the oil in the car! After driving about 9,000 miles I think it was overdue. It will sit for the next 4 months and wait for my return. Thanks Dad. Thanks for the mac and cheese too.

The cutest little Girl Ever!!!! Yes this is my niece. I love her and will miss her the most.


Another beautiful Sunset! I am looking forward to many more in many different places!

Good Bye Karen

Day 45- Oct 22 2007

On Monday Oct 22 I awoke at 3am to make my drive back to my mom's house in Plainfield,IL! I had about 15 hours ahead of me without my co-pilot, entertainment, DJ ,Navigator but most important I was without my friend. The past 45 days have been amazing! Words can not even explain how I feel about being able to share this part of my journey with Karen. Over the past 45 days we have laughed, cried and opened ourselves to many experiences. We have learned from each other and our friendship has grown. There are sooooooooooo many things that I have done on this trip that I might not have if Karen wasn't with me. just to list a few: I would not have set up camp at 9pm or in the dark.(FYI I am slightly afraid of the dark and that may have freaked me out on my own), I would not have learned all the words to all of Pink's, Missy Higgins and the Waifs songs, I wouldn't have watched educational video's at all the National Parks. I wouldn't have stopped at Mt.Rushmore and seen the boys and learned about the Black Hills. I would have missed out on all the gift shop shopping. I wouldn't have enjoyed coffee everyday all day long. But most of all I wouldn't have had the opportunity to know who Karen REALLY is!!!! Her name is Karen Fritz and she ROCKs! Our friendship will never be the same and I look forward to where it will take us in the future. Maybe Thailand,Vietnam, New Zealand, and Aus!!! I am trying to get her to join up with me.
Thank you Karen for sharing yourself with me the past 45 days and allowing me to share myself with you!
Take it in, take it all in Now is a time that will not come again this is a day that is here for the living! - The Waifs- Seems to be our motto!

I love you and will miss you on the next part of my journey!
Watch out San Diego you are getting a New Adventurous Karen who now sees light in a whole new way!!!

Karen's Family

Friday Oct 19 Day 42 (still) in a new state further south in New England.


One final fun car journey for me to get us to CT, Colchester, to be exact. We had a final PB & J on the road, stopped in Concord, MA for coffee and shoe shopping. I finally bought the IPOD I started shopping for before we left San Diego.

Tomie and I arrived to the home of my brother Christopher and his family (first photo). Tomie and I and Emma and Claire played Angelina Ballerina Uno with the cards I purchased in Seattle and mailed from Powell, WY for Claire's 6th birthday. Aiden ran around the house like a spring unloaded with smiles and giggles galore.

Saturday brought the opportunity to run in Airline State Park. 1 hr 24 min - our longest run of the trip. We felt great....when we were done. Tomie and I talked while running, as we do, and embraced that moment and all the moments and life in general. I got the okay from Tomie to let out the loundest WOOOOO!!! I could. It felt great and signifies the joy and happiness I feel. A second one emerged some time later. I highly recommend this.

My Uncle Jim visited and looked at lots of our photos on Tomie's computer. It is so great to look at the pictures again. Some of our adventures happened over a month ago already!
7p.m. we were in Enfiled, CT visiting my younger brother Kevin and his family (notice, 3 kids each). No pressure on the girl to have kids.

We spent a few hours Saturday night in a corn field maze in CT with Kevin & Co., map in hand. Triptix would have come in handy. Headlamps did!! Homemade lasagna (one of Kevin's specialties) when we returned home. I last visited my family in May. I know this is cliche, but, the kids grow so fast.

Sunday Oct 21 Day 44

10 a.m. Important to me, so I share with you. Everyone, 12 of us, go to the cemetery to plant bulbs for my Dad. I asked Tomie to take some photos.

Cousins. Claire, Taylor, Emma

My Pop cherished Aidan for 11 months.

Taylor - Kevin's youngest

Back at Kevin's house, Tomie organized lots of people to sit still. That's 6 kids!!

First, 3 of the bigger kids. The men in my life.

(Back) - Jordan, Emma, Kayla, (Front) - Aidan, Taylor, Claire - ages 2 1/2 to 15 years
Proud, proud, proud Aunt Karen. You see why CT is my second home!

Aidan and Christopher (Daddy).

Fritz' Angels. Here's to you Tomie!!!
Tomie mentioned a nap at Jamie and Sarah's in ME. I must have slept through that part of the day (ha ha)because I don't remember a nap. A nap is what we took on this day before going to Kayla's softball game. Sunday night we joined my friends Keith and Pilar for dinner and a good time all around in downtown Hartford. I guess I forgot to take out my camera to snap a shot or two. I must have been distracted by Tomie and Pilar showing photos on laptops and Keith on his phone. Oh, technology.

Monday Oct 22 Day 45
As Tomie indicated, we were up at 3:00 a.m. She pulled out of the driveway about 4:30 a.m. and I got one last look at the bikes on the back of the Mazda through the tears in my eyes. Wow, what a journey. Hopefully, following our travels has allowed all of you to share some of the incredible places, experiences, and emotions Tomie and I have both been blessed to live full on. Thank you, Tomie. Light and love to each of you out there on your own special journeys. More adventures to come!!

More New England

Oct 16th to Oct 19th Day 39 to 42

Tues Oct 16th Day 39

Today started with me getting up at the crack of dawn to catch another sunrise. Karen stayed at home to catch up on some sleep since she stayed up later than I did. I watched the sunrise on the harbor down in Bar Harbor. It was very peaceful and calm. I really enjoy being up that early but it still makes it very difficult to get out of bed. Following the sunrise I returned to the hotel with coffee for Karen, and then headed back out to Acadia NP to catch some morning light. It was a beautiful morning. After I was done taking loads of pictures I returned the room to find Karen up and packing.

We were then ready for our next adventure.

We rented comfort bikes, bikes with a big cushioned seat, shocks, and has you in a upright position, and headed to Acadia national park to ride on the carriage roads. There are about 50 miles of carriage roads in the park. It is the best way to see the park. We rode for about 2 hours to this restaurant on Jordan Pond and had seafood chowder, Popovers, and of course Coffee!!! Than we headed back to town. We rode for about 2 hours and stopped to take lots of photos of the colors! They were amazing!

We then turned the bikes in and headed to Portland, ME to stay with my friend Jamie and his fiance Sara!

Wed Oct 17 Day 40

Today we woke up with Jamie before he had to head to work! What a bummer. I must add that you can really get used to not having a routine and do the same thing over and over again. After we saw Jamie off to work we had coffee and sat out on the porch overlooking the Lake and watched the sun come up and the fog lift. It was so peaceful and beautiful!

We then headed out for our day at about 11am.. This is the normal time for us to get started unless we are getting up and driving somewhere for sunrise! Very nice.. no rush

We ran around at Back Bay near Old Town Portland. We ran around yet another body of water for about 50 mins. It has been about a week since our last run so we were overdue. Especially since we have added ice cream to our diets. Following the run we headed to Old Port Portland for some lunch at the Dry Dock Tavern. Guess what we had? Yep a Burger!! And a salad.

Next was a afternoon of shopping. I think Karen thought I didn't like to shop but now she knows. I love to shop for outdoor stuff and gear! We hit L.L. Bean where I bought my first Down Jacket for my trip to Nepal. Then we found a Life is Good Store. I was having fun. We of course had some coffee. More pumpkin spice lattes! yum yum!

Following our rough day of shopping we headed back to Jamie's and Sara's for Dinner and great conversation.

Thurs Oct 18th Day 41- WOW 41 days...

Today we slept in.. got up at 7:30. we just missed Jamie before he left for work. Bummer.

We then did our normal routine.. have coffee, watch the sun come up on the lake, etc...

Karen did some writing as I worked on my photos. It is going to be some process to get all my pictures ready for showing. I have so many! We went for another run before heading to Freeport to do some outlet shopping. This was such a treat for me. We hit L.L. Bean again, North face, Patagonia, Gap and maybe some shoe stores in there as well. Maddie would have loved it! I got some more stuff for my trip and some new clothes. It is amazing how after you have been wearing the same thing for the past 41 days everything looks good on you. So.. needless to say not much picture taking on this leg of the trip.

After Karen was spent we headed back to Jamie's and Sara's for a nap before dinner. Sara got to see everything we bought I don't think Jamie was too interested. Then we went to a great Sushi restaurant! I love sushi. I think this is a first for the trip. Mark it down.
We found out how Jamie and Sara got together and how they were Naughty! It was great fun and lots of laughter! If only we lived closer we would have some playmates. Jamie let me know that his company is hiring of course. Winters are VERY LONG!!! I am not sure about that.

Friday Oct 19th Day 42

We awoke with Sara this morning! I think this might be the earliest we got up on the trip. It must have been like 5am! It was very dark out so no sign of the sun coming up. We had coffee and hung before saying goodbye to Jamie and Sara. It was a great visit and I know that I will come again. I want to visit in the summer when I can swim in the lake.

After saying our goodbyes we packed the car and headed for CT!! The Fritz Family awaits!

Travel Gratitude

The Gratitude Alphabet

This is to give you a sense of what we are grateful for and that we don't take this trip for granite! We would do this very regularly together while driving, hiking or even just relaxing on top of a mountain. Thank you Karen for sharing this with me.

A: Autumn colors, adventure, acceptance

B: Big Blue Skies, Bike Rides, Birthdays, Babies Born

C: Caffeine anyway it comes, Campgrounds with showers, courage to quit our jobs and take this trip

D: Day after Day of opportunity, Detours-The ones that we choose to take!

E: Endless Experiences, Everlasting Fall, easy going personalities

F: Friends and family we have stayed with and visited along the way. Kimberly, Paul and Melissa, Helena and Suz, Tiff and Russ, Mom, Eric, Stephen and Deb, Jamie and Sarah, The Fritz Family.

G: Generous nature of our fellow Americans and the few Internationals we have encountered

H: Hats to keep out sun, rain, keep in warmth. Karen has worn 7 different hats and Tomie 6. This does not include our helmets. Having a place called home!

I: Ipod with lots of music and Karen's New IPOD that she will play with back in SD

J: Jogging around beautiful lakes

K: Karen for staying awake with me every minute I drove!!!! I can't say the same for her.

L: Loads and Loads of Laughter. A Lenient Iowa State Trooper who let us go with only a warning.(Karen was driving)

M: Maps, Memories, music

N: New England, new music purchased in Burlington,VT Amy, Fergie and Melissa, National Parks!

O: Only one all night driving experience (see "L")

P: Paul for telling us about the Boiling River in Yellowstone! Peace and serenity!

Q: Quitting our jobs

R: Rain fly for our tent for those few rainy nights

S: Sunrises, sunsets, showers-HOT!, Schedule-free days

T: Tomie for taking Karen off snack restriction-we now have more snacks in the car!!!

U: Unexpected satisfaction of PB&J sandwiches

V: Vistas, views

W:Wildlife, wireless Internet, waterfalls, well-marked roads and trails

X: Xtra Layers to keep us warm on the cold nights

Y: Your Messages

Z: Zachary's 5th birthday party in Canandaigua,NY

New England

Wednesday Oct 10- Oct 16 (thus far) Days 33 - 38

We said our goodbyes and thank yous before continuing our journey East via Rt 90 and paralleling the Erie Canal (Lake Erie to the Hudson River). No doubt in my mind that Tomie will see her family again SOON. On our drive we encountered our second Dunkin' Donuts of dozens (no pun intended - really) to come. Tomie's favorite donut was sold out at our first stop. Behold. There it was, a chocolate covered with sprinkles begging her to indulge. Yes, we have donut!!! Our first covered bridge 'Paper Mill Bridge' photo opp. found us in Bennington, VT. Did we have New York pizza in New York? No. We did stop for some in VT though. Then, a treat for me, we stayed at The Wilson House where Bill Wilson, the cofounder of alcoholics anonymous, was born and lived his early years. I was humbled and overwhelmed with gratitude.

Quiz time. What are the 6 states of New England? ME, NH, VT, CT, RI, MA - approximately half the size of CA.

Thursday Oct 11

64 degrees and foggy as we began the drive on scenic route 100 in VT heading north. We paused at Moss Glen Falls, ate lunch in one of the countless quaint, tiny towns that VT showcases, and then we found ourselves in Waterbury, VT. YES, we went on the Ben & Jerry's factory tour! Yes, we ate ice cream. Yes, I was happy. We arrived to Burlington , VT and Church Street Mall. The skies were again cloudy and rain was intermittent. We enjoyed yet another Starbuck's coffee (pumpkin spice lattes) courtesy of Miss Melanie. We picked up Melissa, Amy, and Fergie in Borders. They joined us for dinner at Ri Ra Irish Pub and immediately began entertaining us once we got back to the car and the CD player. We have new music!!! Good buys. Missy and The Waifs still rock, they just have some new sistas to chill with.

Friday Day 35

Chilly, foggy, and rainy at times. Lunch at Roque's Restaurante Mexicano on the Lake Champlain waterfront. (Half of Lake Champlain is in NY and half is in VT. It separates the Adirondacks in NY from the Green Mtns. in VT). A short walk along the water was WINDY and COLD - 45 degrees. Lots of hours in the car today - getting a bit tougher for me to tolerate, I must admit. Entered NH about 5 pm. Treated ourselves to an Inn in Bethlehem, NH. Par for what we've encountered on our trip, the Inn owner and the other guests were friendly and add to our total trip experience. More emails exchanged.

Saturday Day 36

I repeat, Saturday. Remember what that means to us. More people out and about. First, went for a peaceful walk on the Inn grounds - 15 miles of trails through a wooded, color-saturated area. Visited Flume Gorge in the White Mountain National Forest, hiked Boulder Loop Trail, viewed Lower Falls. Burgers ( a staple in our diet lately) and more ice cream (Lava Cake) before returning to the Inn. Okay, I have failed to adequately mention the foliage. Like on our Grinnel Glacier hike way back in Montana, Tomie and I uttered "Wow!" Amazing, beautiful, incredible, like an artist's palette. Simply awesome! 'Take it in. Take it all in. Now is a time that will not come again. Take it in. Take it all in. This is a day that is (and it's) here for the livin' ' - the Waifs.

At the Inn again tonight. Half price for a second night and just the excuse needed for us to stay again.

Oct 14 Sunday

On the road to Acadia National Park in Maine - the only National Park in the Northeast USA.

49 degrees, drizzling and overcast. Not for long! Welcome to Maine - New England's largest state. The skies cleared. Tomie and I ate our PB & J along the roadside. We needed our nourishment for what awaited us. Obviously, words cannot describe what my mind could not believe to be possible. The trees, the trees, the trees. The colors, the green grass, the lakes, the amazing blue sky. The inlets, the bays, the streams.

Maine gets our foliage color award, hands down. The leaves are not even at peak yet. Although difficult to believe, I guess it does get better than this at peak color time. Again, a gift to us as far as our timing and not missing the color.

We watched the sunset atop Cadillac Mountain (1530 ft) in Acadia National Park. We had recently seen sunsets in the car or as we ran, but this was Tomie's first 'go specifically to photograph' sunset in many days. The Park is on Mt Desert Island and is surrounded by numerous inlets and bays and other smaller islands and the Atlantic Ocean. There are lakes galore. Breathtaking.

In Bar Harbor, we checked into our motel (forecast was 30 degrees overnight - I, clearly, left my cold weather camping motivation in Wyoming) and went to a pizza-movie cinema. We walked the 357 steps that our hotel clerk told us it would take to get to the cinema - he was right on! We had been hoping for one of these establishments for some time. It did not disappoint. We lounged on a real couch and ate and beveraged while we watched 'Rocket Science'. Tomie did more networking and information sharing in prep for her trip overseas. Aaron, who lounged in front of us with his wife, talked about a trek in New Zealand and appeased some of Tomie's concern by talking about how to spend her short time in India.

Monday Oct 15 Day 38
5:30 am alarm for 6:40 sunrise to be among the first people in America who get to watch the sun rise.

We stayed out the entire day and returned to our hotel about 8pm after a gorgeous sunset and a delicious dinner (no ice cream). We spent time at Sand Beach, Jordan Pond, walked ~ 4 miles around Little Long Pond. This was more difficult than running 4 miles. Almost simultaneously, Tomie and I both asked " Who's idea was it to walk around the entire lake?"

We drove south to see a lighthouse and to see specific sites that were suggested to us. The wooden bouys are on the side of The Mount Desert Lighthouse Wedding Chapel building and is apparently a shot that is found frequently in magazines. The waterfront view was amazing. The seasonal restaurants and amenities (drive-in, mini golf, etc.) in the area are mostly closed for the season and few fishermen were on the docks. Gigantic cruise ships entered the harbor daily just prior to the cruise season also coming to an end. Tomie watched the sunset while I souvenir shopped in downtown Bar Harbor. No burgers or ice cream for dinner before returning to our hotel where we spent time on our blog, a labor of love.