Leaving Things On The Table

Puyallup, Washington

October 1, 2024, 9 AM

I chose the firehose photo to represent my frustration/disappointment/bewilderment about leaving so many things undone. How do you fully experience Mt. Rainer National Park in one day? The answer is you don’t. You leave trails unhiked, photos untaken, Zen moments unhad (I had to make up that word to keep the theme going). How do you revisit the Oregon coast and eastern Oregon at the same time? You don’t. How do you spend the night in a caboose (look up Hobo Inn Mt. Rainer), a cabin and a fifth wheel (outside MRNP is an accommodation where your room is an old RV)? You don’t. How do you ride the many vintage railroads that take you on three-hour tours of beautiful places? You don’t.

It’s paralysis through so many options.

My brother in law before I started this wanderabout in 2019 suggested I could get an Airbnb in a place and use it as my home base. I did that in Boulder and Sedona and it worked out great. I got to relax and experience a lot of what those places have to offer.

That’s not happening on this current episode of Going To Paris.

It’s frustrating. It’s not like I don’t have great experiences most days. It’s that there are more things I know I’d like to experience that I’m not.

I saw this article in the WSJ today:

The title resonated with me. It’s not like there aren’t great experiences in Virginia. I think maybe I am drawn in by how different the west is in terms of its climate and geography. And pace and priorities.

That’s my babble for this morning.