Staying Put For A Bit

I have set up “camp” at my parents’ house in New Jersey for the next 10 days and am glad for the “break.”

When I say “break,” I mean to say we still have BP duties, I am writing medical articles to catch up on my freelancing and part-time work, I am giving round-the-clock tours of the Sprinter Van to all the neighbors, I am visiting lots and lots of NJ-based friends (that will come in a separate post) and I am trying to be a good daughter/houseguest taking care of the parental units and cat we abandoned 2 years ago. Some break!

On a side note, it is always interesting to come back to my parents’ house, where I spent the first 21 years of my life. Their neighborhood has changed very little, so it is like I am stepping back 15 years and I never left (except everyone has aged just a wee bit). Cue nostalgia.

J, by the way, spent 2 days here, then shipped himself off to Colorado for the Telluride Bluegrass Festival, plus some hiking/backpacking with his lil sis and her wifey. Some would guess we needed a 10-day break from each other. The truth is, I only needed a break from his allergy-induced, echo-enhanced sneezing that takes place every morning in our van. Alas, I miss him (not the sneezing) already. But, the bottom line is, J could not spend 10 days in NJ without going to 10 concerts. Colorado and its concert lineup won this time.

Last week, we did 3 smaller, beginner backpacking clinics (separate from Gear & Go Tour) in VA & NY. In VA, we visited with 4 sets of friends (no pictures!!)! In NY, we did one little hike, traveled roads not allowed and paid way too much in tolls. Did I mention we have an identity crisis in our van … are we a truck? a commercial vehicle? an RV? And we have yet to figure out our true clearance, so it’s better to be safe than sorry. Oh, and we realized that traveling to Long Island during the week is NOT our favorite thing to do and is in fact our personal hell. Who would have guessed that?