Pre-Vacation!

Getting out of town for a little bit! My train leaves WELL before the sun comes up tomorrow, and then I hear it's supposed to rain all weekend:( Boo. Well fortunately I'll be spending most of the time in a barrier-free, mostly-accessible hotel thanks to the generosity of family and strangers, so I'm happy:) This entry is a bit late today, it's true, but if it's any consolation, I had an anxious feeling in my stomach this afternoon! Like my subconscious mind KNEW I should be blogging, but my conscious mind just hadn't caught up yet. So I'm writing from the library basement again; they have the printer I needed to get my ticket, and they too are barrier free and even MORE accessible than the hotel:) So of course I'm here, and of course I don't mind that I had to walk here from my place; the fresh air was very nice after a whole day inside doing last minute things before travel. And now a word on public travel. As much as I've complained about it in the past, I AM glad that it exists! I and others like me with dreams and interests would be absolutely miserable, stuck in one place and never able to travel any faster than our legs could carry us. So even though the stress of travelling alone (and particularly the extraordinarily early bus ride to the train station that's coming tomorrow morning!) does get to me now and then, I'm really SO happy to endure it. Especially the arrival. Actually getting to your destination and seeing the faces of those you hold dear makes it all worth it. How cliche does THAT sound? But it's true. That's why everyone says it so much that it's become a cliche. Joy of joys, when I get back to Grand Rapids after this sojourn that promises to be pure pleasure, I won't have to travel for the HOLIDAY holiday, when everybody else in the country is on their way to somewhere else. The song "No Place Like Home For the Holidays" makes light of the trials of travelling during the bleak midwinter, when it's freezing, you're far from home, and traffic is gridlocked on both sides of you. But one thing they expressed well: "I met a man who came from Tennessee and he was headed for, Pennsylvania and some home made pumpkin pie." Sure life is a journey and not a destination--that's another well-worn cliche for you. But the joys of life come from at the END of travel. I've definitely be known to have a great time on a cross-country train, it's true, but I still had to get up in freezing darkness and ride a train for two days! The best part was getting to sunny California on the other end and experiencing 60 degrees in February, reading about blizzards from 3,000 miles away on my lap top. Or spending two weeks in the south west, basking in the glow of humidity and family:) On that positive note, let me end this blog entry with well wishes for all of you out there during this holiday season! It doesn't matter what the season means to you, or what you have to put up with for the happy little moments that make the season brighter. What matters is that they DO come, if you look for them, at the end of every journey:) So keep traveling if you can, and keep wonder in your heart.