Travelogue
Epilogue Monologue
I
had a stack of return plane tickets to get me back to the
States. This meant I had to backtrack rather than simply fly
direct from Bali. It went like this: Bali-Bangkok-(two day
break)-Singapore-Auckland-Papeéte-Los Angeles-New York.
After 40-plus hours in jets and airports I barely remember
staggering into a cab at JFK, but after a good night's sleep
I was de-lagged and ready for the Big Apple.
I
spent a full month there, with brief excursions to
Connecticut and Rhode Island, hanging out with my family and
visiting a few friends. I lost my tan and gained 10 lbs, but
it was worth it.
Weather
reports at last suggested that winter might finally, really
be over in south central Alaska, so in early May I flew to
Anchorage where I'd left my camper stored these past 7
months. Now I'm back on the road, based for the time being
on that idyllic fjord beach near Seward that I described and
illustrated in this travelogue last August/September.
Near-future
plans may include flying lessons this summer (I'm looking
into it now). Next fall I figure to head down to South
America. I've been hearing good things about Ecuador, and
I'd also like to visit Chile and maybe Argentina.
~
OK,
now the real epilogue...
For
the past year I've kept this travelogue going for my
amusement and yours. If nothing else it has been a useful
exercise, nudging me to write often and helping me get my
"chops" back after years of writing mostly
business correspondence. (Hopefully there has been some
visible improvement between the first pages and the last.)
It also motivated me to take lots of photographs, and to
become proficient at digitally enhancing them so they'd look
better than what I actually took. Most of all, keeping this
journal going has been fun. I hope reading it has been, too.
I'm
going to stop now. Not stop traveling, but stop writing
about it in this format. It's time for me to focus on some
other writing projects, and maybe even sell some of them to
help support this vagabond habit of mine.
For
me, traveling is not a means to an end, but
an end in itself, a heady tonic, an antidote for
restlessness and boredom and a balm for my obsessive
curiosity. It's addictive, too. I expect I'll continue for
as long as I can and as long as it's fun, taking breaks once
in a while to catch my breath and renew my appreciation.
So,
this journal ends here. If you ever get to wondering where I
am or what I'm up to, or want to tell me what you're up to,
don't be shy. Send me an email!
