This is it...

I know I have been rather vague about my trip. It's Saturday night and I have done my socializing and I am back in for the night so what better place than here, what better time than now?

I'm leaving.

No, I'm serious, I'm gone. I don't know how often I wake up wondering why I am still in Boston. Massachusetts. New England. This sucks and yet I wake up here morning after morning sad and wondering why. I don't want to wonder why any more so I don't think I will. Once the lease is up I am going to pack up the dogs, fish, some clothing and other necessities and I'm going to hit the open road. I want to explore for a little while and I'm guessing it will be possible to find somewhere that has things and people I enjoy along the way. I don't really have a solid plan like you are *supposed* to. I am not going to find a place to live because I don't even know where I want to live yet. This is more about exploration of charted territory. Lets face it, I have never truly traveled or been anywhere. Okay, I drove to FL a while back and loved every minute. But I had to come back and that always takes the joy out of being somewhere doesn't it? Pun not intended. Wait, wait, there is a plan. I'm going west. That's a plan right? I have some things I have always wanted to see so I am going to see them while going west.

I have always wanted to see Yellowstone Park, especially for Old Faithful. I want to see the world spit. I want to see it spit on my birthday (June 24).


I want to see the Rocky Mountains.


I would love to see The Grand Canyon.


I want to see The Painted Desert.


I also want to see that giant meteor crater... why the hell not?


These are the obvious places and I am pumped considering how many times I have seen them on a screen and read about them in my National Geographic. But I also want to explore societies. I want to see Las Vegas, Flagstaff, LA, San Fran, Boulder... I want to go and talk and see. I want to see cattle farms and Indian reservations. I would love to ride a horse again and I would love that even more if the boys could join me while I am doing so.

See where it's dark and far away from Boston? :) I want to be in one of those darker places at night and I want to look at the sky.


I want to feel small again. I have felt oversized for to long. Nothing overwhelms me any longer. Not even the ocean. In fact, I am starting to resent the fucking sand. The only things that overwhelm me shouldn't. It's almost like they're filling in for something else you know?

Some of the less obvious places I want to go... I want to find two of my favorite dog behaviorists/trainers. I want to pinpoint their exact location and stalk them until they pinky swear to being my BFF. Unless they see my blog, they'll never know what hit them. If they do read my blog THAT'S AWESOME *and* it will simply present more of a challenge, which I am totally up for. Oh yeah, my two favorite behaviorists/trainers are

Patricia McConnell


and Suzanne Clothier.


Love. Life changing books. Seriously. Their books are my dog bibles. I read them over and over... I'm pretty certain Patricia McConnell is in Wisconsin, so I'll go a little off track but at least it will be warm. Also, I could see the Great Lakes. Yeah... I still have to look them up. It's cool, I have time.

I'm also going to visit my Dad. He's in Nevada so that rules. Pretty pretty. It'll be nice seeing him on his territory where he'll want to stay and chat for a while. :) My brother might join me when I hit somewhere he wants to see and he said he'll totally travel with me for a bit. I'll meet him at the closest airport and drop him at the closest airport or he says he'll buy an old car and drive home. He wants to see LA as well so maybe that's where the meet up point can be? We'll see.

The only thing I am not that excited about is leaving the birds behind. I have exhausted all options that include bringing them. I tried to figure out how to construct a cage across the top of my Jeep but then what happens when I put the top down? I thought about finding a larger trailer but that doesn't seem very fair either... I don't think birds are made to travel are they? I have to keep racking my brain on this one. The only other option would be to either re*gulp*home them or find someone that would like to care for them while I am gone. It will work out, but it's still something to figure out...

I really think the boys are going to like travelling. When I drove to FL with Jim, he loved it. Especially when it got warmer. Loved it. We would stop and play chase the stick or look for things in the woods when he showed signs of getting stir crazy. It will be nice to have the company and the breaks will be welcome. I am going to update their tags though. I think they might end up having my number, my mom's number (that way if anything happens to be, she'll know immediately and then have two large dogs to figure out) and my email addresses. That way there is no chance they can be lost and not found. I have to change their microchip information. Geez, I have to figure out how to go about doing that with Charles. Blech. Whatever...

So yeah, that's why I have been training. Self defense and all that. I might also take some shooting classes with my brother and get my gun license thinger. Why not? It's all about being prepared right? Besides, that will be one more thing under my belt. Again, pun not intended.

So there you have it. I will be taking pictures and blogging along the way. June cannot come fast enough. I'm excited!!! I'm so excited that I just peed a little in my pants.