Let's Go to Maryland!

Travel.... I love to travel, but I want to be home with my "things" and my animals, and my routine/non-routine. But I have EMBRACED every trip I've taken in recent years.

Up to six years ago, I was "tied down" by a husband or significant other, and THEY did not want to travel. Talk about insecurities.... My one and only vacation with my first husband was a four-day car trip to FLORIDA. We left about noon, and drove throughtout the remainder of the day and through the night all the way to Pensecola. My biggest disappointment was the lack of palm trees! I thought all of Florida had palm trees. No. I was able to spend a half hour in the ocean, and we found his cousin's house, shared supper, and were off again. Yay. There was no other stopping or sightseeing, we were in constant motion, and I am not sure what he was trying to accomplish. I was less than thrilled.

Exciting trips I've enjoyed since then have been long weekends up north, camping on a penninsula on Lake Michigan; camping on the shore of Lake Superior; visiting my daughter at her prestigious college campus in New England; a couple days on my own in Vermont and Maine (not enough time! not enough time!); a wonderful nine days with my daughter, driving from one adventure to another in the State of Arizona; exploring the tropical wonders of Floridas Keys, both alone and with my best friend~~in a tent and exploring the crazy motels from days gone by; my first taste of Las Vegas; and most recently, the exploration on several different trips of the Washington D.C. area.

Why am I writing about this? Why should you care? The facts are: I am a single female, okay, I'm what may be considered "middle age"... disgraceful term, isn't it? The really disgraceful part of this, is that I've just learned about enjoying travel. When I was younger, and had a child to care for, I worked hard, and sometimes earned the right to take time off from work, sometimes, even paid time off. However, I obsessed, and stressed about it so much, that I often cancelled any travel and opted for staying home and tending to business/busyness at home. I currently am entitled to three weeks' vacation per year, and it's all in my hands. The problem at this point, is there are so many places I want to go and things I want to see and do, and there is so little time.....

I root for Maryland at this time, because I've just recently returned from there -- I visited my daughter and her family. We went to the National Zoo, visited Alexandria a couple of times -- it's close by, and my daughter and I both have some favorite shops and cafes in the neighborhood and visited Mount Vernon. The remainder of the time out there was family time and getting ready for a great Halloween Party. I want to get back there and see more of the Smithsonian offerings on the Mall, visit the Monuments again -- I'd seen them once when she first moved out there, but would like to see them in nice weather and at a more leisure pace than the first time.

I want to get out to the shore, see the Chesapeake Bay, and see more places like Annapolis, etc. There is a sheep farm we were going to visit this last time, but the rain was awful and not exactly conducive to roaming through barnyards.

I have friends who are planning trips to Hawaii, Mexico, France, Italy, Africa, Greenland, Belize, and so on..... But there is so much to do in this country!!! I fell in love with Arizona, and am still planning to go back to the Grand Canyon for a backpack hike down the Bright Angel trail. I don't know WHEN I'm going to do it, but I am going to do it. How does one fit all this in, with only three weeks' vacation? I'd apply for a job as an over-the-road truck driver, except, I don't want to be away from home for that much time.... Maybe I should get rid of the house and the job, buy a motorhome, and take this act on the road.... I'll get back to you.

Jimmy Buffett Doesn't Live Here, But I Wish He Did...

I grew up loving the Beatles, didn't like the Rolling Stones - they were "bad boys". The Beach Boys were okay, but Elvis was a bore -- I had to listen to Elvis because my older sisters listened to him, so he was "old" to me by the time I had a choice.

As I started to buy and collect 45s, I did get one Elvis record, but the rest were mostly of the British Invasion: The Kinks, The Animals, the Dave Clark Five -- and yes, every piece of vinyl the Beatles produced. I even got the cleaver/raw meat/broken doll cover of one of the LPs that was quickly covered up. My sister and I spent an afternoon peeling the "innocent" cover off of it, probably rendering it forever worthless..... I never checked that out - I really wasn't interested in selling it.

Even later on, I didn't listen to much else. When Aerosmith, AC/DC, Kiss, Michael Jackson, Bob Seger, and Jimmy Buffett came along, I found Billy Joel, the Guess Who, Barry Manilow (I'll admit it!). I knew some of the other music, but when I did pick up an album, I found I'd like only one or two of the songs out of the whole list. In the late seventies, my whole family (Mom, Dad, sisters, brother and their various spouses found a great local band called the Brite Set, and we followed them around the area. Their shows introduced me to The Who, Leonard Skynnard, and The Boss. I still didn't get far out of my own circle of preferences, which including Harry Chapin and Jim Croce.

The early eighties seemed like the death of music as we knew it, and I found Country. Country music was evolving -- true country enthusiasts claim that was the "Murder on Music Row", but it turned out to be a genre to which I was attracted. Alabama was my first big crush -- I even have a photo of them signing autographs at the Crystal Lake K-Mart. Thinking about that now just blows my mind! Vince Gill has the voice of an angel. Johnny Cash, Mel Tillis, Kenny Rogers, and on and on. I am a true-blue fan of today's country music, and quite a bit of the old country music.

So, how have I become a Parrot-Head? "Margaritaville" has always been one of those songs that caught my ear -- I love the play on words, the change of heart within the song, and the melody's not so bad, either. Three years ago, I was scheduled to travel to Miami for a conference. The conference was only four days, and I had plenty of vacation time, and I needed a vacation. So I took a look at the Florida map and discovered that Miami was at the lower tip of the state. I never knew that, I'd never had any intention of going to Florida. Further search showed that the Florida Keys were just below that. The legend indicated that Key West was 137 miles from Miami, and I was intrigued.

I spent about two months researching and planning a few extra days into the Keys, after the conference. I really didn't have much money, so I reserved a campsite down in the keys, and packed my backpack tent and sleeping bag. Unfortunately, I was going to have to eat out all the time, but I was going to be out exploring most of the time, so it wasn't going to be too bad. I'd discovered a kayak outfitter and scheduled a kayak trip into the mangroves, and I'd found out that the famous Jimmy Buffett had a restaurant on the infamous Duvall Street, I was on a mission.

That trip, I was in the Keys for just three days, but I'd gotten "the Bug" and was hooked on anything "island". I took myself to lunch for my birthday at Margaritaville, and was immersed in the Jimmy Buffett experience. Upon arrival home, I began to buy up old Jimmy Buffett music. The delight I found in the song, "Margaritaville" carried over to his other songs; each was a story, a mini-movie, a little bit of biography. I realize that JB probably hasn't written EVERY song he sings, but I'd be terribly disappointed if he wasn't really as he seems through his music and his other writings.

I've been back to Key West again, and even entered a contest to try to win a job in Key West. My time is too short, or I'd run down there more often, but my state of mind is more and more on Island Time, and specifically in Jimmy Buffett modality. I continue to add to my CD collection of his music, I stream Radio Margaritaville, and I've only been to one of his concerts. Whether or not I get to spend any more time in Key West, I am definitely aiming for a life as depicted.

My favorite JB song? "Fruitcakes"! I feel it is the epitome of the sarcastic, cock-eyed look at people -- sort of the way I see people. I love it! This is the song that makes me think that Jimmy would be a person I'd like to sit down and sip Margaritas with on the lake shore. Okay, if I had to go to the Keys again, I would.... What do you say, Jimmy Buffet? Up for some Heart to Heart?