Jay and Ozzy Hit The Road

Dear Readers of my Blog, Jay and Ozzy Hit The Road,

I have been fortunate to have been able to avoid work the past year and live my life mostly on the road traveling, exploring new places, meeting new people and having experiences not possible in my life previous to my retirement.  It's been really wonderful, for the most part.  I have also been able to revisit places, people and do things who and which I remember fondly from my past.  Two nights ago I spent at the hostel in Ottawa which is in a jail, which I stayed at 37 years ago when I hitched from Madison, WI through the eastern provinces of Canada.  This morning I find myself just outside of Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan on my way back to Madison, WI.

What this is leading up to is that I have had to make an important decision regarding the future of my travels, and life, in general.  I can no longer financially afford to continue the traveling and avoiding work and just cannot do this any longer by myself.  (I could not imagine having a better friend or companion than Ozzy, but, he refuses to get a job, contribute to the care of the van, does not share the driving, has navigational skills which leave much to be desired and otherwise does very little to help with finances or the physical demands of this life.)  I am close to being broke and am afraid with my income as it is now, will be broke very soon.

So, after all of my braggadocio of getting in the van and finding a completely new life someplace, I will be returning to New Hampshire the middle to end of June to begin a job waiting for me there.  It is an easy and fun job...so, it won't really be like working, but will afford me the additional income I need to supplement my social security check which is what I am living on now.  I will be again working on top of Loon Mountain at the artist village where I have worked the past few summers.  I will be tending the shop, busking and doing origami with kids.  I am hoping to have 20 hours on the clock and will dedicate my extra time to being there busking and origamiing.  I hope to be able to find a place in or near Lincoln where I can park my van for free and continue to live in it with Ozzy.  I'm tired and road weary and, as hard as it is for me to accept, 65 years old!!  Life on the road can be grueling.

So, I am in Michigan.  My plan is to take 2-3 days to go to Madison.  From Madison I will take 3-4 days to go to the Rocky Mountain National Park, outside Estes Park, CO and spend some time there until I head to Bloomington, IN to meet up with Rob and Dani for a day or two.  I met them at the Great Smoky Mountain National Park and they say Bloominton should not be missed and it is on my way back to NH where I will return from Bloomington, probably after a stop in Lancaster, PA.  I should be in NH by mid to late June.

So,there you have it.  I read a Bill Bryson travel book and am just finishing up Steinbeck's Travels with Charley.  I have had some very similar experiences as the two of them.  But, one major difference is that they never had to fret about money.  They stayed for the nights wherever they wanted and ate whatever they wanted.  I, on the other hand fret about money all of the time.  It can be really distressing to go into a beautiful city like Ottawa or Quebec and look at all of the beautiful things in all of the windows but not have the possibility of doing more than just looking.

I will continuing updating so long as I am on the road and hope that you will continue to follow my travels.

Best to All,

Jay and Ozzy