Wake up Marquis I think I got something to say to you
It’s late September and I really should be back at school
— With apologies to Rod Stewart

I-24 Bridge Over the Tennessee

We’ve been discussing our summer vacation plans: Anne will do her usual stint at the cabin. I’ll retire and then Dan and I will join her there. Hopefully, Dave will join us too, but between school and weddings (not his), I’m not so certain how much time he might have left. Jay and Carl will eventually arrive after a visitation to baseball’s Mecca and then we’ll all enjoy our annual convocation of the clan and then disperse. Anne and I will head west. It will be a camping road trip, where we hope to hit some of the National Parks. It’s too soon to discuss an itinerary, or maybe it’s already too late, depending upon reservations, but we’ll make do. Anyway, it should be fun, it should be an adventure! There is a similar bridge across the Ohio. That’s where I got the idea. Each bridge had two such spans and it took all four to get this shot.

We’ve been acquiring stuff for this adventure. In order to live comfortably as a homeless person it takes a lot of stuff. Most of which we already have, but a few more luxuries of modern life were deemed necessary. Years ago, BC (before children), we also embarked upon a great adventure. That time we were limited to whatever, we could carry on our bikes. This time, we’ll also have the Prius, which can carry a lot more stuff. We have these Therm-A-Rest mattresses that are still as good as they were thirty years ago. Unfortunately, our twice as old backs are not. No worry, for Anne’s birthday and Mother’s Day I gave her not one, but two new Therm-A-Rest cots. I’m such the romantic, because the combination of the cots and the mattresses should yield marital bliss or at least a good night’s sleep. The only downside to the cots is that each one has 50+ pieces, so some assembly is required. The other new acquisition is a gas stove, which doubles as a French press. With these new toys and maybe a few more, we’ll be living in luxury, out in the wild.