…listen
…info about the music

Relaxed and ready for the road tomorrow.

Another town, another cheap motel. Hey, that’s the fun of road trips! At least, that’s definitely what Smudge and Moses have discovered. Proof here, from motel number three in a series of four, somewhere near an I-5 off-ramp in Olympia, Washington. Yes, today was monumental: we made it out of California and into our new home state. Wow. I’m not quite certain whether we’ll need passports and inoculations, but I’m up for anything.

Less than a year ago, Charles and I came to the realization that we no longer belonged in southern California. That doesn’t mean that we didn’t love every inch of our beachside mobilehome or our sea-top sailboat (our wheel estate and our keel estate, so to speak). Anyone reading this blog for the past year and a half knows just how deeply connected I am to the natural offerings of Malibu and Santa Barbara. And I passionately adore my local friends, many of whom are really extended family. But we just didn’t love much of what surrounds these incredibly beautiful anchors of our fortunate life.

The past four years have seen a marked change in Los Angeles, and a new tipping point has been reached that pushes toward a full range of tenuous stresses, from the human creation of inescapable traffic gridlock, to nature’s creation of drought and a year-round fire season, to a high cost of living in a place that felt as though it might be shortening the very life span we were striving to improve. I think I’ve got at least one or two more decent pieces in me; I’d like to be around until the ink dries.

Not many couples have the freedom in their work lives to be able to spin the globe and ask, “where in the world would we like to live?”. After a few spins and explorations, the San Juan Islands became the clear choice. As long as we’ve got electricity and an internet connection, Charles (a software developer, energy healer, fine cook and talented house cat wrangler) and I can live anywhere in the world. As I sit here happily typing at the faux wood desktop in Cheap Motel Three Of Four on the cusp of moving into our new home, I’m still stunned by the joy and alacrity of our decision. When we were on the island last month, it already felt like home and flying back to L.A. seemed very odd. That’s a sure sign to me of good tidings to come.

As for Mo and Smudge, well, it’s looking like they may be really disappointed that their grand tour of cheesy motels will be coming to an end. Coaxing them into the beautiful new house might be very hard, now that they’re into the groove of life on the road. Like all the jazzers who’ve landed in places like this before them, they are two cool cats.