Leaving the Stress and Dreaming the Story as I Drive

After two days of a stressful, hurry-up and get packed; and with the help of four very special people my son and I were sent on our way with hugs, goodbyes, and “we will miss you and don’t worry about the house, we will take care of it.”  There is an old saying that in your life you will meet many acquaintances but only a few will you call close friends. I have to say I have more than a few close friends and most of the people I met in Arizona were good people that I hope to see again. And beyond all expectations five of those close friends I left behind cleaned my house, fixed what needed fixing, pruned trees and helped to make this move possible. A heartfelt thank you goes out to Sue, Dave, Nancy, Jim, and Gail. You are the best. To my brother, T.J. and my son Tom I owe the most, without you I would not be here. I love you both more than you could ever know. Tom, Laura, Joop and Lee, thank you for your support, time and all that you have done for me. I am so blessed to have so many wonderful friends and family who have supported me over the past seven years.

Once on the road, it wasn’t until we hit Interstate 8 that I realized I was finally on my way to Arcata California. Soon after that thought my son called me, “you are on your way to Arcata mom!” Smiles broke out all over me, inside and out. I had been waiting for this since last March when I made the decision that I wanted, and needed to let go of my house and leave those memories behind; to create new ones. I really think the decision was made subconsciously when I decided to place the first half of my book in Arcata. As a matter of fact a lot of the first half of my book parallels my own life and the characters come from the people in my life as well. Many times I have heard, “write what you know,” so that is what I wrote; with a few vampires thrown into the mix.

Now, I thought to myself, I am creating a new chapter in my life as I move on to something else. I looked down at my sleeping cat, Gwynie. She wasn’t thrilled to be moving but after I let her out of her carrier she took up her usual traveling spot in her bed on top of the ice chest beside me. We made the usual stops for food, gas and the other but the trip didn’t get exciting until we hit California. We left a bit late so after a beautiful sunset, which my son took, pictures of and posted on Face Book (hopefully not while driving,) it got dark. My son had never been on the 8 so he missed all the dunes and the beautiful green valley as we drove over the pass. What we didn’t miss was the four check points we drove through in Southern California. They all wanted to know what was in the trailer I was pulling and the truck my son was driving. We told them, “all of my worldly possessions,” and “my mom’s whole life.” When they asked us if we had any fruit, animals or firearms, we both said (with a straight face) “no.” I did tell her I had my cat with me since she was sitting right next to me in plain sight. Several of our friends gave us fruit for the trip which included oranges. (Oh well)

When we hit Interstate 5 it got very exciting. Now; I have to explain to those of you who have never experienced the 5 or any freeway in Southern California, for that matter, what California drivers are like. Everyone is in a hurry and is focused on being the first to get where they are going. FAST! In Arizona the speed limit is 75 in some places but that is on a two lane freeway. In California the maximum is 65/70 on a five lane freeway with lanes dropping off in some places and adding in others. Since my son and I were driving a truck and a car pulling a trailer we were only allowed to drive 55 anywhere. Since everyone else is driving 80 to 95, it was either speed up or get run over; and it was impossible to stay in the far right lane because of the adding and loosing lanes. One memory came to mind about a driving lesson from my dad. We were living in Army quarters which were built in the 1920s so our garage was built for a model T, no lie. When I drove the car into the garage he pulled his elbows to his sides and hissed. That is what I was doing all the way to Laguna Nigel. My son and I got separated soon after we hit the 5, so when he realized I knew where I was going; he left me. He was going to his home in Huntington Beach and I was going to my best friend’s in Laguna Nigel. When I finally arrived safely in front of her house I called her from my cell phone. “Hi,” she answered in her slow Midwest drawl. “Aren’t you in front of the house?” She couldn’t figure out why I called since I was sitting in front of her house, she was on her way to the door.

“Yes but I’m not sure I can get out of the car without help.” I think I was holding every muscle in my body so tight that when I finally relaxed I couldn’t move.

“Well, I thought it was you, I was coming out to help you bring things in.”

I finally opened the door and practically fell out. “I think I’ll just grab Gwynie and come in for a glass of wine first,” I said in a tired voice. I stuffed my poor cat into the carrier and slowly walked into the house. She handed me a glass of wine and I let Gwynie out of her carrier as I sat down. It took the second glass to get my hands out of the shape of the steering wheel (Okay slight exaggeration but not by much.) The plan was that I would go to my brother’s the next day who lives in Los Angeles. I refused to drive anywhere the next day; I didn’t think my elbows could take it, let alone my nerves. So I had a nice visit with my best friend, Marilyn whom I hadn’t seen in two years.

After a few “down days” I headed to L.A. with Marilyn’s navigator. I pretty much knew the way to my brother’s but I had to go to his friend’s house since I couldn’t park the van and Uhaul trailer on his narrow street. Actually having the “navigator” was the only way I would go since my son wanted to stay one more day at his home. I was not looking forward to going by myself. I know I was being a wimp but you have to understand I had been living in a rural setting with no freeways to speak of for the past seven years. Call it old age or “I just don’t want to do that anymore.” After all I was moving to another simi-rural area with one freeway going through it. I know I am a wimp, but I like it that way.

OK, now I’m on my way to L.A. and part of the way is bumper to bumper (no biggie) and the other part I knew because I’ve been there many times. However; I have a navigator, pretty smart but when I got off the freeway it was not quite smart enough. No one told it that at certain times of the day you cannot turn left on many of the streets that I needed to turn left on. By the time I decided to call for help I was yelling at the dumb broad who kept telling me to turn left! Frustration was not the best word to describe it, but I did use the F word quite a few times. When I called my brother’s friend he got me to his place even though that stupid navigator kept telling me to turn left. Seeing him standing in the middle of the street was a wonderful sight and my brother was there to pick me up as well. We had a nice evening at his place with dinner in and a long overdue visit. I was really glad I didn’t have to get in a car, no matter who was driving that night.

The next day it was time to get on the road again so we met my son where the trailer was parked (he had a bit of a problem finding it as well, heh heh.) Then we went to breakfast before we were back on the road to our next stop, Stockton. That was a long uneventful drive so I decided to write the next chapter of my book (In my head of course.) I remembered on an interview with Stephanie Meyers (Twilight) she said she wrote her stories in her head while traveling between Phoenix and Tucson; that was where I got the idea. It was amazing! My characters came alive and it was as if a movie was playing in my head, similar to writing it but not quite the same. I had imagined some of it before but I had a long drive and I imagined so much of the story that when I finally got my computer up and running I hadn’t realized how much I had imagined. Right now I have at least two chapters in my head and plan to start writing them down as soon as I finish this blog.

I am now in my new “little” house which is seven hundred square feet. I have the only view of the ocean, all be it small, from the upstairs window. I live on a hill in the middle of the redwoods. The house sits on the back of my very dear friend’s property who was my sister-in-law once upon a time and I am renting from her. My new home welcomed me with sunny skies and no rain. As a matter of fact there has been very little rain since I arrived here. Maybe I brought a little of the Arizona sun with me. It is so beautiful here that it makes me want to hug myself for making the big jump from a stressful existence to a peaceful life. Not many people can say this but when my house in Arizona sells or goes back to the bank, I will be debt free, and free of distractions; I can write, paint, work in the yard or do anything else I want to do; or I can do nothing. I am truly blessed.