lite & lucid

I know it’s been a while since each of my six readers have checked in on lite and lucid. I’ve been busy traveling! Now I can rehash some of those adventures for those (my Mother) who want to read about it! Also, this is a picture heavy blog for those of you who don’t even like to read. Thanks for being patient.

“Do you need a place to stay!? Seriously, I have cash in my truck, let me reserve you a hotel room, it’s really cold tonight”! Steve, a friend of my friend Molly, was right. It was unseasonably cold during this trip. I can see why driving my trailer to Charleston, SC for almost two weeks to go to Molly’s wedding and visit old faces and places could seem ludicrous to anyone. They didn’t know my plans though; my ultimate, finally being fulfilled life dream that was coming true regardless of what nature had to say about it.

I didn’t care that it was forecasted, and ended up being, in the twenties at night when I was at James Island County Park.  I had a propane heater, a new trailer and two enormous (they were each almost 80lbs each by this point) Rhodesians to keep me warm at night. I was busy during the day catching up with people and eateries and still didn’t get to see everyone and do everything I wanted to.

So to Steve, my table neighbor at the rehersal dinner the day before the wedding, I explained gratefully that I was comfortable, and warm in the lovely camping spot just offset from my beloved downtown Charleston. It probably wasn’t possible in the length of a celebratory evening to explain to him that I was finally beginning the traveling with the trailer that I had been dreaming about for years. I remember getting serious about researching trailers and traveling ideas in the fall of 2013, but the ideas began to form well prior to that. It was a seed born from being uneasy with being comfortable and frankly, feeling stuck. Finally, finally, FINALLY, my dream was a cold reality.

  
What better excuse to extend a trip and begin my long-awaited trailer journey than a great friend’s wedding? Instead of flying in for a short weekend like normal, I decided to take three days to drive out there, and two to drive back. It gave me about two weeks in Charleston to catch up and celebrate. Driving out of Oklahoma down the highway to first reunite with friends in Arkansas was my revelatory moment that I was in fact doing it! It was a priceless feeling of hitting a ‘mini-retirement’ as Tim Ferris would call it in his book Four Hour Work Week, which I highly recommend. I saw two college friends at my first stop, who now have as many kids. We stayed up and drank wine in the hot tub and caught up on people we knew back then, and what we were up to now. They made a phenomenal brunch for me before I struck out for Tennessee the next afternoon. Of course, I forgot to take a picture with them, but I got one of the rig ready to go.  Love you Leah, Nick, Jack and Tucker!

Tennessee was wonderful. Since it was the off-season for camping in February, I was literally the only one in the park aside from the host. It was a little chilly, but perfectly comfortable in the cricket. I recommend Natchez Trace State Park, it was absolutely gorgeous.  The next day brought the unmistakably smokey Smokey Mountains and I found an RV park in Asheville where unfortunately it was dreary and dark, but still nestled by a river and comfortable.

I’ll leave out the part where the bathroom was closed for the season. The next day I arrived triumphant to my first destination with the trailer! The Jeep, dogs and I rumbled into Charleston, where I was happily stationed for four years.  As it appeared in my windshield so did a flood of memories, and even more excitement for the weeks ahead. I spent time riding bikes to the light house on Folly Beach, where the dogs enjoyed the sand (I mean were only on a leash) for a few days.

I took a detour to Myrtle Beach for the weekend to meet other friends who happened to be on the same coast, the Yorks! These are again, very close friends, family really, whom I hadn’t seen for too many years. I visited Summerville, Charleston’s charming northern neighbor, and landed finally at James Island County Park, a hidden gem in the heart of it all with quick access to everywhere I wanted to go.

I had a chance to meet up with a lot of old friends even before the wedding festivities. Once those began though the old troublemakers and I reminisced and caught up with each other’s lives. It was priceless.

Of course it was all a buildup to the main event, the wedding between Molly Sanford and Andy McCarthy. I love these people, even though I had only met Andy once before I knew he was the perfect match for her. When we met it was at an intimate gin joint late at night in Downtown Charleston. It was the after party to Molly and Andy’s visit to a low country hoedown. Yep, a hoedown.  He is perfect for her.

Where do I even begin with Molly? I met her in 2006 at Undergraduate Pilot Training at Vance AFB, Enid, OK which is where I eventually came back to teach. She and I hit it off immediately when she showed me her lumberjack club pictures in the student newspaper from her forestry days at Clemson. The two of us, along with Jenny, and have been friends ever since. Of course, Jenny and I did follow her to Charleston, where she’s a C-17 pilot in the Reserves. We have a lot of stories from those years many of which are not fit for a family-friendly (is it?) blog. Molly is the kind of friend who lets you stay at her condo without an determined departure date. She takes care of you when you are sick or hurt. She brings you almond butter and chocolate from Germany when you are deployed in Qatar. She dresses in a gorilla suit to go to a party where she doesn’t even know most of the crowd (a FULL gorilla suit). She meets you at your Air Force plane in Charleston, in overalls, after you haven’t caught up with her for probably five years. That’s the wonderful person who is Molly.

The entire weekend of celebration was well planned and executed despite the massive amount of adoring family and friends. We all happily ambled from meeting and dinner place to dinner place.  It was beautiful and genuine and full of love. The type of crowd that these two both come from and attract leave you certain of the type of people they are and what they’ll contribute to this world with their powers combined.

There was so much love in every corner of every room, event, picture, smile, salad and dance that if there were any more unicorns and rainbow-colored kittens would have been party favors. They did have gourmet alcoholic and non-alcoholic popsicles at the ceremony, so it was close! I caught up with even more friends, and met new ones I know I’ll keep in touch with for years to come. I am so happy for Molly and Andy I can’t stand it. On top of all THAT there was a great band that packed dance floor all night. Cheers to the lovely couple and the best excuse for a road trip to kick off my journey dreams that I can imagine! To many years of health and happiness and until we meet again hippy (and military) sister!