Every single piece of traveling gives me extreme satisfaction. Deciding on a place to go, whether it be a destination somebody told me about or something I saw in a picture or an interest in seeing friends in other places gives me great pleasure. The opportunities are endless, and my life is not. Having said that I think I have seen enough and done enough to be quite satisfied so I just have to think of what would be really fun right now.

Making the plans for the trip is another thing that I adore. The first step is finding a spot in your calendar for the adventure and it becomes complicated to find that spot when more travelers are involved. Next, is to upgrade to a more spacious plane seat if money and space is available. I was born to be riding in first class, but my pocketbook does not agree all the time. Then, there is lodging to organize and transportation to reserve. Research is next with a list of things that might be cool to do and see. Then the trip hangs out there sometimes for up to a year and thoughts of it fade until a couple of weeks before.

At this point, I take a look at the 192 million packing lists I have made over the years and proceed to make a different one because this trip is slightly different than the others. I will usually be packed about a week before the trip and often will repack entirely the day before. The biggest feat of my life was when I went to Italy with the zero club for two weeks and brought only one very small suitcase with me. We had five in the car so we had to control the amount of luggage so we could all fit in the car with it. I am always a fairly economical packer, but I usually neglect something that I wish I had when I got there. That's when a practical souvenir must be found! Car traveling is quite different and even if I am all alone driving for hours or days I throw lots of unnecessary stuff into the back of the car just in case. My stash of necessities looks conservative compared to my husband when he and I go together. You never know when you're going to need a generator or extra skis or something!

Right now I am ready to leave for Asheville, North Carolina South Carolina to continue my exploration with my sister Angie of the 14 states on the Appalachian Trail. Last time we conquered Georgia, North Carolina, and Tennessee. Such a different kind of trip than when we hike, the superior, hiking trail! Daunting and not as exhausting, but very satisfying in its own way. We felt sort of like superheroes finishing the superior trail and I think at the end of these four or five maze of doing Appalachia the easy way we will feel like we had so much fun driving and visiting historic places and taking reasonable walks on the Appalachian Trail. So we will arrive in Asheville, pick up our rental car and head for Damascus, Virginia, where we will be for a couple of nights. I am so pumped for more time with Angie and more time in this amazing world where we survive.