home again

I was heading to Joshua Tree via Phoenix Airport, but the prices jumped while I slept on it.
And there she was, calling me gently, reminding me of the sweet smell of her perfume, her vistas, and the undercurrent addiction to her cooking. A seed planted, returning for a second reunion, venturing across the homeland.
I am going to New Mexico.

While I was not sure what I wanted to do while deciding, I am living in great joy knowing that I will be venturing there in eight short days.
The despair of not being able to stay...

where to go? where to go?

It would seem to the uninitiated that the emergence of Kayak.com, Expedia.com, Priceline.com, Cheapoair.com Travelocity.com (and our perennial voice of guidance, Clark Howard) would provide a tangible benefit to the recipient of such seemingly intensive competition. Such belief is only accepted by those untested in the fine art of internet competition shopping.

• Check here
• Check there
• Check under here
• Check around there
• Look at this site
• Switch the dates and try again
• Maybe if I wait a day and see
• But what if I don't purchase now

It is a miserable experience for the likes of me, and I regret my participation in such.

Maggie recounts my previous journeys and the utter waste of time spent working the system in my travels to Thailand and China, and our purchases of the Van and the TV. In every other aspect of my retail experience, I play a casual 'cannot be bothered over a few dollars" gentleman. But in the world of comparative internet purchasing, I am an addict, sitting over the slots hoping that the next pull will be the Big One.

What a hearty waste.

a Walkabout

It can readily be said that 2008 proved to be my most trying of 32 years. I would like to hope that I cleaved to Jesus in this time, and I believe there is evidence before me that I did. However, difficult things are difficult, even with God Almighty.
The times of tumults have weighed on me, one who is typically rather stalwart. And it has been recognized (and pointed out to me) that my lack of 'enjoyment' has finally effected my sense of 'joy'.
My discerning and charitable wife has encouraged a Walkabout, and I just might take her up on it. She will be taking the kids to her mother's in two weeks, and has warned me of the wrath that will follow my typical reaction to her absence, an overloading of work.
"Go somewhere. Get some time alone. Breathe a bit. And come home with either some answers or some joy or, preferably, both."
Options are weighing themselves before me:

• Outward Bound or NOLS course.. none offered the right dates, rather expensive, and I'll be forced to talk to others.
• Seattle and the surrounding areas, bumming a couch of my best friend Weeder... but the traditional excitement of seeing him and his wife and upcoming child (I won't probably see the child) is replaced by apprehension at being with others. I am feeling the need for loneliness.
• Westward... over the Mississippi I am called.
• Joshua Tree, Southern California, climbing and hiking and camping in the desert in the likes of Christopher McCandless.
• Skiing somewhere? I would like to try my hand at Cross Country.
• THE Grand Canyon is always suggested, but only by those who don't realize how incredibly cold it is there this time of year, without the benefit of campfires or snow-based activities.
• Honduras
• Equator
• Costa Rica (Maggie's pick of the three, as it feels less dangerous to her)

I have little time to decide, and must as well decide whether to pursue this dream or let it lie.