Every spring it’s the same thing – the onset of my love/hate relationship with this blossoming time of year – and it’s about to roll around again come Thursday, March 20.  The first day of spring 2014.  Yesterday, it hailed in southern Oregon.  Go figure.  Blossoms through the hail, it’s a symphony of contrasts.

“Thousands of tired, nerve-shaken, over-civilized people are beginning to find out going to the mountains is going home; that wilderness is a necessity…”  ~ John Muir

I am not someone who will sleep under the stars, or in a tent, or in a rustic cabin or go anywhere near anything that creeps, slithers, buzzes, flies, sneaks, spins a web, etc. but, I do absolutely love to be outside and I love to hike, as long as the hike doesn’t include me edging along some precarious cliff face because as I’ve mentioned before, I’m burdened with a wicked fear of heights.

It’s the stuff movies are made of. Monument Valley. The classic western hero riding his horse along the horizon, the magnificent sandstone buttes that must be seen to be believed and Yes!  There he his, John Wayne, on a 5-year quest; The Searchers.  Yep, it’s the stuff movies are made of.

There are days in this lifetime when you wonder – why did I get out of bed today and how fast can I go back to bed and pull the covers up over my head?  Today, was one of those days and I’m betting each of you reading this has endured similar moments. As they say, what doesn’t kill you only makes you stronger.

When we mapped out our See the USA road trip we never really focused on where we would stop or what we would see, rather it was more of a let’s see where the road takes us kind of thing.  As it turns out, the road led us to two fascinating moments in history that will forever be linked together; and both moments definitely still hold the fascination of many.

Around here, we use the month of February to ready ourselves – both personally and professionally – for our upcoming high tourist season.  Once we get rolling in the spring it becomes time-challenging to book appointments and such.  That’s not to say it can’t be done, it’s just much easier to get it out of the way, now, while we’re still moving slowly.  Included in this effort was my recent visit to my doctor for an annual exam.

I have a love/hate relationship with Facebook.  I love that it brings the world to my laptop, but I hate that it’s a constant game of wits with an unseen entity.  I’ve been on the warpath of late, with Facebook, in my efforts to keep up with the consistently inconsistent changes and the fact that 95% of my blog’s Facebook page followers never see my posts.  I liken it to being in a tennis match with Facebook, only I’m not allowed to have a racket.

Charleston and Scarlett O’Hara.  I’m finally coming out of my road trip fog and accepting the fact that we are actually home and life goes on.  I always have some delicious little what’s next travel plan in my head.  I can’t help it, I’m always ready to go again.  In the meantime though it’s time to get it in gear and get this Bed & Breakfast Inn of ours ready for guests and the upcoming season.

Feeling a bit blue about no longer being on the road, I was searching for a quick fix of inspiration and came across this quote:

“Never make your home in a place. Make a home for yourself inside your own head. You’ll find what you need to furnish it – memory, friends you can trust, love of learning, and other such things. That way it will go with you wherever you journey.” ~ Tad Williams

I stood on top of a mountain today.  If you know me at all you know the impact of that statement and I had the most perfect moment.  The surrounding silence of my majestic mountain was stunning and I thought to myself, “Everyone should have the opportunity to stand on top of a mountain at least once in their life.”