The countdown continues and I'm starting to feel a slight panic at how much needs to get done. I'm not one to live sparsely (even though it is a sort of fantasy for me)-I dragged a bunch of crapola with me to California, and I've managed to accumulate a lot more in my three years here even with the "try to get rid of things" phases.
Damn.
I have a lot of crap. And less than three weeks to get most of it eliminated, shipped or ready to go. I'm going to try and travel lightly this time (excuse me while I choke the laughter back! Oh, that's a good one!) Seriously, my plan is to travel with cat, camera equipment and clothes. Oh, the three c's. Can I do it? Oh, yes! and some camping equipment-I will camp if possible. So, those are my 4 Cs of travel. However, I do plan on drugging the cat this time-just a mild sedative to keep her calm.
Now, I'm sure some people would be a bit against that, and I myself am not a big fan of doing that to my cat, but have you ever had to travel with a cat that gets motion sickness? I mean, really. Can you imagine--you've been on the road for an hour with a cat bitching in the backseat because she's really not happy to be there. Meeeeooooow! Meow. Meeoow. meow? Meow. Meow.Meow MEEEEooooOOOw. meow? MEOW!
For an hour.
Non-stop.
And then, all of a sudden, the tone changes to a low repetition...mrooow. mrooow. mrooooow. The tone is different. You know something's not right. Very soon, you either hear it or smell it. And let me tell you, I think I'd rather get skunked than have to be around the smell of a cat that's been sick.
And the poor cat! She has nowhere to go. She's stuck in her carrier (even though I made sure to get her a roomy carrier, it's still a box in which she's stuck. No escape.) And if you're really unlucky, she gets it all over herself. So, comes the next part. You pull to some gas station or rest stop to try and clean up the cat and her carrier because you know that there is no.way.in.hell that you are driving for days having to smell that nasty rotten odor.
So, you're inside the bathroom, trying to wrangle this miserable pukey/shitty kitty to the faucet that won't stay on-you know the kind, you push it and it runs for 5 seconds so you have to try and push it again so it can run for another 5 seconds. And you're doing this while the cat is trying to get away and you're trying to get rid of as much crud as you can and the stupid faucet keep stopping just you finally get the cat managed. The crud is caked all over her normally soft fur and no matter how hard you try not to, you end up getting it all over yourself as well. Ah, the joys. So now both you and the cat reek to high heaven.
And you will reek. Believe you me, they could make secret weapons out of what comes out of that cat.
So, you clean up as best as you can and then, you go to dry off and either the hand towel dispenser is empty, or it has those nasty brown, scratchy, don't-absorb-worth-a-crap ones that you wonder who came up with that idea..."yeah, let's use paper like tree bark for the bathrooms. I mean, trees absorb water, right? Right! So these must of course absorb water as well!" Never mind that tree is dead and bark doesn't really absorb much water at all.
Sounds like a fun trip, doesn't it? Yeah, I think so as well, which the whole point of my drugging my cat for the road trip. I've never done it to her, but I'd like to imagine...(cue the harps...)
I load kitty in the car. She looks up at me, blinks a couple of time, then proceeds to ignore me in all her cat-titude. She yawns and snuggles down for a nice nap. And I drive and drive, with the kitty just nice and calm in the back. No bitching. No puking. No shit! Wow. Could it really happen? I'd love to see that. I think both her and I would be happier in this situation.
Can you believe it's been three years? I started this blog when I moved out here. Now it's time to go back. Part of me is already wistful about the things that I know I'll miss, like the farmer's market. (I went today. Ah, the smells and sights. It's great. And pretty much non-existent where I live back in Florida.) Mountains. Driving on the 101 and seeing the ocean right there. The easy access to all things photographic that we have here. The cool people I have met. I'll miss the smaller roads and cute houses. The flowers and the smell of fields that you get when you drive outside the city. The different marine life that exists here. Yes, lots of things and there is so much more I have not explored.
But, at the same time, I'm also ready to go home. I'm tired, and I need a break. I look forward to spending time with my family and my friends. I think a mango daquiri night is very much called for. I look forward to the warm beaches and blue waters. Good Cuban food. Warm nights with the smell of the ocean permeating the air. Hearing the calypso music and steel drums from casino cruise ship when it returns every night (yes, it's totally kitschy and tacky, but it's very Florida.)
Three more weeks. Dayum!