Vagabond

March 29th, 2012

This week has gone agonizingly slow. I’m ready to get out of town and reckon back to the days of wanderer, ready to take a walk in the woods and see what lies over the next hill, and more than ready to stop living someone else s version of my life. All I have is one more day of responsible, dependable employment, and then I can revert to being a vagabond again.

Tomorrow will be sad good-byes to all the employees at work and the staff in pharmacies where I deliver. I always have a good relationship with my fellow workers and people I meet on my route, and they will be missed. When I told the pharmacy employees of my intentions, it brought many groans and sad expressions, but encouragement in the belief that I was doing the right thing. Who knows, maybe some day I will be back for another run of employment and see them again.

I have most of the apartment empty. I loaded everything into my new van except for an air mattress and a few clothes for tomorrow. On Saturday, Jen will help me take one van to a storage lot where it will remain until I come back from my southern adventure. The plan is to drive my old van down to Georgia, either park or junk it, and walk for a while in the Appalachian Mountains. Then I will shuttle back or forward until I arrive at someplace sensible. It’s no good having too much of a rational plan or it wouldn’t be much of an adventure. My friend at work told me he had a video that I need to watch before I start hiking in Georgia – you guessed it – “Deliverance.” Good one, Ron!

My first stop will be in Pittsburgh to see Karen and the boys. I will leave a few things with her in case I last more than a couple of days and need something mailed to me. It’s always good to get her input on the right gear to pack. Even though I’ve studied my supplies pretty thoroughly, she has that analytical ability to plan a hike much better than I do.

That’s about it. Things can and will change along the way, and that will be all right. I’ll try to update when I do something interesting…and, I guess even when I don’t.

p.s. It didn’t take David long to figure out how to toggle my phone to the computer.

Posted in Adventure | 3 Comments »

Prep Hike

March 11th, 2012

The weather was beautiful today so I decided to take a short hike. There were a couple of reasons to get out and do some serious walking: I wanted to test out my knee to see how it has survived the winter, and I also have a new backpack I’ve been dying to strap on. Everything went well, and I can report that the knee feels good. In fact – this point is baffling to me – it feels better after I give it a good workout. I’m wondering where the dividing line between moderate exercise and too much is drawn.

I would like to climb a few hills but that would mean driving at least 80 miles from Buffalo. With the price of gas I decided to walk in a town park not far from where I work in Cheektowaga. It’s a nice little park with several miles of graded trails. The paths wind through woods on level terrain with boardwalks constructed over the swampy areas. When the weather is nice, I walk there quite often. But this was the first time I had sported my full backpacking equipment and I received quite a few strange looks. The nice weather had also brought out tons of people to the park.

Most people would smile and greet me politely, although some kept their heads down and hurried by, like you do when you pass a homeless person with a sign. I explained to a couple of people that I was just getting used to my pack before I went on an overnight camping trip in the Spring, but for the most part I just smiled back.

My new pack is a ULA Catalyst. They don’t sell them in stores so I ordered it online. I’m not in favor of buying something as expensive as this pack was without trying it on or even seeing it in 2012-03-11 20.47.40person, but it had good reviews from the trail community and I figured I could send it back if I didn’t like it. I needed something a little bigger than my Gregory pack for cold-weather gear and several days of food while still remaining ultralight. It feels good and I like it.

Everything is set for my AT hike at the end of this month. I’m hoping to last a couple of weeks, anyway. After that I may drive through North Carolina and look at the small motorcycle I’m interested in. I called a dealer and they have two in stock. Then I will head indirectly west. I know the timeline flor visit is extended longer than some would like, but except for backpacking in the mountains, summer in the southwest is too brutal. I will try to update with more stories along the way, even if they seem pointless to me. I know everyone is thinking of me.

Posted in The Great Outdoors | 5 Comments »

Conjunction Junction

March 6th, 2012

I just reread a couple of my recent posts and realized that I use the conjunction ‘but’ in quite a few of my sentences. It puzzled me why I write this way and I came up with several reasons to explain it. I might be trying to convey an opposing view, or maybe I’m not sure about my point, or I could just like the way the sentence sounds. I’m not sure exactly why I do it, but I don’t think I can stop.

Everyone is probably wondering where I’m living. The last information I posted hinted of staying in a motel, getting a room at the YMCA, or just living in my van. One by one I ruled these out on the grounds that they were too expensive, too far away, or invited uncleanness. Even though the Y was up in Niagara Falls, I probably would have stayed there. Unfortunately, when I went back to check on rooms, they had rented the last one. I was stuck. I resigned myself to either cough up the money for a motel or jump in my van and take off for a warmer climate.

Fortunately, Louie found me a place to ride out the rest of the winter. His cousin had a vacant apartment, only a couple of miles from where we were staying that I could rent without security deposit, hooking up utilities, or signing a long-term lease. We made an agreement for a set amount and I moved in. It’s not in the best neighborhood or anything pretty to look at, but it will do for now.

I did just buy a luxury. Every since I bought the new van, I’ve thought about getting a bigger TV for it. One van-camper told me how he installed a flat screen on hinges so it could be stowed against the ceiling when traveling, and lowered for viewing when parked. I liked the idea and decided to splurge early so that I could enjoy it while I’m waiting for departure. It’s a Vizio 27” razor. I chose it because it was so thin.

20120306_161155
I’m limited to about eight over the air stations. There’s not a lot that I like on TV anymore but I do get some PBS stations and a couple of local broadcasts that have sitcoms I like. Over the weekend, I got hooked on a public broadcast and watched three hours detailing the life of Lincoln. The FOX news channel comes in crystal clear. Who knew I would be able to get fair and balanced news every night!

Posted in Pieces of my Mind | 6 Comments »

Upgrade

February 19th, 2012

When I was at Dave & Lisa’s this weekend, I bought a new phone.

Karen calls me a traitor!

I couldn’t be loyal anymore after taking a look at Dave’s new phone and the Android operating system. If Apple would have upgraded to 4g, I probably would have remained with the iPhone, but the speed and power of this phone is amazing.

The phone is a Samsung Galaxy II Skyrocket, just a short generation above Daryl’s Thunderbolt. It has a 1.5 g dualcore processor, support for the newest 4g speed, and a gazillion more electrons flying around in a frantic frenzy.

I don’t know enough about it to judge every feature but I think it should work for me. The screen is a lot larger than the iPhone and its incredibly thin. I thought maybe it wouldn’t fit my pocket but I don’t notice any difference.

Dave and I were concerned about loosing our unlimited data plan, but I think AT&T is trying to keep customers happy and still supporting those of us grandfathered in.

One thing that I lost was the ability to toggle my laptop. I could still do it but would have to switch to a different data plan or install a third party program not legal with our provider. David and Lisa use very little data because they are connected to WiFi most of the time. I, however, used 85 gegibites last year- they charge $10/g for anything over 3/Mo.

Ill let you know how I like it in a month.

Posted in More Stuff | 6 Comments »

Downsizing

February 19th, 2012

After only a few months of living in an appartment it is amazing how much stuff I have accumulated. In ten days I have to clean up, throw out, give away, and find a home for everything that overflows the space of a van.
It’s hard to believe how my possessions have grown since last year. I don’t think of myself as a hoarder but I can see how it sneaks up and overtakes you when your not looking.
I have several books that I bought last year. I really enjoyed reading them but can’t see myself reading them again in the near future. They’re not the type of book any of my friends or relatives would like and I don’t want the hassel of taking them to the library. I probably should just throw them out but can’t bring myself to do it.
I have a couple of pieces of furniture that I picked up at Goodwill. Nobody wants those either. I’ll probably end up leaving them for the next tenant. He may throw them out too, but at least I wont know about it.
I have way too many clothes to ever fit in my van. I don’t remember buying half of them and I regularly wear less than that. They must have seemed like a good idea at one time but I’m thinking the best option is to toss them.
I have a few item that I couldn’t throw out so I made a trip to Karen’s and another to Dave’s and Lisa’s, with instructions to yard sale all of it at their earliest convience. If they can’t sell it I hope they toss it and never tell me.
I have more to tell you but I think I will upload this much in case I mess up.

Posted in More Stuff | 5 Comments »

« Older Entries
Newer Entries »