Two weeks. It’s been two weeks since I left my nest in Dorchester, NH. Twelve of those days I’ve been driven, driving without getting to explore interesting towns or check out state parks. Visits along the way that would have broken up the trip were not to be. But I’ve found that while driving the bus I am much more in the moment than I ever was in the car. It is intense and focused and mindful. It’s like time stops.

Time doesn’t stop when it comes to research. I now have a job of a travel planner, spending hours and hours cross-referencing free host homes with electricity and campgrounds, and how much each would add to the total miles and if I could make it there in a day. Four hours I spent today. All I have to show for it are a few notebook pages ffull of dead ends. It’s not at all like staying in hotels, motels, inns and B&Bs where there are at least half a dozens choices in most places and apps to get the best price. But then, I hate packing and unpacking suitcases and lugging them place after place. I love having everything I need with me all the time (and to be honest, to be able to pull over and pee as needed). I accept the price, although I may be driven soon to pay the price for a trip planning app (that must also work on my laptop).

So, it’s amazing (maybe even magickal) what a good night’s sleep, a hot shower and ibuprofen will do. My fresh water system is inside the bus while my gray water tank and pipes are under the bus. There was a lot of gurgling after my shower. I realized my gray water pipes had frozen. Thankfully, they defrosted on the drive to Cozy Acres Camo Grounds in Powhatan, VA on the last night they are open for the season. Tonight I got more gurgling when I did the dishes. I think my gray water tank is full. It will take a lot of maneuvering to get it close enough to this site’s dump pipes. (Hmmm, wonder if it’s close to the empty site beside me. Wonder if I’ll remember to wonder in the morning.) Not something I’m doing tonight.

Tonight I’m listening to the 10% chance of rain.

The knee still does not like to be stretched out straight and does not want to hold all my weight, but it is much improved from this time last night (on a scale of 1-10, last night it was a 0; right now it’s a 7 1/2. I thank everyone for their help with its healing. Also thanks to those who sent their healing to Pye. His mood was better today until just about five minutes ago when he decided the best way to get me to give him treats was to alternate between scratching on the door of where they used to be and swiping his paw at me. But the, the poor cat spent perhaps half of our drive buried under my clothes. Literally. I leave one of the closet doors open and he takes his spot on the floor at the back of the closet. Well, we went over one bump that was not labeled bump Karma’s rear end must have gone airborne. Books flew off the shelves and I could hear things thrown around. Well, one of those things were my clothes. About a dozen hangers jumped off the rod, burying Pye. (Right now, he seems to realize glaring at the ceiling is not going to make the rain stop.) He explored the view out every window more so than he’s done in the past. He even walked the ledge beneath the window behind the shower curtain.

No full moon tonight. (I should say no full moon visible, because the moon is still up there and I can still feel its energy pour down on me.) I am so aware of how early it gets dark. It’s throwing my body rhythms off. I’m a night owl. 10pm-2am is most often my favorite time, perhaps because it straddles “the witching hour.” It’s 9pm as I type this and it’s been dark long enough to be around midnight.

The darkness outside is a deep dark (less so in full moon light). It feels like it’s pushing on me. I have only one tiny clip on lamp on the bus, above the sink, little fairy lights around the top of the walls and two solar lights that generally last as long as I need them. Oh, there are those press on battery operated lights behind the doors and over the bed. If I need bright, I use the battery-operated lantern, I also have two hand-powered lights with me. That’s made it surprising how bright a computer screen and the iPhone are.

The dark also seems to be pull me, inviting me to dance with my dark side – work that never seems to be over and done with. So there’s a battle going on between rise with the sun and sleep with the dark or keep the schedule that has served me for decades. Stay tuned on that one.

Oh, and a bit of wonderful news! I found if I flicked the defrost switch next to the windshield switches, hot air blows out of two vents. Add that to the list of things I didn’t appreciate as much as I could have when I had them.