The Best Right Relationships Christmas Tour Ever

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Greetings, all.

Somehow, I managed to remember what website I'd used back in August of 2020 to write a travel blog. Somehow, my computer managed to remember the login information. And so here I am, and here we are, getting ready to head out into an even more surreal landscape than last time. From Montana straight to Texas, then east to Florida, then north to the Carolinas, and from there, who knows? Perhaps the Florida beaches will be so enticing that we'll go back for an extended stay. Perhaps we'll be sick of driving by then, and high-tail it back home as soon as our obligation is fulfilled. Perhaps there will be rail strikes and gas shortages and civil unrest and soldiers in the street by then. No telling, these days, really. So we venture forth fueled by the power of "what's the worst that can happen?" and "Inshallah" and "this too comes from God." It has the advantage of being a new and unusual strategy, at least. So we're guaranteed adventure, if nothing else.

The obligation/event/opportunity powerful enough to drag us from our cozy home into the snow and cold and ice and drive across the country is this: Sally's grandson, now nine, has a significant role in the Pittsboro, NC production of The Best Christmas Pageant Ever. So unless something or someone intervenes, it's our intention to be there for the performance. Everything else is gravy.



Not that we don't have other agenda items, apart from a nice visit with the kids and grandkids...

1) We're in the process of rebranding ourselves and the mentoring/counseling/coaching work we do in the world, and so need to deliberate about website copy and marketing strategies and what sorts of programs and services we're called to offer, and to whom. At some point, perhaps soon, we'll take rightrelationships.us live on the Interwebs. This trip may be an opportunity to "tour" with our concept of "Right Relationships" as we interact with strangers, friends, and family.

2) We're in real need of some long and deep rest, having spent the last eight months moving, wiring, plumbing, and rehabbing an old house, working with the country to make it all legal and get our septic permit, and then moving in, and testing the systems, and making sure the house will survive a spell of winter without our attention. We're tired, and we've got two comfy lounge chairs and a couple of paperbacks just waiting to be pulled out on some warm Florida beach.

3) We're heading out on the maiden voyage of our "new to us" RV, a 1996 Volkswagen/Winnebago mashup called the Rialta, which we've named "Betty," in honor of Sally's deceased mother, who's in need of some honoring right now. Long in the tooth Betty may be, age wise, but she's only logged 108K miles and is in really great shape. We've turned the two twin beds into one king, and Sally's made new window coverings, and we've figured out how to make the furnace work, but there's much more to learn, and we're thinking that will be a much more pleasant affair in the Deep South.

4) If we get really inspired, we both have non-fiction books we could get started on.

5) We'll get a chance to check in on our Air BnBs down there.

6) And while we travel, we'll keep up with our current clients, and record an interview with a new friend, and connect with some friends we've never met in the flesh, and maybe connect with some old friends as well.

All of which assumes that we don't come running back home two hours out.

We leave tomorrow morning.

Prayers are always appreciated. I'll check in as often as I can.

Pax-Tim

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