Recapturing an Old Joy

During the last several years every time a summer holiday would arrive I would greet it with sorrow. Bob and I had always been very active in outdoor activities. Whenever a Memorial Day or Fourth of July came around you could find us river rafting, water skiing, hiking, camping, sailing. But that had come to a halt one Memorial Day Weekend -first with Bob's Adrenal gland tumor that landed him in the ER and later the Cardiac Care unit for a week. This led to many holiday weekends that we stayed at home not knowing if we would ever have those outings again.

I remember one such holiday I just wanted to get away. Even if it meant a antiquing junket in a nearby town. I called a friend to see if she wanted to join me, but she and her husband were loading up their kayaks to go down the river. I just sat in my car and cried, mourning the loss of doing just that very thing with Bob not so long ago. I went home and did the laundry.

For awhile Bob was able to cope on his own for an overnight and even a weekend and in my job I was sent to do PR at yacht club outings to the local lakes and rivers. It was so cool to be able to get out and back on the water, but I missed my Bob.

But I am here to tell you THIS YEAR was different! Because of some of the ways we have learned to cope, some nifty gadgets, a surgery, and a new (to us) Van, Bob has become more of a traveler and adventurer again. It all started with the scooter and our trip to Port Townsend. This year for the Fourth of July we biked/scootered the Route of the Hiawatha trail. This is an old railroad route that has become a trail ride/hike. It's on the Idaho/Montana Border about 90 miles from us. We loaded up the scooter and my bike in the van and off we went- It was just like the old days - sort of.

                                       The new van, my 1980's bike and Bob on his scooter

     At the Begining

 This tunnel is just under 2 miles long and very very spooky

 Go Bob!

 He had to stop and read every sign :)

 Some of the flora

 The Vistas

 The Mud from the tunnels

I can't begin to convey how I felt. To be out in the woods on an adventure with my best partner in crime once again. It was the best medicine ever!!! So we had a few changes in our approach and we didn't make it down the whole trail but we had such a great time, just us, the woods and fellow adventurers we met along the way. because it is all down hill to the shuttle buses (15 miles) we had to ride uphill back (6 miles) I was very grateful that I joined a gym and have been working out this last year as I was able to manage the ride back just fine. Until the next day and I bought stock in Epsom salts.

 Bob says that he had a great time too, but then analyzes how his scooter was/was not built for that and found the ultimate scooter on the Internet that would be perfect (cue Tim the Tool man grunt). He thinks we should try the Centennial Trail next time - it's paved and soo long that we can pick either a more urban or woodsy path according to how we feel that day. And it's a bit closer to us.

I know that this window of adventure will not be here to stay and could be quite short, so we are doing our best to maximize the opportunity. We have no regrets for things we didn't do as we really have done a lot, but we approach these adventures as times to savor and gather them up greedily.

We are not quite ready to pack it up and call it a day, and we are planning more places to go and people to see. sometime this summer I hope to get him out on a friends sailboat. Stay tuned for more adventures of Bob and Susan :)