Toying With The Idea...

I was beyond ecstatic when Lauren said she wanted to do the C2C again...never was I more proud of her maturity and wisdom about what's really important in life.  Sure, Disney is fun, but our idea of a "vacation" is so much more rewarding.  I happily set about planning for June 2014, knowing we could do it better the next time around.

I recently strayed from the plan and toyed with the idea of walking Brittany, France.  360 miles of coast land, 111 lighthouses along the way, but not a difficult walk by any stretch of the imagination.  The C2C was a significant physical challenge; Brittany would not be the same.  I knew The Breton Coastal Footpath it would be a good experience, but something seemed to be missing.

But then...something happened.

I discovered that by combining several individual walks in Ireland, it's possible to walk 350-370 miles from Dublin on the Irish Sea to Dingle on the Atlantic Ocean.  The walk encompasses every type of terrain imaginable and I'm confident I can book us in B&Bs/pubs along the way.  The walk will be a challenge, although not to the same degree as England, but a challenge none-the-less.

My Dad's parents came to the States from County Mayo and I've felt the need to visit Ireland for several years.  I probably don't need to tell you this, but going to a foreign country as a tourist is nothing like walking it for three or four weeks.  The experiences are nothing alike.  Walking allows you (forces you, actually) to take in the landscape, meet locals, taste real food (as opposed to hotel food that caters to travelers) and see things you'd never find from the window of a tour bus.

My heart says Ireland for many reasons, but I need to discuss the idea with my walking partner.  Whatever our destination, it has to be something we both want.  I need to find a leprechaun...

June 2014 = C2C, The Rerun

Yup, you got that right; we're doing the sequel, but unlike most, this one will be a box office hit!

Lauren and I are doing the Coast to Coast (C2C) again in June 2014!!!  Here's the most amazing part: it was HER idea!!  How'd I get so lucky?

I'm already excited, in spite of the fact that it's 13 months away!  Lots of planning and training to do, and then there's that pesky little issue of money.  It's not cheap spending three weeks on the road in merry ole England, you know.  Lots of pints out there.  So, I began in earnest looking for a real job again.  Ugh.

There's no way I can sell enough books (patti.lavell.com and
http://confessionsofacatholicschooldropout.blogspot.com/) to fund our cross-country adventure.  It's just not possible, unless Oprah stumbles across my book when one of her minions tosses it aside on their way back from the lou.  They say miracles can happen (and look, we did the walk on our first try!), but I'm not holding my breath, so it's into the trenches I go.

Wish me luck and please recommend my book to a friend.  Or someone you don't like for that matter.

And then there was Doug...

With great excitement, I told Dougie that Lauren wants to Coast to Coast again.  He didn't look nearly as pleased and happy as I did.  In fact, one could say he looked rather grumpy.  Apparently, he doesn't like the idea of being left home "to babysit the dogs" for a month while Lauren and I trek across the UK having a grand old time.

I said he could walk with us - knowing he never would - and that didn't make him look any happier.  He's a grumpy old geezer sometimes.

I suggested he hook up with our friends from Winchester to see if they would schlep around during the day w/Doug doing touristy things (drinking in pubs) whilst Lauren and I scramble over mountains and across raging streams.  That seemed to put a little bounce in his step, so we'll see how things proceed.

In the meanwhile, Lauren and I are planning some adjustments to our route.  I'm already getting excited about another cross-country journey with the best walking partner ever!

Unexpected

Last night Lauren said she wants to the Coast to Coast Walk again!  I couldn't believe my ears but she repeated herself and yup!  That's what she said.

Talk about unexpected.

We're talking about the summer of 2014.....stay tuned!

Radio Show

Lauren and I have been invited to talk about our exciting cross-country adventure on Kim Chesher's Girl's Night Out Radio Show!  Tuesday, January 15th sometime between 6pm and 7pm!

Lauren's not feeling terribly cooperative...but I hope she'll come around and realize how much fun it is and recognize what a great opportunity we've been given.

I'm very thankful!  What a great community we live in.

What a year!

When I have a big year, I really have a BIG year!

As if walking across England with my thirteen year old daughter, without a proper map, wasn't exciting enough, I came home and spent the next five months writing a book.  Really, a book.

Confessions of a Catholic School Dropout became available for purchase on Amazon.com last week.  Today I started a new blog about that project, which I'll update regularly - much as I did while planning and living the Coast to Coast adventure.

The blog can be found here:
http://confessionsofacatholicschooldropout.blogspot.com/

I hope you'll check it out, it was a different sort of experience from walking across England, but it too had moments of difficulty.  More than once, I questioned why the hell I was doing it - much like I asked myself when facing most of the climbs through the Lake District!

If you enjoy irreverent humor and can laugh at things that some people wouldn't find funny, then I promise you'll enjoy my book.  Laughter is the best medicine.  After British pints, that is.

Destination: Ireland!

Lauren and I completed our amazing journey exactly a month ago and I find myself eager to plan the next big thing.  Speaking of big things: Lauren will be 14 years old in two days.  Holy crap.  How did that happen?  She left for Argentina a week after we returned from England, the poor thing.  She'll be there for her birthday and won't come back until a few days before school starts.  Our little globe trotter.

So while she's off adventuring in Argentina, I can't stop thinking about what's next.  The walk across England was overwhelming (in good ways) and the planning/sponsorship chasing consumed me for months.  It was such an amazing experience physically, emotionally and spiritually that I'm greedy for more.  My boots are sitting in the closet, caked with England muck, and they are calling my name.  They want to go on another adventure and schlepping up and down route 1 isn't satisfying them at all.

I haven't told Dougie yet but I want to walk Ireland next summer.  I'd like to do something very similar to what we just did but I need to find a more economical way of pulling it off.  We spent a disgusting amount of money of course.  Three weeks of hotels and eating and playing added up to big bucks.  We won't need to buy any gear, which cost us a grand or so this year in spite of the sponsorships we managed to land but we'll still need a place to sleep at night and three squares.  And pints.

There are walking trails all over Ireland but I don't think there's anything resembling a coast to coast.  I'm interested in the southern portion and am researching the trails along the coast.  I definitely need to visit County Mayo, which is in the northeast, because that's where my Dad's family came from.  He never had the opportunity to visit Ireland and I'd like to do it in his honor.  I want to wander through castles, listen to local musicians in pubs, stroll along the sea cliffs, and soak up Ireland's history and culture.

I've ordered some maps with which to begin the planning.  Stay tuned.  There is likely to be a link to another blog for our next adventure!