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!

This New Reality

Lauren and I are trying to adjust to this new version of reality.  We're both having difficulty with the time change and are awake well before 5am, which means we're usually ready to call it a day by 8pm. The view here is gorgeous of course; we're in the Keys.  But there's a lot to be said for green mountains and wooded hills that hide gurgling creeks and the accompanying paths covered with fragrant needles from the overhanging evergreens.  We both loved the paths that wandered through the woods and along the Swale.  You simply can't find that kind of beauty on this piece of coral rock.

However, surrounded by beauty we are; albeit a different kind of beauty.  Our yard changed quite a bit in the month we were gone and the transformations are wonderful.  The banana trees I planted to screen the house from the hot tub have completely filled in and are doing the job well.  The pineapples are taking off, their fronds a very dark green.  The tomatoes are looking like something from one of my favorite childhood stories, Jack and the Beanstalk.  The gardens are filling in and the baby palm tree is flourishing.  Although I miss the temperature and beauty of Great Britain, it is nice to be home.

Lauren has moved on from the walk.  I don't think she gives it a second thought unless someone asks her about it.  It's different for me.  I find myself remembering conversations I had with Lauren and fellow walkers, I see very specific images (such as Whitby Abbey and Dent Hill) with great clarity, and I remember the biting wind and jolting chill on top of The Nine Standards Rigg.  I enjoy these rememberings and although I know its inevitable, I will all too soon forget the details.  The demands of every day life and the routine of work and cooking and laundry will unfortunately push away remaining images of mountains and babbling brooks and friendly heifers.  Until then, I will happily take these memories out while they are fresh and enjoy them often.

When the memories aren't quite so strong and I have to read the blog to remember the little details, then it will be time to plan the next Big Adventure.  I hope you'll come along....