Hello Everyone. In less than a week I have an appointment to get my first shot of the Covid vaccine. I am very happy and very excited, as this is the best news I’ve gotten in a while for myself (it was always more important that my folks got it and now that my mom and stepdad and my dad’s partner are fully vaccinated and my dad has his first shot, I’m happy for me). Beyond that, Shadow Catcher got new brakes this week so my van is edging closer to being “departure ready” as well. Mason and his parents have moved into their new house and he and I have spent the week exploring their new neighborhood. My mom’s hip replacement is healing well and she’s moving around a lot better. And in other awesome news, my very good friend Jorge and his wife have welcomed a beautiful bouncing baby girl this week. All told, it’s been a pretty good week here in Washington.
With my vaccine news and my van’s last big repair (hopefully), my plans for an early June departure may actually come to fruition. That probably means it’s time for this particular weekly update to come to an end. I plan to continue it for the next three weeks to bring a full year of DC Chronicles to a close. After that I’m going to spend a few weeks doing some revamping of my website and social media platforms to try and prepare for Departure 3.0. When I began this adventure back in 2017, my plan was to share my life with the world as I traveled the country and lived in my van. Unfortunately the reality at that time was that I was in a pretty dark place mentally, being in the midst of a long and painful breakup with someone I wrongfully believed was my soulmate. I couldn’t share my feelings or thoughts because they were all about her and that wasn’t what this journey was supposed to be. So I leaned away from me and leaned into taking photos and sharing my trip on a very impersonal level, which was all I was capable of at the time. Over the past year, I haven’t traveled much at all and I’ve been able to open up more about me and my life here in the midst of a global pandemic (such as it was), and I’ve really enjoyed that and the interactions with you all that have come with it.
As I get ready to leave for the third time, I expect a much more personal interaction to come from this blog. I want to show you my van, how it works, what my days and nights are like, where I go and what I experience. I’ve retooled some of my operation so I can work from my van and be able to utilize my time and resources better. I’m also in a far better mental state to be able to do so. In short, I guess I’m hoping to bring the personal side of DC Chronicles together with the travel/photography side of This Week on the Road and add a little more on the vanlife in the process. I think this time it’s all going to actually work out the way I had hoped it would in the first place! I also plan on starting my podcast again which takes a look at the history and culture of the states that I visit and is something I’ve really enjoyed. Much more to come on all of this in the next 10 weeks, but that’s a brief preview of what to expect. I’m super-excited about the whole thing.
So last week Mason and his parents moved into their beautiful new house in Barnaby Woods on the far northwest edge of the city and, if you had a good arm, a stone’s throw from the Maryland border. Mason and I have been talking about it for weeks to try and prepare him for the move. I know his parents had a lot to do and think about and I wanted to help with Mason’s transition as much as I could. On Thursday morning, as the movers were getting ready to come start their work, Mason and I headed outside for an adventure. I told him we’d find a new creek to throw rocks, new construction sites to watch, new mushrooms and berries and new birds and other assorted friends. Before we left that morning, I walked to the side of the new house and got my walking stick which I had moved over from the old house, and his face lit up at the familiar sight. We set off to the Pinehurst Tributary of Rock Creek and played in the water there all day (it was 70 degrees and perfect). It was a good first day for us both.
Since then, we’ve done some more exploring of the neighborhood and the park, in both warm weather last week and much colder weather this week. It’s been a little bit stressful as we had such a good routine going at the old house, and we’re learning the new neighborhood together. He’s also learning a new house, a new bed and perhaps most challenging – Daylight Savings Time, which his mind can’t understand but his body is fighting against. Today I think we pushed a little too far away from home as we walked almost three miles which is a lot for little legs. We saw some cool stuff, but he told me it wasn’t much fun for him. We’ve got rain coming later this week, so we’ll have time to play in the new house and take it a little easier, but I’m happy he can and does communicate with me as well as he does. He’s so smart and so good about our adventures that I sometimes forget he’s only two. I know he’ll be alright, and his new neighborhood will be really good for him, but it’s hard to see him struggling. He did tell me today that he loves his new house, which was really good to hear (also new on his list of “loves” for the week: woodpeckers, hills and mud).
Last Friday I was pretty tired after a long week with Mason’s move, walking with him all day and trying to do a morning and an evening walk as well and all the other things I’ve been trying to keep up with. I took my van out to Midas to get the brakes done because, as much as I don’t love chain mechanics, they do offer a nationwide warranty which comes in handy when you’re traveling. They couldn’t get Shadow Catcher up on the lift, and it was kind of the straw that broke my back after a long week. My plans for our Friday party kind of fell apart and we ended up having a nice fire on the patio and grilling some steaks and having a few beers. It wasn’t what I wanted it to be, but it was okay.
Saturday I called my friends out at Champion Auto Repair near Dulles Airport, and they got us in right away and I had new brakes in just a couple of hours. It ended up costing me $50 less than Midas would have charged, and we didn’t have to have the dramatic “Rotor Conversation” that always comes with new pads. I’m sold on these guys being the best mechanics I’ve ever encountered in the entire region and I’m bringing all my business there from now on. That took a big chunk of my Saturday, but I was happy to get it done.
On Sunday I did a lot of little things around the house. I got some work done on my van, edited the photos for my post on Grand Teton National Park (which you can find here), and wrote two stories for my podcast. It was a very productive day and I felt great for it.
Monday I was back with Mason, but it was significantly colder out with temperatures just above freezing. We did find some awesome construction to watch, with three excavators working simultaneously, which he couldn’t get enough of. After I left him, I was back to tutoring his cousin on some Algebra. Most of the work we were doing together last year was math I had taught when I was in the classroom a decade ago. It wasn’t fresh in my brain, but it wasn’t too deeply buried either. Now that he’s moved onward and upward, he’s working on things I haven’t done since I was in high school myself (which was slightly longer than ten years ago). The work his teacher gave him was really challenging, and I very much enjoyed working with him on it. He did exceptionally well, and I think he just needed the confidence boost of checking each step with someone as he went. I also think it was good to get my own brain working on something more challenging as the other stuff I could do in my head. Being a math teacher was not for me, but I’m enjoying working with Nick and watching the progress he’s made this year.
Another from Charleston
Today is, of course, St. Patrick’s Day and when I’m done finishing up this post my folks and I are going to tip back a few pints of Guinness and enjoy some corned beef and cabbage, some traditional Irish music and some good mid-week cheer. I always look forward to St. Patrick’s Day and have spent some great ones over the years including one in Charleston, S.C. and another in Lake Charles, Louisiana on this journey. Last year, I was in Corpus Christi, Texas for St. Patrick’s Day, and it was the last shot of normal before Texas started shutting down in earnest. I celebrated it with the cousins of my friend Jorge, who I mentioned at the top of this post just has just had a new baby.
The rest of this week I’m going to spend trying to finish up a few projects on my van. I want to install a back-up camera, paint a few rusty spots and organize a few of my compartments. I’m going to check out some of the new video gear I bought as well, as I’m going to try and add some video elements to this project going forward. I’m hoping to get some Yellowstone photos published and keep working on my podcast as well. I’m going to keep walking and trying to get my weight and blood sugar down and I’m finally back to playing my violin a couple of times a week which makes me happy. I’m loving this “extra” hour of daylight and I’m going to make the most of it.
I hope y’all are doing well out there and that you’re getting good news about a vaccine as well. I feel like spring is coming and as I edge closer to my one year anniversary of being home for the pandemic, I can truly see the light at the end of the tunnel. I hope you can too. It’s going to be a great summer, y’all, and I can’t wait to get it moving. 10 weeks! I can do that. Take care out there, and I’ll see you right back here, same time next week. Thanks for reading.
-Mike
Under the Rainbow in Charleston