As there has been a change of plans for any 2022 Summer Journey in our Camping Van, my thoughts have been a bit jumbled. This being the case, there will probably be a randomness to upcoming posts.
(Figure 1)
As I may have related before, my wife and I are full-time caretakers for her 92-year-old mom. Usually, the only times we can get away for a meal is either on Sunday morning or Wednesday midday, when there are visiting caretakers for four hours each of those days.
Our chances for longer excursions are when her sister is between contract jobs in another state. Thus was the case for our two 2021 episodes of van camping, first the "Shakedown Cruise" and then our "Northern Adventure". The second 2021 journey allowed me to complete components of a couple of complex sets and a "singular item" of "Bucket List" goals (for which I am thankful.)
[When time allows, I plan to finish an in-progress personal list of types and hierarchies of Bucket List items .]
The first "Component Item" was that after never having seen any of the Great Lakes, I was able to photograph and stick my hand into Lakes Huron, Michigan, and Superior. The second "Component Item" is that I was able to shift four "unvisited states" to the "visited states" column. In order, they were North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska, and Iowa. Plus we passed through two State Capitals, Bismarck, ND and Lincoln, NE.
The 2021 "Singular Bucket List Item" accomplished was visiting the source of the Mississippi River, Lake Itasca, MN. A few years ago, during a local tavern trivia contest, I flubbed the "In what state does the Mississippi River begin?". I got MN and WI mixed up. I thereby vowed, "if I ever get up north again, I am visiting the source of the Mighty Mississippi River."
This time in 2022, the "fly in the ointment" is that my sister-in-law suffered a significant shoulder injury while doing some recreational snow skiing before returning to her home turf here on the Georgia Piedmont. This injury requires months of recuperation. And today we found out that she requires a total shoulder replacement to have the chance to keep working for a few more years. It will take some planning, discussions, and soul-searching to determine if we can chance getting any further away from here than for more than a couple of days before any surgery.
[This past weekend, we did escape to the Knoxville, TN area so I could attend a "beer can show" on Saturday. On our Sunday return trip, we did accomplish a "Single Item" Bucket List item.]
As I like the movie "Forrest Gump", I have been yearning for a visit to Bubba Gump Shrimp Company for several years, at least. The closest one to Atlanta is in Gatlinburg, TN, so we did it. Traffic wasn't that bad for Gatlinburg and the temperatures were pleasant, so a good time was had by us.
[On my 2nd 2015 Arizona Trip, I did visit "the place where Forrest Gump got tired of running", just north of Monument Valley, AZ/UT. Some people have a Bucket List of visiting recognizable sites from TV, movies, or albums. For instance, a college acquaintance visited the Manassas, VA train station pictured on the eponymous Stephen Stills/Manassas album. While others have stood 'on a corner in Winslow, AZ".]
(Figure 2.)
My wife doesn't mess with "Bucket Lists", though she does like having new experiences, e.g., our 2022 Bubba Gump Shrimp Co. visit and our 2021 sightings of a Bald Eagle atop its nest near Lake Itasca, MN, and watching a fight between two male bison in western North Dakota, near Theodore Roosevelt National Park.
So if anything is to happen this summer, we shall see.
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