It’s Day 404 of 15 Days to Flatten the Curve. Deb and I are well.
Over these many months I’ve used a number of nautical expressions — cast off, maiden voyage, shakedown cruise and others — to describe metaphorically what we’re doing. Today I’m invoking yet another, blue water, as we set off from Second Chance Ranch.
We’ve sailed out of sight of land. We’ve left behind the only American Life we’ve ever known, the kind of life that has a fixed base, a familiar port to which we always return after labor or adventure. We’ve entered open water.
Blue-water sailing.
It’s a deliciously uncomfortable feeling.
Today’s mileage came close to matching the most we did during the shakedown. Almost all of it was Interstate driving, which shouldn’t’ve been a big deal, and it was a wonderfully clear day — but terrible pavement, heavy traffic and a steady crosswind out of the south left me pretty damned fatigued at the end of the day.
Close to our destination we detoured to fill Ernie’s diesel tank. Once again we’re looking at almost exactly eight miles to the gallon. On a leg like today’s it should’ve been better. I blame the wind.
We ended up at a small commercial campground in western Indiana. It’s no resort, but it’s perfect for an overnighter — exactly what we wanted.
Scout and Dipstick (pictured) met the campground donkeys.
We’ll press west again tomorrow, probably logging close to the same mileage. We have a place to land, where I expect we’ll stay planted a couple of days while we visit a friend and former colleague of mine.
Looking back, it took exactly six months from the day we first saw Ernie for a dream to become reality. Today we rolled. It feels good. And, at long last, it feels very right.
Take care of yourselves, Patriots. Stay calm. Stay sharp. Stay free.
#WiseUp #LibertyOrDeath
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