Trippin' with Susan Straley

  The rain is often an invitation to go out and dance. Unless it is cold.  It is hard to stay warm when you are wet. Yesterday I read that Inverness, Florida has had many days of rain. And I thought, boy am I lucky to be here, the weather has been great! It started raining today around 11:00 a.m.  Now it is three in the afternoon it looks like it is going to continue through the night. There is music in town this evening... outside.  I think I will stay inside. I have not moved forward on book three since I got the edits back from my beta readers.  Today would be the perfect day to get going on that. And I may start today.  Though I have the whiny girl on my chest stamping her feet and saying, "I don't wanna do that!"  What is that about? I read what other people have written and I feel unworthy to put my thoughts on paper.  What am I thinking to expose my crude thoughts and language to book readers?  I know I am not supposed to compare myself to others, but isn't tha

 OMG!  What a trip! Last I wrote to you I was telling you about the first day of my test fully-loaded bike tour. If you missed that,  here is the link from the post during a break in riding on Monday.  And here is the link to the post sent during the ride on Tuesday. Now that I am at a place with cell service and a bit rested, I will tell you the rest of the story.   I figured out the miles I did that first day:  76 plus miles.  Bike tours do that all the time, sometimes 80 or 90.  But I don't do that, especially not fully loaded with tent and sleeping bag and cooking supplies. George and I did 80 miles one day on our ride from Illinois to Florida.  It was because of an error in my planning.  We were hauling trailers behind our trikes.  Nothing hurt because those trikes are comfortable! We were staying in motels so we were not hauling tents, but I had my laptop.  We were exhausted after 80 miles and we decided to stay an extra day to rest up.  And George kept saying, "I am

Life can go along and all the blessings, the joy and fun can seem ho-hum after a while.  Then something happens, a goal is reached, a plan takes shape, a fork is decided on. The thrill returns. Today is just such a day.   I have been in the Rhinelander area now for over a month!   Long enough that mushrooms are growing inside my screen tent. West Bay Campground is wooded with lots of maple, oak and birch.  The campground is mostly quiet. Three times I have driven to the Bearskin Trail and rode the trail.  Two of those times I rode solo from the woods into the town of Minocqua.   The trail is 18 miles long and has a crushed gravel surface.  One end is in the bustling and touristy town of Minocqua, and the other end is out in the quiet woods near the the intersection of Hwy K and Hwy 51. I love the stories of the early rail days that are told on the kiosks along the trail.  When they were trying to create a causeway through the swamp to Minocqua for the railroad they would dump loads of

 Sunday, December 20, 2020   I did it again.  Some days my mind is just not in the moment and somehow I lose track of important stuff. I was looking forward to this trip.  I was traveling just two or three hours to the coast east of Orlando, FL.  I was excited because I would be spending my holiday with some up-beat and active friends.  We were to be camping in an area where there is water for kayaking, lots of nature for birding, and a trail for biking.  But this morning as I was packing I was in a foul mood.  My neighbor, Mari, commented, "Sue, you are frowning!  You should be smiling, aren't you excited?"   I hadn't even been aware I was in a foul mood, but then I realized that the thrill of going just wasn't in me.  I felt frayed... is that a feeling?  I felt like my brain was a bit scattered.  It wasn't working as sharp as normal and I was having to work extra hard to concentrate and make sure I didn't forget anything.  Mari reminded me I had a packin

 Hello! Last I wrote to you I was just ending my trip to Sanibel Island and the Everglades.  I was debating whether to downsize or cheapen my Florida living situation and travel half the year. As usual in these tough decisions, I have gone round and round.  I was talking with a friend who is building a house.  She said once she has made a decision, she just goes with it.  But her husband loops through the decision they have already made.  He goes through the decision-making process over and over again.  Second guessing, double checking, he is like me in that regard.   I remind myself to be grateful that I have choices.  Sometimes in life, and in so many lives less fortunate, there are few choices other than to be negative or look at the bright-side. Before I get into some decisions I have gone through recently, I have to share this bright sunset picture with you.  Last I wrote you I had a Halloween picture and song lyrics by my Wisconsin friend, Mark Blackman.  Well this week I got thi