On the Road Again

What my sister-in-law was singing as we headed out this morning.  Can't help but think of Willie Nelson which makes me think of the Texas hill country which makes me think that Utah looks a lot like Texas hill country, on steroids.  Sparse but beautiful in it's own way.  Boy, do I miss those wildflowers!

It was a beautiful, relaxing morning here. The sun is shining so brilliantly that even though my phone said the temperature was 40 degrees, it didn't feel cold at all when we were out rambling around, looking for a little coffee shop that ended up being right under our noses back where we started our search.  

But it was a gorgeous day for a walk and I don't regret wandering around at all.  And we had plenty of time to kill since we are only about 4 hours away from our Vegas destination.

It feels like the biggest decision that I have to make today is what book to start reading.  And I guess I'm glad that I lugged so many along with me.  But it always feels like I never bring the right ones.  I try to make myself be in the mood to read something that I thought I should like, that sounded like a good idea when I was packing, but now I have a hard time getting into.  I just don't feel that inspired by it.

Take Dracula for instance.  That book's a classic, right, and I have never read it.  I started one time, in the fall, around Halloween, because I thought it would add to the ambiance of the season.  When I began reading it I realized that the entries of Jonathan Harker's journal even end in the month of October, that spooky season of darkness.  I thought that was pretty cool.

However, that quickly became the problem, all that darkness.  The book was, maybe, too spooky, too dark for me.  Yet, I still have this haunting feeling that because it's on The 100 Books You Must Read list, and because I have yet to read it, that I MUST read this book. I WANT to read the book, just to know, you know, what it's all about.  And here it is, that autumn season again and what else do I really have to do? It's a wonderful feeling.

And on the flip side, that's what these trips are good for, right, setting boundaries and getting me out of my comfort zone.  Having the courage to try new things (that's me alright) and right now that's reading a book that's at the periphery of my reading repertoire.  Pretty way out there.

And really, for me, that's why I set off on this journey in the first place, for adventure, not just of the literary kind, but why not start there?  Why not suck that marrow (no Dracula pun intended)?  Why not do that thing that stretches my soul?

Well, I talked myself into that one! Pep talk complete.  Here I go.  Guess you'll get to see later if it was the right turn on this trip or not.  

Woohoo!!