There’s nothing that’s linear.

At least in my life, there’s not much that seems to travel in a straight path.

I set out on an adventure….take the first step…and then just kind of meander in a curving line towards what I hope will be a good place.

I guess I’m jealous of the breakdown that other people seem to talk about….the forceful velocity of a trip well planned….the journey with only the end in mind.

But, you know….maybe it’s the meandering that makes the adventure?

A simple trip isn’t an adventure until something unexpected happens.

A trip isn’t an adventure until you’re not sure exactly what you’re doing….but press on anyway, jumping down into the void and hoping that there’s a place to climb back up somewhere farther down the trail.

“Linear history of adventure”? Pshawwwwwwww.

Of course, it bodes well for the mental health of the people you’re traveling with to give some kind of indication that you know what you’re doing.

You have to appear to have a plan….you have to be able to mask your twisted little trail some….or people would be going crazy around you.

C…R….A….Z….Y.

That’s not a good thing.

I guess that you have to build a really strong and predictable frame to put the kooky adventure picture into as you’re painting it.

We get away as a family for some adventures as often as we can.

Jenny does a good job of planning.

I try to plan…but it’s usually just taking care of the vehicle and remembering my toothbrush.

She’s a better planner than I am.

The things that I remember the most about a well planned trip are the random bits of weirdness that we encounter in-between the planned parts….the Indian motel that had decent reviews ( “NO REFUNDS!! YOU BOOKED ONLINE!!! NO REFUNDS!!”)….the strange meals….the odd tourist traps that also had a restroom that we needed….what? There’s more…I’m sure there’s more.

Every trip has some kind of weird element….no matter how well layed out the itinerary is.

It’s the weirdness that makes it the adventure.

But here’s another meandering thought: What if you get so used to the weirdness that it becomes commonplace and kind of boring?

What if everyday, you wake up in a different place….some exotic locale….some mornings with a camel drooling on your forehead, some mornings with the tide threatening to take you out to sea, some mornings with….something else that’s kind of strange happening to you….and you experience these random bits of strangeness so consistently that it all becomes kind of routine and boring to you?

What if you look back and the meandering curvy trail looks kind of focused and straight if you can see it from the right altitude?

What if it wasn’t as strange as you thought it was?

All the history….you don’t plan a history….not completely, at least.

You plot a destination and hope that the wind is cooperating…you aim and let the arrow loose.

The history builds itself….little by little….chunks of time that only make any sense from a thousand miles….or days…. away.

And there isn’t much that feels very linear while you’re walking down a curving road.

All I can ever plan is the first step, anyway…who knows what will happen after that?

“Building a Mystery” Sarah McLachlan