unplanning

I'm an unplanner. The ramifications of this sort of (non)methodology can sometimes be uncomfortable, and often I find myself in trouble, or late, or forgetting about something important, like taxes. With travel, though, my unplanning usually serves me well: with just a skeleton of a plan in place, I can let the rest of the journey flesh itself out sweetly, without effort or forcing. I take the ride, I don't make it.

Amanda and I seem to be on the same page about the skeleton of the first leg of the roadtrip: make it from Portland to the Bad Liver Valley in 7-12 days-ish. Take northern-ish roads, two-laners when we can, and hit a few sweet spots along the way: Corn Palace, Mt. Rushmore, Paul Bunyan and his ox, and whatever other goodnesses appear. Camp, mostly. Eat cheap and fresh and lean, plus chocolate. Hit divey bars for beers once in a while, and feed quarters to the jukebox. Laugh a lot.

Still, in the middle of all of this unplanning, I'm looking forward! Excited! Can almost taste the hot pavement ahead of me! I'm unplanning for fun, for freedom, for love, for my back upon the earth, for adventure, for the timelessness of travel without expectation.