The getting back on the road checklist…..

I’ve had a busy day and accomplished much. I rode over to the mechanics on my bike early this morning and they have my car running and she is running well. Now, all they have to do is fix an exhaust leak and replace that damaged wheel bearing and I should have my OWN car back on Monday. How sweet it is!!!!!!

• 1) renew license……..done
• 2) get insurance………done $245 every six months
• 3) get car running……..done
• 4) get wheel bearing replaced…….working on it, should be done this weekend.
• 5) get exhaust leak fixed……….same as above.
• 6) get tag renewed………..will do this once it is drivable again, got to go to the county courthouse for this in Lafayette Ala..
• 7) Wash and wax……..this will be a labor of love, she looks like she has sat up for years. She certainly needs some TLC.

I have all kinds of inexpensive road trips I want to take. Ideas are swirling around in my head. I will be so nice to have my own set of wheels again. It is a 4 wheel drive truck and I cannot wait to hit the back country roads and do some exploring. I will take the convertible top off and let the wind rip and roar through my hair and soak in the sun and crank up some good tunes.

One trip that I know I will take is to drive the 3 hours up to Springer Mountain Georgia. Springer Mountain is the start of the Appalachian Trail. I am going to take two weeks and enjoy the beauty of the north Georgia mountains this fall. I want to go when the leaves start to turn and the weather turns colder. I hear the fall foliage is breathtaking during late October.

Another thing I want to explore is urban homelessness for a few days and to see how it compares to my experiences of rural homelessness. It will be a project that I am going to write about on this blog. I will tell you all about it when I get back. I am thinking of driving up to Nashville were I already know of where to stay and where to eat by reading Kevin’s homeless journal. I feel I never got a good understanding of urban homelessness by reading his blog. He never writes about the homeless people who surround him and how they act. I want to find out for myself. I am not too interested in meeting him though. I find him a scary individual with a nasty streak and would rather stay away. If I see him, I will just act like just another homeless individual and keep my distance.

Also, today, I had an interesting little trip on the rails that I will write about later. It took most of the afternoon and was a blast but dangerous. I will share about it after I eat some supper. I have a ham steak waiting to be baked and some potatoes ready to be mashed. A homemade pan of biscuits is on the menu as well. See you all in just a bit.