I was up until 2:00 A.M. last night packing for my upcoming three week vacation which starts later today. This will be like no other vacation I have ever taken before. I have made no particular plans or reservations. I am not sure exactly where I am going except to say I will be headed north. And, I am not really sure how long I will be gone. It could be five days...it could be as long as three weeks. In other words, I am just winging it...So, what brought about this unusual set of circumstances? It all started earlier this month when I thought my mother was going to die. Originally I was thinking about going to Colorado with my son this summer for three weeks but he said he didn't want to go to Colorado...and...since my mother was in bad shape I decided to head north and hang around where she is just in case she got worse or passed away. She has since gotten better so I feel comfortable enough to take off. Also, this is the first extended trip I am going solo. Usually I go with family or friends but this year all my plans for a traveling companion fell through...so...that is why I am not sure how long I will be gone. I may get so lonely after four or five days in the wilderness I may feel compelled to head back to civilization...or...who knows, maybe I'll become so exhilarated I will just continue heading north and end up somewhere in Alaska and never come back. In all seriousness, I doubt I will travel farther than Oregon, although, if I get the itch I may go as far as the southern end of Olympic National Park in Washington...but...I really just don't know. I am taking my new camera and hope to take hundreds of pictures of the Northern California and Oregon Coast....so...if I don't check back for three weeks you will know that I am off in the wilderness somewhere....and...if I don't report back in after that than you will know that...a bear or mountain lion finally got me...I gave up on society once and for all and decided to just blend in with nature somewhere in Alaska or Canada...I met a real life mountain woman and we decided to homestead somewhere in the great wilderness of the north...or...I found a Bigfoot or family of hobbits who have agreed to take me in for as long as I want. So, if any of these senario's don't work out than you can expect to hear from me again in 5,7,10,14,18, or 21 days. Who knows. I certainly don't.