The Half Dome Dilemma

One of our most-anticipated destinations is Yosemite National Park in California.  We love to hike and both of us are in fairly good shape so before doing my research, I felt we had a chance to make it to the peak of Half Dome, the iconic landmark photographed by Ansel Adams.  I have since reconsidered.  And reconfirmed that I probably could....and reconsidered....and pushed the doubts away...and reconsidered.  You know the drill.

There are long sections of uphill climbs with slick rock, threat of exposure and dehydration, the possibility of being caught in an unexpected storm, high altitude, and those cables at the top!  If you have a pronounced fear of heights, I'm told the cables "will present a great challenge to you."

Cable-climbing near the peak

The Yosemite website is beautifully maintained.  There are extensive maps, videos, trip planning advice, and historical information.  There is even a video detailing the Half Dome Hike in all its glory and treachery.  I found it fascinating and horrifying all at once.  This is highly-recommended viewing (see below).  The same little voice that once told me I could run half-marathons, keeps whispering about this one,too.

The view from the top (I chose someone who looks a little like me for inspiration.)

http://www.nps.gov/yose/photosmultimedia/hikinghalfdome.htm

Almost a Motor Home Trip

We've been working on the bones of this trip for 10 years!  It started as a goal to use some of our retirement savings to buy a Class A motor home (the big honkers that look like a bus).  On road trips, we'd pass someone in a spacious, nice-looking motor home and we'd yell, "There we go!!  There's US!!"  I had a vision of RBK hunkered down at the wheel, confidently navigating a mountain pass switchback.  We would be on our way to one of the national parks.  I would be making a tuna sandwich for him in the kitchenette.  Later, we'd be hanging out at the RV Park, watching shooting stars while sitting on our foldable chairs.

A big hole got busted into the June Cleaver vision, though, when gas hit $4.00 a gallon.  Then I found out that a $300K motor home is over a grand to license in the state of Michigan.  Then we bought the lake house and now we're the Ridgeline Pioneers.

It would've been pretty cool to sleep in our own bed on an extended trip and sometimes make a tuna sandwich in it.  But I would have had to drive part of the time.  This is not an attractive idea.

Project Girl Dives in to Plan Trip West!

For me there's nothing like a meaty new project.  I go absolutely crazy when I dream up a great idea for a project and have the time to plan it out.  I relish the process of putting it together and have a few hours to sit in my office and sketch it out.  Ask my family.  What is my favorite pastime?  Internet research!  Unanswered questions burn at me.  I must know why the tragic celebrity lost her life, who sang the song we just heard, what was in that martini we had in Mexico, where did I stash all my running medals when we moved?  I can't help myself.  Once a project is assigned (by my dark side in the middle of the night) all my energies are focused on it.  I especially love to plan a trip.  I'm currently about halfway through my planning.

Project Central

RBK would enjoy having me tone it down on the trip planning.  However, he knows I'm completely unable to do that.  He listens patiently to the latest parade of time lines, hotel choices and passionate pleas for non-refundable reservations.  The next day I ask him about it and he can't recall the conversation.  That's how often I "keep him updated" on the progress of the trip.  No one else could listen "attentively" for that long.  Honestly, I don't care, because this is just a game we play.  I have to let off some steam while I'm working that hard on my project.

Here is today's version of the itinerary.  Subject to change.  (By now this is a given, since I'll find some additional documentation that proves we need to change our route at several points along the way.)  Factor in RBK's polar-opposite notion that we might consider an unplanned rest day somewhere along the California coast.

Mar 20 - 21 Chicago, museums and the Apple Store
Mar 22 - 23 Kansas City, my sister, Meaouw and charming, renaissance-man husband, Eric
Mar 24 OKC to visit old friends and reminisce living there in 1997-98
Mar 25-26 Santa Fe
Mar 27-28 Sedona, hiking and meditation (me)
Mar 29 Tucson to celebrate Snooze's birthday
Mar 30 - Apr 10 Tucson catch up with RBK's dad and his wife, Char. Hike with Snooze.
Apr 10-11 Fountain Hills, AZ to hang with KB & Dale and see their gorgeous new condo
Apr 12 Travel Day
Apr 13 Santa Barbara
Apr 14 Channel Islands - Hiking
Apr 15 Cambria (starting up the coast on Hwy 1)
Apr 16 Hearst Castle
Apr 17-19 Big Sur, Carmel, Monterey, Pebble Beach (try to keep jaw from hitting pavement)
Apr 20-21 Yosemite!!!!  Ahwahnee!!!!  Hiking Half Dome part of the way, maybe....
Apr 22-23 Lake Tahoe hiking
Apr 24 Salt Lake City (I guess we're going to look at the Temple; not sure)
Apr 25 Dinosaur-ville or something like that.  This is an RBK choice I don't know anything about.
Apr 26 Denver to visit Kathleen and Bob. Haven't seen them in 5 years.  Can't wait!!
Apr 27-28 Back to Kansas City to celebrate Laura's HS graduation a little early
Apr 29 Indy? I'm not sure why we're stopping here but it's a fun place and we have good memories
Apr 30 Home to begin getting ready for our first full summer on the lake

I did find my running medals but I still don't know how to make the martini because the answer's not on the internet.

Hatching an idea to head west

My daughter suggested I start a blog instead of jamming her Facebook news feed with photos and minutiae involving our upcoming 6-week trip to the west coast.  I like this idea a little more than she probably would like.  It gives me creative license to write more, post more, take pictures and thoroughly document this trip.  It *is* going to be the trip of a lifetime.

After 30 years at a large food company, my husband, RBK, is retiring at age 54!!  Now, before you start groaning about how lucky he is, let me to explain how rough this has been.  Many times I've wondered whether I'd still have a husband when this day arrives in early March 2013.  Moving 8 times, airline travel, missing important kid's activities, long commute, longer hours, shutting branches, hiring and firing, 300 emails a day.  He's been drenched, wrung out, spun dry and...I get the remainder.  Ha!  He is going to be a new man when this trip is over and he's all mine.

We have been recreating our life together over the past year by selling the family home and moving to a lake house.  Although it's a newish home, we've made many changes since moving here in June 2012.  We've grown closer as we put our signatures on the new place.  I'm watching the subtle changes in him as he begins to unplug from the relentless work schedule and place more focus on his life at home and with me.  For this reason, I felt good about agreeing to this trip.  There have been naysayers.  "Six weeks on the road with your husband?  Won't you go crazy?"  No, I won't.  We're a team and we're very compatible.  He convinced me to leave the family house and it was a good decision.  He wants to do this road trip and I'm all in.  It's another good decision.  He makes good decisions when it comes to this stuff.  I like his ideas, so I bought about a hundred books describing the places we're planning to visit.  I've made reservations at some spots and promised him we could wing it for other places.  I'm a planner.  He's spontaneous.  We're meeting in the middle and enjoying compromise.