I rescue things. Creepy crawly things. Things most people tend to step on and smash into little unrecognizable bits. I know my habit of saving bugs, arachnids, snakes, etc. either amuses or annoys most people. Buttercup is mostly irritated by my reticence to extinguish the life of insects that have inadvertently wandered, crawled, dropped into or otherwise found their way into our humble abode. I carefully gather up the lost soul and release it back into the wilderness that is our front yard. Even my brother was less than amused the time I found a black snake that was cozily coiled in a storage box near his porch and rescued it from certain death by hoe (He is skeered of snakes and wanted to take it's head off. I, however, carefully coaxed it into a box and released it into a culvert, several hundred yards behind his house). Some of my coworkers think I'm a crank for saving spiders that have wandered into our office. My receptionist though is the first to call me out when she sees one....I think she likes the fact that I save the little buggers from certain death. I do all this because I rather fashion myself to be a benevolent master of my universe. I believe in the natural order of things. I figure if I redirect a wayward bug/spider/whatsit back outdoors, it will buy me some cosmic brownie points in case reincarnation is in fact a reality. Actually, if you believe certain scientists, we are made up of atoms from all over the universe. So who's to say when we pass on that some of our atoms don't show up years later in the soul of a wolf spider, or a scarab beetle, or a Vulcan nematode. I just can't take that chance.
This is pretty scary.....
All that being said, I will admit that my altruism takes a backseat when a mosquito, biting fly or velociraptor attempts to taste me. My self-preservation overrides any moral sense of fair play. The offender will die an ugly death, but only after I say a silent prayer for the redemption of the poor bastards' atoms.....
Well, here it is the middle of July, and it's trip planning time again. Actually, planning is not a very good word for what we do, because, well, it's hard for us to "plan" a road trip. Usually, Buttercup (my significant other/better half/ Northern star) and I decide where we might like to go more as a general (and sometimes vague) geographical area than an actual destination. Once we have an area in mind, then we struggle to figure out where we are going to stay. This becomes more of a game of chance than anything else, because it's hard to figure out where we want to stay not knowing where we may want to go once we get to where we got to....get it? Hours are spent on line looking at hotels, cabins, condos, huts, lean-tos....oh hell.....just someplace to stay that will accommodate us somewhat comfortably and that has a nice bathroom (for Buttercup). As she has informed me, last years cabin was ok, but the rest facility was less than acceptable.... me, I just need a place to do my business and take a shower. She on the other hand wants a "nice" bathroom. She likes "nice" bathrooms. On more than one occasion she has called or texted me while she was on a business trip to extol the virtues of or to denigrate the "facilities" of the hotel she is at. What exactly is a "nice" bathroom? Well, I'm not sure. But obviously she knows, and wherever we stay has to have a "nice" bathroom. Oh well, eventually we will figure out a place to be and make a reservation.......maybe.
We WON'T be staying here...
This consternation of where to stay all started last year when we decided an annual trip to hither and yon would be a much better way to celebrate our birthdays than to buy something that may or may not be used or appreciated by the other. First we wrangled over where we might like to go....Arizona was talked about, and maybe some other place out west, but a week is not a very long time, especially when we prefer to drive (road trip!) as part of the adventure. So, after having decided a trip to the White Mountains ( a general geographical area) would be our first trip together, we finally found a cabin on the web (how, I don't know), made the reservation for October something, and eventually drove up to New Hampshire. It was a glorious week spent exploring the White Mountains, as well as taking a few side trips into Vermont and Maine. Buttercup likes, no, LOVES maps, so It became our daily ritual to look at numerous maps and figure out what direction we might like to go for the day. This is like a box of chocolates, because you never know what you're going to get (to see). It was wicked fun (as they say up north) to just drive and stop as we pleased to explore the little hamlets and countryside of rural New England.
So this year we have decided on a geographical area called Western North Carolina. It is of course in the mountains, because that's what we prefer. The hunt for Red October....oops I mean accommodations, has begun. We have finally decided on which week we will go. And I know it will eventually be much fun. But for now, we just need to find a place to stay.....with a "nice" bathroom.
