A lot of people commented to me privately about our house hunting process. Interestingly, nobody begged us to stay on the road and not buy a house. I'm interpreting that as meaning that our friends are supportive -- rather than a hint that we are on the road too much!

Of course, you already know we won't get off the road permanently. My intention is to keep the blog going for a long time. We also haven't bought a house yet, although we are deep in discussion about it.

Whether we do or not, we have some very interesting plans for this fall that I'll share with you later, once they firm up. But here's a hint: I've been buying books to plan the next major expedition ...

Eleanor and our real estate agent chat about a house

In the meantime, I have been thinking about how we got started on this adventure, and what we've learned. Most people who have RV travel experience already know that traveling this way is not like the average person's view of travel. I've always winced when people refer to us being "on the road" because it rarely feels that way.

"Travel" evokes images of glamour and suffering: exotic locales arrived at through uncomfortable means of conveyance. The constant uncertainties and dependencies inherent in traditional travel will wear you out. As someone once said, travel is like cream: broadening but too much will make you feel sick.

By contrast we mostly float seamlessly through the country, courtesy of our Airstream. It often doesn't feel like travel at all. I know that's hard to believe, but keep in mind that we couldn't possibly have lasted this long (16 months at present) if this had really been just one big road trip. It's a lifestyle.

The only time I feel that old familiar feeling of rush-rush travel is when we need to fly somewhere ... as this week. We are still monitoring Emma closely for signs of congestion that would prohibit her flight on Thursday, and there's a heavy load of snow in the northeast that shut down half a dozen major airports today. Eleanor has been pressing hard to complete her obligations today and be ready for an early departure, all the while wondering if they'll even be able to go. It's a pain.

I've moved my flights. The congestion is clearing only slowly, and I doubt I'll be ready to fly on Friday, so now my flight is Tuesday. Hey, I could drive to Florida by then ... but I think I'll just sit here instead and enjoy a rare few days alone in the Airstream. Hmmm. ... maybe a few movies, some good guy chow, and Rich C and I can hang out for a while. He's right across the park. Or maybe the Titan Missile Museum this weekend.