Moon River West: Ventura

The things that will come…

We are headed west! We are calling our next trip, which kicks off at the end of this month, our “ventura” adventure. Ventura is from Latin ventūra which means “the things that will come”. This definition feels very appropriate and applies to more than our travel plans. I don’t mean to be dramatic but I often feel as if the whole world is on the edge of a big adventure, and I wonder what is coming. Thankfully all of that is in the Lord’s hands and I don’t need to worry.

This morning I made our last reservation for our four-month journey that will take us from Texas to Utah to Oregon, down California and back to Texas. Now I feel like I’m ready to write about it.

Moon River East, our first trip, was perfect in every way. We left Texas last June and arrived home in November. You can see our route here. Our second road trip is quite a bit different from our first one. Differences include:

• more rugged terrain
• the addition of camping
• greater focus on nature than history
• greater number of accommodations

During our East Coast trip we stayed one month in each location, and were able to get from one place to another without too much driving. However, our Ventura adventure will require a lot of driving and over night stays that include a variety of hotels, national parks and state parks – a total of 20 places!

Ventura Highlights

Most of what Dale and I will be seeing will be new for us. Here is a list of some of the cool places we plan to experience:

• Grand Canyon National Park
• Zion National Park
• Bryce Canyon National Park
• Grand Tetons National Park
• Yellowstone National Park
• Bend, Oregon
• California Coastal Highway
• Redwood National and State Parks

We will be camping in many of these places. We are even trying backpacking in Bryce Canyon. We will pack everything on our backs for a “back country” overnight hike. REI has been able to hire an additional 100 employees as a result of our purchases. Haha! We went camping twice last month to get used to our new gear. (See photos here.) I swore I’d never sleep without a deluxe air mattress again, but guess what, I am. My new mattress is about 10X thinner than our usual camping air mattress and 20X the cost! Something ain’t right about that! I’ll try and do a post about the gear we bought and whether it is worth it.

I want to make it very clear to everyone who wonders how Dale works amid all the travels. I take a lot of time planning our trips to ensure Dale is settled in a nice place with good Wi-Fi. All of the camping will be on weekends or vacation days. He is absolutely the most dedicated employee I’ve ever known. He has worked from home for many years and he is seated and working except during his lunch hour. Sometimes I find it amusing, but mostly I find it honorable. It’s one of the many reasons I love and respect him.

Stay tuned for more info about the trip … now back to wedding planning …!