Freeze

Tonight, I sit surrounded by family, 29 of them. Sisters, brothers, nieces, nephews, spouses, partners, great-nephews, my children, my husband, and my mother. The evening is warm, and we are all covered with a patina of butter, beer, smoke and lobster guts from a lobster bake on the back shore of Peaks Island.

My nephew and his girlfriend are singing and playing a miniature guitar. We are swapping stories of memories and mis-memories. My mother has been carried out and over the shingled beach in her wheelchair to sit by the fire. She is wrapped in a Mexican blanket and looking rather queen like.

Oakley and his cousin are building a sculpture with drift wood. He has been difficult lately, probably due to the unstructured summer we have been lolling about in. I know for him, we can’t leave soon enough. Unstructured time unmoors him. His squirrelly behavior and emotional upsets are on the rise. I have no doubts at all that this trip is what he needs, when he needs it.

Our bikes should arrive in Astoria, Oregon, tomorrow and hopefully, barring disaster, will be put back together by the good people of Bikes & Beyond. My husband Twain, quieted my most recent fears when I couldn’t find one open campsite in a 20-mile radius of where we land the first night by calling this bike store and asking for an insider tip of where we might stay. The bike store manager told him to ask for him by name, and if we can’t find a place to camp while we orient ourselves we could, if worse came to worst, stay with one of his many friends who accommodate cross-country cyclists.

We leave August 1st. There is a lot to do before then, and my wheels are spinning dangerously close to skidding out. The idea of just pedaling our bikes day after day is becoming ever more appealing.

I am feeling confident and ready. Oaks is feeling unnerved but ready. I know we will be held wherever we go by kind people. Tonight, though, we are not going anywhere.

10 thoughts on “Freeze”

  1. Hoping you’ll find many connections along the way in your great adventure! We’ll all be thinking about you, and wishing you strength and joy and laughter.

  2. The only guarantee of this trip is that it will not go the way you expect it to. Be prepared to change your agenda on the fly. Do not expect to get the daily mileage in that you plan! If it looks like concentrating on the road is becoming difficult (for either of you), stop for the day right there. With all this on your mind, try to enjoy the moment!

  4. I’m thinking of you, Leah, as you and Oakley embark on this great adventure! You will have many stories to tell, I’m sure. Be prepared for the unexpected and enjoy the freedom of seeing this vast beautiful land up close.

  5. When I walked the Camino, the idea and the reality of getting up each morning knowing all I had to do was walk was an amazing feeling of joy. I know you will have this feeling. You have everything you need to do this journey. Enjoy! I’ll look forward to your blog posts.

  6. Wishing you all the best! May you be surrounded by and tuned into your Spirit Guides on your journey! Trust your intuition! Make it a joy-filled, wondrous adventure! Such courage and inspiration and love you are demonstrating for us all, Leah! Blessings Only.

  7. I like Twain’s calming intervention. Is he available for general consultation?…Agree with Marsha (above), the journey will provide everything you need.

  8. Do you know about “warm showers”? Check it out, warm showers.com, hosts for bike touring

  9. You will never have a greater adventure and you will feel 20 years younger when you are done.

  10. Leah,

    First of all, your writing style is fantastic! If you are thinking about what your next chapter is upon your return, well look no further! You are a natural.
    As a mother of five adult kids I am jealous in a kindred sister way of your trek with Oakley. I wish that I had mustered the where-with-all to put a trip like this together to spend precious time with each of my kids. The pressing fact of life is that time never stops. Kids grow up. Trying to get some uninterrupted time is with them is like herding cats-just when you feel you’ve got all the logistics in place to make things happen, someone comes up missing!

    This will be a trip that will be cherished by both of you for years to come. It will be the type of trip that you will laugh about over board games & family get togethers. Every memory will mean so much because you did it together. These will be experiences that only you & Oakley will know the full meaning of. I envision that there will be very trying moments as you trek across the states, but like anything else that falls into that category, it will also be the glue that binds you together. Let your heart rest easy in your decision to do this knowing that you are sharing time together, with many opportunities to cheer each other on, yell at each other, hug each other, and most importantly be vulnerable together.
    I can’t wait to follow your journey! We will be cheering you on from SoPo!

    By-the-way, I’m pretty sure our husbands played hockey together at Portland Ice Arena in the morning group.

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