New England has been COLD.  I’d missed the cold while in Florida, and I think I’ve gotten my fill.  My understanding is that everywhere else is cold too!

Had my appointment earlier this week, and walked away with a few new insights.  Still awaiting some results, but I believe I can head out soon.

So, the next entry will probably be made while heading south and west once more.  This time though I believe the entries will remain in the southwest for a while.  We’ll just have to wait and see though.

Crossing my fingers that “real” snow holds off for a few more days.  Of course, I’ll give road reports as I get going.  Looks like entries will really be returning to the site.

So, next week I’ll have a better idea of when I can move on.  I’ll be visiting Brigham & Women’s Hospital in Boston.  Funny that I’m going there.  That’s where my mom had her bone marrow transplant in 1973.  I’m crossing my fingers.  Whatever the result of the visit, I will be heading west in the near future.

I read several interesting items over the weekend.  First I looked up places with the best Air Quality in the US.  Over the past year I’ve felt that I really notice the difference in air quality between towns.  One of my favorite stops was Santa Fe, NM.  Go figure, it’s #2 on the list of places with good air quality.  Guess I really can tell where I can breathe and where I can’t.  Here’s the link for you to see.

http://money.cnn.com/magazines/moneymag/bplive/2006/top25s/cleanair.html

The second read I just received.  Friend of mine sent me this link.  It’s on the relation of 30 genes and many severe auto immune issues.  Here’s the link.  Definitely an interesting read.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/16738416/site/newsweek/from/ET/

Sorry, not really travel related stuff, but items that really impact me currently.  And I found both items to be useful.  The Air Quality list gives me an idea of places to go if nothing else, and confirms why I liked Santa Fe so much.

The blog still isn’t seeing much activity.  I was hoping it would this weekend, and that I’d be rolling westward over the coming week.  However, circumstances change.

I’m now waiting on one more appointment with a physician.  Investigating one more avenue….

So, I now know for a fact that travel is still on hold until after the 29th of January.  We’ll see what happens that week, and go from there.

My hope is to go westward in February.  I’ve been doing a lot of research on line looking for communities of interest.  Of course, I’ve been checking out one of my favorite stops, Cortez Colorado, and the surrounding area.  But I’ve also been told of several other places that sound intersting.

Las Cruces, NM is an area that has caught my attention.  University of New Mexico is there.  Growing area, and reasonably priced housing.  That all sounds good.  Not so sure on the tech jobs front though.  I’ll see what I see when I visit the area.

I’ve got to say, the past few months have not been the easiest.  Through October I was feeling fantastic.  But November and December held many tripping points.  Mid-November into the holidays had me feeling fairly poor.  Not sure if it was a medication I was taking, or just another odd-ball flare up.  Whichever it was, it set me back a good bit.

In addition to that, I definitely became homesick to boot.  Honestly, I have been all year.  At no point did I ever want to become a full-time RV’er.  Rather I had looked forward to long trips (a few months at a time) with my now ex-spouse and pets.  And I also looked forward to returning home after each trip.  So, the adjustment to the change in situation continues.  And that’s part of why the blog has been so quiet.  Don’t want to bring readers down. 

As soon as there’s something interesting to post again, I’ll post.  Until then, the sporadic update format will continue.

With all the travel I did during 2006, there were of course some favorite spots.  So, what were they you ask?  And why did I like them?  Well, here’s the short list:

• Viriginia and the Blue Ridge Parkway:  My first real travel destination last year was Virginia.  One of my favorite states for a variety of reasons.  Looking back, I was happy to prove out that I could indeed hit the road again.
• Santa Fe, New Mexico:  The dry climate in New Mexico really worked well for me.  In addition, Santa Fe was a very nice city.  Pretty scenery, nice people, and tons of specialty food stores that really work well for someone with food allergies.
• The Great Sand Dunes:  Near Alamosa, CO., the Great Sand Dunes were a sight to see.  However, this was not a spot where I felt well.  After a few days I had to pull out.  Probably the big winds coming down off the mountains brought more than just sand to the dunes.
• Cortez, CO, and the surrounding area:  I ended up spending a good bit of time in Cortez on 2 occasions during 2006.  This was one of my favorite stop overs.  I made some great friends in the area, found so many interesting spots to do the “tourist thing” at, and found myself feeling the best I had anywhere along the trip.  I’m sure I’ll return there again in 07′.
• Idaho:  Crossing Idaho on my way to Montana, and once again stopping over in Victor, Idaho proved to be an extremely beautiful state.  I was surprised to say the least.  The town of Victor is a place I’d also like to return to again.  Plus Victor is very close to the Grand Tetons, another place I’d like to revisit as well.

So, there’s the short list of my favorite spots along the 2006 trip.  I’ll be looking forward to finding a few new favorite spots this year, and more importantly, a new spot to hang my hat.  Obviously, where I resettle will have to be a favorite as well, and I’ll pass it along when I arrive.

Well, this isn’t a travel related post. It might even be a “downer”, so readers are warned ahead of time. Part of the blog getting quiet is pretty simple. The past two months haven’t been the easiest. But I’m hoping that forward motion will begin again.

A Saturday in November of 2004 is when I was first certain something was happening with me. My ex was out of town for the day, and I spent the afternoon around the house. Being a pizza junkie I decided to take a run to Pizza Hut and get myself a thin crust pepperoni pizza. Great stuff!

I returned home with my pizza, flipped on Cartoon Network, and started in to my lunch. Of course, that meant my dogs were close by begging for just a little something. Dana and Madison knew I was an easy mark, and big eyes worked well on me.

A few slices into my lunch I started feeling odd. My chest became tight, my throat tight as well, and my lips were a little itchy. I closed up the pizza box and tried to get comfortable on the couch. As the minutes passed I began feeling worse. The heart rate accelerated, the chest became a little tighter, and I started getting concerned.

As the discomfort increased I decided to move to the bedroom and attempt to get comfortable. I opened the windows to let really cold air in. Whenever I don’t feel well, cold always seems to help. Unfortunately, additional comfort did not come for some time. Lying in bed I thought, “This feels like when I get stung by a bee.” See, I’ve been allergic to bees for years. But the thought didn’t make much sense. I’d had a pizza days before, and had no reaction like this one.

So for hours I went from the bedroom to living room trying to get comfortable. TV on, TV off. Dogs close to me, and then lying alone. For about 2 hours I considered calling the hospital.

Looking back now I know what had happened. I’d had a severe allergic reaction to my food. I don’t know what in it set me off, but it set me off. I know it now after having so many reactions over the past few years. Through 2005 I had no idea what each occurance was, and this past year I’ve known exactly what it is.

2005 was a year of not understanding what was happening to me. Weird blood work, chest pains, sleeping troubles, and marital distance. In the end I finally learned some of what was happening to me at the start of 2006. An entire year searching for an answer. And in that time, the marriage completely crumbled.

Over the past year I’ve started to learn to deal with the allergic issues. And I’ve started learning about being single again. Frankly I didn’t want to learn about either. And I didn’t want to spend 2 years gaining all this new knowledge. Nobody ever wants to learn these things, yet often we all find ourselves in difficult situations that we have to adapt to.

This morning I’ve been thinking on the past 2 years. Has it been 2 years wasted? Sometimes it sure feels like it. Sometimes it doesn’t. During my travels this year I’ve met many wonderful and unique people. If my difficulties hadn’t occurred, would I have met any of them? Probably not.

So, today I’m sitting here (as I often do) wondering what the next step is. I know, I really want to find that next place to call home. And I’m looking forward to the next career. Still, I wonder how I’ll balance everything.

From my perspective I’ve found myself thinking too often that “restarting my life” isn’t going so well. But I’ve been told over and over again that I’m going to have to adjust how I look at things. I’m not the same person I was in November of 04′. It’s a hard thing to accept, but it’s something I will have to in order to move forward.

I keep trying to remind myself of something I read recently in the book, “Every Day Tao” that a friend of mine gave me last year. The book goes through words important in Tao, and I found one I really liked. The word was Inch. Simple enough word. But part of the explanation really struck me.

“Why be so proud that you refuse to take little steps when little steps are all that you can do? If you cannot make grand strides, at least try to move an inch. An inch in one direction, then an inch in another already make up a span of two inches. Gradually, we can improve upon that.”

As a person who was used to making grand strides, I’m still learning to be happy moving inch by inch. Hopefully this year those inches will lead to “home”, something new and interesting to do, and finding new friends to share conversation and time with. And maybe at some point I can get in a grand stride or two.

Well, here I am at the blog again.  Finally, right?

So, what’s been going on you ask?  Well, I’m doing a little more follow up medical stuff.  Then within the next few weeks the Airstream will be moving again.  I’m sure your big question is “where”?

Well, I’ll be heading West once more.  After months in Florida I found I was still having too many allergic issues.  That simple.  Even with allergy medication most of November found me with what looked to be an ear infection.  However, after steroids and antibiotics the blocked feeling in my head remained.

So it has become clear to me, the drier climates are where I’m going to need to go.  Fewer plants, fewer allergens.  There ya go.

This time when I hit the road I will be looking hard for that place that I want to call home.  I’ll take all suggestions from readers.  I’m thinking AZ, NM, or Southwestern Colorado.  I felt pretty good in NM and CO.

There is of course one more interesting issue.  Finding a career in one of those states.  After getting so sick in 05′ I’ve been out of “real” work for 2 years now.  And I’m still grappling with the issues that crop up due to the auto immune problem.  I’ve been told often now I’m going to need to find a new way to approach work.  Shorter hours, more work from home (remote work), etc.

If any of the readers here know of an interesting opportunity for a tech junkie like me, please let me know.  I’ve been a wireless switch engineer, wireless operations manager, operations director, manager of an IT and wireless engineering group, cosultant, writer, and of course blogger.  If you know of anywhere I might fit in, and it’s in one of the states I’m planning on moving to, let me know.

And yes, there will be more blogging down the road.  The blog went quiet over the past two months for several reasons.  I was not feeling well most of November and December.  And frankly I’d become discouraged.  If you’ve followed the blog all the way through, you know the past few years haven’t been the easiest.  I became a reluctant full-timer only after my now ex-wife requested a divorce.  If I had my way, we would have found a way to work it out.  In addition to that, I hit the road while not in the best of health.  But I needed to.  A year of a mystery illness that kept me from almost everything made me want to go see a little more across the country, and to search for a new place to call home.

Now that I’ve worked a few things through, I know what the next step is.  Heading back to the west.  Finding the “right” place to call home, and rebuilding a new life.  I’m sure I’ll be in the Airstream for a few months as I check out towns, and see about employment opportunities.  And I look forward to hearing from readers on ideas of places to move, and new career paths.

And oh yes, the second edition of the Digital RV will be out this year.  Sorry for the delay, but like I said, been sorting some things out.

Finally, here are some candidate places I was considering moving to:

• Cortez / Durango Colorado:  Drawback that I can see is there’s very little opportunity in the tech field.
• Santa Fe New Mexico:  Loved this area.  Beautiful, and I felt really good there.  Like the above though, not tons in high tech.
• Las Cruces New Mexico:  I’ve heard about this place from several people on the road now.  Been looking into it on the web over the past two weeks.  Looks like it is worth a stop.

I’m open to all suggestions, and would love to hear some ideas in Arizona as well.