I could...

I could complain that I don't ride, hike, fish, camp, Nordic ski, or [insert outdoor activity here] often enough. I could wonder why I don't even bother leaving the roof rack mounted to the pickup truck anymore. I could admit that I'm burned out at work.

I could also just get over it, bite the bullet, spend the gas money, and get the fuck out of here from time to time. I could recognize that leaving the roof rack off doesn't mean we're stuck at home, it just means we're trying to squeeze every mile per gallon out of our car (and/or that we're using the floor-mounted bike rack inside the camper shell). I could start treating my work as "just a job", albeit one with some damned decent perquisites, and stop coming home zombified every night. I could get off this blog and go do something else besides dwelling on how monotonous life seems to have become.

Well actually, while I can and will log off, we can't just shout "road trip!" and take off because I have to be at work the first thing tomorrow morning. Lastly, I still haven't completely rid myself of the intestinal bug that's been dogging me all weekend.

Nevertheless, BeanSS and I have recognized that there's something really askew in our world, and once there's recognition, there can be action. I mean, we're free of bipedal children, own the gear, have any number of recreational opportunities within a 2-hour drive, and yet, we spend nearly every weekend entirely within the city limits. And sure, we're in debt, but who isn't? Besides, we managed to have all kinds of outdoorsy things going on when we were fist married, and back then, we had no money whatsoever. The bottom line is that we're not really enjoying the life we've worked so hard to create for ourselves, and that has to change.


So, keep an eye out for posts that describe the transition back to - and the events that characterize - what I call the "roof rack lifestyle". Just keep in mind that it could be many months before I can tell you about XC skiing around Tucson.