Should I Stay or Should I go

Generally I’m not much of a traveler in my own mind. Having said that, I’ve lived in MA, NY, NH, GA, CO, WY, and AK. Ive been to Sweden, St. John and Vieques. Since my wife retired we have done road trips with our 13ft. Scamp camper at least one time, usually more per year. (Definitely not the rig in the picture.) We’re usually on the road from 4-6 weeks hitting National, State and town parks everywhere east of the Rockies and north of the gulf states. Slept in friend’s driveways, Walmart and Cabella’s parking lots, BLM lands, National parks and forests, and a few rest areas. The question is, Why do I find it difficult to load the iceboats up and head to where the ice is?

For some reason 1 1/2 hours seems to be my comfort level. That generally covers the Lakes Region of NH, down to the Mass border, west to the Vermont border and Sebago in Maine. 10 years ago following my retirement, (wife still working for 3 more years), I was enticed to load my DN on top of my little Scion XA and headed to Moosehead. (Thanks BIll for the incentive.) Two wonderful days of sailing and a great no wind day of skating was the reward. All on perfect black ice and temps that constantly hovered around ZERO F! For a couple years I checked out the Maine spots including Dami, Pushaw, and Sebago. On Pushaw, after everyone left on Sunday, my daughter joined me and we had the whole lake to ourselves, except for a scaled P-51 mustang that flew by us about 10 feet off the ice with the pilot giving us a friendly wave.

In these later years, (maybe influenced by the covid restrictions…..and aging bones), I find it hard to get the logistics out of the way to make longer trips, especially overnights. I am living a little vicariously through our compatriots out in the Midwest sailing on what seems to be a banner year for ice. I probably missed a good opportunity to load my stern steerer on the trailer and head down to sail with the Hudson River crowd. My local group always provide fun times in a variety of crafts and we welcome visitors from near and far to play on home ice. At the end of the day, the hot tub on the back deck and their warmth of the wood-stove are hard to beat for enjoyment. A little night cap, (for medicinal purposes), gives me about a 10 minute timeline before the eyes close.

I guess I just need to make that budget plan and commit to going on the road and sailing new ice while making new friends. I just need one of those autonomous vehicles with a bed in the back so I just set the auto pilot and wake up in the Midwest and just wait for the call to ice, somewhere within a hours drive.

Happy trails to all you road warriors, and be sure to post so I can see what I’m missing. It’s a great motivator. Now I guess I’ll go skiing again and pray for the thaw to happen, or maybe double check the trailer and how much money in the coffers.

Since the furry rodent saw his shadow, winter is still among us. Hope is still there. Happy Trails to you , whether on ice or traveling to.