Reservations begin

I started making some reservations this week. I recall that when I was a kid and my family would go on road trips, there was something about not being able to make reservations at national parks until 6 months out. Apparently, this has changed with the Internet, because when I was looking into reservations for a couple of the places 9 months out, they're already pretty full. In fact, for the dates that I had wanted to go to the Grand Canyon (north rim), there was already one night that was unavailable. So I shifted the whole trip up 2 days and started booking. So now the plan is to leave on Thursday, May 9. I'll be at the Grand Canyon Lodge on the day that it opens for the season. 

I also booked a room in the Many Glacier Lodge in Glacier National Park and a room in the Old Faithful Inn in Yellowstone. The Old Faithful Inn was already pretty booked, so I ended up in a room with a shared bathroom, which will be just fine. The important thing is that I'm in the Inn. 

I also used google maps to create an image of the route that I plan on taking. I posted it on Facebook last night and a lot of people joined in my excitement for the trip. I've started reaching out to some people with whom I would like to stay along the way. It's great having so many friends all around the country, so I'll get a chance to visit with so many people that I haven't seen in a long time!

I also have an open invitation to any friends that would like to join me for portions of the trip along the way. I'm really hoping that my brother will be able to get off work and join me in Disney World for my birthday! How fun would that be??? 

Please feel free to let me know if you're on my route and would like to get together while I'm in town or if you're interested in joining me along the way. My only thing is that I have the dates pretty meticulously planned out in order to reach specific points at specific times. So I can let you know when I'll be where, but there's not much wiggle room in adjusting those dates. What will actually be done along the way or in destination cities is up for adjustment, if necessary. 

Responsibilites

My life has always been full of responsibilities. I thrive on filling my schedule with various activities, and I guess that I often naturally fall into leadership roles. I was president of the Austin Handbell Ensemble. I was social chair for my UVA alumni chapter. I am on the organizing committee for the Junior League of Austin's A Christmas Affair event. I stage manage a never-ending list of shows. And I have a day job. Now these are all things that I very much enjoy, even the day job. Yeah, some days suck, but for the most part, my schedule is full of things I love. But it can be a lot. I literally schedule things like "eat", "drive", and "shower" into my calendar. This is the life I've chosen and the life I love.

But I get burnt out. And sometime in the last year, I realized just how burnt out I really was. So I decided to take the summer off of stage managing. I usually stage manage at Zilker every summer. I started out there in 2003 as a random backstage crew member. By 2005, I was co-deck manager. In 2008, I became the lone deck manager. And in 2009, I added rehearsal stage manager as well. Last year, I even had the opportunity to call the show for a weekend. FYI - deck manager means you're in charge of everything (set, props, actors, etc) on the actual stage, rehearsal stage manager means you're in charge of organizing rehearsals, and calling the show means coordinating lights, sound, and the running of the actual show. So, Zilker has always been a part of my summers. It's been a large part. It's a huge commitment. 7-ish weeks of rehearsal followed by a 6-week run. During rehearsals, I'm there pretty much every night and once the show opens, it's 4 nights a week (Thursday-Sunday). So I decided that this year, I'd take the summer off and not do Zilker. It was a hard decision to make, but I knew that I needed it for my own sanity. I ended up filling up May and June with a ton of traveling. And July and August, I had a lot more free time than I usually do. Now, for various reasons, I did end up back at Zilker for a total of 12 nights this year, but still, it was a significant step back. And, for the most part, the nights that I was there, I wasn't in charge. I wasn't responsible for the show. I could come in, do my part, and let someone else deal with the responsibility that I usually had.

And what did I learn from that? I learned that stepping away from that responsibility and handing if off to someone else for a time felt great. I started to see how much responsibility I had taken on in all areas of my life. And I yearned for more freedom. More opportunities to step away from the responsibilities of life. So the question became, what can I do to experience a break? But not just a week, not just a month. A significant, long-term break from everything. And I started thinking about my road trip again. I pulled out the spreadsheet and started playing with it. Enhancing the functionality of it. Making it easier for me to plan and plan and re-plan. And the more I thought about it, the more I realized that it could be an actual reality for me. I ran some rough numbers on the financials and realized that I could do it. I could go next summer. So the more I've thought about it, and the more people I've told, the more solid the plan becomes. It's happening. I've even already told my boss at my day job, and he's totally supportive and has told me that I'll have place when I come back.

So, here's the current plan. Leaving Austin on May 11, 2013. I'll pack up my apartment and put everything into storage. I still have to find someone who would be willing to watch my two cats for the summer, but I'm sure I'll find someone. Doing a clockwise loop around the country. Returning to Austin August 30. I have 36 destinations and many, many places to stop at between the destinations. Some other time, I'll talk about the in-between stops, but for now, here are the destinations:

1. Oklahoma City
2. Denver
3. Grand Canyon
4. Las Vegas
5. San Diego
6. Los Angeles
7. Monterey, CA
8. San Francisco
9. Healdsburg, CA
10. Portland, OR
11. Seattle
12. Vancouver
13. Bull Hill Guest Ranch
14. Glacier National Park
15. Yellowstone National Park
16. Chicago
17. Toronto
18. Cooperstown, NY
19. Ottawa
20. Boston
21. Martha's Vineyard
22. New York City
23. Philadelphia
24. Bridgeport, NJ
25. Wilmington, DE
26. Lancaster, PA
27. Baltimore, MD
28. Washington DC
29. Charlottesville, VA
30. Asheville, NC
31. Wilmington, NC
32. Charleston, SC
33. Savannah, GA
34. Disney World
35. Pensacola, FL
36. New Orleans