emmasplans

Every few years I’ve taken a cross-country trip – PA to MN, TX to LA, NV TO WA, OH to WA, usually in the least direct way possible. I took more than 3 weeks to get from OH to WA!

Starting at the west end of the Dakotas – then going in pretty much any westerly direction is SO worth doing. On my OH to WA trip I went through the Badlands, the Black Hills, then down through WY to the Tetons (my favorite). Then up through Yellowstone – back to the Tetons – and back through Yellowstone again up into some wilderness near Helena, MT. Then up into Glacier NP – across Glacier – 3 times – before winding through ID and finally ending in Seattle. I did all this in October – the last week before a lot of the tourist stuff started shutting down. There weren’t many people anywhere on the trip due to the time of year, which made it very peaceful.

If you ever get the chance, take it!

The only problem with this “thing” is that it takes so much precious time…

If I do it, then I probably won’t do some – or many of the other things on my list.

If I don’t do it, I’ll always wonder “what if”...

For now, I’m waiting to see how the MCATs go…

There’s a quote that’s usually attributed to Ralph Waldo Emmerson that begins “To Laugh Often and Much”. This (supposedly) is that actual quote, and the actual author. I prefer the non-Emerson version, and the idea that a midwestern housewife came up with it rather than a fancy-pants philosopher. Or perhaps I like the idea that at our best, we’re all philosophers:

“(S)He has achieved success who has lived well, laughed often and loved much;

who has gained the respect of intelligent men (and women) and the love of little children;

who has filled his (or her) niche and accomplished his task;

who has left the world better than (s)he found it, whether by an improved poppy, a perfect poem, or a rescued soul;

who has never lacked appreciation of earth’s beauty or failed to express it;

who has always looked for the best in others and given them the best he had;

whose life was an inspiration;

whose memory a benediction.”

http://skyways.lib.ks.us/genweb/lincoln/success.htm