Susan Straley's Blog

 Hello! I have not written to you in a while.  Sorry, procrastination happens.  Maybe it wasn't procrastination as much as the anxiety or weirdness of the political unrest. (For you reading this in the future, on January 6th, 2021 there was an attack on our US Capital with the crowd chanting to hang the vice president who was about to certify the election results from the 50 states.) The events

 Sunday, December 20, 2020 I did it again.  Some days my mind is just not in the moment and somehow I lose track of important stuff.I was looking forward to this trip.  I was traveling just two or three hours to the coast east of Orlando, FL.  I was excited because I would be spending my holiday with some up-beat and active friends.  We were to be camping in an area where there is water for

 Hello!Last I wrote to you I was just ending my trip to Sanibel Island and the Everglades.  I was debating whether to downsize or cheapen my Florida living situation and travel half the year.As usual in these tough decisions, I have gone round and round.  I was talking with a friend who is building a house.  She said once she has made a decision, she just goes with it.  But her husband loops

 Greetings from Alafia River State Park, This trip is almost over and I haven't had a chance to write to you.  First I was soaking up Sanibel.  After that we were in the Everglades at Midway Campground.  We didn't have cell or WiFi service.  We were out in the boonies!What I will tell you is the island is full of no-see-ums.  The Everglades has fire ants and mosquitos.  So spending time outside

 For those of you who have hooked up trailers to pull, you know that there are two satisfying sounds.  The first is when the cup receiver on the trailer slides down onto the ball of the hitch on your towing vehicle.  At first it was a scary sound for me, but after a few times the sound was cause for a mini-celebration, a pat on the back.  The second sound is when one pushes the latch into place.

 It is Friday night, October 9, 2020, and I am sitting at my little TV tray-desk in my little Weeroll drinking a little glass of red wine... or purple wine.  It is the last of the wine from the bottle that Jeannie Clayton gave me from the Purple Toad Winery in Paducah, KY.  It is Black and Bruised Red Wine.  It is sweet and potent, as I sip my writing might get silly.  Just warning you.This

Greetings from Mississippi.... Hattiesburg area.I have had a great time this summer traveling and now I am close to home and feeling like I just don't want this great summer to end!  I thought about canceling appointments and just keep going, but I need to stop and re-group and see all the wonderful folks in the Inverness area.I thought I had a good excuse to just turn the corner and go somewhere

 Hello!I am writing in a lovely campground overlooking a shimmering lake.  It is morning and I have on a jacket and a quilted vest, but I have moved my computer, tv-tray, and chair out of Lilac to get better cell service and to enjoy the scenery.  Earlier the song birds were singing, but now it is mostly crows making noise.I can't believe I let so much time and travel pass without writing you. 

When I left you last I was heading to Cedar Falls and I wasn't quite sure any of the folks I know there would be available. It turned out, none of them were.  They were all traveling themselves.I reached out on the Facebook tricycle and recumbent groups to let them know I would be riding the trails and would love a guide or some company.I got a couple of responses, but the riders weren't

 Greetings from Iowa!The ride to Iowa from La Crosse was lovely, the rolling hills here covered in golden soybeans and the occasional Red Maple.  I went through areas with wide shoulders dented in the middle from the hooves of Amish horses pulling buggies.I was listening to a radio program and the experts were talking about the extra stress of 2020 and how we need to find little pieces of joy to