a.d. elliott - Take the Back Roads

Dear Henry, A few years ago, to celebrate the end of his US Army service (which included two deployments to Afghanistan) my oldest son decided he wanted to "drive across the country." Fish rode his motorcycle to Fort Bragg North Carolina and the pair rode their bikes from Fort Bragg to Savannah to see our middle son, who was, at the time, stationed at Fort Stewart and then the two rode to Denver Colorado. A few months later, my oldest son and I would complete the cross country trip by car, from Denver Colorado to Redwoods National Park in California. The trip was an odd one for me.  My health had just caused me to retire and I wasn't feeling my best and for the first time, I wasn't "the adult" in the situation. The trip involved a couple of really grueling drives, the first one was across the Extra-Terrestrial Highway  and the second was California Highway 36.  They were also back to back drives. It was on highway 36 that I ceased to be the ad

Dear Henry, Years ago, I heard about the Camino de Santiago and was immediately drawn to the idea of a 500-mile pilgrimage across Spain. I can pinpoint many of the reasons that I want to do this. I was born in Spain, I love to journey, and I love to learn. But, honestly, I just "for no particular reason" really want to do it. Initially, I didn't think it was possible. However, after  the accident , it became difficult for me to wear a backpack at any time, and for many years I had placed the Camino de Santiago in the "Things I Have Lost" closet. Then I learned there was a porter system available, complete with bed and breakfast accommodations, and realized that the Camino was something I could feasibly do. Of course, after pricing the porter system, I realized that the goal would take a few years to achieve. No matter, I need to work on my Spanish anyway. While I am planning to do the Camino de Santiago, I began thinking about all of the shrines