My Nomad Journey – Week 27

I’m trying something different and acting on a personal challenge to myself. Today I’m doing a ONE WEEK post and writing about events of the last week, so that I don’t end up with a million things to write about weeks later! Let’s see how this goes and if I can create a new habit here. It’s been a busy week, but here goes!

Here’s what I did:

This week I wrapped up things in the NYC area. After petsitting last week, I moved to a motel in mid-Jersey (near my old home) and spent the week working from my room. In addition to my online teaching commitments, I am currently developing two large workshops for different clients. I have a pretty clear process when I design and develop workshop content and it takes focus and time. What I love about my process is that it’s fun and flexible, but it needs attention. It usually starts with an outline. Pretty standard. But then I go to “storyboard” mode. In order to spark my creativity, I like to physically “draw” the powerpoint slides. Mind you, I don’t sketch out every detail. It’s just an organizing activity where I draw out the slides and write in each square what the content on the slide will be. It lets me convert the outline into what a slide deck will look like, and also see how it will look organized into it is sequential form. It’s very helpful for me and I always have a tremendous amount of satisfaction after completing this stage of the process. (photo is one of my less-complex versions).

In the evenings, I alternated between eating food in the room (things I’d put in the refrigerator) and going out to find low-cost options. I was 15 minutes from Princeton, so on two occasions I drove down to forage in the town. One night I took work with me and did some writing from a diner on the main street that runs through town. After they closed, I put away the computer and walked through the historic neighborhoods around the campus. It was interesting to take in the history of these homes and buildings. Not something we see in the western states. Not just the age, but also the construction techniques and additional attention to detail used in the past. It’s such a stark contrast to the stripped-down, profit-centered building we have today. I had been to Princeton many times before when I lived in NJ, but it was good to see the town again. I enjoyed watching the young faces walking around and appreciating how pretty New Jersey can be in the springtime.

On a side note, I befriended one of the housekeepers at the motel. Turns out she was from Venezuela originally and didn’t speak any english. So it was a great opportunity for me to continue practicing my spanish. She and I had several long conversations a couple of times during the week. I enjoyed talking with her.

At the end of the week, I was due to move to upstate New York with a friend who has a lake house about 2 hours north of New York City. That day was packed with activity. I worked from the motel until checkout time at 11:00. Then I ran to get a haircut and planned to work my way northward before picking up my friend in the evening. Instead of finding a coffee shop to work from, I went to a popular grocery chain in the northeast, called Wegmans. They are very popular for their specialty items and large selection. A little upscale. They also have a variety of prepared items for grab-and-go eating. There is a second floor to their stores that includes large seating and eating areas that overlook the store. So I had lunch and camped out there to continue working for a while. After, I drove further north to one of the locations of my gym and got in a workout. In the time I had left before picking up my friend, I found a park to sit in the shade and had a long phone call with another friend of mine in the south. It had been really hot in the northeast and it was great to find a cool, shady place to sit outside. Then it was time to complete the commute to Secaucus. This is a town across the river from NYC on the NJ side and is the first stop out of Penn Station for folks commuting out of the city to NJ. My friend’s train from the city was late, so I circled for a while. Eventually we got her picked up, wrestled with traffic getting back onto the freeway, and then wrestled with traffic getting out of the NYC area and on the way to upstate NY. Oh, by the way, I crossed the 9,000 mile mark on the journey!

After 2 hours, we arrived in her small town of Athens, NY and picked up a very large pizza for dinner. We decided to have a drink and ate our pizza there, before settling in at the house. It was pretty late, so we unloaded the car and got settled in for the night. Her husband drove from the city and arrived much later that night. We were all looking forward to a quiet weekend of relaxing and catching up after not having seen each other in several years.

Friday was a regular work day for us. Each of us took a room and had our zoom calls, meetings, and all the other work. We were able to end our work day a little early and run some errands before going out to eat for the evening. I got to see one of the neighboring towns to the north and enjoy a great Italian dinner! This area flanks the Hudson River, less than an hour south of Albany, NY. There are several towns all within 15-20 minutes of each other: Athens, Catskill, Coxsackie and Hudson. They each have a historic center with restored homes and buildings and lots of stories that go with them. They also sit on the river, with parks and pavilions and views from their centers. Each of these communities has put in a lot of work to make these towns active and useful for the local citizens. You don’t see the tourism through here that you see in other small towns around the country. (I think back to visiting Gatlinburg, Tennessee in January and the lines of cars that went through town.) These are towns that look just like what you see in Hallmark movies on TV! LOL!

On Saturday, we had plans to go to the farmers market in Hudson, across the River. From there, we wanted to also go through a historic homes tour. We did these things, but in POURING rain! The market was such a deluge that the vendors were having to push up on their tents to dump the buckets of water that were sagging them down. Despite the umbrellas and rain coats, each of us was soaked and my shoes were completely water logged. We found respite in the town at a book store and got coffee and sat for a moment. As the rain died down, we ran more errands and took a break before going on the home tour. We lucked out that the rain had mostly died down by that time. The home tour included about 10 different homes in Athens. We were able to see about 6 of them before the tour ended. It was fascinating to see the insides of these old Victorian homes and also to see how each owner approached their restorations and furnishings. We saw everything from “museum caliber” furnishing, to collectors who had their artwork on display in every room. Some homes had been renovated with modern updates. Others had been restored or re-crafted. For example, one home had needed a kitchen reconstruction as a result of rot. Instead of a modern kitchen, the owner had rebuilt the kitchen in the old style, using all reclaimed cabinets, furniture, appliances and fixtures. You could NOT tell that this was a brand new kitchen! It looked OLD and that was by design. Now I know who’s buying all those unusual things you see in antiques stores and some of those other unusual shops. We finished the tour with a drink at an old hotel restaurant on the river, then back to the house to prepare a big meal with all the things we had collected from the farmers market, etc. during the day. They grilled meat, I stir-fried tofu and we had a ton of vegetables and fresh breads. After dinner, a neighbor of theirs came over with some homemade cheesecake and we talked until after 10:00. it was a great day, filled with activity and people.

Now, Sunday, I sit here finishing this post while we all do our own things to relax or catch up with ourselves. The morning was quiet and we took a walk to the community center on the lake front. We also did some chores on the property, including carrying the kayaks to the dock, so they are ready for them when they return in a week or two. It has been great reconnecting and enjoying their lake house this weekend. I had thought a one-week post would be easier and simpler, but it looks like I can’t help myself with details.

Here’s what I learned:

I continue to get more used to this nomad life. While some aspects of it aren’t easy, I’m able to do the work that I need to and spend time with many great friends.

I’m extremely grateful to the friends who give me a place to stay and share their homes and company with me. This is such a gift! I’m also really enjoying catching up with all of these friends after so much time apart. Some of these friends I haven’t seen in person since before the pandemic! I am enjoying the time spent with friends doing regular, daily things. We spend more time cooking, eating and doing chores together than we do going out and being tourists. I enjoy that. There are always touristy things to do another time.

I impress myself with how adaptable I can be in different places. I’m really getting used to finding good deals with low cost properties and knowing what to look for to ensure I find ones with the better features. I’m willing to take chances with some properties that others may not be able or willing to. I also have my systems and routines down for moving between locations pretty smoothly. I don’t mind using laundromats, doing work while washing and drying clothes. I can work from a lot of different setups. And I can find enjoyment from simple things as well as elaborate things. I was joking with a friend about how I might eat at Subway sandwiches for dinner. While it may not sound very exciting, what makes it exciting is that I’m not eating at the same one every night. Instead of my neighborhood Subway, I might be eating at one in Atlanta one night, then NYC another night, and then a small town in the country on another night. It’s not about WHAT I’m eating, it’s about WHERE I’m eating it. And that sums up a lot about the point of this whole journey.

Here’s what’s next:

I’m settling in here in NY for the next two weeks. (Many THANKS to my friend for letting me stay at her lake house!!!!) I have some important creative work deadlines to meet, along with my classes and clients.

The last week of June I travel to Miami for a work engagement, then back here to collect my car and continue the drive.

In July I plan to visit Maine, then start working my way back Westward toward California, making stops along the way.

And that is my week in review. No guarantees that I’ll stay this regular with my posts, but I can now say I’ve done it. What plans do you have for your summer? What adventures (at home or otherwise) are you up to? I’d love to hear from you and what’s going on in your corner of the world. Until next post, take care and enjoy your month ahead!

As always, please interact with this post. I love getting your questions, your thoughts, and your comments. I’ll reply when I’m able.

Please enjoy yourselves in this week ahead and look for another update from me about the adventures of the journey. Be well my friends!

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