Wednesday, November 2, 2011

Journey of a Lifetime... and Insecure Writer's Group

Our route to Seattle
Well October was an interesting month for us.

September 29th- said a tearful "goodbye" to our friends and family in Ohio.


September 30th- packed up the minivan and began our 2600 mile drive West to Seattle, our new hometown.

Along the way enjoyed the sights of Mt. Rushmore, Yellowstone National Park, gorgeous mountains, and lots of corn.


October 8th- arrived in our Seattle apartment.  Great view of Puget Sound and Mt. Rainier.


Oct 9th- celebrated daughter Alyssa's 13th birthday by going out to breakfast and dinner at some cool restaurants in the city.


Oct 15th- husband realized that job in Seattle was not working out and house hunting was not going well.


Oct 21st 6:00 am Pacific Time- husband got job back in Ohio, resigned from new job.


Oct 21st 8:00 am Pacific Time- packed up minivan and began our 2600 mile journey back East to Ohio, to stay.


Oct 24th- explored Grand Teton National Park in Jackson Hole, Wyoming.


Oct 25th- blizzard in Wyoming dropping 12-20 inches of snow on our route forced us to explore Park another day.


Oct 26th- saw a beautiful black bear cross the road right in front of us.  AWESOME!


Oct 27th- visited my 97 year old grandma in Cheyenne, Wyoming who I hadn't seen in 25 years.


Oct 29th- we arrived back at our old house in Ohio, which luckily hadn't sold.

Our route back to Ohio


I know this seems like a crazy journey, but in this case it truly was not the destination that was important.  It was all the life lessons we learned along the way.  We realized that although Ohio is not perfect, what we had there was very special and difficult to find elsewhere.  We realized we can drive 5000 miles together and still enjoy each other! And we saw a bear!



OMG there's a bear!






I hope you had a great October!  I 'd love to hear what you were up to.





Kathy

p.s. I decided to do Nano this year and yesterday I made it to 1725 words!  Yeah!  My username is kjmckendry.  If you want to be my buddy you can click here.

Ohh with all this going on I almost forgot today was the first Wednesday of the month which means Alex J Cavanaugh's Insecure Writer's Group post.

Over the last few months, with everyone's encouraging words from the Insecure Writer's Group and the Campaign over at Rachael Harrie's blog I feel like I grown as a writer.  I have tried lots of new ideas, not all of them have worked but at least I was writing.  I even got some new inspirations for stories.  Last year I didn't think I had what it took to participate in NaNoWriMo, but yesterday I took the plunge.  So today I just want to say, "Thank you" to all my followers and fellow bloggers who spend time to support their fellow writers.  You're awesome!  Now stop reading my extra long post and get back to writing your novels! :)













16 comments:

  1. What an incredible journey. Those of us who know and love you here in Ohio just like to think of it as the McKendry Family out west vacation extended version! We're very happy you're back!

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  2. Thanks Kim, you're so sweet! We're happy to be back!

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  3. Sounds like an amazing journey! Glad you made it back safely. I haven't seen a bear in years. Decades. Buts its really cool when one crosses your path!

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  4. Hey Kathy! OMGosh what a crazy journey!! I can't believe you moved back! That's awesome. i love that you made the best choice for you and your fam.
    I've always wanted to live in the Pac NW tho.
    Good for you and NaNo! You can do it! Doing NaNo will help you grow even more. Every story does for me. :) I hope you get some good ol rest tho after your eventful last few months!

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  5. That is wild! Glad you were able to return to your house and husband's job.
    And glad this support group has been a benefit to you!

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  6. What a rollercoaster ride... and all within 30 days! Phew!
    Happy NaNoWriMo !!

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  7. Sounds like you should start a "travel/professional mover" advice blog! I know you love the salmon in Seattle but turkey is really the best choice for Thanksgiving. Welcome back. Nice summary of a wild and crazy month!

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  8. What a wonderful way to capture your journey of a lifetime! Welcome back! Can't wait to see you at Thanksgiving!

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  9. Stephen- Thanks. We were just glad we were in the car when the bear came along!

    Pk- I'll try to get some rest, but early morning and late night are the most quiet times in this crazy house!
    We did love the beauty of Seattle, but for now anyway Ohio is the right choice.

    Alex- Thanks for all you do to get us bloggers to meet and support each other! :)

    MISH- Happy Nano to you to!

    David- I do love salmon...maybe I'm really a bear!

    Reiko- Thanks, I'm really looking forward to a great Thanksgiving this year too! Can't wait to see you guys!

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  10. What an insane month!

    I've got a prize and a little extra something for you over at my blog. Come check it out!

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  11. That was awesome! Good for you for knowing what was right, and being brave enough to do it.

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  12. What a crazy ride. Glad you're back home... and didn't get eaten by the bear!

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  13. WOW! Now that was unexpected! I was wondering where you were... now I know. You're so right, though -- t's not about the destination. Sounds like you've made a really important discovery.

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  14. What an amazing October you've had... and now you're doing NaNo! Good luck and I'm so glad you've felt that you're growing as a writer. The only way is to keep trying different things even if they don't all work.

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  15. Your October sounds a hella busy. Kudos that you made it through unscathed :)

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  16. Hey there,
    I am just passing through from Alex's blog hop, and I am still working my way around all the blogs on the list. So I thought I would say a quick "hello" and I will stop by when I can. Great blog!!
    Eve :)

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