Original Plans

Original plans. 

I'm a planner by nature, which is no shock to those who know me. In fact sometimes, I enjoy the planning more than I do the experience. A perfect example of this is in vacation planning. 

A couple of years after my husband and I were married, we decided to take a trip to Washington DC with a quick side trip to Niagra Falls. Now the irony of this is that if I had planned just a little more carefully it would be apparent that the distance between DC and Niagra Falls, Canada was about a day's drive away, and not quite a side trip. 

Along the way as we traveled down the interstate, my husband spontaneously decided that it would be better to travel through the Smokey Mountain National Forest. It quickly became apparent that I was madder than a wet hen. I had already mapped out a journey and was not happy to be veering from it. Now, there were two things that happened along the way that made me realize he was correct. 

One was getting to see a black bear in real life quite closely from a look-out site. The other was eating lunch along a creek bed on giant boulders. As I attempted to make sandwiches with deviled ham, my husband began making meowing noises, as the potted meat certainly resembled cat food. We both got a good laugh out of this, and relished the beautiful scenery. 

No trip along the interstate would have provided that view. 

Now in my defense, though, our next stop was a "planned" visit to Monticello, the home of Thomas Jefferson. To this day it remains one of our all time favorite places to have visited. Even the annoying young man, who reminded me of myself, with his constant questions always brings back a smile. 

As Donny and Marie used to say, "I'm a little bit country, and I'm a little bit rock and roll." It's worked out well having both a planner and a free spirit in the family!