So most of the 3-5 jobs I thought I would be working on immediately once I went freelance either evaporated, or the “check is in the mail” (and has been since April, surreeeeee.), or is apparently inextricably caught up in red tape. This leaves me with lots of time and very little income.
What to do? GO ON VACATION! (or collapse in a weeping heap on the floor and rock back and forth, but vacation sounded like more fun)
Granted, this vacation will thankfully be fairly cheap. I’m driving up to Roland, Iowa tomorrow to meet up with my Aunt Linda, Uncle Dick, cousins Tom, Anna, Nick, Peter, Anna’s husband Deon, my Uncle Gary and cousin Sean. Hopefull I’ll also be able to see my Grandma Lee who lives in Story City, right around the block from Roland, and perhaps, though doubtful, other relatives in up Iowa as well.
I’ll be paying for gas to get up there of course, and then a share of the expenses of the canoing/camping/hiking trip to the BWCAW. Baccawwww what you ask? The Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness, of course! Hopefully it won’t be too expensive, because the camping permit is cheap, and the Schultz clan has 3 canoes already and are renting the fourth from Iowa State University, where my uncle, aunt, and cousins Schultz have found gainful employment for many years. Then there’s the gas to get from Roland to the BWCAW, and the food/drink we’ll be backpacking in…(no watermelons, please Anna)…
My cousin Tom is a very serious fellow, as evidenced by the following snippet from the very informative email he sent us a few days ago:
You’ll soon be off to the land of howling loons and will-o-the-wisps. Time to party-hearty in the land of 10,000 lakes. The Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness is a great place that we will soon be camping and canoing in for a whole week. Some of the finer points of the next couple weeks:
Friday July 27 : We should all be at Schultz’s by the evening, look through all the gear we plan to take, and pack everything up. This will include getting a canoe from the ISU outdoor recreation services (tom and Anna). Supper will be provided, and we can look through gear and load the vehicles after that. If you require help determining how many shirts and underwear to take, there is a service available to help you with this (call 1-800-Ima-Noob).
So in preparation, today I got my oil changed, replaced my literally falling apart wiper blades, picked up a couple hiking odds and ends, dropped off a defective Harry Potter book and picked up the copy Pattie had ordered from Barnes and Noble down at the post office, got my hair cut, and am now at home starting to pack.
Now you know.