Going back to AZ - Night 8

Awoke from a wonderful sleep on a comfortable couch, a great change from the past two nights on the floor. I suspect over the next six months, most of my sleeps will lean more toward the latter than the former. It was a clear, calm morning, a bit of a oddity in the Midwest Fall, so I ventured out for breakfast and stroll around Lake of the Isles, a calming 2.6 mile walk.

Much of the remainder of the morning was spent

Lake of the Isles

working on an automated appraisal product and finishing up my less than spectacular David Baldacci book, The Collectors. A lunch of organic lentil soup in my belly, I took a walk down Hennepin Avenue in search of a local book store. A short meander found me in Booksmart, an adequate two story structure with a decent selection of titles. It was no Elliott Bay, but then again, what is?

Nothing quite excites me as a local used book store. So much knowledge and potential excitement in one building. Before last night, I feel I haven't been adequately excited for my trip, which is a shame as the excitement of travel is one of its key components. Why have I been so reserved? To many to-dos? Too many small trips prior to the large one? Too much time off before the trip? Who knows, probably a little bit of all three. My trip to the bookstore today changed this. Surrounded by literature, I began to consider the time reading and experiencing that I will spend in the next six months and my spirits were lifted enormously. (That and I am finally living out of my pack, so the ways of travel are finally starting to sink in. – you know, wrinkled clothes, packing and repacking, eating on the run, etc.)

A long bus ride and short light rail ride to airport had me ready to go. Something about an airport puts me in my travel mode. At check-in my backpack weighed 31 pounds. Adding on the daypack (with computer) and the sleeping bag brings it close to 40.

The flight to Tucson, through Denver was quite non-descript. Both flights on time, and I got a whole row to myself from Denver to Tucson. While we were landing in Denver, I awoke, blinked a few times and promptly lost my left contact onto the floor. It was a brand new one, but, if that is the only thing that I lose, break or throw away this trip I’ll be very surprised.

What I Learned Today: I will never forget the smell of the Sonoran Desert. The minute I exit the plane it hits me, that sweet aroma of cactus flowers and sand.

written by

exumenius on October 3, 2007 from Tucson, United States

from the travel blog: Down Under trip Preparation

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