david taus

A Wanderlust Appetizer

music: John Coltrane- Blue Train

I spent the past two days on an island off the coast of Maine. I didn’t really plan on going, nor did I plan for going, and up until Friday afternoon I wasn’t too sure if I was going to go or not. But I ended up throwing some gear in the back of my car and making the drive into Maine. I left in a somewhat grumpy mood, having spent a day at school tying up loose ends and beginning to think about some closure (finally!) to this school year. I left so much undone, so much waiting for me back here. I left in the rain and fog. I left in Friday rush-hour traffic. I left with the inkling that I would meet up with tmo, Peet, and others at a rendezvous point that we’d never directly agreed upon. It was all very uncharacteristic of one of my trips-so unstructured, so unplanned, so open-ended and so loose. From my point of view, at least. JZ had done some forward work and we drove right into a pre-reserved campsite around 11pm on Friday night. Done, and done. I was in Maine, and things crept towards positive from then on out.

I spent saturday with JZ and Peet popping about the island. We did some rock-hopping on the coast, hiked halfway up a mountain, and lounged about at campsite. It took me a little bit of time to get used to the lifestyle, but once I allowed myself to be satisfied with no plan and no need to accomplish anything, I had a great, relaxing time. Today was more of the same: sleeping late, waking up in my tent, driving into town for a diner breakfast and ice cream, then a slow and leisurely drive down the Maine coast on Route 1. I drove back by myself today, as everyone else opted to stay for an extra day and I have plenty to take care of. But just two days out there did the trick. I have spent so much of this year engaged in very strenuous goal-directed tasks that I think I almost forgot how enjoy wandering.

One of the reasons why I decided to head back earlier than everyone else is that I know that very, very soon, I will be doing this sort of wandering for two straight months, and I can’t wait. My summer road trip starts three weeks from today, which is close enough to start getting very, very excited about the prospect of jumping in my car and wandering about the expanses of the United States of America. This weekend was wonderful, but I felt myself shutting off prematurely. I need to keep my head about me for at least another two weeks: do some final grading, do some planning for next fall, move my stuff, and make some preparations for the road trip itself. But my freedom is within reach, and given a little taste from this past weekend, I am more than ready than to embrace a summertime lifestyle consisting of camping, playing music, and moving from new place to new place.

I also realized this weekend that it is one year since I returned from my last extended journey: my two weeks in Northwestern Colorado and Utah. I reviewed some of the things I wrote while out there and was glad that I could celebrate the one-year anniversary of that trip out in the wilderness. It was a bit cold this weekend at times, a bit windy too, and I came out of it with some nicks, scrapes, and cuts, but only appropriately so. It reminded me a good deal of my time in Colorado and what I took from that experience. I wrote that that trip was in many ways “the guided tour,” and I look forward to being my own cruise director this summer. All I’ve learned will help me on the road.

This weekend was a short one, sure, but a potent one. I am sliding quickly into the vagabond’s state of mind, and once again growing comfortable with the idea of a stretch of unstructured time where nothing has to be accomplished. Soon enough I will be spending the vast majority of my time out-of-doors. Soon enough I will not have to meet any sort of deadline. Soon enough I will set up camp in a different place every night. Such a drastic change from the strain and pressure of grad school and teaching, but a welcome change. Soon enough that weekend-camper lifestyle I enjoyed this past weekend will be a daily thing, and I can’t wait.

Posted by davidtaus at May 31, 2004 01:16 AM