Jenny's Travel Blog:

Austin is just…UNIQUE. I don’t think I’ve ever been to a city like it. And I dig it. There is great food everywhere, tons of cool neighborhoods, and the mural art is out of this world. Even the graffiti I saw was positive. I arrived in Austin on a Saturday afternoon, March 18, 2023 and invaded the home of my niece Maddie. Maddie is pursuing her PhD at the University of Texas in Austin and lives in an apartment in the Hyde Park neighborhood near campus. She and her chill cat

On the night of March 16 I stayed at Fontainebleau State Park in Louisiana. It had been recommended by a fellow traveler from Whitewater as being close to New Orleans, clean and pretty. It was, in fact, a very nice campground and well suited to my needs (i.e. cheap, clean, electric campsite near showerhouse.) When I booked, I liked that it would allow me to drive over the Lake Ponchetrain causeway- which was remembered fondly by my aunt. I found my site and then went for a sh

W, March 15 - Whitewater, WI to St. Louis, MO ( Gateway Arch National Park ) to Sam A. Baker State Park, Patterson, MO Th, March 16 - Sam A. Baker State Park to Fontainebleau State Park, Mandeville, LA Fri, March 17 - Fontainebleau SP to Lake Pontchartrain Causeway to New Orleans, LA; from New Orleans, LA to Sam Houston Jones State Park in Lake Charles, LA Sa, March 18 - Sam Houston Jones SP to Studio apartment in Hyde Park neighborhood in Austin, TX (visit with niece Maddie)

Early risers made coffee; late talkers folded blankets and put the kitchen to rights. Folks went off in search of flow in sport or nature; returning to put their wet socks by the fire and add a piece or two to the puzzle.

As I explored a few more beaches within the preserve, I was once again struck by how much work had been done to make the beaches accessible. And of course I thought of Mike. He would have loved the natural, undeveloped beaches and the unique wildlife, and we could have seen it all together. In that moment of gratitude for the National Park Service, I knew I wanted to tell people about the excellent accessibility, and therefore leave breadcrumbs for another family.

Around my left foot - my formerly white towel is about half red. But Trevor is everything I could hope for - tall and calm and not saying anything stupid (like "what's a woman your age doing surfing by herself?") He acts as if this happens every day. Everything is normal and everything is going to be fine. He helps me with great skill and kindness.

I was promptly humbled to learn that I was TOO HEAVY for the surfboard I had chosen. I could lay down and paddle on it alright, but when I tried to sit up on the back of the board, or to “Pop up”, I would submerge the whole damn thing. To quote Princess Bride, “Humiliations galore.”

I have decided to take a full year off from my current life. I have quit my job and I will be paying myself to travel and write. My plan is to go on an extended road trip across America, visiting state and national parks, camping, hiking, and visiting friends and family wherever I go.