I spent most of the day driving, returning from Littlefield, Arizona to Fort Collins. I actually left before 6 a.m., and rolled up to my house at 5:45 p.m. But it wasn’t all bad, because as I drove I was thinking about the California pilgrimage, putting my life in order, so to speak.

The 10 highlights of the pilgrimage

• Sycamore Springs Hot Tub Resort
• Feeding the Blue Jays peanuts
• Riding the Bike to the beach and in town
• Yoga at 9th Limb Studio
• Sleeping semi-outside in the cabana
• The roof garden at the AirBnB
• Walking the Labyrinth in San Luis Obispo
• Driving to Ragged Point in Big Sur
• The Sea Lion Colony
• San Simeon State Beach and remembering when the boys were young.

I will put some pictures of the last day’s drive. In Utah, the snow was 14 inches across the mountains of “Castle Country,” where I-70 cuts across the state in the direction of Grand Junction, Colorado. The California pilgrimage involved driving about 2700 miles out and back, and I found the changing scenes to be fascinating.

8 Discoveries that I Made:

• I can drive myself to California and stay there without help
• You can get as much as 15 years service credit in Atascadero Unified School District — which means I wouldn’t lose credit for my teaching experience if I moved out there and worked as a teacher.
• Morro Bay has only 10,000 people and that feels like a lot less stress.
• (This according to Barely) I should be grateful that I have grandchildren.
• A lot of the West doesn’t have enough water but the Central Coast of California is doing alright.
• You can do yoga without the heaters and fans we use at our studio in Fort Collins, and the yoga still “works.”
• I have a lot to think about and I can listen to music and drive for hours without getting too bored.
• It’s okay to be alone.