I'm not sure where I want to go next, so I may leave it to caprice. I haven't gone fishing for awhile, and although it is the less active portion of the season, there are a couple of spots I know in the Berkshires where I can enjoy the day and also park overnight for free.
I also need to get an oil change for the truck and give it a cursory mechanical inspection, and that can be easy or hard depending on what is discovered. It isn't a new vehicle and is in near constant motion, so things can develop. I use one garage for this, the folks who have taken care of my vehicles for the past fifteen years or so. They know me by name and know the truck well enough to anticipate problems. They're expensive, I guess, but since the truck is my home and life, it's a small price to pay to keep it functional.
If it's a simple oil change with no other issues, then I'll spend the night in a church parking lot where the local pastor is good with that. We have some history. If it's more complicated, and I have to leave the truck at the garage overnight, there is a pleasant, privately owned hotel across the road from the garage that has a restaurant/bar and comfortable rooms. It's only $150 or so a night and has a comfortable lounge where I can sit and read. It's also down the road from a state park that has a number of interesting trails that are worth running.
So, the plan is:
1. Get a haircut in town.
2. Drive to the Berkshires and find a "camp"
3. Go fishing/hiking through the weekend.
4. Go back to what used to be home and have truck maintainance done.
5. Head down to the Jersey shore to begin the five weeks of house sitting.
Also, somewhere in there, I need to plan the rest of September and find a house-sitting gig in Orange County, California, where I can spend the winter if I'm lucky. I may stay in south Jersey for September, as that's when the waves are the best, then begin the long cross-country trek to SoCa and surf heaven.
I know one day despair will catch up to me, but it won't be today.
