Sometimes the Journey Begins Long Before the Plane Takes Off

If all goes according to plan, in about six weeks I'll be standing on the coast of Spain in Vigo, with my backpack strapped on, hiking poles in hand, and a Camino shell hanging from my pack.

I'll take a deep breath, smile, and wonder, for at least the hundredth time, what possessed me to voluntarily walk 120km over several days.

Again.

People often think a journey begins when you board the airplane.

I've learned it usually starts much earlier.

Sometimes it begins with numerous internet searches and packing lists that somehow get rewritten a dozen times.

Sometimes it begins by watching weather reports, reading headlines about wildfires in Spain, and reminding yourself that flexibility has become one of the most important items you can pack.

And sometimes...

It begins with a tiny black kitten.

A few weeks ago, a mama cat decided my yard was the safest place to raise her babies. A dear friend who has years of rescue experience stepped in to foster three of the kittens, while I took on one tiny little girl.

She weighs less than two pounds.

She's fearless, curious, and somehow convinced Josh, my very opinionated and spoiled cat, that she deserved to share his home. Watching those two together was one of the unexpected joys of my summer.

She left on Sunday for a new foster home, joining her three siblings as they continue their journey toward finding forever families.

I know it's the right thing.

That doesn't make it easy.

My heart feels much heavier than I expected it would.

And then there's kitten number five. After 8 days of searching, last night I found her. I ran home, got the trap and the sardines, and set up right where we'd caught the other three a week or more prior. Success felt close, until the gruff, cat-hating neighbor came out and threw my trap about five feet so he could take out his trash can. It was not in his way. I was so angry. Last time, we'd asked him to just stay out of our way, and this time I simply said, "Look, I'm trying to do the right thing here." He said nothing. I grabbed the trap and stormed home, smelling like a giant sardine.

This Friday, Fresno TNR (Trap/Release) is bringing a distinctive style of trap in hopes of safely catching this elusive little family. The person who is coming is a saint who's trapped thousands of cats. Mama will get fixed and vaccinated next week if all goes well, and returned to my home, where she's free to eat daily and not have more kittens.

Rescue work has taught me something travel has taught me too: you don't always get immediate happy conclusions. Sometimes you simply keep showing up. Life has felt a little like that lately.

I'm wrapping up two online university classes, and thankfully the semester ended today, and I just finished my grading. For the first time in quite a while, I don't have another class waiting on the horizon this year. That feels... strange. And honestly, it's a little wonderful.

Somewhere between grading papers and planning a pilgrimage, I've fallen headfirst into Mahjong. I already enjoyed Chinese Mahjong, but now I'm quickly learning American Mahjong too. My brain has had a workout this summer. It's proof that learning something completely new doesn't have an expiration date.

In a couple of weeks, a few lifelong friends and I are escaping to Las Vegas for a few days. Will it be ridiculously hot? Absolutely. Will we laugh our way through it anyway? Also absolutely.

Then there are the doctor's appointments — and last week's cardiology visit summed up the whole season for me. I sat in the waiting room filling out the same intake form I've filled out a dozen times, and when the nurse called me back she asked, almost in passing, if I had any big trips planned. Six weeks, I told her. Two hundred miles on foot, across Portugal. She looked at me like I was either inspiring or slightly unhinged. Possibly both. I told her that was fair.

Add in a cortisone injection for my hip, my Prolia injection to help keep my bones strong, and an infusion to manage my genetically high Lipoprotein(a), and my calendar this month looks less like a vacation planner and more like a maintenance schedule. Good news, my bone scan shows improvement in my bone mass!

If you've reached this stage of life, you know the drill. The calendar fills up with appointments just as quickly as it fills up with vacations. Every doctor hears me say the same thing.

"Just keep me going." Not because I'm trying to be twenty-five again. I'm quite happy being sixty-nine. I simply still have too much living left to do. I have another Camino to walk. River cruises to host. Countries I've never seen. Mahjong games to play. Friends to laugh with. Students to encourage. Stories to write.

I've come to realize that taking care of ourselves isn't about chasing youth. It's about protecting the life we're still excited to live. That's exactly why this Camino means so much to me. Every walk around my neighborhood. Every stretch. Every doctor's appointment. Every healthy choice. Every pair of trail shoes I've worn out over the years. They're all helping me do one simple thing:

Put one foot in front of the other on a trail that pilgrims have walked for centuries.

Of course, there's uncertainty. Spain continues to deal with devastating wildfires in some regions. While my planned route isn't currently affected, I'm paying attention. The European Union has delayed ETIAS again, new travel procedures continue to roll out, and airline baggage rules seem to evolve every few months.

People ask me if all of that makes me nervous. Of course it does. Solo travel has never meant being fearless. It means preparing the best you can, staying informed, buying the travel insurance, packing a little common sense alongside your trail runners...

...and going anyway.

Because confidence isn't having all the answers.

Confidence is trusting yourself to figure things out when life throws you a curveball.

Whether that's a delayed flight.

A change in plans.

A missing kitten.

Or simply realizing that life rarely unfolds the way we imagined.

Maybe that's why I love travel so much.

Every journey asks for something different of us.

Patience.

Curiosity.

Flexibility.

Gratitude.

Sometimes it asks us to let go.

Sometimes it reminds us that the best moments are the ones we never planned.

As I get ready for Portugal, I'm realizing this summer has been preparing me in ways I never expected.

It's reminded me to hold things loosely.

To appreciate the people, and kittens, I love while they're here.

To laugh with old friends.

To keep learning.

To keep moving.

And to never take good health for granted.

So if you've been waiting for the "perfect time" to take that trip you've been dreaming about, let me gently tell you something I've learned.

Perfect rarely arrives.

There will always be another obligation.

Another appointment.

Another reason to wait.

At some point, you simply decide that life is happening now.

For me, that decision means boarding a plane to Portugal in September.

I'll carry excitement.

A little nervousness.

A few extra Tylenol.

And yes...

A heart that's just a little tender from saying goodbye to one tiny kitten who wandered into my life exactly when I didn't know I needed her.

Because the best journeys aren't just about where we go.

They're about who we become along the way.

Here's hoping I come home with sore feet, wonderful stories, and a reminder that the best adventures still lie ahead.

After all...

My doctors have their assignment.

Just keep me going.

Oh, and as I was putting this together, I decided I am going to host a Mahjong fundraiser for the local rescues. They need so much help and the need is great.

If you didn't know I have some social media pages, and I would appreciate the follows greatly. The grassroots effort is very slow...

Mahjong & Mischief

Ageless Adventures Travel - oh and happy to report my travel biz is going pretty well too.

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BUEN CAMINO

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