The more I live the more I don’t know

Are we crazy? What were we thinking?

I was looking at Google Maps when I suddenly said,

“Let’s go. To Nova Scotia.”

My husband, who had always wanted to visit the far east of Canada, said,

“Sure, why not?”

We’re a spontaneous couple.

We left the house at 6 a.m. Google Maps said it would take 14 and a half hours. But we spent a night in Belfast, and finally arrived at 6:30 p.m. the next day—36 hours later.

Our whole bodies ached, and our eyes were blurry. I started to wonder, “Why did we come all this way?”

Now that we were here, I wasn’t even sure we could make it back. If necessary, we could take a ferry from Nova Scotia to Portland, which takes about 5.5 hours—but the ferry is expensive.

We ignored our age and acted like we were still young. We drove way too far. So I said,

“Let’s just rest here for a week, then go straight home to New York.”

My husband had driven the whole way, so he agreed. He was tired too.

But after just two days, our energy came back—like we were young again.He said,

“Let’s drive to Quebec.”

I said,

“Why not? We’ve come this far already!”

Luckily, we hadn’t booked any hotels in advance. That way, we could stop and rest anytime we felt tired. Later that night, lying in bed, exhausted, I said,

“Let’s just go home. I’m too tired.”

But my husband replied,

“Remember how you loved swimming in Lake Ontario at sunset? You always said you wanted to go back. Let’s stop by Montreal, then go to Lake Ontario too!”

In Montreal, it was getting dark, and we wandered around for a while.

We crossed back into the U.S., but after just one night, he wanted to return to Ottawa in Canada. The next day, I said, 

“No more Canada.”

So we kept driving south and ended up staying at Lake George in New York.

We had brunch in Saratoga Springs, then drove two more hours to Woodstock. Woodstock—the town famous for the rock festival 50 years ago. We sat near a small waterfall just off the main street filled with cute little shops. There were a few vacation homes for rent nearby. A homeowner spoke to us and invited us in to see the house.

At our age, traveling long distances by car is too hard and risky. Maybe it would be better and safer to buy a small house in Woodstock instead? But… the prices are no joke.

Before the trip, we said, 

“Let’s just go!” But once on the road, we thought, “Oh no… maybe this was too much.”

This land is just so big.

The earth rolls like giant waves, stretching endlessly in front of us. The more I live, the more I learn— America is not an easy country.