www.mikeanddanita.com

Chiropractic and Home

Returning home briefly to attend a Florida Board of Chiropractic meeting, I had the honor to recognize a few licensees who have practiced for over fifty years, serving the people of our great state. One man, Dr Stan Pierce, has FIVE generations of chiropractors in his family. WOW! Another, Dr John Tucker, was able to delay his departure for Viet Nam to take his Florida Board exam. Several honorees no longer travel or were concerned about COVID-19 and were not able to attend. When I return from phase 2 of my epic road trip, I will take their plaques to them in person. Pictures to follow, I hope.

Dr John Kinnard, Florida chiropractor since 1969. Wow, I’m so honored to get to acknowledge him, hiS contemporaries and their years of dedication.

Chiropractic has helped millions and I am honored to be counted among them to serve humanity. On September 18, we celebrate 126 years as a formal profession, although spinal alignment has been used for centuries. What a privilege!

And then Mike tested positive for COVID, had a fever for a week and is now mostly asymptomatic. He is taking his supplements, taking a short walk outside three times a day and resting. My return to my epic road trip was delayed, and a bit of wind is gone from my sails. We’ll see how that translates when I am driving again.

Current Florida Board of Chiropractic member, Julie Hunt, former Board members (L to R) Kevin Fogarty, yours truly, Mindy Weingarten and Chris Fox. It was an honor to serve with you.

Sights along the way

Respite: although the journey is deeply satisfying, I found myself still needing rest after long days behind the wheel. I found that rest in my sister’s home, in long, fulfilling conversations with friends and, mostly, in some much-needed time with Mike.

You just never know when you’re going to find a beautiful critter along the way. This little guy was hanging onto a ledge by his foot at a truckstop in NM.

Respite

“There are only two ways to live your life. One is as though nothing is a miracle. The other is as though everything is a miracle.” Albert Einstein.

You might be able to guess which one I chose. Even if you don’t know me well, you might see the beauty that I find in everyday objects as well as in the magnificent.

Rest and respite: I used to think that rest was a dirty four-letter word. Now I realize it is an essential part of health after a decade of only “needing “ 4 hours of sleep per night, afraid I would miss something. This year‘s theme is intuition and I am working every day to do a better job of listening to that still small voice within me. When I ignore it for too long, the voice gets too quiet. My life coach, Joel, tells me that every character trait I want to build must be practiced, just like my fitness coach, Matt, tells me the same about strength and conditioning. So, when I got the message to rest after many weeks on the road, I was happy to arrive for a brief visit with Mike. This is Carlsbad Caverns which I found so movingly beautiful that I cried. The pictures really don’t do it justice, definitely a place to put on a Life (mush-go) list.

80 stories underground. GREAT reason to be fit.

As Afghanistan falls, I’m happy to be with soldiers that fought and bled there. Their professionalism is profound and their deep disappointment is easy to spot although they would not speak it to me, as a stranger. The news is fake, who won’t believe this is simply politics as usual, when, after 20 years, we couldn’t have waited until winter, outside the fighting season? Will this group of decision-makers get away with blaming it on the previous administration? So very sad for the people of this exotic and ancient country and for our military who lost so much there.

Family

What can you say about the people who have known you your whole life? Or the people I have known their whole lives? This is family, both born and chosen. They are the folks I carry in my heart and who know me better than anyone. I am so deeply grateful for Mike, my sister and her children, my brother and his children and for all the friends and loved ones who make the tapestry of my life so very rich. I hope you all know who you are (you are the ones I have asked to follow me here). I feel so much love, my heart swells. Thank you from the bottom of my heart. ❤️❤️❤️

Mentors and friends like Steve and Karen. Their wisdom becomes a part of me

Sergeant Green

Strong, handsome, trustworthy, generous. A companion and more than terrific tool for this journey. Like us all, he could use a little smoother ride but his strength under pressure has been fantastic.

So, I guess this is a Jeep “thing” like the characteristic 2 1/2 finger wave. Sarge was just minding his own business and look at the beautiful Jeep that parked beside him while I was having dinner…..

Majesty

What an unbelievably beautiful drive this past few days have been! Although i was not totally prepared for the challenge of it, I have been awed by the spectacular landscapes that I have seen. The photos don’t do it justice but here are some of my humble attempts.

Garden of the Gods outside of Colorado Springs, Colorado

Shy rattlesnake on my hike (i heard him before i saw him)

Denver Botanical Gardens

The rocks are a kaleidoscope of color as the sun moved across them. Sunrise to sunset. Wyoming, Colorado and New Mexico

Today i head toward Phoenix to see Fredda. We celebrate family, apropos as Saturday would have been Steve’s 60th birthday. He would have loved this trip. I have been dreaming of him vividly, all happy dreams with smiles and brightness all around.

Health

As I journey through unfamiliar terrain, I’m constantly reminded of how grateful I am for my health, for the capability of adapting to the demands I ask of it and for all the investment I’ve made over the course of my life for it. I’m able to do whatever I like, for the most part, whenever I like. The high altitude of the Rockies did kick my behind for a few days but my body, in it’s incredible wisdom, adapted. As I work on the theme for this year, intuition, I am awed and amazed by its wisdom. The beauty of the Rockies feels ancient and deep, I can understand why early native peoples worshipped the land. Who can see this majesty and deny the existence of God?

Camping is currently on hiatus as the temperatures rise above 90 and sometimes over 100. I’m tough but that’s just too much. This is a holiday, a celebration of life, not an endurance race. Hotels will do until the weather cooperates.

Who would think to collect these pieces of Americana for us to enjoy? On the back roads of SD

Beautiful bones. The dwelling made me think of a book, The Mammoth Hunters. This is an active dig and museum in SD.

FreedomFest 2021

As a lifelong fan of Ayn Rand, I was delighted to finally attend FreedomFest 2021. Off to a bit of a slow start, I was concerned the week was going to be about the Democrats and Republicans. In the end, I was happy I attended, I got to see young people who are as on fire as I am about the direction of our country and openly questioning and skeptical about the current state of our Washington politics. I had the inspirational privilege to see Kristi Noem, Joel Wade (my life coach of many years) Dave Rubin, Larry Elder, Ben Franklin, Constitutional Sheriffs and a host of other wonderful speakers. I learned to much and the week definitely fed the “nerd” in me as well as gave me some ideas for small steps that I can take to make a difference. I also saw small parts of the Anthem Film Festival and there was simply so much to see that I could not get to each session. Here are some of my favorite shots from this past week and YES, I figured out the technology, wohoooooo! Success is SO very sweet!

The Precious Moments Chapel and grounds, beautiful tribute to American artist, Sam Butcher. One of his sons is a good friend. Carthage, Missouri.

Governor Noem, Ben Franklin, Joel Wade, PhD, paramedic emergency first aid instructor and, of course, a beautiful sunrise from my window.

Happy accidents

Although I am the designated family navigator, often enough, I turn right when I should turn left. This has led to, at least by Bob Ross’s standards , to many “happy accidents”. Unlikely people who the Lord has designated for Angels in my path: a delightful conversation with an elderly black man at a gas station, a sweet woman joining me for lunch in an Arkansas cafe deep in the middle of nowhere, two campers to help me with technology. So, I am actually never alone, I have a Pilot Who has been guiding my path and teaching me lessons along the way. A couple of humorous ones include: wear your glasses when making hotel reservations (I ended up in Memphis ARKANSAS, rather than Memphis TN. At least they’re close). And watch your spelling (my planning as WAY off when I entered Carthage MS rather than Carthage MO). Thankfully, I realized my errors in time, making me more cautious and making me smile. I’m a work in progress, aren’t we all?

Since I last posted, I camped at Buffalo Point AK, stayed in a hotel in Memphis, ARKANSAS, visited the Precious Moments Chapel in Carthage, MISSOURI and stayed with my dear friends Terry and Teresa in Kansas City. That’s Kansas City Missouri not Kansas. They are the kind of friends that refresh my soul; I was sad to leave them until the journey uplifted me and the sunrise made my heart sing. Hope you enjoy the photos. I’m still trying to figure out how to get photos from my camera to my iPad but here are the best of the rest.

Scary, sort-of-two-lane bridge in somewhere Arkansas.

Gratitude

Each day I live, I want to feel the warmth, peace and love that sent me on this journey, the community of friends and strangers that make this kind of trip possible. I am so moved by the love and prayers of my friends and the beautiful gestures of strangers I meet along the way. This time of great solitude is joined by a circle of loved ones who travel with me in spirit, all for which I am deeply grateful.