August 11: You’ve Come a Long Way Baby!

Two weeks ago, I passed a woman at a gas station in Connecticut who gave me a warm smile and said, “You’ve come a long way baby!” I smiled back and chuckled, thinking of her double meaning – she had noted my Oregon license plate and seen how far I was from home. But from her friendly demeanor I think she also meant to convey positive sentiments about me traveling so far on a bike on my own. As I left Julian this morning, twisting and turning on the foothills of the Cleveland National Forest, I contemplated the significance of my visit there and how it illustrated an even more profound lifetime accomplishment.

Just three years ago on a summer motorcycle trip to Julian with my former husband, I lacked so much confidence that I allowed him to scream obscenities at me in public. I stayed in the relationship because I was afraid of being alone and because I didn’t think I could ride by myself.

Part of the reason I returned to Julian last summer and this year was to reassert to myself that I CAN be adventurous on my own, that I am a person of value, and that I make my own positive memories in places where difficulties occurred in the past. On both of my recent visits to Julian I have created happy memories at the same hotel and restaurant that I was at three years ago in much more trying times.

I am so very grateful for the confidence and joy I am now able to experience after facing my fears and overcoming a variety of obstacles. This morning as I headed west on highway 78, I swooped around the curves, breathed in the forestry scent of the eucalyptus trees, and appreciated the canopy of shade they provided. I gazed out in front of me at the amber colored hills dotted with dark green vegetation and the ocean in the horizon and felt giddy with anticipation about the upcoming days in San Diego with my daughter. I am so appreciative that I can be a person of strength for her.