Unburned bridges

Dear future me,

Tick, tock, tick, tock. The clock was ticking faster and faster and my stay at Nancy`s house was coming to an end. Just enough time to watch the real circus in town (the owner of one of the biggest circus in the world lived in Sarasota) and have a meet-and-greet with a Disney artist in Nancy`s gallery. Although his Mickey`s are awesome and he can draw them in twenty seconds (circles, circles, circles), his paintings of French waiters impressed me even more. Maybe because the waiters were serving wine, which appeals to my inner alcoholic Nennie. Or the colors which were so vivid that they grasp your throat. Too bad the price didn`t match the few dollars in my wallet or on my bank account. It was the last thing I saw in Sarasota. Knowing that I had to go, made me very sad. Not only did I have to part with my temporary mom, but also with my dear little black friend on four legs. I tried to put her in my top case, but she kept jumping out to fetch me a ball. Silly Roxanne. I left her and many tears behind on the door step.

I think that the States were sad too, or at least someone up there was crying. On my way to Plant City, final destination for my bike, I was thinking about washing the motorcycle. No need for that anymore, as a whole sea of water was poured down on me. I`ve seen many rain storms in my life, living in one of the wettest places in the world. This though, was the first time ever that I actually had to pull over. The river in front of me didn`t scare me too much, but the wind was doing strange things. Later I heard that Tornado watchers were on the loose, so maybe it was a good call to stop at a gas station. Just another delay on my final ride, but it didn`t stop me to get myself and the bike safe to Dennis`s farmhouse. Completely soaked however. Thankfully, I got a warm welcome from the Hairs and on Sunday I was treated to a genuine family day. All the kids and grandkids were coming over to see this Dutch long legged bikester and especially the little dog, one daughter brought along, was very impressed with my ankles. She kept talking aloud to them, making the face on the other end of the Nennie body show fearful expressions. (Yep, another sentence that will get lost in Dutch translation, I fear haha. To make it easier: I was dead scared for that tiny little dog!).  The family, in the meantime, watched me cleaning out my cases and tent as I had to prepare for my upcoming departure. And they wondered what I was going to do with my bike. Well, me too! After all these sleepless nights, I still didn`t have an answer to my question: to sell or not to sell? Fact was that I had some new promising interests in my bike, but I was not feeling happy about them. Actually, they were perfect: people who wanted to use the bike for their travels and I always preferred to sell my bike to a fellow traveler. But why where all my (travel) buddies telling me to keep the bike? And why did I meet Dennis, who offered me very generously to store the bike for as long as needed? And why was I selling the bike in the first place? For the money? For closure? Or just because I always burn my bridges?

Time to get out of my own comfort zone and suddenly I was sure: I am NOT gonna sell the bike at this moment. I will keep this door open, so I can decide another day what my future will bring me. Being lifted from the monster truck wheels on my shoulders, I followed Dennis on his bike around the area on my final, final ride. As a cow that sees the first grass after spending a whole winter in the barn, I jumped happily over the few hills Florida exhibits. Almost a perfect day, except for the knowledge that it would be my last day of freedom. The next day, Dennis saw what it takes to make this Nennie nervous. Packing! As a chaotic person, my packing consists of placing all the stuff on the bed first. That is the perfect time to find out that half of all the stuff is still wet and need to be dried in the sun. It is also the moment where I start to wonder if everything will fit in the cases and most of the time, the answer is no, it won`t. Exactly at that moment, my mum will call me to ask how I`m doing and there is always something wrong with the connection. By that time, my eyes will flicker in madness and I need to take a break. In my second try, I always find an extra hidden pocket in my luggage that solves the problem. The result: I`m packed and the whole day is gone! Just in time to leave for the airport, but not enough time to share with Dennis to which International airport I have to go. Okay, noted for the next time; Orlando has two international airports. Thanks to the patience of Dennis and all of the Floridians who decided not to be on the road at that exact hour, I made it on time. Bye Dennis, Bye Florida, Bye States, Bye North America, Bye freedom!

To accentuate the loss of freedom, fate made me sit next to two very oversized persons in a very small airplane for 7 whole hours. It helped to make me really, really, really wanting to go home. That is the best thing about flying: I hate it so much that I`m always happy to be on the other side, wherever that is. So my family hugged a very excited ex traveler and gave me the best reception ever. They transformed my parents` house in a hostel, so I wouldn`t have to suffer too much from withdrawal symptoms. Plus, they served me all the food that I missed, like raw haring (I couldn`t make any American believe that it is a delicacy in Holland). And they arranged for me to be a supporting actor in a Dutch television program. Okay, I must admit, it didn`t really have anything to do with me (this TV host showed up at my nieces theater performance for one of her male buddies, to give him a love message from a girl, all in the age of ten years old, and I happen to stand in the crowd) but it helped to put my mind of the fact that I am an EX traveler. For a while. My jet lag however drains all the power in me and I changed from riding in the fast lane to sitting in the turtle lane. Keeping up with the pace of my parents, both retired and enjoying the tranquility of life. I know it will drive me insane some day, but for now I decided to let go. Taking two months off to regain perspective on the future. To remember all my friends and 'family` in North America and to rejoin with all my friends and family in Holland. To work on my thousands of pictures and movies, so I can relive every single moment for years to come. And to look forward to the new adventures ahead of me in time, now that my bridges are unscratched.