Shaping the trip

Hello everyone,

I've started volunteering with some organizations I admire in the area, and it's helping to further shape the direction of my trip. It appears I haven't been writing about some of the things I'm thinking about... so let me bring you up to speed!

I'm hoping to network with similar non-profits in communities that are comparable to Bellingham... and perhaps even a few that aren't, but from whom I can learn more that will benefit our community. This will help to bring a greater purpose to my trip, and does mean I'll need to do some planning for a route. I'll still allow myself some chunks of time to just explore, and I'll still come back to Bellingham periodically to visit with friends and family (and just to visit Bellingham in general, I love it so much!).

I do find myself wishing that I'd found a diesel van though. I went to the Chuckanut Radio Hour's taping on Earth Day that featured Doug Fine, and he mentioned how he'd converted his diesel truck to run off of used cooking oil... without even having to convert it into biodiesel! Think about how wonderful that would be. I would be travelling, but would be reusing other resources, rather than consuming gas. Makes me wonder what would be involved in switching out my engine and making the conversion? Perhaps too much work and money, but it only costs time to look into it... so we'll see!

Anyway, my to-do list is growing as I come up with more ideas of what I'd like to get from this trip. I'll need to record a list of the things I hope to accomplish... and I still need to write down my list of things needed for the trip. One of my best friends (Kira) offered to keep her eyes peeled for items as garage sale season hits; and as I'd prefer to get everything second-hand, time is of the essence. :-)

Alrighty, enough for this morning.

Cheers,
Sasha