Finding Friday

It is not yet Friday, four hours to go, but I don't plan to be conscious in four hours, and tomorrow morning will be hectic around here, as Mr. M and I pack for a weekend away AND new fitness equipment is being delivered to our house. Luckily, though, I have my Friday post already written. And here it is: I love maps. No, I LOVE maps! I am, as was Sherlock Holmes, a cartophile. I am a chronic cartophiliac. A full-blown case of cartophilia. When I get a map in my hands, I can easily - easily! - daydream away an hour or two. I picture myself driving alone along dry, dusty desert roads (not easy to find in L.A!) Of course, I'd have the perfect CD to complement my drive; I seem to have a gift for pairing music with any given drive. I am known in certain circles as The Tuneful Traveler. I have previously shared here about my life-long love affair with the open road. Roads excite me even more than bags; and let me tell you, bags excite me. I can change my whole being, change the purpose of my life, depending on what I choose to put in my bag. I can be a free spirit with flip-flops and a stack of books. I can be a business type, with a laptop and a pocket protector. I can be a beach bunny with a magazine and a towel . . . the possibilities are endless! This is even more true with a long road. Will I get to a town? Will it be an old mining town with cowboys and gunfights? Will I come to a lake where I can put my feet in the water? Maybe I will pass an unexpected mansion. Maybe I will run through a meadow covered in wildflowers. You just never know. I had a friend who lived in a sparsely populated desert town, and I always wanted to thank her for living there and giving me an excuse (a reasonable one) for driving out there. There's just something special about maps. I don't get misty-eyed over many things, but I get misty-eyed over maps . . . well, not over them, because I wouldn't want any water damage, but near them. My car is strewn with maps - real, paper maps in books. On many pages, I've highlighted both routes I've taken and routes I plan to take in the future. I've highlighted a lot of roads that will take me to a park, a lake, or a friend's house. I quick look at my maps will show me where I've been, and where I still want to go. Where do you want to go?