Traveling Dreams

In the past, when I lived in Ontario during the winter months, during those dark cold days of February, when the possibility of long, bright, warm sunny days were only a remote, barely possible fantasy, I would start to dream of standing on the side of the road with my thumb out; of the myriad of spots that I had stood before, some of them ten or more times. I dreamed of getting the perfect ride; of the conversations that I have had/would have in the future. I would dream of spots that I would sleep at, of Husky gas stations where I had grab a quick sandwich and some more water; or of that sudden excitement as I round that one corner somewhere just west of Calgary and the first of the mountains show their peaks, or specific moment when I first glimpse the shores of Vancouver Island. These dreams are what sustained me in those cold dark nights and they are what made me delightfully vulnerable to a sudden attack of spring fever on the first day of near spring. 

Last year I didn't have those dreams, or at least not in the intensity of other years. I publically bemoaned the fact that because Vancouver Island does not have seasons in the same way as does central Canada, that because winter is not as harsh - that perhaps my lust to hitchhike was reduced, that there was less psychological need to escape if only in my dreams. I missed those dreams.

I am glad to say - the dreams are back. I find myself looking at transport trucks as they pass through town and having to remember to pay attention to my own driving. I have to almost literally shake myself awake as I slip into a day dream as I am writing or reading or spinning, as I realize that I have gone off somewhere in my mind - dreaming of the perfect ride or of those extraordinary conversations. It feels delightful.

I am not sure why the dreams have come back at such intensity or even so early. The weather has been normal here - wet and grey most of the time with only occasionally glimpses of the sun. If there is a promise of an early and noticeable spring - I am not aware of it.  I perhaps have been more aware this year of the geese flying north, of their calls that when large flocks fly over my house it sounds almost there are a bunch of kids dancing in the distance, but I don't think that would be enough. It may be that I am considering going north to the Yukon - to complete my tour of Canada that is accessible by road and the sheer thought of such a trip is enough to stir my dormant hitchhiking dreams.

Regardless of why - I am glad that in the darkness of the early morning hours, or during the quiet times of my life - I can escape into a delightful fantasy that every summer for the last 15-16 years has come true.