Where are Ron and Ellen?

Some Different Travel Plans: September and October 2001


Through the spring of 2001 we talked of going to Indonesia in Fall 2001, a place both of us had long been interested in visiting. We thought we would spend the month of Ellen's travel time in Bali and Lombeck, and Ron would spend two additional months in other parts of Indonesia and traveling up the Malaysian peninsula.

We went to San Antonio in June, where Ellen had a meeting, and then Ron went on to Mexico for three weeks. In July we went to Michigan for a family reunion. And in early August, Ron said, "How would you feel if we didn't take a long trip this fall?" And Ellen said, "That would be great: we can take some of those short trips we keep talking about." Ron never thought he would have the experience of too much travel, but he found himself overwhelmed by the piles and projects that had accumulated during his travels of the last several years, with no time to do the research for another long trip -- time to stay home and catch up!

Given the world events of fall 2001, it is probably a good thing we decided to stay at home. Ron would have been leaving for Indonesia on 16 or 17 September, and flights might have been delayed or cancelled. Ellen would have been leaving at about the time US forces attacked Afganistan. Although neither one of us has any apprehension about air travel and do not believe we would be in any kind of danger in the places we chose to travel, we know our families would worry. So our change of plans was serendipitous.

Ron and our friend George have talked for a while about doing a camping trip together. In early September they drove to Great Smokies National Park for 5 days of camping, hiking, and biking. They were cooking breakfast on September 11 when the park ranger came by and asked if they had heard the news.

In late September we spent a week in southwestern Virginia camping and biking on the Virginia Creeper Trail and the New River Trail, two long rails-to-trails routes.

In October we loaded the tandem on the back of the car and went to visit our friends Ned and Linda in Troy, NY, and Marlene and John in Toronto.



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Last updated: 26 May 2002