Argue for your limitations and, sure enough, they're yours.

Richard Bach said these prophetic words in Illusions, a book that my Buffalo shared with me over thirty years ago. Those same words hang in a frame when you walk in the side door of our home, a calligraphy I gifted him when our house was complete. It is a simple concept. We are all responsible for our own destiny, our own success, our own failure. 

So it was with a great deal of apprehension, that I approached my current adventure. You see, Buffalo and I spent many motorcycle rides camping. We spent a good part of our honeymoon in a tent, exploring the redwoods in Northern California. But once he moved on to another place, once I lost my soul mate, I didn't have the courage to camp alone. I was alright with riding my motorcycle to destinations unknown and exploring this great land of ours as a solo adventurer. I was just uncomfortable with sleeping in a tent by myself. 

When I retired, I wanted to do an open ended adventure. I wanted to go and not worry about when I had to be home. TJ Johnson, a wind brother with ABATE, did it when he retired and he set the wheels in motion. He lit the fire inside me to go. Because we never know when our health, our family, our lives may place limits upon us that preclude our ability or our opportunity to pursue those passions. And because I wanted this to be an open ended adventure, and I am not a rich woman, I had to explore lodging options that were feasible for my pocketbook.

And so I started to plan. I had tents and sleeping bags and camp stoves and the accouterments to do the journey, but not in the size that would aptly fit on my motorcycle riding solo. I found a motorcycle camping website and became obsessed with finding the right fit for my solo adventure. I found that backpacking gear was ideal for my solo camping on a motorcycle and began to accumulate the things that fit my adventure.

I was hesitant to camp a
lone and so I explored various online options: Bunk-A-Biker and HipCamp were my two preferences. And for my first exploration into this new adventure, I hesitantly booked my first reservation with a HipCamp host in Evansville, Indiana. 

And then I had to listen to all the nay sayers. All my friends and family who were convinced that some weirdo would attack me while I slept in my little tent alone. And, all along, I had my Buffalo in my heart, telling me to Argue for my Limitations and, sure enough, they would be mine...

And call it luck. Or good fortune. Or Karma. But I booked my first HipCamp reservation with two of the most wonderful, genuine, coolest people I could have ever hoped for!

Troy and Jubilee Miller were gracious and fun people, full of the most amazing stories and the most awesome place I could have never imagined! Their listing said an antique barn. Wow! Was that an understatement! Their barn is a music venue and has all the atmosphere of the place anybody would love to be on a kick ass Saturday night. Troy has so many stories about the musicians he has met in his musical endeavors that will wow you for hours. But they are far from braggers about it. They casually talk about it like as if everybody has these kind of things happen in their life. 

Their barn is a fantastic venue that made me long for the opportunity to see a live performance there. The eclectic collection of decor longs for a full house of appreciative patrons. It is truly a pickers dream in there and the barn is a construction wonder in itself, with hand-hewn wood beams. 

Troy is the Warrick County Cowboy, a musician with a collection of guitars to boast his musical prowess, whereas Jubilee felt like a sister right from the start. She is a true artist that has used her creative talents to decorate their home in the most amazing way. Outside is a garden of flowers, vegetables, bee hives and bunnies. And she is such a spirited individual, who appreciates the gifts our planet has to offer and does not want to see them wasted. 

I enjoyed their company so much that I stayed a second night when I had only planned on one. And I like to believe that I have made a pair of new friends. I would recommend that anybody reach past their trepidation and try something new. Seriously. Argue for your limitations. 

Peace All. Life is short. Live it now.

Bobbi