On the Move

This weekend I’m helping my son move. Had been hoping to do some camping, but the move has had to come first. We should have more opportunities for camping later in the season, if it comes to that. I love camping, and I’ve been enjoying my son’s reports about camping in North Carolina. Beautiful country! I have a friend who once told me he thought the only people who travel and camp-out were young people trying to take a family vacation with very limited income. I never accepted that perspective, and still don’t. Camping out is great for what it is, and I’ve certainly done it when I could afford a nice motel.
My series protagonist, Bobby Navarro, agrees with me…(go figure). He finds that camping is a good way to get centered. I couldn’t agree more. It has the effect of stripping away all the stuff that is fun and nice otherwise, but not necessary when it comes to getting back to basics. And part of getting centered involved finding out what is essential. It also allows you to re-connect with the earth, usually in a good way. It even lets you take a break from electronics and all the ads I keep getting on the internet.
As a mystery writer, I think our protagonists need a way to ground themselves, or get centered, or whatever you would like to call it. For Bobby, there are two ways, camping and riding his motorcycle down another highway. I couldn’t agree more.