May 27, 2022 

(Hebrew Follows – גרסה בעברית בתחתית – לחצו כאן לדלג על האנגלית)

Hello from New Jersey. Hopefully we will have the time and reasons to post more often.

The last time I wrote here, we were “stuck” in Florida. We actually only left Florida mid-April, and I would love to share the experience of the trip north.

To sum up Florida – we found ourselves there waiting to repair our mothership plus we discovered that my injury is a little more complicated than we thought. We met 3 orthopedists who insisted on surgery, which immediately sent us on a break from travels and on a search for creative solutions , which resulted in me flying to Israel for conservative treatment and rehabilitation in the ‘body Cognition’ method. It is a deep and exciting method that includes hands-on therapy and movement classes. Amazingly the miracle happened and I almost returned to  full motion at lightning speed, ready and excited to “really” start traveling.

The adventure of the search for healing included about a month and a half in Israel, with a short visit to Costa Rica on the way. Elan also joined me in Israel for two weeks. We met family, friends, enjoyed the Israeli spring and a lot of hummus (like proper tourists). This is why we left Palm Beach area only on April 11th to begin our our way up north.

The experience of packing,  searching for a route,  looking for places to park, experiencing beautiful sceneries and new adventures filled us with excitement. This reminded me why we  set out on this journey in the first place.

With renewed energy  and vigorous spirits a new movement  began. We made our way out of Florida over 10 days  with stops at farms, rivers, parks and beaches, this time choosing to drive up the coast and beaches to Georgia, South and North Carolina, Virginia, a hasty pass in Delaware, Maryland and then New Jersey.

The experiences  that left deep impressions on me were:

Endless expansive beaches in the  Daytona Beach area.

A visit to Memorial Center and  Museum where the Wright brothers achieved the first flight (I admit it was more fascinating and meaningful for Elan, but I was actually. a bit swept away with excitement  myself) 

Myrtle Beach – A charming state park with a beach within walking distance and our favorite combination – parking in a green and almost tropical vegetation, next to a beach where dogs are allowed.

And the highlight of this period: 

Assateague Island

Apparently  much is told in literature and history about the island and the wild horses that live on it undisturbed. Parking is along the coast, with a small dune that protects and separates the RVs and tents from the ocean’s strong winds and sandstorms. Herds of wild and beautiful horses naturally roam among all the visitors providing hours of admiration and excitement. Legend has it  they arrived in a special shipment from Spain but the ship in which they were transported perished and they miraculously managed to reach the island. Another legend says that they were brought as guards to protect the mainland from overseas invaders. Anyway it was a very long time ago, and they have been living and breeding there and in the southern part of the island (Chinkoteague) for several centuries.

We are now staying in New Jersey, as planned,  for a month. Elan is teaching at the Princeton Waldorf school. We got to give and receive hugs with friends and will soon continue on our journey. As we have already understood, the path reveals itself while we proceed, and the route changes from moment to moment. The original plan to visit Alaska in the fall had to be postponed for technical reasons and we are invited for a week of work in Seattle in July. So we will soon head off to the other side of the continent. The way there will be relatively fast because we will have 3 weeks to cross from East to West.

It excites me to imagine travel and adventures in places I have never seen, and i am intrigued to see if we can find ways to deepen the sense of  meaning of  this chapter  beyond the great fun that it already is. 

Or perhaps I shall come to the conclusion that fun is well and right for now and I should not seek meaning and depth in places they don’t belong?

We are ready to continue, and are really happy for your joining us here

see you soon

Thank you for being with us,

Michal & Elan