A New Way to Coddiwomple

Odysseus (our mini-motor home, still winterized) is parked in our driveway—probably wondering why we aren’t “on the road again.”  After all, it is April.  The reason, of course, is that we are in a “stay-at-home” mode to curb the spread of the coronavirus. I see myself as a “Coddiwompler,” a gypsy, a pilgrim, a wanderer, forever yearning to be like Willie Nelson—“On the Road Again.”  “Coddiwomple, (v) means to travel in a purposeful manner towards a vague destination.”  Can I coddiwomple in some other way in this “stay-at-home” time?  This morning I reviewed our travel journals and how we have lived out the month of April over the past ten years.  What a trip it has been!

In April 2010 we made a cross-country trip in Odysseus going south to Florida and then westward (visiting Big Bend, Grand Canyon, Bryce, Zion, and Mesa Verde National Parks) to Monterey, CA, enjoying visits with family and friends all along the way.

April 2011 we were on the road—traveling across country via another and different route to Monterey, CA.  (We visited Joshua Tree, Carlsbad, Petrified Forest, Montezuma, Death Valley National Parks, Sedona, and the Hoover Dam).

In April 2012 we were on the road in Odysseus, visiting my mother and enjoying some time with family in NJ.  (We did an earlier cross-country trek in February and March 2012 to California).

The first two weeks of April 2013 were spent in The Netherlands and Belgium and later in that same month a visit with my mother in NJ.  

April 2014 we visited our granddaughter, Katie, in Grenoble, France, visiting Geneva, Nice, the French Riviera, Monaco, Lyon, all under the magnificent shadow of the French Alps.

Then, in April 2015 we were again with Katie, but this time in Bangor, Wales, and in Yorkshire, England.  We attended Easter worship at YorkMinster.  What a treat that was!  After leaving Katie we cruised the Elbe River in Germany.

In April 2016 Odysseus took us on another cross-country trip, which included Pigeon Forge, Nashville, and Memphis, TN, Monument Valley, the Valley of the Gods, and so many other wonderful places between home and Monterey, CA.

April 2017 we went on a journey to the Greek Isles with my brother and sister and their spouses.  We missed a “coddiwopple” in  April 2018—but in June we visited our Katie and Liam in the UK and then took a cruise on the Baltic Sea. (My brother and his wife joining us).

Last year, April 2019, we took a spring jaunt to New York (West Point Academy, Hyde Park) and visited with family in New Jersey.  

This year, April 2020, we coddiwomple still—through the  cherished memories of April trips of the past,  and a visit, just yesterday via FaceTime, with our granddaughter Katie, her husband, Liam, and our great granddaughter, Elodie, in the UK, and on Easter Sunday we visited Luke, Kim, Ethan and Elenie in Flagstaff, AZ in the same way.  A new way to coddiwomple in this “stay-at-home” time.