Trip update: This is the end of the Southern Swing 2013. Yesterday, I rolled into Charlottesville, Virginia on a Greyhound bus from Jacksonville, Florida. Five months, 4,500 km, five States and dozens of towns, large and small. I promised my son and myself that I would devote a full month to organizing my stuff and the next trip, and that meant being back by 1 March. Today, I am singing a concert with the Oratorio Society of Virginia to benefit PACEM, an interfaith ministry that houses the homeless in our city’s places of worship during the winter months (http://www.oratoriosociety.org/concertinfo.php?concert=Mar2014).

It is NOT the end of this blog. Coming up: the Northern Trek 2014. I will be laying out the broad strokes in the coming month, and report out on it as soon as I have something. Posts will continue at 1400 every Saturday. PLEASE CONTINUE READING.

However, this is something of a turning point for the blog. Until now, I have provided a short trip update each week before delving into the topic of the week. I have deliberately stayed away from becoming another travelogue, but maybe the trip is more interesting than the details of organizing my life on the road.

For one thing, there will not be that much that is different about going North in terms of planning and organization. I want to do something creative about the “bounce box” paradigm, but I seem to have answered the other questions that we had when I set out.

Certainly, I can report on those changes without trying hard to write an article about some aspect of working on the road. That argues in favor of the travelogue: more description of what I am experiencing, rather than a terse trip update.

On the other hand, would you like to see more about different aspects of working on the road? Our friend Peter, for example, lived on the road as an electrician for years. My colleague Stefano is a missionary, travelling constantly to facilitate workshops and provide spiritual direction all over the Western Hemisphere. I have seen the linemen, drillers, road construction crews, traveling salesmen, and others in the extended-stay hotels and motels that I have used. If you would like more of this reporting, I don’t mind interviewing my temporary neighbors as I travel. It might make an interesting read.

One change in perspective might be to offer a window into what I am working on as I travel. Some travel writers do this to some extent, but many writers (including me) are superstitious about discussing their unfinished projects. I can’t tell you exactly what I am translating when I am doing that, because of client confidentiality. However, the road poses special challenges for each project and overcoming these may be interesting and instructive. I can do that without revealing the actual texts involved.

There you have it. As I get organized this week to set a new course, please let me know what you would like to read. I may do a little of all of the above, but it would help me focus to know that someone out there prefers one or the other aspect of what I have been blogging.

If you don’t want to use the reply/comment feature below, send an email to: freewheeling@scriptorservices.com.

Until next week,

Smooth roads and tailwinds,

Jonathan.