"Don't tell people what you are going to do, just do it."-Germany Kent, print and broadcast journalist, author.

I woke up before the alarm and was eager to get back on the road. Winnie and I had had a whole lot of fun on this trip, a two-day, top-secret training event, and now we were homeward bound. Filling the tank with over $92 worth of expensive California gasoline, I had to wonder as I watched the ticker on the pump clicking faster and faster, is this stuff infused with liquid gold? It’ll be nice to get back to Arizona, I thought, where the prices were $3/gallon when we departed.

Pouring the iso-octane liquid gold into the tank of a truck powered by a Hemi is not for the faint of heart.

Driving in Los Angeles brought back a lot of strong memories, some pleasant some not at all. The traffic wasn’t bad, all things considered, and though the weather had been seriously stormy on our trip over, we hit a window of calm the remainder of the time we visited. Over two days I added almost 200 LA miles on the Ram Truck odometer, the most consecutive freeway miles I'd driven in maybe five years.

Heading east into the rising sun, we crossed the state line.

It didn’t take long for me to adjust to the road conditions and I fell right back into my bus operator mind frame. Calmly, I had navigated the gauntlet with nary even a close call. Maybe the city folk were on their best behavior or all the bad drivers had stayed at home. Regardless, the driving didn’t take away from our good time. Having fun with Winnie’s nose was all I had to think about.

Climbing into the cab at the gas station, I glanced at Winnie who was tucked deep in the soft, plush bed in her crate. As we rolled up the on ramp and onto highway ten, the familiar voice of my GPS said, “For 320 miles continue straight.” That is exactly what we’ll do, I decided. Then laughed at my own sense of humor when I added, ‘unless the road curves.’ Arizona here we come. I would be using this time on the open road to ruminate on all I learned.

The fury of the storm turned soft for our evening walk.

Everything went well, I don’t know why that surprises me. I’m one who lives for the silver lining in any cloud. If during this adventure there was anything to overcome, I must have missed it. I don’t feel like I was tested. The searching went great, the ‘staff’ had so much knowledge and insight. The advice and instructions were spot on. Grateful for the opportunity to learn from those in the NACSW world whom I admire, all I can say is Winnie and I are a better team.

With Los Angeles in the rearview mirror, Winnie was once again snoring just over my shoulder on her platform upon which sits her comfy bed. Just when I thought our bond could not get any stronger, I realized I was mistake. We had been given an opportunity to dive into the unknown, and what a liberation that can be. The important part is that we took the adventure. We said yes.

The snow-capped mountains welcomed us home.

With no clue what we were doing, or where we were going, we took the leap. It was every bit like the olden-days when we were greenhorns just out there trying, learning. The excitement of the unknown made it all the better. Sometimes doing something is the reason, and it’s less about what. The moral of the story is, if given the chance, when asked if you want something, don’t bog yourself down with the details. Just say yes.