Today on Monday Mysteries we take a look at a mystery a lot of you have been wondering lately: what the heck is this “Plan G” thing that Chris and I are doing right now?

Well, glad you asked. As I’ve said a previous post, Plan G is many things, including the chance to travel, downsize and reorganize our belongings, and above all visit family and friends. So far the last 5 months on Plan G have been chances to do all of that, definitely.

After 5 months, though, the one thing that Plan G is  still is definitely not is an actual  well-formed plan. I’d call it “Slow Travel“,  but I’m not sure it qualifies as that concept. It’s more like meandering travel, I think.

Or maybe we should have called this “Ideas G”, as we have lots of vague ideas of what to do next, but nothing is set in stone yet. I mean, we’re pretty loose on our travel timing, of necessity since a lot of things — like the arrival of our belongings from Germany, and availability of doctors appointments – has been outside our control. But, that need for flexibility in the schedule has worked to our advantage,  allowing us to follow up on opportunities as they appear. That includes a wonderful cat-sitting/house-sitting opportunity next month here in Melbourne (thanks, J— and C—!). As a result, we’re going to be staying here in Florida until at least October 2nd, which will give us more time to plan for the phase after that.

Current ideas on the table for what we do after that:

– A visit to Washington DC to allow me to visit some photography archives to do some research on early American women photographers. I have an idea that seems to be shaping up toward a possible project, and I have identified some works to try to see and archives in general to visit. But note I didn’t say I have a project plan yet — but at least it’s a start towards one, I guess.

– Following that and a stop in NJ, we want to make our way west for the rest of the autumn, hoping to dodge any early snowfalls. There are archives to visit along the way — but I haven’t plotted them on a map yet. We want to visit as many friends along the way as we can — but again, I haven’t plotted places on a route yet.

– Once we get to the  California,  the idea is to head up the coast to Portland, Seattle and Vancouver. Again, visiting friends, family and archives.

– Other destinations are on the list, too:  we have friends in Hawaii … and there’s always Easter Island to fit in somewhere….

Anyway, as you can see, there’s not much after October 2nd that is planned yet. Neither Chris nor I are working at the moment, so we are currently planning (well, to use the term loosely!) to wander at least into the beginning of 2016 before we figure out where we’re actually going to settle down. Clearly we need to work this month on some more concrete travel plans and places to stay for this fall, but I’ll have to keep you posted as we figure things out.

Which reminds me: if anyone has suggestions and/or knows of people who need anyone to so house-/pet-sitting anywhere, let me know. We’re good at looking after houses and pets and computer systems that are misbehaving. In general I’m looking into vacation apartments and also house=sitting online listings to see what we can find for the fall.

So there you have it – Plan G explained as much as we have figured it out.

BTW, people often ask if the “G” stands for anything. Not really – although, since it really is a plan where anything’s up for grabs, then I guess you could also say it’s anybody’s guess.

Stay tuned…