This is the time of year when I’m usually planning my upcoming solo journey. I’ve found that the best guide is my energy and my interest. Finally, I’ve realized that my body will tell me what’s best when it comes to my energy level. When I’ve pushed against that in the past, insisting that I can willfully keep going, I’ve ended up being so exhausted that what I carried out was disappointing.

So, right now I don’t have any big plan, any destination in mind for a solo journey. I’ll let things unfold and see what comes naturally. I know you don’t have to travel far away to have the benefits of a pilgrimage — that time away of reflecting, gaining perspective, exploring a new locale, and resting. Last Friday, I took a day trip that provided some of those same benefits as my solo journeys, as my pilgrimages to distant places.

I’d had an urge to attend some type of writing event that would nourish me in my current project, a new event with different people in a different place. I wanted fresh encouragement and direction for how to move forward with my books.

Following my hunch that this was what I needed, I searched online and found the North Carolina Writers’ Network had a day focused on memoir writing on May 9th with author, Barbara Presnell. The coffee would be from 9-10 at Charcuterie Charm in Pine Level and the Memoir Workshop would be from 4-6 in the Princeton Public Library. Those ‘by-pass towns’ were less than an hour from my home. I’d seen their exits many times on my way to the beach.

On Friday morning when I was driving down the road, I felt the same type of excitement as when I’ve left on solo journeys. The same initial questions came to me as I traveled out of the busy Raleigh area, where I live, and moved toward the Coastal Plain with broad views of fields. Who will be the ‘people in my path’? What will it feel like to be in those towns? What new insight will I gain about what I’m writing? I prayed for God to bless the day — for me and the people I’d interact with, as well as for the outcome.

After some driving around the small town of Pine Level, I spotted the coffee shop. It was a welcoming place with its fresh coat of paint, cheerful interior with special coffees and breakfast treats. The owner welcomed me and the Writers’ Network Representative, Cindy told me to get whatever I wanted as the organization was picking up the tab.

The women around the table were friendly, introducing themselves and sharing their current writing projects in various genres. They had regular meetings as an outgrowth of the N.C. Writers’ Network. Thinking of the country roads I’d traveled, I marveled at all these writers who were tucked away in this rural part of the state. As one of the women said, “Writers are everywhere!” Another woman had on the tee shirt for NC Writers’ Network with their tagline, “The Writingest State” which I loved as a reference to my home state.

After our introductions, Barbara shared about the steps she took in having her memoir, Otherwise, I’m Fine published. We women around the table asked her questions and then shared our own processes for writing and marketing our books. I told them my story of producing my memoir He Heard My Voice and posed the question of how to handle publishing the sequel and the third book to follow.

The group was enthusiastic and offered their ideas. How nice it was to have fresh perspectives on my work. I felt encouraged by their interest and investment in me as a newcomer who was connected through our mutual passion for writing. If I lived in that community, I’d join their group.

Too soon the coffee time was over. Thankfully, I’d hang around for the four o’clock session in the nearby town of Princeton where most of the women would also attend. In between, I’d drive there and find a place for lunch. How I loved riding through the country side, seeing farms that hadn’t been made into neighborhoods, at least not most of them like in my area. One dirt road, I wanted to venture down, had a double silo and what appeared to have been a grain office in the past. The tin roof on the silos was rusting and added to the charm of that bygone era when trucks would have been lined up down that entranceway. Since it appeared to be private and was beside a house, I didn’t check it out. Later, I regretted not taking that risk, wishing I had a photo of that place that stayed in my mind.

Driving around the little town, I spotted four Johnson County Sheriff cars. It was quiet on the street so I assumed they were just eating in the grill. It must have good food if all those sheriff were eating there, I reasoned and walked in to the crowded restaurant. The young woman at the counter recommended their cheeseburgers and said they could make my fries crispy.

They did not disappoint!

After lunch, I walked around the town that was built along a railroad. They had a Veteran’s memorial and it was surprising, or not, how many names were on those bricks honoring those who’d served from that small place.

After walking around I found a place where I could write down ideas I had from my morning meeting. It seemed to be the perfect place; a corner drug store with a soda fountain that served orangeade drinks like those in my hometown. While I sat in my booth, I wrote and watched a steady stream of parents bringing children after school for drinks and cones of ice cream.

My brainstorming session with sips of orangeade was a pleasant way to spend the afternoon. It was good to be away from home, writing where there was no pull to put in a load of laundry, pull weeds from my garden, or scrub the bathroom tub. Like my solo journeys, I had no responsibilities and could be quiet or interact with the girls working behind the counter.

I left in time to drive the three blocks to the library that was part of a community center. There, the chairs were formed in a circle and the same women, plus a few others, joined us for the memoir session. Barbara told more of the story of her memoir and then had the group do a writing exercise that gave me more ideas.

When the session ended, I left feeling I’d gotten what I came for — from the information, the discussion, and the time exploring in those Down East towns. I felt refreshed like I’d been further away than the forty-eight miles. I’d followed my hunch that it was the right event for me, and I’d left with hope from the enthusiasm of Barbara and the other women for the work I’m creating.

This mini solo journey, this day trip, was refreshment for my writing and a refilling of my creative well.

What about you? Is there a place, an event, a day trip that could give you refreshment, a refilling of your well? Could you drop everything and follow your hunch?

I wish you the best as you follow your energy and your interest to the thing that’s calling you.

Connie