Home Wonderings

Both Lewis and Clark were born and raised in Virginia, though in separate counties. Meriwhether Lewis lived in Albemarle County, VA until the age of 6, when his father died and he and his mother moved to a new home in Wilkes County, Georgia. William Clark, on the other hand, stayed in Virginia until the age of 15, when his family resettled in Beargrass Creek, Kentucky. This Kentucky location served as Clark's primary home until he began training and preparations for the Lewis and Clark expedition.

"So where is home for you?" a woman at my grandma's church asked this morning. My mom took the question, and I'm so thankful that she did — for as simple a question as it was, my response would have been complicated, at best: 

"Uhh, we live in Orange County. Well no, not anymore. I guess you could say Virginia. Well, gosh, umm, not yet. Well we're from Southern California. Well actually I am, but Clark's from Northern California. So in that case, I guess you could say we're just from the general California area. But we're on our way to Washington D.C. and..." 

As we travel farther and farther away from our home in Fullerton, the question begs at me more and more every day: Where is home for us now? Or, rather, what is home? 

Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros say "home" is "wherever I'm with you."

Webster's dictionary says "home" is "one's place of origin."

Wikipedia says it is "one's place of residence or refuge." 

An ancient proverb says that home is "where the heart is."

There seem to be conflicting views out there on what "home" actually is. If home is as Edward Sharpe declares, then for me, home is with Clark - assuming that the "you" mentioned is implying one's significant other. If it is my place of origin, then it is Apple Valley, CA. If is is my place of residence, then it is currently all over the country (or I must be homeless). And if it is the latter, then home is literally in my body and figuratively…. with a soccer ball. (Just kidding!) Anyway, all cannot be true at the same time. Or can they? Is there is a bigger and deeper concept behind the word than these descriptions suggest?

I've spent the past week thinking through this concept and am beginning to feel like I am writing my own version of the children's book, "Are You My Mother?" only mine is, "Is this my home?"

For now, I leave this question unanswered, yet still bouncing around my head.

Below are some pictures of our (ahem) "home" for the past few days in the mountains of Colorado.

On our way to the campground, Clark and I stopped by the Air Force Academy.

 The Air Force Academy is the youngest of the service academies. 

It was signed into legislation in 1954 by President Eisenhower.

Here was our "home" for a few days on Mount Herman, just outside of Colorado Springs. 

It was a beautiful campsite! 

The road to the site was super-narrow — 

made us wish we had rented a jeep like our friends in front of us!

Clark and I ran for cover during a thunder storm and read out loud in the car 

while we waited for the storm to pass. 

Clark's friend Al and his wife Rachel (and their dogs!) joined us for our last day of camping. 

We had a fun time catching up with them! Unfortunately, I failed to get a better picture of them :/ 

Here we are at the end of the trip - that mountain behind us is Pike's Peak.

And boy, oh boy did it feel good to take a shower after this. Even so, I think my hair will still be smelling like campfire smoke for a few more days...

Next stop: Nana and Papa's House!