2004 was the first time I tried an ashiatsu tour on a big scale. Those of you who followed the adventure know the route -- from Maine, across northern New England and New York State, and on through the midwest to Colorado, home of Ruthie Hardee, founder of the ashiatsu movement and based in Denver -- and by the way, if you haven't already, check out Ruthie's ashiatsu web site -- http://deepfeet.com. But back to last year's trip -- that journey's turnaround point was Grand Junction, Colorado, just short of the Utah border. Then it was a more southerly route home, crossing Kansas, Missouri, Tennesee, North Carolina, and heading up through Virginia with some more stops in the DC-area and Pennsylvania before having a final few nights with my daughter and her little girl in New Hampshire and finally calling it quits for the year with my return home to Maine.
My experience last year was rewardiing enough to convince me to try it again, so the idea for a similar adventure was already hatched by the time I returned home. As was the case the first time around, I simply did not want to lengthen the time, nor accelerate the pace, of the trip in order to include the West Coast. It would be great to do so, but the logistics of such a trip, given time constraints, ruled it out. So this year I decided to make Dallas, Texas, my destination. That particular, and to some of you probably peculiar, choice was dictated by the fact that Christine's 90-ish uncle lives there. I haven't seen him for several years, and this would be a good chance to spend a few days together.
The route out would take me, once again, through New Hampshire, where I'd spend several nights with our daughter Sue and make a number of day trips to enjoy the talents of some of my favorite ashiatsu therapists -- including a number of ones I have cultivated since my very first ashiatsu motorcycle tour (short version) back in the Fall of 2003. That would be followed by several nights in Washington, DC, where I'd be visiting with our son Bob and daughter-in-law Natasha. Five nights later it's westward bound, heading out through Ohio, including three nights in the Dayton area visiting a niece and her husband and their new baby daughter, then on through Indiana, Missouri, and Arkansas before arriving in Dallas for three nights and the reunion with Christine's uncle.
The return leg would take a more southerly loop, first into Lousiana, then across the Gulf Coast to Panama City, Florida, where I'd spend a couple of nights visiting Christine's younger brother and his wife before heading north. A few nights in northwest Georgia with a sister-in-law would be another welcome diversion from motel lodging, and then it would be a leisurely run up through Tennessee, North Carolina and Virginia before again finding myself camped out in DC with our son and daughter-in-law. The final stretch would take me through Lancaster, Pennsylvania, and a visit with a niece and her husband, and then a couple of nights on the road before my final family visit with the same crew who hosted me at the beginning -- our daughter and her little girl in Campton, New Hampshire. Finally, on August 7th, Barefeet2005 would celebrate its final day, highlighted by a barefoot/Thai yoga/lomi lomi massage in Nashua, New Hampshire, from my dear friend Danielle.
