Weekend excursions

The adventure begins, originally uploaded by daniel_lee.

My Grandma Margaret frequently used the word excursion to describe a variety of outings. As a child, the word would often make me laugh and question why she chose to be so extravagantly weird with her vocabulary. It wasn't until later in life that her flair for authentic articulation and accuracy really hit home. She chose to speak as she did, not out of arrogance or loftiness, but from a genuine desire to mean what she said.

Though the Ford companies carefully advertised, hideously sized vehicle has almost ruined the word excursion in my mind, there remains some strong flicker of Grandma in that phrase. Having just completed a brief excursion of my own this weekend (an overnight on the Maryland section of Appalachian Trail) the word came back to me again. This time, as I happened to glance at the Wiki definition, a particular portion specifically appealed to my focus: "often an adjunct to a longer journey."

My thoughts are with Margaret today as I remember life's longer journey and the excursions upon which we all embark. I hope this past weekends hike was a preview of explorations to come - an acknowledgement of excursions planned and unplanned - and the inherent worth in diverging.