On the Road Again (almost)

We were supposed to leave today, but all the projects H is working on are not quite complete. I am eagerly looking forward to traveling to the Olympic Peninsula and enjoying long June days in the camper, but Laving home in summer, even for just a 3 week jaunt, requires a load of work and preparation. Of course it takes work to leave at  anytime, but summer means that we are not only leaving our home and our cat Mishka, but also the garden, the fruit trees and the house plants

As a result, H is busy setting drip water systems for all plants - house and garden. As usual, arrangements needed to be made to care for Cat Mishka, the mail and newspaper.

Since returning from our winter trip, H has done a major upgrade on the camper. We have new cushions for bed and couch, improved heating system, new faucets, and lots of other small details for comfort and convenience.

This trip we are heading North, so we are packed for warm and cold, wet and dry, camping and town. Since hot springs are on the agenda I have not one but two bathing suits. Also hiking shoes and a small backpack. And, books, art supplies, my handy tablet computer, cables, styli, knitting materials and several audio books for travel entertainment.

And, we are back to two plus two with the recent addition of Rosie the Rambunctious to our pack. So, dog food, treats, leashed and flea meds are on board.

Our time in the camper has taught me a lot about our food needs, so the fridge is packed with easy to prepare meals and all the greens I harvested from the garden. If nature and the watering system cooperate, we will have lots of fruit and veggies to look forward to on our return.

But first we have to get away - once all the items on the to-do list are done of course.

Two plus two no more

Rosco

The title of this blog seemed like the perfect description for our adventures. Hank and me, Alfie and Rosco on the road.

We were an ideal travel team. A friend for everybody, a fine balance of companionship and entertainment.

I always envisioned us all traveling around in our camper together, old folks and old dogs. Alas, that is no more.

Our dear and gentle and funny and sweet Rosco became very ill on September 20th. He was diagnosed with IMHA (immune mediated hemolytic anemia). I had never even heard of this deadly disease before - and autoimmune blood disease with no known cause and a very small chance of a good outcome.

We did all we could to save his life  - hospitalization, blood transfusions, a plethora of drugs. Nothing worked. We lost him on September 28th -

We are all sad. Alfie is moping around looking for his brother and playmate. Hank and I are moping too. There is very small comfort in knowing we did all we could to save his life, and that had he survived, his future would have been both uncertain and filled with endless medication and blood tests. But he is gone, and there is a Rosco shaped hole in our hearts, our home and the camper. Maybe someday this space will be filled with another sweet fur kid, but not yet.

For now, the blog will keep its name so that the memory of Rosco Jerome will travel with us.

oh sNOw

Dreaming of sunshine and the beach
 

January 3, 2015

The plan has been to leave tomorrow, Monday, first thing. We have been watching the weather, and I am nervous because the plan has been to go straight to Carpentaria - traveling on I-5. I keep envisioning the passes we traveled last spring, when it was warm and sunny.

Northern  California, even I\on a spring day was cold and the road over the pass high and complex. The idea of driving through snow and winter weather, the very thought of Hank having to put chains onto Shelly, gives me a stomach ache.

But wait, travel tips from snow birding friends gave us a better route - they suggest that we travel to Newport Oregon on Route 20 - as they do every year. Then stay on 101 along the Pacific Coast all the way down into California. The weather forecast for the coast is 40's and 50's - rain but no snow. The highest pass elevation is 1000 feet. This feels like a far less scary (though longer) way to go. I feel calmer and look forward to revisiting some of the places we passed through last year on our travels.

So, we are full on prepping. We have moved the plants to their caretaker position, stocked up on cat food and cat care. Emptied the fridge and loaded Shelly with warm clothes, bedding, books, music, and good things to eat. Then I woke up this morning and looked out the window. Oh SNOW!!! The WeatherBug says icy conditions make driving dangerous - through tomorrow - pretty much everywhere. So, what are our plans now? We'll see.

Right now I am happy to be warm and cozy at home - but we are ready to roll as soon as the weather permits.

Wawarsing to Maine

Sunday June 28, 2015
We are parked at Thomas Point Beach in Brunswick Maine. It is raining, hard. It has been raining (hard) since last night.  The drumming of the rain on Shelly’s skylights made sleeping a pleasure.  Maine is beautiful. We are happy to be here.

This trip has been different from our last. I was amazed to count the days yesterday and discover we have only been traveling for nineteen. So much has happened. The days are long and full. So full that there has been little time to write, and even less access to wi-fi. I fear this will be a long post.

So, about ten days ago we made it back to the Catskills and the Piatek family. This is the home and family we left when we wandered off to Oregon together in 1974. H’s mother and brothers and sisters made their lives in the area and had wonderful children, one of whom is getting married in July. So, we are here, and we are cool because for the first time EVER since moving away, we feel like we have the time and the space to enjoy and explore, and hang out with family and eat a lot of cake from Cohen’s Bakery, and have our own space. (Instead of flying in and out for short and expensive visits.)

When we arrived on Friday, we parked Shelly in the shade of a lush Catalpa tree across from Babi’s house. She is “almost” 95 and still wonderful. Not surprisingly, the weather was hot and muggy, and I was just beginning to rebound from the effects of my allergy attack. To speed the healing, Wanda gives me samples of lovely soothing creams from the spa at Lake Mohonk, where she works, and I took my pills. After the hectic cross country trip, is good to be in one place for a while.  The dogs, who seem to be a big hit with everyone, are behaving admirably.

Family lunch on Saturday comes from a good new Asian restaurant in Stone Ridge. This was good, but if you know H, you know he was disappointed - when we come to Babi’s house we eat Polish food, or we used to. Now, the food at the Polish restaurant in town is terrible, and at her age, Babi doesn’t cook anymore. 

We spent the next five days eating, visiting with family, talking about wedding plans, relaxing and having a lovely time. On Wednesday morning, we headed out again. It was a beautiful day. Hank drove through Connecticut, into Rhode Island.   

Getting into the New England spirit of our trip, I ate my first lobster roll on a bay side deck in Narragansett, R.I. The waitress claimed their lobster rolls were rated 9^th in the state. I’d give them a 14. However, next door at a fish market I was mesmerized by a thick filet of local striped bass that had our name on it for dinner.

After lunch we drove into Massachusetts, through the town of New Bedford to look at an ancient church whose red and historic tower that drew us off the highway and through the crowded streets to find the building. Then we drove on.

It was a long day of driving - including a stint in rush hour traffic getting through Boston. We spent the night at Burlingame State Park in Massachusetts.  Once parked, I roasted the beautiful striped bass with lemon and olive oil. YUM

Though the location of the park, surrounded by three bodies of water, and lit at dusk like a French Impressionist painting, was lovely, the park was noisy and crowded. We left in the morning, just hoping to get somewhere to stop and rest. I think we were burned out. It had been a long drive – no matter how you looked at it … and stressful in ways both good and difficult. 

Our next goal was simply to reach the state of Maine, with a quick stop in New Hampshire at the state liquor outlet.Finally, around noon on Friday, we began seeing signs for Portland (and moose) and lobster, on the road. 

So now, we are here, loving the delicious local seafood, the exquisite green trees, the vast swaths of land and blue water, and some time to unwind and eat, and eat. We plan to spend our time working our way north to Acadia National Park, but every day and every mile so far has been beautiful, rain or shine.  More later.There is lots more to say about Maine.

All the Way Across (and other stuff)

June 20, 2015

One pill makes me sleepy and the other makes me shake … 

To back up a little, remember the beautiful pool I mentioned in the last post? In that little town in Nebraska where everything was pleasant, a danger lurked that I did not fully understand for two more days when I began to itch. 

First a few spots on my upper thighs appeared, then a spot on my right palm. While driving in Ohio I noticed that the back of my neck not only itched, but was swollen and hot – even my ears were hot. In a smart move I removed my rings and pendant. This turned out to be very smart, because in about an hour the itch on my palm had spread to my whole hand – and then across to my left. That night, I could not sleep for the itching and swelling and welts that were now all over my body. 

A trip to the pharmacy early in the morning recommended Calamine lotion and Claritin. Mild relief only – the welts were on the march – ebbing occasionally and then rushing in again. I really am not sure of the cause of the reaction, but the chlorine in the pool seems to be a likely culprit though it might have been unfamiliar pollen or grasses in any of the lush green parks where we stayed, or it might have been something in the food we ate … I may never know, and neither did either of the doctors I saw on two visits to Urgent Care in Ohio. 

 

Thank goodness for H, who, after noticing that the knuckles in my hands had disappeared, located an office close to Mosquito Creek Park where we were camped. And, thank goodness for modern medicine.  On Tuesday night I was given a shot of a steroid and I told to expect results in a few hours. I was so relieved to think this was over, but I was MUCH worse all night and returned to Urgent Care in the morning for another shot, and a prescription.

 Now, though I am much better, if I am moments late to take my drug cocktail of Prednisone and Benedryl the itching starts again and the welts raise their heads. All of this points to the fact that when traveling anywhere, especially to new, unknown and remote locations (as we like to do) it is important to be aware of the location of medical facilities and be prepared for emergencies. Exactly what this preparedness should look like is an unanswered question, but this experience has reduced my sense of security a little bit. Any suggestions would be appreciated.

On the plus side, while I rested and reclined on the camper couch, H drove, and yesterday, day ten of our trip, we arrived in the Catskill Mountains in upstate New York, our number one destination. It is such a pleasure to suddenly be in a familiar location, to turn off the GPS and head to H’s favorite place, Cohen’s Bakery.  Then (and only then) did we head to his mom’s home.

Now we are ensconced with family and old friends, and enjoying some needed down time among the trees and birdsong. Family lunch today, fresh berries for dessert.  Also, phone calls to plan for our time and visits while here. Next week we will continue to adventure, adding more states to the 18 we have so far visited in our trusty camper Shelly.  However, this will be home base for the month.

Yay for us, we made it across the country, back to the very place where H and I met and began our adventure together, a cool 41 years ago this week.

PLEASANTVILLE

Aurora Nebraska  June 14, 2015

So far this trip can be best described as a drive-thru flyover. We have stopped for nothing; not the Pendleton Mills, not a photo of the stunning red rocks in Utah. We ignored Wyoming for the most part, missed the great Salt Lake, did not stop and see Victor, and passed under the Great Platte River arch  at 62 miles per hour. After all the miles of open land and farms and the occasional mall, we had no high expectations of Nebraska.

We were wrong, at least here in Aurora. after 1500 miles of travel, five states in five days. Serendipity has deposited us, down a long road lined with corn fields as far as the eye can see, road weary and saddle sore in Aurora, a classic American town that looks and feels like the location of the movie Pleasantville. 

 This town well-kept  Best of all, the campsite, in the park, behind the fabulous water center, welcomes campers for free, for up to four nights.  That’s where we are today, day six of the trip.

The streets here  are paved with red brick and lined with. mature trees in full summer leaf. The houses are in the Victorian style, or bungalows. Fresh paint, large lawns, flower filled front gardens. A beautiful, large and important building in the center of town is rich red clay and brick. There is an old bandstand, of white marble, that I think was where George made an impassioned speech in the movie, Its a Wonderful Life.

We spent a peaceful night sleeping in the quiet park. I spent the early afternoon swimming in the perfect pool at the edge of the park. $3.00 for the pool and the showers. The water and air temp both 84 degrees. My dishes are washed, we are both showered, the dogs are happy. All is good here so we are staying another night, relaxing and refreshing for the next leg of the journey. As I said, this place is truly … pleasant. It gives me that slightly hypnotic sense of having stepped back in time (which I do not consider a bad thing.)

 There's an Old-fashioned ladies dress shop with mannequins in the window. The bar and grill is exactly what you'd expect, and closed on Sunday.The people seem genuinely nice, such as the old gentleman watering the flower baskets on the lamp posts who pointed us in the right direction, or the couple who admired our dogs,  or the lovely lifeguard at the pool who told me about her home town– in glowing terms. 

Even in the course of these few days, we have established a travel rhythm. H drives two hours, I drive two, then H takes over til we camp. In this way we have been traveling more than 300 miles per day. The usual schedule is 9 – 4:30 on the road, and then the long evenings to enjoy in camp. We prefer parks, state or otherwise to RV parks. Most nights have been without services (and two were free), but we did spend one night in a KOA in Wyoming (for the showers) It was surrounded by enormous white crude oil tanks. There is a boom in this area because of all the oil coming in via fracking. Its been great for the local economy we are told.

Later, we drove through a wild storm in Utah, watching lightning flash and the storm approach across the vast open sky. And we drove across lots (and lots) of vast open land – referred to by family members variously as “the big nothing,” and “the place where America stores its “empty.”  (Thank JZ) This is not exactly so. There has been lots of rain this season, so the vast stretches of land along the roads is filled with life, wildflowers, grasses, cattle, antelope. The fifty shades of green we are seeing is in strong contrast and lovely to the dry grey gold of our southern travels last winter.  I do recall that this was the scene of the Dust Bowl, so, even the rain squalls that keep arriving are vey welcome.
And of course, seeing the Rockies appear on the horizon has never failed to thrill me.

Early on in our trip we determined that our primary goal is to get back East and see family and friends and eat lobster. All the things in the middle are less important. So we are hauling. But we are really glad that we have stopped our eastward tear long enough to enjoy and appreciate the beautiful place we are in now.Tomorrow it back on the road.

A note about finding serendipity (AKA Aurora Nebraska) – we found this using an app called AllStays that showed it on the map along I-80. There were no signs on the road, so without our technology, we might not have found it. 

Time to Go

Today is 6.9.15, a pleasing number. My son was born on 3.18.81 so I have always considered these multiple of three dates good luck. I hope so, because we are taking off again this morning. As exciting as it is to leave on another adventure, I am writing at 6 am because I can't sleep.I can attest that the birds started singing at 5:30 - but not at 4:30.

Prepping for this trip was easier than last time simply because we now know what we are doing and what needs to be done. As we traveled last winter, H and I developed a great rhythm for taking care of what needed to be done, quickly and efficiently. This has carried over so that packing and planning is fairly seamless.  I am also pleased to note an advantage to total home leaving means that my refrigerator gets cleaned several times a year. This in itself makes travel worthwhile.

Traveling in summer will be different in many ways from snow-birding. One thing for sure, especially once school is out, there will be more competition for camping spots, more people around (no parks to ourselves seems a safe bet), and higher prices for camping and gas. On the plus side, longer days, lots more light ...though if this morning is any indicator, based on my previous tendency to rise with the sun and sleep when its dark, I will be getting lots less sleep.

It would be nice to say that we are traveling lighter this time, but traveling cross country, even in summer requires that we carry clothes for heat, sun, rain, swimming and potential cold. Also, we are going to a wedding so party clothes are included in the mix. Now that we know how much time we have for reading we are carrying an impressive library of books to read and trade. We also know that it is fairly easy to cook great meals in the camper (Shelly in case you forgot). Once again I have packed the pressure cooker, and this time, mostly basics to be rounded out by local produce to be found at farmer's markets along our route.  (Mmmm lobster, raspberries, home grown tomatoes.)

My  art supply kit IS lighter this trip. I learned that in spite of my most creative intentions, I have little time and less focus for making art. My camera is my creative companion. The pictures I took last winter have provided endless inspiration for me and for my students.

Speaking of which - the time we have been home has been as busy and as full as my time on the road. I like this idea of interweaving travel and teaching, making art and thinking about the art I will create. Since I have been home my teaching schedule has been full, and my studio filled with work in progress. I hung a show of my own work last week, as well as a display of student art at MAC. I entered my senior's work into a contest, and got juried into a new show set for the fall. Not bad for three months. Now I will have some fallow time before I return in August to teach several workshops and prepare for the show in October. I like this ... keeping busy keeps me happy and focused.

So, to quote my dad once again ... We are off, the Captain shouted (and the oars began to leak.)

Wish us well .... and follow our adventures.  By the way, I have fixed this blog so that YOU (dear readers) can respond directly to me in the comments below (at least I hope so.)  Happy summer.