Bonnie's Blog

Post-tour anthem singing starts Wednesday, Sept 14, 2011!

2011-09-13T00:13:00.000-07:00

On Wednesday, September 14, the "post-tour" anthem singing begins. Joe will sing the National Anthem for the Los Angeles Dodgers, for his sixth appearance there. They'll be playing against the Arizona Diamondbacks, and it should be an exciting game, as the Diamondbacks are presently in first place for the National League West.

Wednesday will also be the appearance in the LA Times of Chris Erskine's followup column on Joe's tour. The original article appeared on April 27, 2011 - http://articles.latimes.com/2011/apr/27/sports/la-sp-erskine-20110428.

We hope to you at this game!

Home again, home again, jiggety jig!

2011-09-12T23:58:00.000-07:00

So we're home now, and have taken some time to settle in. The last leg of the trip was a series of celebrations- friends, family, fun, and all tempered with concern about whether we would make it over the Tejon pass, up the "grapevine" into the LA area. It's a long upward grade, and many cars overheat. But we took it after midnight, and even took the precaution of unhooking the tow car and having me drive it separately over the roughest part of the road. And so we made it home, to a joyful reunion with our housesitting son and our two dogs, early on September 1, 2011. This was the completion of 28,712 miles driven since April 7, when Joe set out for his three weeks in Florida. I joined the tour as we left on April 29 in Arby (the motorhome) pulling Toad (the tow car).

On reflection, I focus on two emotions -relief and pride: we made it. I am amazed at Joe's persistence in the gargantuan task he set before himself.

The logistics of scheduling required 300 hours of his time, even before setting out to make appointments. On the road, there was constant monitoring of the details of each appointment, and thank you notes to be sent, as well as constant blogging. I got tired just watching him handle all this!

Though he's never enjoyed working with the mechanical operation of vehicles, he set himself to solving the entirely expectable problems involved with operating a 17 year old vehicle that has so many variables and vibrates constantly on the road. He had put together a far-fetched project that JUST might work. And he made it work.

He did virtually all the driving, as well as the physical setting up and breaking down of camp, which is the least attractive part of RV travel, and it was a nearly daily routine in some parts of the trip. He is a great driver, having had no collisions, and evading difficult situations in traffic and in tight driving spots.

For my part, I had researched and prepared by making sure we had certain safety measures covered. We installed an electrical circuit surge protector, which would manage power surges. The sheer number of parks we stayed in made it quite likely that we would run into power problems, and we did. And when we did, the problem was minor, as the variable electrical current only affected us briefly.

I made sure we had a water pressure regulator, after researching that very high pressure could tear the plumbing apart. And we did hit high pressure, and the regulator did its job.

I helped with navigation, using the iPad 2's Google Maps feature, which for the most part worked fine. There were occasional glitches, like the post office branch in Des Moines, Iowa, that supposedly was in the middle of a corn field. (It was housed in a Walmart, across the road from the corn field.)

One function we had prepared for but didn't use- the sound system. We had upgraded it to be very pleasant, but failed to project just when we would want to listen to it. Road noise prevented enjoyment of music, and when we were stopped, we mostly wanted to concentrate on the writing.

So instead of listening to music, or even to audio books, we fell into a pattern of his listening to me read aloud. I read at least eight full books over the course of the trip, about two per month. I enjoyed his reactions to the situations, and was glad to have him share the book experience with me. I remembered not being able to read aloud to my classes for more than ten or fifteen minutes before I felt a strain on my voice. Not true now-- I guess retirement took away vocal stress!

So, what now?

This phase of the project, the physical travel, seems quite done. I've shampooed the rugs, washed and polished the RV, and we're cleaning out cabinets.

I think we may be done with the RV lifestyle for a little bit. Arby turned out to have lots more room than we realized, and lots more than we needed. We'll likely be finding another owner for our beloved home of the last four months. I was surprised to find how much I liked the idea of coming back to Arby after we'd been staying with friends for a few days. I slept well in the motorhome, and neither of us got sick at all, and actually slept pretty well - largely because the air conditioner was functional after we got the generator fixed in Louisiana!

We do like touring the United States, probably more than foreign travel, though I'm definitely looking forward to traveling with cousins for two weeks to France next May! There are endless delights in America. So many times we wished that we had the time to linger in delightful places, but we were on a mission, and the schedule was the highest priority. We did see many terrific places, but only when we realized that we occasionally did have extra time to just relax and explore a little.

We're not ruling out getting back to an RV lifestyle somewhere down the road, but Joe's professional schedule rules out much time for that in the next year or two, and Arby's meant to be on the road, carrying someone to a delightful adventure.

How has this changed our life? Some. There's media attention; he's used to giving interviews, and it all feeds back into his goal of writing books that will be of interest to readers. He's picking up his major league singing schedule again, after letting that rest for a few years. He has already sung in 20 major league stadiums, and will likely challenge himself to get bookings for as many of the remaining stadiums as possible.

And will he get listed in the Guinness Book of World Records for his amazing feat? Just possibly so, once we get around to letting them know of his accomplishment.

It's been fun.

2011-08-26T22:46:00.000-07:00

We're so close to the end, and now as we head into California, I am particularly grateful to all the friends and family who have chosen to support the tour with their attendance. I'm from Northern California, (hometown: Watsonville) and all my family is in the bay area, so the San Jose game was a chance to have many special people attend.

Stephanie, Wesley, Dan and Joe behind!

Wesley's a charmer!

We had just come from Salem, Oregon, where my niece Stephanie and her son both attended their first ball games ever! Her husband Dan had trouble understanding why it had taken her so long to have such an enjoyable experience- he's been a baseball fan a long time!

Ann, Jerry and Joe in front of Arby, our motorhome.

On the way down to San Jose, we got a chance to stop for lunch with Ann (high school friend) and Jerry in Concord, CA-

Once at the game, I got some fun time with my nephew, Bryan and his daughters, Maya and Madelyn. I wished Jocelyn could have come!

Bonnie, Maya, Madelyn and Bryan.

These girls DO know how to have fun. And ball parks are glad to provide equipment to make that possible.

Madelyn!

Maya!

Sisters!

Good friends are very important. Jerry and Missy are very strong supporters of this tour, having joined us now for games in Trenton, New Jersey, Burlington, Vermont and now San Jose! They plan to come to next Tuesday's game in Sacramento (Aug 30) and the last game of the season in San Bernardino, (Sunday, Sept 4). They definitely win the trophy for most games attended as fans!

Missy, Jerry, my brother Chris, and his friend Joe Rafferty!

My brother Chris George has been a great supporter too!

Aunt Rosemary, me and my cousin Nancy.

Nancy's very focused on the game.

Nancy's brother Doug, her mom Rosemary, and Nancy herself get very active in the YMCA audience participation exercis!

Last but not least, I was thrilled to find some of my best friends from Watsonville High School in the audience-

In front, Noris and her husband Doug- behind, Kathy and her husband Ed. It's been great staying connected through Christmas cards for 45 years!!

It just doesn't get better than this for me.

The Home Stretch! Adding another blog and media links as well...

2011-08-22T23:34:00.000-07:00

Joe and I are both sitting here late at night, as usual, plunking away on our laptops. Tonight's a good night. The wifi is functional and the pictures are loading up pretty quickly.

Howard and Leslie Fisher, from Whittier, now in Port Angeles, Washington, joined us for the Everett Aquasox game in Washington State.

We're in Sunnyside, Washington, in a teeny tiny RV park that's really just a narrow parking lot sandwiched between two industrial park businesses in a small neighborhood on the outskirts of a small town. We've been parked here for four days, saving the difficulty of driving Arby over two major mountain passes each way on our trip to Everett, Washington, just north of Seattle where Joe sang last night.

Tomorrow we set out for Salem, Oregon and are already scheming about handling the ascent to Satus Pass. We've discovered while navigating the Rocky Mountains and neighboring ranges that Arby doesn't enjoy long upward grades. We just tuned him up and he still labors intensely. Our plan tomorrow is that if He's working way too hard (as evidenced by repeated overheating of the motor) we'll separate the vehicles and I'll drive Toad, the tow car, until we're beyond the mountainous part of the drive.

Joe sang in Yakima tonight and in Pasco Washington three nights ago, which is the basic reason that we parked in western Washington. We're in the home stretch, feeling pretty good about having kept the schedule, but also about finally reaching the western states with lower temperatures and MUCH less humidity. But the drives on this side of the country really stretch out. As my older son Jared said about driving across Oregon, "It doesn't LOOK all that big on the map, but it takes forever to cross it." I'm sure that's true, so am preparing for tomorrow and the next day. We practiced by crossing Nebraska in one day- which was no picnic.

I've neglected writing this blog partly because I've started another blog that's specifically designed to support travel interest by providing a sequential map of where we've been. My friend Liz Lower-Basch in Washington DC chose this for her blogging on her recent trip to China and Japan with her family, and I found it easy to follow. It has a table of contents at the bottom of the display, which helps the reader follow more easily how the travel flowed.

http://blog.travelpod.com/travel-blog/bonnie.price/1/tpod.html

Also, Joe's received enormous amounts of media attention, and I've posted the link to his blog in a side bar here which links to the articles, but I'll also embed it here:

http://anthemtourblog.blogspot.com/p/media-links.html

Asa Eames, Fort Wayne, IN, age 4. Fascinated by Joe, he kept asking me, "Where did your guy go?"

Every visitor coming through Dell, Montana should have a breakfast or lunch at this cafe in a former one room schoolhouse. Freshly cooked home comfort food. Fresh yeast CINNAMON ROLLS. Don't miss it.

Nebraska Storms are Scary!

2011-08-13T08:21:00.000-07:00

In Omaha, we found a lovely campground- Walnut Creek RV Park, well maintained and with a space for us at the top of a hill. The manager of the camp had set it aside, thinking we'd like a view of the lake, which we did. It was a hot, sunny afternoon, and I fell asleep. Joe didn't want to wake me, and left for the ballpark around 6 PM, only to find there that they'd moved the game time up a half an hour without telling him, so there was 8 minutes to performance time when he arrived!

That wasn't the problem that defined the day, however. He had said earlier that he'd planned to take down the awning, which cooled one side of the RV from the hot sun, as we wouldn't need it at night. But he didn't want to wake me so he left it up.

I woke to raindrops and a wind starting up and in no time at all the wind was howling and the awning was flapping. It rocked the RV back and forth as the sky darkened and the wind howled. I hadn't ever retracted the awning, and panicked, couldn't remember which switch it was. I pushed a bunch and nothing happened, as the wind howled and I feared that the RV would be pushed over. I'd read enough horror stories of awnings and high wind to know that there was real danger.

This is the first storm that came through while Joe was at the game. The next was to be the one with 65 mile per hour winds - a short but powerful burst.

As I looked out into the lashing rain, I saw the arms of the supports bend and realized that I couldn't do anything. I tried to call Joe but could hardly find the numbers to poke on the tiny iPhone pad, and miscalled three times. when I finally got through, the awning suddenly was GONE. I was really rattled, and Joe said he was on his way home. Thunder and lightning was everywhere, but at least the RV wasn't rocking as badly as before.

He got home a few minutes later, and said that the awning had ripped off the front support and blown over the RV roof where it sat. We were able to get storm information and the winds were blowing at up to 60 miles an hour. Later, people in the park said that this isn't unusual for the Nebraska plains.

There was nothing to do but wait. A huge mercy was that it hadn't broken the air conditioner, which continued to work all night (without it, the humidity and heat makes it almost impossible to sleep.) It was a little hard getting to sleep, as the thunder continued for hours.

In the morning, when we could see the damage- all the metal parts were bent beyond fixing - we weren't sure about how to remove it or dispose of it. At 24 feet long, it's a sizable fixture, and heavy.

The damage seen the next day- Those supports were supposed to be straight out, holding up the awning. It had ripped away from the front support- you can see it pulled up over the top of the RV. All those metal pieces had to be cut off and discarded.

And this is when we were so glad we were in a regular RV park. As the morning warmed, folks walked around looking at the damage from the storm. Two men, older than we and more experienced, came to chat and offer help. They brought a ladder and a reciprocating saw (as full time RVers with big pickups, they had just about everything they might need. We had a lot, but we didn't have a saw.) I retreated to the interior of the RV to let the men work on it.

As he pulled on the awning to dislodge it, the spring caught Joe's thumb and smashed it so hard that it turned purple and cut him. It's throbbed for two days now, and he'll soon lose the nail.

Working together, the three men got the entire apparatus removed, and duct taped the exposed wiring in case we wanted to install another awning again later. Then they cut all the long pieces into smaller sections and one of the men put all the pieces in the back of his SUV and took it down to the park dumpster. What angels.

We have the easy days and the harder days, and some days, like today, are a mixture-- and we’re on our way for one of the longest days of the trip- across Nebraska, which in Arby takes about nine hours.

Amish Wanderings in Western New York State

2011-08-10T11:37:00.000-07:00

Our tour takes us to some surprising places. As we planned for where to stop for the two games at Erie, Pennsylvania and Jamestown, New York, there was a handful of campgrounds that seemed appropriate. A little more research revealed that the Pope Haven campground in Randolph, New York, was right in the middle of Amish country. This was an unexpected benefit, and we reserved as space right away, specifying that we wanted a shady spot, as the heat continues to be an overwhelming factor in our daily satisfaction.

Arriving at the campground, we were impressed by the open spaces and crowds of children everywhere, running across wide grassy lawns, playing basketball and splashing in the pool. Best of all, we were assigned a site that was in a cool corner of the forest, with bunches of trees between us and nearby sites, keeping us as cool as we could be in the humid climate. The hilly terrain of the camp added to the sense of quiet privacy.

We had arrived on a Saturday afternoon and were to leave Tuesday. None of the Amish businesses were open on Sunday, so we planned for touring on Monday. According to the camp host, the local Amish were pretty orthodox, staying to themselves, driving wagons, and not even using bicycles to get around. He mentioned that the nearest family business, Raber’s Toys, was anchored by a family with 13 children, and the father was also one of thirteen. We were to find that many of the shops in the area were labeled Raber, and were likely his sons.

We’d been provided maps of the area that indicated that the local Amish businesses operated from their homes, which was both a benefit and a caution for us. I felt a little uncomfortable invading their privacy, but soon relaxed at the thought of pulling into a driveway and making my way to the door with the homemade sign advertising the goods they sold.

The roadsides are plain and lovely, and very quiet.

We are asked not to take pictures of the Amish people, and so we didn’t, but we did take some snapshots of the land, the buggies and the wash on the line. Judging from the number of homes with long clotheslines full of white, black, blue and purple garments flapping in the wind, Monday was wash day.

At Raber’s Toys, our first stop, we found a friendly dog greeting us as we came in. Grateful for something to say to break the ice, we asked if this were his dog, and the bearded proprietor said she was one of his dogs. Another came in and then we noticed a third resting behind the door. They ambled about, enjoying the attentions we provided.

The shelves were full of handcrafted items - marble towel racks, such as my grandmother had used to hold her towels- the marble is pushed up by the towel, then slips down to hold it in place. Innumerable toys and puzzles, made simply of wood and nails, unpainted, were arrayed on shelves. A wooden horse swing, complete with a bright colored nylon bridle, hung from the ceiling. “Go on, try it,’ encouraged the proprietor. “It’s made for all weights, not just children.” The broad seat and the heavy fittings gave me confidence, and as I leaned back on the ropes, swaying back and forth, I could easily see myself under a tree at home, reading in the swaying breeze. Hmm. Only $95. But where was I going to find a level place on my hillside under two branches that could bear the weight? I filed that thought under “Would have been nice” and moved on. Though there were a wide variety of doodads, there were useful and handsome items as well, all reasonably priced. Cutting boards, cedar chests, and a lovely kitchen center island with a butcher block top, and a fold- down leaf. Really nice, and under $500. Hard to imagine that kind of quality at that price elsewhere. But it wouldn’t fit in the RV and we have a galley kitchen anyway!

Through a low window, we saw two men sawing wood in the adjacent room, and as another group of people came in, a woman in a long dress, a close, tidy bonnet and a warm smile came in to sit near the door to process purchases. The kids in theother group rummaged through the slingshots and rubber-band guns to find souvenirs for the day. The dogs moved in and out through an ingenious mechanism that let them into the shop or outdoors into the attached dog house. It even had a weather-blocking screen so the dogs could come in and out of the doghouse during the winter. Very practical.

We moved on down the road to an iron shop. Really just a section of the barn/workshop, with heavy dust and dirty windows, it had were shelves of various iron small items, such as coiled iron holders for small jam jars. I didn’t really understand why anyone would want elevated jam jars, but the mystery was solved when I saw the other display of a wide variety of candles packaged in the jam jars. These were for indoor ambience! The teen boy in the shop would slide looks at us, but not talk. As we walked out, having only bought two summer squashes for 25 cents each, we saw four young children in the yard, all barefoot in plain colored clothes- long dresses with bonnets for the girls, straw hats for the boys. I would have gladly photographed them, but was constrained by the request to honor their privacy by not doing so. Their shy waves indicated their wary interest in us, which was to become a pattern.

Buggies at the iron shop - the children peeked around bushes at us, but we couldn't take pictures. We were strange and interesting to them, girls in their fabric caps and boys in straw hats, all barefoot.

The next store, a cedar shop, mostly had furniture, which was lovely. The proprietor, a bearded man of about 30, was friendly and welcoming as he emerged from his home across the driveway. He had few pieces of furniture, having moved most of his business to custom orders for bedroom sets. Still, he had small blocks of cedar I could tuck among my cabinets to keep my clothes fresh. “Sand those down to renew the scent,” he advised, and I told him that he was motivating me to sand down my cedar lined entry closet at home, which I often overlook.

The quilt shops were interesting. We only went into two, and the second was more rewarding- the proprietress came in soon after we did, along with her small granddaughter. both barefoot. “We have 28 grandchildren,” she smiled, responding to our question about the girl. Later she added that she had had eight children, and the girls took up needlework. Little Amanda, at six, would enter Amish school this year, and would stay, by tradition, through eighth grade, at which point she would begin in earnest to earn her trade, as did all the children. When we spoke to Amanda, her eyes widened with some alarm, and her grandmother translated into German. “She won’t learn English until she gets to school. I knew English before I entered school, but today’s children all learn just German at home.”

She proudly lifted the quilts from the king-sized bed on which they were all layered, having Amanda help her lift from the other side of the bed. “She hasn’t done this before,” the woman informed us gently, “But she wants to help her grandmother.” As pattern upon pattern was revealed, I wished we had a need for a quilt but we didn’t. These were done completely by hand, in careful stitching and a variety of patterns. We have two full quilts at home, and two quilt tops we inherited and didn’t finish, so this was not our day to make a purchase. A map on the wall had pins all over the world, and Elizabeth (for that was her name: Levi and Elizabeth Wengerd, L & E Crafts, 12641 Dredge Rd, South Dayton NY 14138) said the pins represented people who had bought their quilts. We bought some sweet aprons with small tools in the pockets, and a doll’s dress with a bonnet for nieces.

As this was a Monday, which is a centuries-old traditional day for doing the wash, we were treated to the view of many homes with the washing on the line- a lovely picture in itself. Keeping the clothing colors to a few solid colors made a lovely display. Large families meant lots of laundry, and the bigger the farm, the longer the laundry line!

Just because colors are restricted, that doesn't mean they're not lovely. Picture these garments on small children with straw hats and cloth caps!

This large farm has a substantial vegetable garden as well as a large barn and silo and house. The laundry line told us this was an Amish household.

More laundry, in lovely hues.

One thing we noticed as we traveled through the community was that power lines went to some of the houses, indicating they weren't Amish. We also noticed that many of the homes with power lines also had American flags posted, which would never happen for Amish families, as they do not participate in governmental or civic activities unless required by law, as in the payment of taxes. They have their own schools, which they are only required to attend until the end of eighth grade.

The leather shop down the road had well-made belts at $15 - we bought two for Joe. There was a beautiful saddlebag- would that we had a horse! Because the Amish don’t take credit cards, we had to scrounge through our pockets to get enough cash for our purchase and were 4 cents short. “That’s OK”, the young man grinned. As we got into our car, he came running out to return a dollar bill- apparently we had slightly overpaid!

The basketry shop was not evident from the road, though there was a sign. Feeling invasive, we pulled up in a circular driveway next to a barn with buggies in it, and saw a small building behind the main house with a sign: Baskets for sale. We approached the building to find a sign that said to knock and wait. An elderly man came to the door, and told us to wait a bit more. A younger woman came out from the main house and led us to a small one room building, similar to most of the home shops, and a young boy who had been napping, stretched across two chairs on the back porch of the house we’d first approached, slipped in to see the interaction. He never spoke, and the woman told us he was six-- unlikely to know English, but definitely curious to see what we were like. When we told the woman we were from California in the Los Angeles area, she was excited, pointing to the card that told where she got her basket caning from- a firm in Los Angeles! I pointed to a US map she had on the wall and indicated to the boy where we’d come from, but he didn’t seem to understand the relationship between the illustration on the wall and the people before him. Fair enough- not many of our six year olds know much about locations on a map either!

A final stop at a roadside produce stand yielded a gaggle of children. The oldest, a girl, maybe eleven, came from the house to assist with purchases, though the stand had a sign that asked patrons to take what they wanted and put the money in a locked cash box through a slot. The girl dutifully added us the three items we bought, but miscalculated. She couldn’t see the prices posted, and was undercharging by 25 cents. We corrected her, and she ran to get change from the house, back down the driveway, while six or seven pairs of younger eyes peeped over shrubbery at us. I walked part of the way down the driveway to see if the berry bushes in her front yard were the same as those on the highway that had such abundant berries- and if they were edible. She shyly said that those weren’t for people, they were for the birds.

This is an unedited photograph- it was mid afternoon and the cloud was bright, but it didn't seem as bright as the photo allows- cloud cover had just moved, and there was sudden brilliance over the horse and buggy in this Amish yard.

As we drove back to our campground, we were warmed by our contact with this culture that seemed content with their choices. Many of the ideals we value today in our busy world but seem to have trouble managing - simplicity, economy, living close to the land and its rhythms - they cling to, untroubled by the mass of information overload that clutters our daily lives.

My Secret Online Life

2011-07-08T10:41:00.000-07:00

Bonnie, Liz, Kay, Hope, Ann, Lois, Kathy and Joe at Lois' home outside DC-June 2011.

I have a secret life- well, not so much secret, rather invisible for my face-to-face friends in daily life. For over 20 years, I have been in daily discussions with a small group of women in a private conference on a free public service- Metanet (www.tmn.com). TMN is a marvelous location for great conversations that have waxed and waned over the years, and address both personal and political questions with equal aplomb. The area I've been so deeply invested in is a women-only private conference in which I have developed deep friendships.

Bonnie, Hope, Kay, Lois, Pam, Stef, Kathy BJ and Marti-Lois's home April 2007- first time face to face for many of us.

In a way, it’s a very pure way of developing relationships, as it’s asynchronous text conversations that delay physical clues about a person until far into the conversation. It’s also convenient- I can log in any time of day or night and either read or write --(mostly both) and join in to the rhythm of the conversations as I see fit. The conference style archives posts in chronological fashion, and the topics (“items”) are initiated at will by participants. We self-monitor, often reminding each other that it’s best to park comments in the items designed for particular topics, and to create a new topic if we don’t find just the right place.

Marti and Kay meet face to face for first time in April 2007.

I’ve learned very powerful lessons from this long time online friendship, the most important being “Don’t post thoughtlessly. Keep in mind that what you say will be taken seriously and remembered.” The next lesson is “Don’t over-react to what’s been said. Think about the context and try to understand what’s going on.” I suppose the third would be “Be careful about your level of involvement for time purposes.” Each of us has our own rhythm of posting, with many of us going through stretches of time where we simply can’t contribute much because of daily time constraints, but the benefits of our communication draws us back together. Over time, new people join, and some people slide away, but usually connections made during our time together will result in long-term friendships.

Hope, Stef and bj at the National Cathedral, Washington DC, Spring 2007.

We cherish the notion that we can bring various personalities and belief systems to the group and be both candid and kind. This isn’t always easy, but there are some commonalities that make it far more convenient. The first is that we’re all female. Though that may sound sexist, and probably is, there are some interesting benefits to this all-female company. One is a willingness to listen to each other without judgment and to offer comforting statements. Another is that spouses tend not to get bent out of shape with the notion of single-sex deep connections. Not that they don’t resent the amount of time spent in our online commitments, but it’s not threatening the way that opposite sex conversations could become. We’re a caring community, and are remarkably stable.

Marty (spouse of Lois), Marti, bj, and BJ (spouse of Pam) represent Virginia, Pennsylvania (now Arizona), California and Massachusetts. We enjoyed the duplication of names cross gender!

Geographically, we’re quite diverse - I’m the only regular group member from the west coast, and of the 20 or so active participants, the following areas are represented: Minnesota, Arizona, California, Vermont, Virginia, North Carolina, Florida, Massachusetts, and Washington, DC. We have two dear friends from the Melbourne, Australia vicinity, and frequent contributors from Illinois, South Carolina and Toronto, Canada.

Bonnie, Stef and Joe enjoy the spring in Virginia, 2007 - on the way to tourist activities in DC!

How would a group like this develop? Mostly as an outgrowth of an open conversation, in which we enjoyed full public interaction. There we found that some folks, usually of the male persuasion, loved verbal aggression and scorned non-logical entries. Efforts to make peace when feelings were hurt were often debunked in a “love it or leave it” atmosphere. The private conference allowed many to leave, but yet participate in public conferences where focus on political issues could be debated more aggressively. Creating a private haven for kindred spirits was a great solution.

Celebrating retirements with Stef in Charlotte, North Carolina, June 2011.

Metanet is an amazing service. It’s free and peopled by amazingly sharp people who have organized communication groups that work well, by and large. Though much of the energy goes into political discussions (most generally of the left wing flavor), there is also room for discussions of spirituality and suffering, both physical and emotional, and for whimsy and poetry. Much to nourish the human condition.

Dan, our host for the 4th of July feast in Newfane, Vermont, in his lovely garden.

Nan, Dan's remarkable partner, who's helped build this lovely home into a magnificently hospitable retreat. It was my first meeting with Nan, and certainly will not be the last.

For those of us who have participated in these conferences without benefit of face to face meetings, there is great anticipation when we do get to meet. I have traveled to the Washington DC area many times, and for the last ten years, a significant focus is to have face-to-face time with my online friends. The Metanet server is in Arlington, and is kept running by volunteer saints, most of whom do not participate in the group I’m in, but are related. Scott Burns, son of Frank Burns, one of the Metanet founders, is a key technical support. Our group’s primary moderator and sponsor is Lisa Kimball, also one of the Metanet founders.

Bonnie, Pam (Massachusetts) and meeting Anneke (Florida) for the first time
face to face on the 4th of July, 2011 at
Nan 'n Dan's in Vermont. She's long time best friends with Nan.

This National Anthem tour, which fulfills Joe’s goal of researching and writing for his sabbatical, is also fulfilling my goals of travel and visiting time with dear friends, both from online connections and other past experiences, but one of the most distinct joys is to meet people for the first time in person that I feel I know very well.

Our visit to Nan in Vermont led to her wide-eyed utterance after just a few sentences- “I can’t believe you have such accents!” This was pretty funny, but predictable. She understood Joe’s Southern syllables- he is a native Mississippian, but was confused by her perception of mine. As a Californian, there’s not much reason for me to have any Southern twang, except that I did live in the south for three years, and have been surrounded by the softness of Joe’s drawl, which disappears when he’s speaking professionally or singing.

BJ and Joe- an added bonus- spouses get to enjoy the relationships, too. We're heading for BJ and Pam's home this week, one more comfort experience for me!

I’m not one bit surprised that social networking is so popular - with mostly just text and a few photos posted here and there, I’ve found a comforting, meaningful community that gives me a way to feel at home nearly everywhere I go. It’s wonderful to feel so connected.

Now to plan a get together with Janette and Sarah in Australia-- or get them to come to the US! We love the online stuff, but face-to-face meetings deeply enrich the connections.

Virginia wanderings

2011-06-29T10:03:00.000-07:00

On the road again... we're off to Wilmington, Delaware after a delay while we replaced the alternator yesterday in Farmville, Virginia. We had been on the road to Norfolk, Virginia for a game last night, followed by a game in Salisbury, Maryland late this morning, but Arby just stopped yesterday and wouldn't go any farther. We were very glad to have repaired the generator in Louisiana, as that allowed us to wait in relative comfort (air conditioning) for the two hours it took to get a tow - they need special equipment for an RV. I even fell fast asleep while waiting.

Having emergency services with AAA was great- they did the work of finding the nearest business that could work on it, and we had to stay overnight because they had to order the alternator.

We've stayed in hotels or motels about 12 days of this trip, for various reasons, and for the most part, we've stayed in Hampton Inns, which are fairly priced and are always good. We've had one poor place- a Days Inn in Jackson, TN, and two superb nights in the Craddock Terry Hotel in Lynchburg, Virginia. It's a boutique hotel that was having a special "dog days of summer" (they got that right!)so it was affordable. It's a reconditioned shoe factory. Every room is architecturally unique, and very large scaled- 14 foot ceilings, a room that made the king-sized bed look small and lovely fittings. They have a shoe motif- pictures of shoes in each room, a plaque of a shoe style on each room door, and a massive red high-heeled shoe mounted below the hotel sign. I highly recommend the hotel!

Posting pictures turns out to be a problem- we have very little time with good wifi that would allow the full service features of the laptop. This entry is composed on an iPad while Joe drives, and I have yet to figure out how to add photos from the iPad, as it doesn't hold photo files in folders where I could fetch them to add to the picture upload section of blogger. If anyone has clues for me about how to post, I'd appreciate it!

Joe's singing continues to be excellent and memorable. He gets hearty applause and many comments from folks in the stands-- it matters that the song is sung straight, with dignity, and without decoration.

______________________ The part I tried to post a few days ago.

For a thorough overview of the trip so far, please check out this link to an article today in the Roanoke Times written by Dan Casey. He has captured not only the essence of the trip but also has lots of interesting data and anecdotes.

http://blogs.roanoke.com/dancasey/2011/06/sundays-column-scholars-hobby-is-singing-the-national-anthem/

My apologies for no postings this last week. I was on vacation in DC visiting friends while Joe toured in Pennsylvania, New York and Maryland. We're back on the road this morning, heading for Lynchburg, VA where we stayed just before DC- it's a lovely place! Joe sings in Pulaski ( 2 to 2.5 hours one way) and Salem (1.25 hrs one way) and then we scoot over to the other side of the state, Norfolk, and on up into Maryland that same night.

After a week of touring, visiting and shopping, I'm definitely on the road again- and cheerful!

Places We've LIked

2011-06-17T04:33:00.000-07:00

America is full of lovely places, and we have been lucky to find many. As you see the pictures, you’ll probably notice that I enjoy lush greenery. The dappled light of the eastern hardwood forests is a lovely sight for me.

We’ve found many spots to visit- some the homes of friends, some RV parks, and some historical places. And we’re only about one third through the tour. Who knows what else we’ll find!

Kentucky has much natural beauty- the limestone outcroppings along the Louisville roadsides, the Japanese dogwoods at the home of friends, the Appalachian arts feel of Berea Kentucky. A beautiful state, and I didn’t even include any of the grandeur of bluegrass horse farms in Kentucky.

Butterfly shaped bench outside the Berea College handicrafts building in Berea, KY . Students at Berea all learn trades as well as attend classes.

Japanese dogwood- found at the home of our friends Ken and Cheryl Rich in Williamstown, KY.

The rail fence on this public park in Berea, KY is reminiscent of the Abraham Lincoln homestead in Kentucky.

Alabama has many charms, but none as compelling as the home of our new friends, the Ross family, just outside of Huntsville. Their 300 acre farm had just had the hay baled, and their gracious home sheltered us for three very hot days.

Hay has just been baled on the Ross farm outside Huntsville, Alabama.

Joe enjoys a cool airconditioned workspace on the sunporch at the Ross farm's home.

Asheboro, North Carolina was our headquarters for four days as it was a central hub for four ball games- in Greensboro, Winston-Salem, Durham and Kannapolis. Just south of Asheboro we found one of the two remaining covered bridges in North Carolina. Beautifully restored and without any commercialism, it was a serene and lovely picnic site.

Pisgah Covered Bridge.

Interior of the Pisgah Covered Bridge, south of Asheboro, NC.

Bridge on the walkway of the trail near Pisgah Covered Bridge.

Summer cookhouse of the McLean home at Appomatox.

Virginia is for lovers, as the tourism motto goes-- and that goes for lovers of history and lush landscaping as well. We were able to visit the beautifully restored village of Appomattox Court House, where Robert E. Lee surrendered to Ulysses S. Grant, thus beginning the end of the Civil War and the reunification of the United States.

The Appomattox Court House area has been restored to original condition of the roads, building and homes. Somehow I can't picture antebellum scenes this tightly groomed, though it's quite pretty.

The desk in the parlor at the McLean House where Grant sat as he presented terms of surrender to Robert E. Lee.

Interior of a slave cabin behind the McLean home in Appomatox Court House, VA.

Dining Room of the McLean house, where Lee surrendered to Grant, which began the end of the Civil War.

Lastly, we recently stayed at the Lynchburg RV Park in Gladys, VA, and had no idea an RV park could be so pretty. Our site was lakeside, yet nestled among the trees. Scenic yet private. What more could we ask? There's no place like home, especially if it's a home that rolls through beautiful scenery!

View from our bedroom window!

My cozy bunk, nestled in the woods. Ahhh.

How Fun is THAT?

2011-06-16T20:33:00.000-07:00

Ball parks are fun. If they weren't, they wouldn't be enjoying the crowds that show up to cheer the team on to victory. They're full of excitement, movement, sound, food, fun promotional activities, and on top of all that, there's a live sports event to watch, complete with surprises, great hopes, the chance to cheer or boo the players or the umps, and get your heart racing with the hopes that this time the batter might hit it out of the park!

But. (If you know me, you knew there was a "but" coming.) Not everyone is a fan of baseball. There, I said it. And have implied that I am one of those who is not a fan of baseball. This leads to cognitive dissonance, at the very least, as it seems I have signed on for a tour of excessive visits to minor league baseball parks this season.

And the actual truth is that I cannot call myself a true fan of baseball. I am a fair weather fan of baseball games that are populated by people I like to spend time with. I am certain that I am not alone in this description. Many people like passing the time with friends and family that are true fans, and that's the category in which I belong.

Note the term "fair weather" fan. Weather has been a deeply important factor in my daily life on this trip. At home, Whittier weather is pretty constant. Sunny and dry. Sunny and hot. Overcast and cool. On the hottest days, I hide indoors as it seems there is a somewhat narrow range of temperature in which I can remain cheerful- say between 65 and 85 degrees fahrenheit outdoors. And home is not humid.

Since Texas, we've had intermittent spells of such hot weather that my orientation has been focused on finding relief. On one particularly hot day- nearly 100 degrees at 11 am, game time in San Antonio, we were given seats in the hot sun- none other available, and I insisted that we leave the park before one inning had passed- all Joe got to do was sing and leave. I had spent about 45 minutes of standing in shaded heat waiting for him to do all his pre-singing prep. The singing takes less than two minutes, but the prep can range from 30 minutes to much longer. Though leaving the game without getting to watch any of it is not Joe's first choice, he is gracious enough to realize that it's best we go if I insist.

The rain cover is being rolled out at 7:10--to be put away at 10:00!

The "much longer" record for time spent in preparation for a game is currently three hours. Durham, North Carolina was our destination when we set out from Zooland RV Park, in Asheboro, about an hour away. It was warm and dry, but we'd heard reports of rain and brought umbrellas in the car. We arrived to find swarms of people there 45 minutes before the game, a sold out crowd because the Boy Scouts were going to camp on the field that night. An oversight by someone in the administration left us with no tickets waiting at will-call, so they printed up some that put us in the picnic area (full sun, bring your own chairs). Not a good start for me on a warm humid day. Joe immediately found a staffer who provided two seats, with apologies that they weren't in the same row- sold out for today!

Joe went his way with his notebooks and camera and pitch pipe, but soon found me to tell me that the forecast had strong showers to show up just at game time. There would be a delay, and I would be advised to find a place to get protection during the rain. There were some empty seats in an uncovered area, but since it was sold out, I wasn't comfortable taking someone else's seat and being asked to leave.

It rained for three hours. By then I was not in a good mood, though I will say that the one fourth of the original group in attendance who had not gone home was quite cheerful when the game started at 10 pm. Most were scouts, who still planned to camp on the field. I was not a happy camper. It had been hot, noisy, sticky and solitary for me to the point that when Joe finally showed up to keep me company I had nothing to say, but only sulked. It's not fun feeling trapped at a ballpark - or anywhere, I suppose, but this was hard, as I'd chosen to come.

So. The solution to the dilemma is to decide more carefully which games to attend. I had prepared for all sorts of alternatives, most involving sitting out the game time at a coffee shop, as what else is open in the evening? - or staying at the RV, which at least has diversions like books and movies and even sometimes internet access.

In my ill humor after the three hour Durham rain delay (yes, I did insist on leaving immediately after he sang), I silently vowed to myself to never attend a game again. Note the "silently". It's easier to break vows to yourself (if they ever were true vows, anyway- actually more persistent petulance) if you haven't shared them. Planning up until the last moment to avoid the next game, I gave in and climbed the steps to the concourse at the Lynchburg Hillcats.

That was a great decision. Though I'd spent the pre-game time plugged into my iPhone music to avoid the droning announcements on the speaker, I noticed some very spirited fans behind me, and soon was unable to keep from interacting. They had loudly praised the quality of Joe's singing and began discussing how wonderful it was that he was crossing the country on this tour. "With his wife!", I chimed in, starting up a set of interactions that was to be the most pleasant yet at a ball game. Six women slightly older than I were loud, happy and devoted fans of the home team. They attended two or three times a week and provided extensive local color- when the announcer failed to urge the team on with the trumpet call answered three times by "CHARGE!!", this group took it upon themselves, started up by the trumpet sound of a most enthusiastic and LOUD member of the group. It was terrific fun. The general manager dropped by to see Joe, then the son of the owner, and one of the women started hooting at Dennis, who they said was a terrific sports broadcaster at the local TV station.

At the entry to the Lynchburg Hillcats park

"Hey, why don't we get Dennis to put the anthem singer on TV?" they discussed, then one of the group took off to make this suggestion. Soon the camera swung around and we were all being filmed. After Dennis had put all his equipment away, the game got interesting -it had been a very slow start to the action, but Dennis still gave it up for the night, and came to interview Joe.

Staying Safe and Comfy in Arby

2011-05-31T11:48:00.000-07:00

Arby is a dear and delightful motorhome, but time takes its toll on all things mechanical.   Our choices in the adventure of becoming motorhome owners were essentially divided into two possible approaches: purchase a new motorhome or purchase a used motorhome. Each had its drawbacks; a new motorhome could tie up finances well beyond what we considered reasonable, and since we had not harbored the dream of the RV lifestyle, we weren't prepared to pay for it. A used motorhome had the danger of not knowing how well the rig had been cared for.

We had already ruled out the idea of renting an RV after looking at costs and hearing stories of malfunctions on the road. The whole RV concept was looking unworkable until Helen and her daughter Jeanette got wind of Joe's project and started thinking seriously of offering their motorhome for sale. This RV had been an important part of their vacation plans for many years, but they were realizing that their trips were no longer as viable as they once had been, and it was an exciting idea to think that their motorhome would be a grand support for a grand adventure.

And so we became the proud owners of a well-maintained and well equipped but slightly vintage 1994 Fleetwood Flair Class A motorhome. Mechanics have consistently told us that this one is "sweet" - sturdy and reliable, should last for a good bit longer. And the interior is almost pristine, especially the upholstery. Little tasks, such as reattaching laminate strips that are coming loose, were easy.

But there are bigger ticket items to deal with, even with a well-cared for vehicle. Tires, for instance. Because all that we read had said that tires can be unreliable after many years, despite their seeming pristine state, we replaced all the tires on the motorhome soon after we purchased it. Ka-ching! went the budget.

And because we have the very sturdy and wonderful 1995 Saturn to accompany the motorhome, we also replaced the tires about a month into the trip, when we realized they had a bit of a shimmy to them that wasn't just a realignment problem. Twice (you'd think that once you'd made the mistake, you'd learn, but apparently we each needed to learn the lesson...) we had made the horrifying mistake of not releasing the tires to roll freely and by the time we realized it (a scream of a sound-- you really don't want to continue moving forward!), we had dragged Toad for a bit, leaving lovely stripes on the street. Apparently, this intense wear on one side of the tire makes a problem. So it was not any deep surprise when we were advised to replace the tires, which we did.    Ka-ching! went the budget, again.

It's almost inevitable that moisture finds its way into a motorhome at some point or another, and as Helen prepared it for sale, she realized that water had seeped in and replaced the rubber roof. Some of that water had come into the bedroom and found a spot to settle in a mattress, which necessitated a new mattress (Ka-ching again, but it's really nice, so that's also a luxury).

Window coverings also need attention. The blinds were kind of functional, but they stuck and one became disattached at the bottom. So we replaced them. (Ka-ching!) Installation of blinds, particularly behind wooden cornices, is no picnic, but Joe managed. Some of the water damage in the bedroom affected a window shade and we also wanted to add insulation and light control so we got open cell honeycomb shades. (Ka-ching!) And I wanted to update the fabrics in the bedroom, but that was a grand adventure in do-it-yourself, so the ka-ching in that project wasn't so tough.

Generators are important parts of motorhomes, as are refrigerators and heating systems. In Arby, the refrigerator is superb, as is the heating system, but the cooling we had hoped to enjoy (and actually ARE enjoying as we travel south from Kentucky into Tennessee) was not available in the long, hot, dry days across Texas.   Helen had advised us that to minimize the strain on the motor and maximize the comfort in the cabin when driving, we should power up the generator and run the large air conditioner for the cab when driving, rather than the car air conditioner, in order to lessen the demand on the RV motor.

But we couldn't get the generator to run when we wanted relief from the weather. Not only would we be steamy for long rides (yes the windows do open, and that was a life-saver, but it's still very steamy in hot weather and we're spoiled Californians), but we would not have option of boon-docking (camping without electrical or water hook-ups) with generator support.

One thing we discovered when crossing Texas is that not many people want to work on RV generators. Places that fix most things in an RV just don't work on generators. Places that sell stuff for RVs are glad to offer to sell you an emergency generator to get you through for now. Luckily, these places do offer advice about who might be able to help.

It seems that in RV parks, local mechanics will put business cards out and are willing to come out to the park to check your problem. Luckily we had just pulled in for our first multi-day stay in Austin, Texas, because it took the guy two days to answer our phone call, but he was still a big help. What he told us was that the voltage regulator was malfunctioning and would have to be replaced. He, of course, didn't have one, and it would take a few days at least to order one. All of my anxieties about time conflicts involving keeping a tight schedule and taking good care of ourselves and our vehicles were surfacing. But there was a solution!

We checked our schedule to find out when we would next have a chance to be in one place long enough to have someone work on the generator, and found two possible businesses that could do the work our time in Louisiana. It was a little dicey, as any mechanic generally wants to do his own diagnosis on a problem before attempting a repair. Ordering an expensive part (Ka-ching!) and getting stuck with it in case the distressed traveler never showed up would not be fun. And the voltage regulator, about the size of two small fists, cost over $300, and that did not count the labor costs in either city.

It turned out well, but there were thin moments: One shop in Covington, Louisiana didn't offer the service, and when we first called the second shop, the wife who owned the shop asked her husband, who did the work, if he could do it. "Nope", he replied, not wanting to take the risk of a sight unseen diagnosis on a generator that wasn't familiar (he didn't even usually work on RVs). Much to our benefit, she encouraged him to just give it a try. We brought it in at the appointed time, and the mechanic installed it while his wife provided me an air-conditioned spot to wait and some great conversation. And now, because of them, the 92 degree ride towards Jackson, TN is far more comfortable than the 95- 99 degree rides through all of Texas. We have a sweet, soft breeze from the air conditioner.

I'm choosing to believe that we have dealt with the more sizable repair opportunities this trip offers. Everything seems to be working fine, and we are feeling more and more at home here. We have just come back to Arby after a week of staying with friends and family, and it feels like home. Yay! One month down, three to go. Stay tuned for more adventures.

2011-05-25T09:26:00.000-07:00

Eating on the Road

Normally at home, we eat a pretty healthy diet- eggs and toast for breakfast, sandwiches for lunch, and dinner often has steamed vegetables. Not TOO many snacks.

Planning for food on the road is another thing! When Joe had first proposed that the trip be a series of motel visits, I was simply not interested, partly because eating out endlessly would be hard on the digestion-- and I’d always be tempted to eat more than I should.

Second only to the primary function of providing us with sleeping space each night, Arby’s kitchen accommodations really help with food planning. With a microwave, three stovetop burners, an oven, and a refrigerator/freezer built in, there are many options. Add to that the toaster oven and George Foreman grill that Helen left in the RV for us and we’re in great shape.

Joe's fixed lunch- our first outdoor dining Chez Arby!

Chez Arby, as we’ve come to dub our personal diner, is a great place for a simple, good meal: eggs and toast for breakfast (with the occasional waffle, natch!) - or cereal and milk if we want it; mostly sandwiches for lunch, and simple dinners not unlike those at home. We presently favor a cool product- precooked quinoa that’s already seasoned, in packets that make one meal for both of us. Mixed with sauteed spinach, mushrooms and onions, and maybe topped with cheese, it makes a fast, filling and tasty dinner. It’s marketed as “Seeds for Change” at Costco.

But one of the absolute delights of travel is road food. It can be a window into local culture that really expands our understanding, and at the rate we’re passing through states, it’s helpful to have such vivid experiences of the differences between places.

If you bring in a Billy Bass (those talking novelties), you get a bucket of fish.

The menu. You order, then take a seat. No frills!

Liar's wall. People submit photos and narratives of fishing expeditions.

Let me start with last night’s dinner in Memphis. Flying Fish on Second St. was recommended by our friends Rick and Charlotte, who moved to Whittier from Memphis two years ago. I love this place. Casual, fun, one of a kind, and EXCELLENT food. With a bewildering selection available, I chose the Hog Wallow (two pieces of catfish, four shrimps, six oysters, all freshly breaded and fried, over french fries) and Joe chose the Gumbo over grilled grits. We were both supremely happy. The oysters had been shucked right then, and everything was served so hot and fresh. Joe’s gumbo had that rich brown sauce we’d found in Lake Charles, Louisiana, but this place had shrimp and okra instead of the chicken and sausage from Lake Charles. (At home, Joe makes his gumbo with catfish, country ham and okra. ) Under Joe’s gumbo was a slab of grilled grits.

We love grits, and were so happy to finally travel far enough into the southeast to find it on some menus. Grits (for those of you uninitiated in its delights) is bland, creamy, boiled ground hominy, that is great with butter, salt and pepper. Some people dress it up in various ways, from adding cheese to tabasco. It’s an easy, healthy side dish. In this case, the boiled grits were refrigerated, cut into slabs and sauted in a pan or on a griddle. This is a great way to use any extra cold boiled grain. I remember my grandmother serving slabs of grilled oatmeal with syrup, leftovers from yesterday’s breakfast.

For most of the restaurants where we’ve eaten, without friends’ recommendations, we became quite grateful for today’s technology. Yelp! is my favorite application on the iPhone for locating great food, and I’m deeply grateful to those reviewers who have taken the time to share their opinions. I rarely disagree with the overall experiences described. Not only does the app give us great recommendations, it warns if the restaurant is closed (as Rendezvous sadly was on Monday night in Memphis) but it also provides a map and phone number. Having all that information makes it possible for us to have great experiences routinely. We are so so spoiled. And the carryout boxes make for terrific meals the next day, even though by then we’re usually in another state!

Probably the hardest part of writing about food on the road is deciding what foods deserve mention; no one in their right mind would want to read all I have to say about the foods I’ve enjoyed. But I will be glad to make summary comments of some particularly memorable spots.

As you enter the Mad Greek Cafe!

Mad Greek Cafe as seen from the road. As if you'd miss it!

Baker, CA: The Mad Greek Cafe. Kitschy, popular with the traveling crowd, wide selection of menu items and terrific ethnic pride. We split a salad with gyros atop and almost had left overs; delicious and generous!

Good friend Marti drove in from Phoenix for dinner at the historic Turquoise Room with us, then continued to Albuquerque for the game the next day!

Winslow, AZ: The Turquoise Room. Splurge dining- pricy, historic, authentic, local and sustainable. Elk medallions with black currant sauce, wild mushroom corn custard flan; papery Piki bread. Smoked baked wild salmon on polenta.

Albuquerque, New Mexico: Middle Eastern Cafe, east side of town. Converted 7-11 with great charm; hanging drapes separate the restaurant from the store; extremely talented and friendly cooks. World’s best hummus, which they have another name for (appetizer), lamb schwarma - best I ever had!

Great diner architecture, and hatch chili omelets!

It really looks like this from the road!

Albuquerque, New Mexico: Owl Cafe, east side of town. Kitschy, googie architecture, sells tshirts with store logo. Omelet with Hatch chilies, home fries. Really satisfying.

West, Texas: Czech Cafe: local pride of heritage, decor self-described as “if it ain’t broke don’t fix it” - a trip pleasantly back in time. Liver and onions, cabbage rolls, and from a nearby bakery, Skunk Eggs (meat and cheese stuffing in a baked roll)

Austin, Texas: Eastside Cafe: localvore pride (garden in back) converted home, GREAT food: Smoked salmon ravioli, beef tenderloin. Just amazing.

Alligator on a stick? Now that's regional food...

Austin, Texas: Sixth Street Festival. Street food: we didn’t buy any, but had to put the photo in: you won’t find this in California!

San Antonio, Texas: Josephine St. Cafe. Also in the “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” category. Old building with undulating wooden floor, dining room built around a huge living tree trunk. Liver and onions again for me. Joe-Cajun chicken with cilantro lime sauce.

Corpus Cristi, Texas: Water St. Seafood. Lively, crowded, popular place. Redfish, excellent crab cakes.

Midday in the pujo St. Cafe; it already feels like Louisiana!

Lake Charles, Louisiana: Pujo St. Cafe, airy, dark, white tablecloths: Rich, dark gumbo with chicken and sausage.

New Orleans, Louisiana: MiLa, near the French Quarter. Gourmet’s delight, sophisticated, award winning, modern. Duck with kale, beets and a date reduction. Halibut over fava beans and peas in a light cream sauce. Rice pudding with blueberries and a chat with Allison, wife in the two-chef couple.

And this wasn't the biggest stockpot they sold in the store. These people cook large scale!

Modest entry to a fabulous Pat's Seafood & Cajun Deli in Covington, Louisiana.

Stuffed artichokes- only one of many prepared dishes: best was the corn chowder with crawfish. Divine.

Pat’s Seafood and Cajun Deli, Covington, Louisiana: a cook’s delight; carryout deli with fresh fish counter, cooking supplies including 80 qt and 100 qt stockpots, and 80 qt. cast iron pots. For serious cajun cooks! Take home packs: stuffed artichokes, shrimp rolls, frozen gumbo and the most delicious ever corn and potato chowder with crawfish.

Abita Springs Brew Pub, Abita Springs, Louisiana: friendly family restaurant pub with brewing vats in the back. Abita Golden Ale, Abita Springs Jacomo IPA, crab cake, soft shell crab, pasta with garlic, tomato, cream sauce, gumbo.

You make these from green peanuts- just boil them with salt. Really good - I'm a convert.

Wonderful roadside stand in Wilmer, on the way to the Mobile, AL game.

Wilmer, Alabama: Hamilton’s Produce Stand. Boiled peanuts. These are good. Nothing to them but boiled green peanuts and salt. So tasty, and part of Joe’s experiences growing up in the South. I’m a convert- can’t stop eating them!

That about wraps it up for the Southwest and this part of our South. We’re headed on to Arkansas, Oklahoma, and the state where Joe and I met and married, Kentucky-- which sometimes calls itself a midwest state!

What makes Texas so interesting?

2011-05-17T08:24:00.000-07:00

Where to start, where to start! Ok, I’ll start soon after we crossed the border from New Mexico. We’re on the road nearly constantly, so getting out and and looking around isn’t always an option. As we come through Amarillo, Joe points out the Dairy Queen while we’re at the stop light, and sure enough, it’s something interesting! I grabbed the iPad and clicked just as the light turned. Not sure when I’m going to see horses parked at the Dairy Queen again. We’re in Texas, for sure!

Riders stopped at this Amarillo Dairy Queen for a treat!

On to our day’s destination, the Copper Breaks State Park, 12 miles off the road halfway between Amarillo and Dallas. Such serenity-- grasses and flowers lining the country roads, and the park’s isolation. It was our first state park RV camping, and it was a bit unnerving- we couldn’t make reservations, and had been told to just “come on in”. At dusk, when we arrived, a sign said to take a spot and check in the next morning. It was unnerving to see no one else there. After we hooked up to the electricity and water, we realized there was one other camper around the bend. We went to greet them, but they really liked the isolation and scowled at the intrusion. We locked up tight for the night and wondered about wild animals and the wind. There had been lots of wind in these travels, and it made different sounds in different places. Texas wind, here at Copper Breaks, was a little spooky.

Then on to Lewisville, Texas to visit Bob Orpin and family before the night’s engagement at Frisco Rough Riders. After retirement from the city of Santa Fe Springs, California, he moved to this Castle Hill neighborhood, which looked like a transplant of medieval estates, if such could be had in a suburban neighborhood. These houses were really grand in scale and beautifully made. Bob doubled his square footage from his long time home in Long Beach, California. Best of all, he had room not only for his baby grand piano but also an electric organ. Orpin Hall, (as I dubbed it) was a delightful performance space; Bach’s Toccata and Fugue in D minor for organ as breakfast entertainment was truly spectacular!

City Hall, Lockhart, Texas

Leaving Dallas, we noticed a small town that had a gorgeous city hall-- and a great sense of history! Lockhart, Texas has really invested in historical preservation.

On to Austin, where we began to realize the quirks of the Texas road systems. Joe was startled at certain points where we had to make a choice between two branches of the road, and no signage was provided! Now, it’s kind of difficult to correct navigation mistakes with 35 feet of bulk and a vast turning radius, so we had to make some guesses, most of which were correct. My supposition on the signage issue was that Texans must help each other learn the way of something, and never expect anyone new to come along!

As we traveled on freeways in major cities- Austin, San Antonio, Corpus Cristi, and Houston, we kept noticing that in addition to the actual freeways we traveled on, there were very busy frontage roads on either side that supported endless business access. People slid back and forth from frontage roads to freeways as they traveled, and variously, the freeway would have a bridge and underneath, the frontage roads would have connectors, allowing “Texas U-Turns”. It was sort of like the express buses and the local buses, but on adjacent roads. This takes a massive amount of space, and I supposed this happened because of a very natural abundance of that resource in Texas: it is BIG. Lots of room, so why not stretch out! Later, I read in Wikipedia that this was a convention started by a deal between developers and state engineers, in which they could keep the traffic moving and provide lots of access for local businesses as well. This causes a proliferation of advertising which creates a strip-mall aesthetic - along the main freeways. This brought attempted legislation to remedy the tradition, but it was quickly turned down in 2002. Don’t look for those frontage road mazes to disappear anytime soon!

Providing scale and softening the increasing heat of that week were the lovely oak forests all along the roadways. Oak Forest RV Park, south of Austin, was a fine place for our first multi-day stay. We parked there and drove back and forth in the tow car (Toad) to Corpus Cristi and San Antonio, as the hot weather built. San Antonio was 99 degrees for an 11 am game, with every available seat in the direct sun. Those who know me know I don’t DO direct sun like that, so we left the game early.

On our last evening in Austin, after visiting the wonderful LBJ Presidential Library, we followed a longtime Austin tradition and watched thousands of bats fly out from under the Ann Richards bridge on Congress street just south of the state capital buildings. People gathered as if it were fireworks on the 4th of July, lining the bridge itself and filling the fields and waterways nearby. After the lovely skyline slowly darkened, we first saw small groups of bats, then fluttering masses lifting over the treetops to head southwest to rid some lucky housing development of insect pests. Magical.

Festive- but everyday event: gathering to watch the bats fly out from under the Ann Richards bridge on Congress St.

Tour boats, kayaks and paddleboats wait for dusk at the bridge just south of the Texas state capital building

In the park below the bridge, families picnicked while waiting for the bats to fly!

Having finished the Texas singing engagements, we headed to Houston to stay the night with our dear friend Stephanie Davidson, who moved to Texas to be closer to her family the year before I retired. I was so very pleased to see that she had landed really well- her home in Sugarland was magnificent and so beautifully decorated. Though she and her daughter Sarah worked long hours and had only been in the home less than two years, it was picture perfect, and quite luxurious! Having a new grandson/nephew just a few miles away made this a truly perfect move for Stephanie, and she glowed.

Texas: grand and expansive, friendly and varied. Truly worth a visit, if you have lots of time for driving!

Mmm, mmm. Louisiana!

2011-05-13T15:48:00.000-07:00

Greetings from Abita Springs, Louisiana! I have to say that this is a lovely spot. So far we traveled through arid high desert in California and Arizona, majestic northern New Mexico, surprisingly varied Texas locations, and have landed for a few days in this sweet spot just across Lake Pontchartrain from New Orleans.

This isn’t my first trip to Abita Springs. Nearly 20 years ago, when attending an national teacher’s convention (NEA) in New Orleans, a group of us in the Christa McAuliffe Institute was invited out to fellow CMI teacher Kathleen Duplantier’s home to learn how to make a proper roux. In a heavily wooded spot next to a bayou, her home had a full wrap-around porch. A lovely large older home, it was charming- brightly colored paint and a very homey kitchen. There Kathleen demonstrated how dark you must toast the flour/butter mix if you expected to have any flavor-- and that was just short of burning it.

Abita Springs bayou © Scott Jensen photography

As we drove from Texas, I looked up Kathleen on the internet (times have changed for the availability of information!) and found that she’d retired and moved to Costa Rica, so I missed seeing her. We had visited her after dark, so I didn’t have a great sense of the locale other than the famous Abita Springs beer, both alcoholic and root. We’re here at Abita Springs RV Resort as guests of the Ocean Canyon properties, which owns a series of RV campground / resorts across the south, and generously offered to host us in return for a session in which they could share the benefits of their membership. There was much to like about the offer they made, but as we don’t live in the south, it would be impossible for us to make use of the benefits. This is a lovely campground, and a lovely day.

Joe taking a business call in our happily messy home/office on the road!

There’s a soft rain, and we’re comfy inside typing away, taking a day off from travel and ball parks. Joe sang last night for the New Orleans Zephers, and we had the very happy occasion to eat at MiLa restaurant, in the Roosevelt hotel, just outside the French Quarter in New Orleans. We had eaten there three years ago on a holiday over spring break, and loved it. I was on a taste-testing binge- three great restaurants in three days, comparing the Sazerac cocktails in each. Apparently these are pretty hard to find in bars, not that I either look for them or frequent bars, either, but internet browsing about features of New Orleans got me interested.

Though the quality of the Sazeracs didn’t much vary, the cooking did. We had been to Commander’s Palace before (grand, special event, dated, delicious, in the Garden District) and we had been to Bayona’s before (trendy, modern, delicious and in the French Quarter, famous chef Susan Spicer), but we had only read reviews of MiLa. It was amazing: chic, exquisite, modern, and had a rising chef couple who each grew up in the south, found themselves missing the south when they found each other in New York, and returned to open this restaurant-- the name represents their states- Mississippi and Louisiana.

We had travelled to Napa Valley the summer before where the two highlights of our trip were dinner at the French Laundry (big splurge) and lunch at Julia’s Kitchen (the only restaurant Julia Child had ever approved to have her name associated with, delicious and affordable!- but now sadly closed). It was located at COPIA, an ambitious, though short-lived project that was to serve as the gateway to the Napa Valley, “American Center for Wine, Food and the Arts”. We had happily way overrun the vacation budget at COPIA’s gift store, as the selection was incredible. When we next returned to Napa, COPIA was no longer open.

But I digress. Back at MiLa, we had heard that chef Allison Vines-Rushing was on her way to the French Laundry for some professional development event, and we sent word back to the kitchen that we had recently visited there. So she came out and chatted, and explained some of her techniques for the fabulous food. Last night, we hoped to see her again and mentioned to one of the staff that we had chatted with her shortly before her visit to the Napa Valley and hoped to chat with her. We were warned that she was very busy and not likely to come out, so we weren’t all that hopeful.

Our server made a joking comment that she had been delayed in coming out to refill our water because they were “talkin’ about y’all” in the back, and I jumped on the opportunity, and asked if she realized that there really was something to talk about, that Joe was singing the national anthem in 109 ball parks (actually it’s 110-- he’s STILL making appointments!!) this summer, and in just a few minutes, that information had the hoped-for result: Allison appeared, interested in the tour, and asking about details. She also explained how she made the fabulous broccoli veloute (soup with shrimp garnish- steamed the broccoli florets, chilled to retain the color, added to a chilled vegetable stock, garnished with a spicy chopped shrimp, light and scrumptious). We never got around to talking about the French Laundry!

(If you're reading this, Allison, thanks again!!)

MiLa lobby bar, picture from their website.

Well, that made our night. Though we COULD have taken today as a tourist day in New Orleans, we decided to take it as a writing day, as we have so much to say, and not that many opportunities to concentrate on writing. We’re far more tired after a long driving day than I could have imagined, and writing on the road doesn’t really pan out-- too much to be alert for, even if you’re the passenger, and there’s just constant vibration as you ride.

The campsite from my front-seat workstation!

Then when the soft rain fell on the RV this morning, that sealed the deal. It is really fun to tap away in the comfort of this wonderful vehicle, which is the embodiment of every playhouse dream I have ever had.

Reading on the Road

2011-05-08T12:09:00.000-07:00

I'm very lucky; I don't get carsick, even when I read in the car. That attribute is key to my enjoyment on this four month journey around the country. I'm a compulsive reader of a rather wide variety of texts: magazines, books, newspapers, and even, in desperation, cereal boxes.

When asked what book I'm currently reading, I have to reflect on the stack of books on my bedside table. Which to claim? My habits in this regard are disturbingly like my tendency to greatly enjoy channel-surfing on satellite signals on the TV or internet surfing on any of a number of computers in my home. I would claim ADD but it's not true. I'm just interested in everything.

To prepare for this jaunt across country, a few months ago, I began reading aloud to Joe in the car. We began with a delightful series by Mark Schweizer’s "Liturgical Mysteries", in which a chief of police / church organist ingeniously solved murder cases in his small North Carolina town. The truly funny stories made the 35-minute drive to and from choir practice in Tustin very enjoyable. Discovering that many others had enjoyed the same series intensified the fun - we could mention key words for funny scenes and everyone would bust up.

On the recommendation of a choir friend, Lee Ditkowsky, I read travel accounts to Joe, most notably "A Walk in the Woods" by Bill Bryson, a masterful author that every other habitual reader seems to have discovered much earlier. Chalk that up to my tendency to read more vintage books, such as Sigrid Undset's 1928 Nobel Prize winner for literature, "Kristin Lavransdatter" as my first choice after retirement; it's such a huge book (1,400 pages) that you'd have to set aside some real time to stay on top of it. I was just as fascinated now as when I last read it at the age of thirteen, by its keen observations of daily life in medieval Norway and its characters' emotions.

That saga was too long for car trip reading aloud, and both Joe and I wanted to brush up on writing narratives, so what better way than to read narratives, particularly of travel? The writing voice has much in common with the speaking voice; one can pick up a rhythm and sense of organization from excellent writers much as an accent is picked up by listening to daily conversations.

By chance we picked up Charles Kuralt's "A Life on the Road", which was a particularly good preparation for short vignettes suitable for blogs, and provided tips for RV living to boot. But now the current read is back to Bill Bryson – “At Home – A Short History of Private Life”. It’s an amazing compendium of easily understandable explanations for things we’ve always wondered about – such as why salt and pepper are so highly valued as to be the only two flavorings to be added to the table.

If we don’t write as often as we had planned, it is definitely going to be because we are reading more than we expected. As much as the travel and discovery of new places is enchanting, this bookaholic also draws new delight from each page of a good book.

Homesick already? I just left!

2011-05-02T08:12:00.000-07:00

“No shit, Sherlock”, I muttered, in response to an interruption on the screen as I tapped on my laptop on the way to Las Vegas.

“Your preferred networks are not available”, says the computer, when I had not asked to get onto WiFi. I knew that! We were halfway between Barstow and Baker, in the high desert of California, and apparently someone nearby had a locked wifi connection and the computer was doing its duty of constantly scanning for connections.

Not only was the internet connection not available, neither was much in the way of greenery. There were millions of little desert shrubs and dry hills with bits of valiant chlorophyll desperately trying to get a foothold, but it’s a harsh environment.

Roadside on the way to Baker, CA

Mind you, I acknowledge the beauty of the desert intellectually, but seen from the freeway with bits of shiny litter in the median, it’s nowhere as appealing as the varying terrain in Whittier, whose semi-arid natural state is blessed with one of the natural wells which produces abundant water for nearly every plant to thrive. As a result, Whittier is “Prettier”. We have pink blossoms on trees in November, very few deciduous trees, and each yard seems to be populated with plants from a variety of places around the planet. It’s a profusion of flowers in Whittier nearly year round, and trees everywhere.

The house is about 100 feet higher, up the stairs.

Steep part of the yard-grass protects from erosion

And April in Whittier is the lushest month for greenery. On our final day of packing, I had taken a break to take pictures of our yard. We use way too much water, but we’ve need it to maintain the stability of the hillside. We’ve put in as many native plants as possible, and justify the grass on the steep slope as necessary to stop erosion. We’ve already seen quite a lot of erosion, especially in the first two years before we got the grass put in. I have no intention of making the news by having the house slide down the hill because we failed to protect it!

The "flower forest", as a former student called it, on the canyon floor beyond the big gate.

It’s a pretty spot, as we’re at the mouth of a canyon, and the house is situated so that we see few houses, and those at a fair distance. The canyon floor is a fire break managed by the city, and the far side of the canyon is conservancy protected, so we have a wonderful, quiet spot surrounded by nature, yet right in the city. Yes, it’s true. I’m spoiled when I’m home.

Very popular and fun Mad Greek Cafe in Baker, CA

But now I’m traveling, and am discovering the delights of the road, especially eating establishments. In Baker, California, we discovered the wildly kitschy Mad Greek Cafe. How could we resist? And the gyros salad was great. Ah, things are looking up.

Packing Challenges

2011-04-30T22:54:00.000-07:00

So what did you get for Valentine’s Day? I got a waffle iron.

Doesn’t sound so romantic, but really it is. The Saturday morning tradition in our home is for Joe to make his really excellent waffles. It’s our way of insuring that I never get thin.

This waffle iron was special because it was smaller than our regular waffle iron, the better to fit into the RV! See, it wasn’t going to be so different from regular life! Cherished traditions will continue!

I had been stressing, typically overthinking everything, about what was to go in the RV and what wasn’t. How could I pack in every important thing to make me comfortable in the months ahead living on the road? Short answer: I couldn’t. Choices had to be made. First off the list- the dogs. Romantic notions of having their cuddliness soon faded when faced with their needs, particularly for routines. Next came all the physical stuff: kitchen supplies (we DO plan to cook, especially waffles, as much as possible), toiletries, and clothing. (He made the decisions about the tools we brought: a massive amount.)

At home, we are entirely spoiled by having far more storage capability than it’s reasonable to have. This supports our Costco-holism, as we can ALWAYS engineer another spot to store that impulse purchase and the quantity purchases of water and paper products, not to mention canned tomatoes. Not so in the RV. Like on a boat, all space must be productive.

So I had spent way too many hours trying to figure out what was going, and where it was going, and the last two days before we left was constant engineering of space. I’d carry out an armful and bring part of it back into the house. Despite the fact that we’d had great advice (Jeanette, daughter of the RV’s original owner, said “It took me FIVE YEARS to realize that there are stores out there and I didn’t need to pack everything”), I decided that I’d take what I “needed” and either ditch the extra or send it home in a box. (Another benefit of having Jared there to receive the boxes.)

Finally, on Friday, April 29, we declared ourselves done with the packing, started the car and headed out to Victorville for the first game of the RV part of the tour, all cozy and comfy, knowing we had everything we needed. I was so pleased because everything seemed stowed away. One great thing about the RV is that nothing can be left out on surfaces as you drive as it will fly through the air, so the place is neat and tidy pretty often.

So, on Saturday morning, April 30, I’m so happy to see the waffle iron! It’s our first chance to keep tradition; we have enough time before we leave for our next stop. So Joe asks his typical weekday question: “Would you like eggs and toast or cereal?” instead of saying “It’s Saturday! We’re having waffles!”

I asked the obvious question. “Why is the waffle iron out on a Saturday if we’re not having waffles?” Joe made a face. He had already lost an hour’s worth of work before I woke up because his computer suddenly UPDATED without permission. We weren’t on WiFI, but apparently a keystroke on the new little notebook computer launched into an update that had probably downloaded while we were on WiFi at the Mavericks game. All was Lost. He was not in a waffle mood after having to rewrite all that work.

It turns out that the waffle iron was out because at the end of the day of packing, he had not yet found the right spot for it, and had put it under a pillow on his bed and then discovered it in the morning. He did eventually find a spot to store it, and I will eventually get my waffles, but not today! Today we’ll continue to learn what goes where and whether memory will allow us to realize what we actually brought.

Oh, and I had cereal and he had toast with bananas and peanut butter. Almost as good as waffles. ;-)

Side Benefits of the Tour: Jared’s home!

2011-04-14T16:20:00.000-07:00

A significant concern I had in preparing for a four month absence was taking care of the house. We have a lot going on here. Stretched wide on a 4/5 acre site at the edge of Whittier, this lot provides a fire break from the canyon floor for about 6 houses behind us on the next street. Keeping the yard watered and weeded is a significant feat. We’ve been improving the lot since we moved in 12 years ago by constructing paths, which form terraces to even out the less steep side of the lot, and bringing in over 90 tons of river rock, which serves as mulch as well as to define the edges of stairs and bases of fruit trees. Weeds blow in from the adjacent canyon floor and if they are allowed to bloom, they quickly take over our hard won landscaping.

We have had the help of Hiro Ota, our landscaper and go-to guy, a creative and resourceful man who committed to helping us 11 years ago, and provides not only construction and maintenance help, but also excellent advice. He does a lot, but Joe and I do a lot of yard work too. It takes time and energy to keep everything under control and I was concerned that someone who came to house-sit might not be willing to deal with the high-maintenance aspects of our home.

Luckily, our older son Jared was ready for a hiatus from his work in Reno, and agreed to come stay here while we’re gone, with the extra added bonus that he will care for both dogs. He’s been here for a little over a week, and is glad to get started substitute teaching in our local school district, as he had nearly a decade ago, but he’s also putting in a vegetable garden. He came nearly a month before I am to leave with Joe in the RV so he could get oriented to all the quirks of the home.

What I didn’t realize we were getting in the deal was his excellent cooking-every single day! He loves to cook, and makes outstanding dinners every night, just for us two- and sometimes for guests. Just last night he roasted chicken thighs over slabs of onion with garlic tucked in and a layer of spices on top that he whipped up. He loves hot peppers, so he’s planted two big pots on the patio with them, and set up trays of herbs and pots of tomatoes and cilantro and...well, you get the picture.

Another unexpected bonus was the enjoyment of his company in these few weeks before I leave. It’s pretty exciting to have lots of quiet time with this truly interesting person--he’s insightful and witty. With uproarious laughter rolling down the hall from the computer room caused by his discovery of the humor section of reddit.com, and his tender care of our two dear dogs, he warms the emptiness of a Joe-less home for these three weeks.

I have to confess to a little trepidation about the limitations of “home” on the road; I’ve become accustomed to reaching for a book or a magazine or any number of conveniences with which we have feathered our nest, with perhaps the most significant being 24/7 wifi internet connection. That’s simply not going to happen on the road, as the rhythm of the days will be far different: no walking the dogs, hours and hours of riding, sitting in one seat, with perhaps some 3G connection on the road, some wifi in parks at night. On the other hand, I’ll have the fun of minor league games, visiting friends across the country, and the constant companionship of my husband, with whom I travel pretty well. So it won’t be too bad. Plus I’ve been stockpiling electronic gadgets and games, which is very meaningful for me.

LIke my unexpected gratitude for my older son’s presence in these days before the trip starts for me, I think I’ll find lots to like about the time with Joe, especially basking in his happiness in making his national anthem tour dream come true.

Making Arby our Home: The Nesting Process

2011-04-03T10:01:00.000-07:00

Arby was a terrific purchase. Though 16 yrs. old, it only had 23,000 miles and had a “toad” (which I was to learn was a vehicle that was towed behind the motor home). With the luxury appointments of an automatic leveler, a full length automatic awning and a really easy to use tow hitch, it was pretty easy to figure out the basics. Following excellent advice, we took our first outing to the Yucca Valley for lessons in operating the motor home, which gave me at least far more confidence. I can now navigate narrow residential streets and park in fast food parking lots!

Looking to the bedroom area past the kitchen, with the dinette cushion in foreground.

An amazing amount of support material - pans, sheets, blankets, warning flares - was left in the RV by the former owner. With a new roof, nearly new refrigerator and an interior and motor in really great condition, all we needed to do was customize.

Looking toward the cockpit (passenger chair) past the sofa bed (across from the dinette)

Safety matters first: new tires! Though tires can look new, if they’ve not had a lot of wear, but they were six years old, and had to be replaced.

Joe has done hours and hours of work fixing up the interior. Here he's replacing a hinge in a bedroom cabinet.

Finished the hinge, willing to pose for just a second!

Updating some of the interior has really helped us feel that this is our home. We replaced the mini-blinds, with nearly identical mini-blinds, as the blue color scheme is soothing. And in the bedroom, we recovered the cornices with a fabric that blended with the other colors in front, and also made bedspreads and pillow shams.

Looking past the bath area (tub on left, loo on right) to the bedroom with storage cabinets above the beds

New bedspread and cornices, with our front yard in the background.

Same view with new honeycomb shades Joe installed.

Lastly, Joe has stocked up on tools to use for repairs. That’s part of the thrill of RV travel. Lots of repairs, and more so if you don’t know what you’re doing, so lots of asking for advice and getting books to explain how to do things.

It feels more like home every day!

What are the Chances?!?

2011-03-28T23:57:00.000-07:00

Well, we’re on our third and final“shake-out” trip. We’ve just pulled into the space at the Pechanga RV Resort in Temecula, California, about 2 hours from our home. Joe’s out hooking up the electrical and water systems. Before I undo my seatbelt, I see a woman walking towards us with a big smile on her face. I open the window, and she asks, “Are you Bonnie Price?” All I could think of is that I may have left something at the registration desk when we checked in, but that wasn’t it.

“I’m Ann Walker, Sue’s daughter in law!” she beams. “Sue’s been telling me about your planned tour, as we love the RV life, and she thought we might be interested. She’d sent me the website address, and I’d seen the picture of the decal on the side of your RV, and recognized it!” Ann lived in Monterey, and was just about to return home after two weeks of a great vacation.

Sue Walker is the General Manager of the Rio Hondo Symphony Association, on whose Board I served for five years, and we’d shared our contact information with the board through her. Her enthusiasm for the project was spreading the word not only through the community, but to her family hundreds of miles away.

In the planning stages for this tour of the country for Joe to sing the national anthem at minor league ball parks, we realized that we’d want to publicize because the adventure was too much fun to keep to ourselves. Joe developed a logo and had business cards and postcards printed up, and created his website (www.anthemtour.com), which coordinates with the Whittier College website (www.whittier.edu). Then he set up his blog, I set up mine, and we linked those to the website. Finally, he sent out email and postcards.

We have been happily flooded with responses cheering us on, and it’s been very motivating for us as we prepare for a lot of writing. Some friends in town are actually planning to visit a game as they vacation this summer. Friends who have moved away write with invitations for getting together when we’re near their town. Friends from other places we have lived mark their calendars to attend a game, and let us know.

I had been a little concerned about feeling isolated for the four months we’d be on the road. I had consoled myself with the notion that I still had email contact with friends, and had calendared a few visits around the country. I had not imagined that we’d make new friends before we ever left, but that’s what’s happening! Alumni we’ve never met have written to say they’ll attend the game near them.

But who would have imagined seeing a relative of a friend who recognized the vehicle on our first trip out of town after getting the signs up. Ann, thank you for greeting me! What a wonderful way to start the adventure- with all the warmth of connection to others who enjoy adventure, baseball games and the RV lifestyle.

Really, what are the chances?

The Mendocino Trip- More than just testing the RV!

2011-03-28T23:49:00.000-07:00

We’ve taken Arby out for three trips now in preparation for our long journey to all the ball parks. Our Mendocino trip was particularly special because it is the location for a family pilgrimage to my paternal grandparents’ home in the Mendocino woods.

The Mendocino trip was also great at resolving for us whether it was reasonable to take the dogs on the trip. Clearly, the answer is NO when the schedule is so very tightly packed. Dogs deserve lots of play time, and the stress levels between meeting the appointments and the dogs’ needs would mean that we wouldn’t be caring deeply enough for our own levels of energy. Both Winston and Tucker really were on best behavior on the long drives, napping on the sofa, tethered to the seat belts, but to no avail. They really aren’t going to be included in the cross-country tour. Luckily for the dogs, our son’s presence in our home will make it fairly easy on them. Both Jared and the dogs show up in the pictures in this post, though they will be staying behind during the big adventure to all the ball parks.

Will and Mildred George, my paternal grandparents, had a large property in the woods off Comptche Road in Mendocino, and all 13 grandchildren (3 families) would take turns visiting for a week or two in the summer in the magical wonderland that was their Mendocino wood.

My grandfather created a little park from one side of the yard, in which he created paths, put up signs, and built a playhouse- The Tom Thumb house - around a very large redwood stump. This playhouse, with its vividly colored walls, is the only recognizable landmark on the property; the main house, guest house, and garage burned at least 35 years ago, soon after my grandparents sold it and my grandmother went to the Sequoias retirement home, in Portola Valley, closer to family members.

We always found this little house to be our family’s private joy, but in 2000, The Treehouse Book, by Peter and Judy Nelson, published a photo of our Tom Thumb House (named on the sign by my grandfather), though it was not IN a tree- it was around it. I love the author’s reaction to reading the inscription on the plaque.

Our family tradition is to write on an inside wall and date the inscription, so that each of us who visits realizes that this is extremely special for all of us, though the property is no longer in the family. I took some photos, but the writing is starting to fade, and not many of the pictures were readable. Nonetheless, I crouched down to add my own message to the inscriptions.

Bonnie adds a message to the family message board inside the Tom Thumb House, in the woods near Mendocino.

Jared and Joe; the dogs are lucky to have Jared caring for them while we travel!

At MacKerricher State Park, north of Fort Bragg. Tucker is the white cockapoo, and Winston is the black Havanese.

Bonnie and the dogs at Morro Bay, CA (Southern California!)- their first visit to a beach!

A lovely rest stop just north of Santa Barbara, CA

The Tom Thumb House plaque is now so faded as to no longer be readable.

Though crumbling, the Tom Thumb house is still bright enough to spot in the woods from the road.

This picture of the plaque was taken over 12 years ago.

Peter and Judy Nelson, authors of "the treehouse book" were charmed by the inscription on the plaque.

My sisters' and uncle's families visited and left messages inside the Tom Thumb House.

The Tom Thumb House, as pictured in "the treehouse book" in 2000.

Alas, the years have not been kind to the little house; though the lead based paints are still bright, boards are rotting, and the plaque on the front of the house is fading, and not completely readable at this point. Compare the photo in the book taken about 12 years ago to the faded state just now. Kind of sad.

We also loved Mendocino for its loveliness. As inland dwellers, we don’t often get to the beach, but in this trip, we got to enjoy Morro Bay (that big rock is the major landmark!) The Mendocino Headlands State Park, composed of undeveloped bluffs above the crashing ocean waves and just north, in Fort Bragg, MacKerricher State Park. We are so lucky to have such natural wonders.

I will miss California when we are traveling across the United States. Though I’m sure I’ll be captivated by the many wonders of the country, I do like my home state quite well, and will be glad to return.

Whew! I get tired just READING the schedule!

2011-03-14T12:26:00.000-07:00

My husband Joe is an ambitious man. Lucky for him, he's also a determined man, as you have to work hard if you dream big. He wanted to sing the national anthem at as many minor league ball parks as possible in one season. That's AS MANY AS POSSIBLE IN THE WHOLE COUNTRY. That struck me as a little large, as dreams go. But it seems that he's managed to make the project real.

I just posted the schedule on this blog (it will also be on his website, anthemtour.com) for all the games, and it still overwhelms me just to read it. As long as it will take him to get to each of the games, a lot more time has gone into organizing all that has had to happen for this big adventure to become a reality. Actually, that goes for both of us, most of the time--I won't be there for every game, but I do get credit for being there MOST of the time.

First, he had to convince himself this was a project that could be done. As an optimist and big thinker, he didn't have trouble with this part. Next, he had to break the news to me. Now, I'm not exactly a pessimist, but I do panic faster than he does about the scale of his ideas. "Why can't we just go to Paris for your sabbatical, where you can research in libraries while I sip coffee in outdoor cafés?" He didn't really have to explain to me that his interest in American baseball and the national anthem didn't properly intersect with European travel. One wry look did the trick.

So my response was somewhat curt: "Send me postcards!" Patiently, he continued to make his plans, contacting teams, asking for advice on how to make the project work from anyone who might have ideas. I could not believe how supportive people were in wanting to help make this project come true.

Eventually, I came around to wanting to be helpful too. The biggest factor in that decision was the purchase of an RV. Because a friend offered us a lovely motorhome at a very reasonable price, the project now took on aspects of an extended vacation, of sorts. Slowly, I started seeing all this as a nesting project: a second home! There's decorating to be done, stuff to be bought, side trips to enjoy!

So now, finally sharing all this with you readers, it's becoming very real. VERY real. In a good way, but also with open eyes about all the times that we'll have mechanical problems with Arby, the RV. We've been warned that daily maintenance is the price for all that freedom on the road, and we're getting as prepared as we can.

And I am glad that he dreams big.

Getting Started on the Grand Adventure

2011-03-12T22:46:00.000-08:00

The passing of the torch - Helen's last day of RV ownership and Joe's first!

As I prepared to retire from 35 years of teaching last June, my husband Joe was preparing for a grand adventure. Finally we could have time together for extended travel! For his 2011 sabbatical from Whittier College where he teaches Religious Studies, he planned a national tour of minor league baseball parks, where he would sing the national anthem. This ambitious plan supports his goal of completing the research for his next book, "Perfect Pitch: The National Anthem for the National Pastime".

What I thought would be a quiet year of resting and reading, gardening and gabbing, instead became a year of planning and discovering and great new learning. Once we realized that the only way this could work would be to travel in an RV, we were surprised to find that sharing our dream paved the way for the dreams to come true. Helen Kelly, a dear friend, was ready to sell her beloved 1994 Fleetwood Flair, as she realized that this adventure was something special. Her motorhome had been kept up beautifully, and was ready to go when we bought it in January.

We had to learn how to use it, of course, and took her excellent advice to get lessons right away. With an initial two day training under our belts, we were brave enough to head out on a five night trip that would combine a family vacation and a "shakeout" trip-- discovering what sorts of things needed attention. As it turned out, what was most needed was our ability to grasp just what we needed to learn to manage the complex systems of a motorhome.

The trip was a complete success-- which is to say that a five hour delay as we began our return showed us that very small electrical problems-- corrosion on light bulbs and such, can throw off a schedule that's too tightly tweaked. Luckily, we'd allowed some wiggle room, and the wallet took more of a beating than the schedule.

Driving Lessons for an RV- A Great Thing!

2011-03-12T21:53:00.000-08:00

We had been advised by the seller that RV lessons would be a great boon to us, saving us untold anxiety and countless mistakes, so we signed up and really had a great time. Disclaimer: we're still pretty good at making mistakes anyway, but now have the benefit of knowing exactly who will be licensed to tell us "I told you so!" There are just so many things to deal with.

Dick Reed's RV School (rvschool@wizwire.com) was recommended and we not only gained great confidence, we had a great time. A truism of the RV life is that you meet the most wonderful people, and so far that's held quite true. Jerry Caldera, a former truck driver, is on the staff of the RV School, and got this assignment as we are in his vicinity. Dennis Hill, current owner of the school, has trainers all over the United States.

We traveled to Yucca Valley in late January for the lessons. It is COLD there at night, and one of the things that we hadn't mastered was how to turn on the heater. Apparently I'm catching on to Joe's enthusiasm, which squashes all little frustration, as we just piled blankets on the bed and dealt with it.

The lessons were thorough, putting us through paces about when to start a turn and what to look out for. The basics are just two things: don't hurry things, and stay between the lane lines. Mostly. Sometimes we were instructed to straddle a lane in order to make a wide turn in a tight spot. Handy tips for how to manage all the details came streaming out, and I tried to make note of most, but overall I began to identify with those kids in the slow reading groups in my classrooms who tried and tried to understand, but slowly went a little cross-eyed. Luckily for me, Joe was overwhelmed too, so I didn't feel so bad.

Besides the terrific instructor, two other people were memorable. Jonathan Martin, the park manager, was not only incredibly helpful in getting all our connections hooked up, but he also had a little piece of moon rock; his mother had worked at the Jet Propulsion Lab in Pasadena and in one of the missions, some samples of the rock were contaminated by earth's atmosphere and were handed out as souvenirs to people who had worked on the mission. He was so proud of this rock that he offered to let me stand on it; in the posted photo I stood next to it so you could see it. That's him in the photo with Joe.

We also ran into a winter resident of the park who has an RV business: www.dreamcamper.com. Deputy Boots, as his professional card described him, owns a 1923 Model T converted into an RV, and puts on a very entertaining combination of history and comedy for state fairs, conventions, etc. Go to his website at www.dreamcamper.com for more info.

The last picture is of our setting. Though sunny, it was quite nippy those two days. It's so dry in the high desert that your lips chap almost immediately. You can't see it but the town is in a forest of Joshua Trees, those very shaggy cactus plants. Truly the old west.

Customizing "Arby" the RV

2011-03-12T20:07:00.000-08:00

How cool is this? Joe is helping the signmaker by reattaching the ladder after putting up the signage on the RV, transforming it from a standard-issue decor to a unique, stated purpose for its service. He put three of these logo posters up, on the sides and back of "Arby", our fond name for the RV, also known as R.B., or more familiarly, Rattley Bang. So far "Toad", the 1995 Saturn that will be towed will stay in civilian status, allowing us to be a bit more anonymous when separated from Arby.