Missing the Northeast at Christmas..

Okay. The second year in, spending the holidays away from New England I'm finding my feelings much the same as the first year. I miss the crisp clean air. I miss watching (if not driving in) the falling snow. And I miss generally happy people bustling about as they do their last minute holiday mall runs and last minute errands, perhaps a bit harried and frazzled, but with a shared common knowledge that "we're all running around with our heads chopped off for a reason and we're sympathetic with each other. We're manic together."

There is a shared humanity to the manic-ness of the crazy holiday season as much as for the actual day when it finally comes, bringing family, food, group walks after a big meal, silliness, arguments and laughter, sometimes football, heated intellectual and philosophical debates and also figuring out where everyone is going to park their car or park their head if they are spending the night.

We managed to re-create most of the magic of the actual Christmas Day experience last year when our boys road-tripped out here to Florida to spend the holidays with us. Dylan brought along his girlfriend and we had a wonderful holiday enjoying each others company and indulging in many of the above-mentioned activities. We got to spend time with my Mom and sister who also live in the area which is an opportunity we wouldn't have if we weren't in the Florida area.  In a few days the boys will join us again here at the condo in Tampa and we can't wait for the visit. So yes, Christmas day will be magical as always, regardless of the location as long as family is together.

But the lead-up to the holiday here in Florida? Not so much. The pre-Christmas frenzy here is frenetic and frenzied as everywhere, but it seems to be missing the humanity - that edge of human kindness.  Nothing here seems to be a sympathetic "shared" experience. It's more of a self-centered free for all.  Drivers here are always in a hurry and would just as soon drive over you than around you and road rage is considered both justifiable and logical! Bicyclists are regularly hit by drivers (Andre was hit last year riding his bike to work) and folks here seem to be A-Okay with that.  It's an odd place and a place that frankly, is just not a good fit for us.

That said, we knew what we were getting into when we came here to spend another winter working here.

They say everything in life is a trade-off of some sort. This is our trade-off.

 

HAPPY HOLIDAYS FROM THE GREAT STATE OF FLORIDA

Tampa Revisited...

Well, we arrived here back in Tampa last Thursday evening and the first thing we did was spend all day Friday at Busch Gardens, riding roller coasters, eating and enjoying the Florida sunshine. Andre still had free tickets good through the end of the year from his last year's gig working at the park, so we decided to celebrate our arrival with a day of fun (because you know we've had no fun at all over the last 6 months). That's sarcasm, by the way, for those of you not from the Northeast.

Anyway, we had a great day at the park and it was nice introduction back to the area. One of the things we most enjoy about Busch Gardens in Tampa are all the amazing animals. Because we were there on Halloween, many of the animals had been given pumpkins to play with, eat, etc.  This gang of Meerkats was extremely entertaining to watch!

 

After the park on Friday, we spent Halloween evening enjoying some fine beer at the nearby Cigar City Brewery, then settling in for our last night sleeping in the van.  On Saturday morning we moved into our condo and the rest of the weekend was spent just enjoying having an actual place to live in that was not on wheels! We were fortunate to be able to get the same condo rental back that we had last year, so it was like coming home in a way. After a nice visit with my sister in nearby Hudson on Sunday morning, we headed back to our place in the Carrollwood section of Tampa to kick back and enjoy watching the Pat's kick Peyton Manning's butt (thanks Tom Brady).  All in all, a great weekend!

Alive and well and heading to Florida

Faithful Readers...

Just thought I would check in, as I have not posted in a few weeks. Andre and I are alive and well and finally heading south toward Tampa, FL, where we plan to work for 4-5 months.  I start my seasonal accounting job on Monday (with the same firm I worked for last winter), and Andre has lined up a number of things that will keep him busy earning money over the winter as well.  Yes, after goofing off in a major way for approximately 6 1/2 months, it is now time to put in a few months earning some money so we can fund goofing off for another 6-7 months next spring and summer!

At the time of my last post, we had arrived in Rhode Island to begin our family visiting and to meet up with old friends as well. Our New England/Mid-Atlantic trip home took us from Delaware to Rhode Island, Massachusetts to upstate New York, across Vermont and New Hampshire, back to Massachusetts and Rhode Island and finally south once more for last visits in Delaware, Pennsylvania (Philly), Baltimore and Bethesda, Maryland and a final stop in Washington DC before heading south  for good. As I write this, I am sitting in the van in Fayetteville, NC.

I know many of you might expect that I'd have numerous photos to go along with this summary of the past few weeks, but I was so busy visiting and enjoying the great company of friends and relatives, that I actually forgot all about taking photos for most of the trip!  Here are just a few that I took during our quick trip to Lake George, NY.

How exciting to be back in fall foliage!

 

Andre tapping the beer keg at the Adirondack Pub & Brewery Octoberfest

 

Our favorite Octoberfest music...
FRITZ'S POLKA BAND!

Reflections on the Wild Wild West

Greetings from Rhode Island!

 

Now that I am back on the solid ground of the Northeast, where nothing is shifting, sliding, burning, bubbling, steaming, quaking, erupting or blistering, I thought I would share some of the signs we came across during our travels out west, where the earth seems to be still in the toddler or angry teenager stage compared to the more stable, sedate, solid, unmoving "middle aged" earth we rest on here in the east. Some are very serious - others we snapped because we found them amusing- but all point out the stark differences between our two coasts.

 

Needless to say, hubris will ensure that as soon as I post this entry, there will be some kind of major earthquake or other catastrophic event right here on the "safe" east coast.  Sorry Folks!!

 

 

Yes, we camped here...

 

Yes, we took this trail

Huh?  Never understood this one

This sign was at Lake Tahoe in June

 



 

 

We did adhere to this one and keep out!

  

Yes, we drove through San Andreas - but no earthquake

Cheating on this one - it was from Florida
 not the west coast but I thought it went with this post

 

These last two are just fun ones

 

Entering Arkansas

Well, we can cross another state off our list. Yesterday evening we crossed over into Arkansas amid thunderstorms and Tornado warnings.

Most of our day driving north through East Texas yesterday was unbearably hot and humid. We took a brief side trip to Shreveport, LA to check out the city (a flaming hot 2 hour sidebar that left us anxious to get the hell out of the "oven" of Texas and Louisiana and head to cooler climates north and east) and then got back on a major route heading toward Arkansas.

When we left Shreveport, the skies had grown dark and ominous and it was clear that a nasty storm was on the horizon. This was good news in a way, because we knew the temperature might break, but it also created the environment for tornadoes, which we definitely preferred not to experience.  We toyed with the idea of changing direction to avoid the storms, but a few minutes on my cell phone weather apps told me that there were similar tornado warnings and severe storm warnings basically in all directions, as it was a pretty large front. So we kept to our planned path and just pulled off the road when the thunderstorms got ominous.

No tornadoes materialized where we were and we were grateful for that. The rain and occasional clap of thunder continued for a few hours into the evening, but other than that, we spent an uneventful evening in Texarkana, Arkansas. Today we plan to drive across Arkansas, with a stop in Hope, Arkansas at the birthplace and childhood home of Bill Clinton, which is now a National Historic Site. We will likely be in Memphis, TN by this evening.

The days since my last entry from Marfa, Texas have been very enjoyable. We left Marfa after the music festival and headed to Big Bend National Park for a visit with our good friends, Ranger Rob Dean and his wife Angie. We enjoyed visiting a few of our old haunts in the park and had a great night out on Monday night celebrating Andre's 51st birthday with Rob and Angie in the Terlingua Ghost Town at our old Monday night haunt, The Starlight Theatre.

We spent time driving through some of our old "get-a-way" towns (Alpine, Marathon & Fort Stockton) and I spent some time shopping for a few pair of new jeans in the best place for jeans in Alpine - Johnson's Feed and Western Wear. Yes, you can actually get feed there (we didn't need any), along with ranching gear, farm implements, sturdy western clothing and a great assortment of genuine cowboy and cowgirl boots.

Eventually all of our shopping and re-visiting of old haunts was done and we headed out of West Texas and started East toward Livingston, TX our technical "home town", where we needed to do some banking, renew our inspection sticker on the van and pick up our mail. We camped one night at the Escapees RV Park, our "home base" and also the source of our mailing address and then headed out yesterday mid-day to start our journey out of Texas and back toward New England. Here are just a few photos from our brief visit back to Big Bend NP.

Watching Ranger Rob's "Roping" program up at the Chisos Basin in Big Bend

A return to Santa Elena Canyon where the water was quite high

El Cosmico - a Desert Hoot

Well, this morning we finished up our volunteer stint at the El Cosmico 8th Annual Trans-Pecos Festival of Music + Love and I have to say it was quite a good time. While we were prepared for anything - and frankly were expecting it to be a little kooky, if not a lot kooky, it turned out to be very cool and one of the best times at a music festival that we have had.

 

 

And while Marfa, TX has built a name for itself as one of those artsy, extra-terrestrial loving, slightly off-kilter desert experiences (google the Marfa lights to see what I mean), this "cosmic" music festival had an endearing quality to it and, true to far West Texas standards, was a hands-off, authority-free affair with few rules and even fewer rule-followers.

Dogs ran free, as did toddlers, junior-size hipsters and L.A. music elite, alongside a sea of chic-ly dressed Austin-ites sporting fashionable cowboy boots, fringe, leather and clever T-shirts, with the occasional tie-dyed bandanna or red silk Texas Flag shirt thrown in for good measure. Of course, there were Marfa locals as well and a sprinkling of music fans from the neighboring town of Alpine to round out the crowd.




Andre checks out the information board on day one of the festival

Camping options at the festival ranged from renting one of El Cosmico's on-site classic trailers, yurts, teepees or tents (many furnished with beds, linens, hassocks and furry throw-rugs), to people sleeping in their cars and everything in-between. If you paid for camping, you could basically pitch your tent anywhere on the festival site. All within easy ear-shot of the main music stage, and within convenient walking distance to a variety of food trucks, coffee and beer tents, and a variety of other vendors for those who can't go an entire weekend without shopping.

The music began at 7pm each evening and during the day, folks filled their time lounging around, admiring an odd assortment art installations, and partaking in the eclectic assortment of on-site workshops offered throughout each day, including workshops on things such as Paper Marbling, Botanicals Folkloria (huh?), Introduction to Ukulele, Cosmic Cactus Utopiary, Chain stitching and of course, the ever-popular Sausage 101. You won't be surprised to hear that Andre & I spent our afternoon driving to nearby Alpine to visit the Big Bend Brewery instead! ( I mean really, how much cosmic cactus topiary can you take?)

But the music -- That's what really made the weekend fantastic. There was an incredible line up of musicians and bands including some of our favorites, including Elizabeth Cook, John Doe and the Old 97's. And the culminating band on the last night was none other than Rhode Island's own Deer Tick who closed out the festival on Saturday night in grand style.  Here are some photos from the weekend.

A few of the Teepees and tents rentable on-site...

On-site open-air hot tubs were just one of the many
oddities available to the festival-goers

It was a relaxed affair for the musicians as well.
This is Old 97's lead-man Rhett Miller quietly reading a book in the coffee tent
 during the afternoon!

 

We enjoyed listening to some of the bands doing their sound-checks in the afternoons

 

Our first time seeing Elizabeth Cook did not disappoint

John Doe's set was absolutely fantastic and really classy as well.

Old 97's closed out Friday night in style....

Rhett Miller awesome as always

John Doe joining Rhett Miller on stage was an unexpected treat

Enjoying Deer Tick's afternoon sound-check

Deer Tick Wraps up the Festival on Saturday Night

Not bad for a couple of Rhode Island boys!

Bixby Canyon Bridge (Andre)

We have lots of planned and unplanned adventures, moments, and special things that we experience as we travel down the road – certainly one of the many amazing parts of the life we are living. This one fits in as unplanned, small, but really cool, at least to me!

We were driving down the Pacific Coast Highway on a recent early morning, about 9:00 or so. It was cool, cloudy, foggy and we were a couple of hours south of San Francisco. We were talking about the day ahead, the unusual weather conditions, and the nature of the amazing 2 lane, twisty road we had been on for the past few days.

Then we turned the corner and I gasped. Laura will tell you I don’t gasp much. There right before our eyes coming out of the fog and mist was an amazing bridge in the distance and a sign on the side of the road for the Bixby Canyon Bridge.

I forgive you if you are not familiar with the band, Death Cab for Cutie, and don’t get the reference. One of the many things we have gotten from our kids is great music and this is a band that Nick shared with us. Well, one of my favorite albums by them is ‘Narrow Stairs’ and the song Bixby Canyon Bridge is the first song on the album.

I really like the song – it’s haunting and thoughtful and sincere with great questions to ponder. I didn’t know the bridge was real, though I assumed it was. I just wasn’t expecting to cross it that day.

Enjoy the picture of the bridge and click on the link for the song if you like.

 

Link to song ‘Bixby Canyon Bridge’

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4St1fiq2F8I

Heading East and Back into the Desert

Greetings! Just a quick post as we finally turn direction and head east toward AZ/TX. Spent our last night in the San Diego area last night (La Mesa/ El Cajon) and are heading east on Route 8 in Southern California to finish up the state. I am typing this from El Centro, CA and we expect to hit the Arizona border this afternoon.  It is strange to be back along the Mexican border - although a part of it we have never traveled before. Our surroundings have turned arid, rocky, and brown - with a notable absence of the color green except for on the sides of the Border Patrol vehicles!

We were shocked at how quickly we felt like we were in the desert again and how little time it took for the thermometer to register 90, then 95, then approaching 100.  I did note with pleasure that our destination for the weekend in Marfa, TX is only supposed to be in the mid 70's or around 80 degrees, with cooler nights. That's good, as we will be camping out in the desert during the Trans Pecos Music Festival from Thursday through Sunday morning.  Then we have a camping spot reserved for two nights in the Panther Junction residential housing area near our old friend Ranger Rob's home in Big Bend National Park. We will be celebrating Andre's 51st birthday with them on Monday night at our old haunt, The Starlight Theatre in Terlingua, TX. It was a no-brainer. After all, everybody who read our blog last summer knows that Monday night is burger night at the Starlight....

For now I'll say goodbye...

Goodbye Beautiful Pacific Coast

 

 

Goodbye California Highways

Goodbye Pacific Coast Seals & Sea Lions (WA, OR & California)

Goodbye West Coast Breweries...

And Cheers until the next destination......