The Dream Year

It's A Bird, It's A Plane...IT's My Man in A Plane

2010-04-29T13:10:00.000-07:00

Alan got to take a short plane ride with a friend out of the local airport. So cool is that he called me on his cell -- while in the air over the next town away -- and said, "We'll be circling the house in 5 minutes." And so they were...
Photos of him as co-pilot (actually,just a passenger), and over our valley and our street. And can you see the dot in the sky on the last photo -- I was so excited that I could see their plane -- that's them in the sky above and beyond our barn.

Google Search

2010-04-29T11:14:00.000-07:00

PostScript

2009-06-12T05:58:00.000-07:00

Not really The End...

Thanks for all the comments here and via email about this blog and our trip.

And then there are those of you who are just coming to visit...
probably because you read about the blog either in BookWomen or Woodstock Revisited
(if so, you may want to browse backwards through some of the photos and entries).

Whether you are a long-time or a new reader of The Dream Year, I'll let you all know soon about the next blog, the next year, Being Home and future Dream Years.

So as they used to say...
Stay Tuned.

Contact me at
BHpurple(at) aol (dot) com

THE END

2009-05-28T08:13:00.000-07:00

as the dream year drifts to its conclusion
is there anyone here reading?
what do other dream years offer?
should I write another blog?

photo of the reminder card that was taped to our Roadtrek dashboard
of the items preparing for "take-off"

and .... home again
photo of our small, cozy, wonderful homes for the year
The Roadtrek --- 22 foot Class B RV, Conversion-Van
and Dream On, the 26-foot MacGregor Sailboat with 50 hp motor

so for now,
As Garrison K says:
Be well, do good work, and keep in touch.

The Merry Month of May

2009-05-28T08:01:00.000-07:00

A lovely month home..getting reacquainted and resettled. With friends and family. House projects. Etc.
Photos are of some of our activities...a hike/stroll that Alan and I took with Eve and Stan at a state park. Lots of bugs but also great spring wildflowers; Rebecca when she and I went to the first Bainbridge Open Air Market of the season (an annual ritual/favorite); at our Memorial Day weekend potluck with our neighbors; and books for sale at the Bibliobarn, outside of Hobart, a town trying to model itself on a british booktown.

Our sabbatical officially ends this week. It's been a year... a wonderful one. Difficult to summarize. I hope to create a digital photo and word chronicle this winter -- using some of the blog photos and some of the other thousands of snapshots we took and have on our computers!

Alan and I will both be working out of the Afton office. I will also be seeing clients in Binghamton. Because we sold our building when we left (after being there approx 25 years!), I will be working out of an office at another established psychotherapy practice.

Looking forward to it all, appreciating it all, the times we had, the present transition, the times to come.

Home Again and Still the Dream Year

2009-04-27T03:42:00.000-07:00

Arrived in Afton on Saturday morning, a glorious one at that. (You can thank us for bringing the good weather with us!)
Lovely to be here...perfect time...the hope of spring.
Alan already jumped into doing projects like mending the garden fence and tilling.
I am slower in that area. Unpacking and organizing will take me awhile.

We are spending time with family and friends.

You know, this Dream Year doesn't officially end till the end of May.
The transition home and new choices and plans are part of it...
so stick around. I'll be writing more.

More Caves

2009-04-24T14:35:00.002-07:00

Had to stop at Luray Caverns in Virginia while we had the chance. Although tame caving -- a self-guided tour via audio headsets on a paved trail - this was another natural wonder. A mirror lake, "fried eggs" made of broken stalagmite, soda straws, totem poles, small villages, creatures and mythological formations, a wishing well -- who needs Disney indeed. Alan said it was the stuff of -- dreams and nightmares!

The End of the Line - Almost

2009-04-24T14:30:00.000-07:00

from SC

First photo of us with our friends Char and Steve in Beaufort; they are traveling the ICW on their 36 foot sailboat, Namaste.

Second photo of our Roadtrek van with the boat trailer.
We had driven a rental car to FL to pick it up and we were on our way back to SC.

Last two in Charleston at the Mega-Dock at the City Marina. We were pretty far down the 3000 foot dock and our boat could barely be a mascot (or dinghy) for those BFBs -- uhhh, big boats.

This is where we pulled out just yesterday morning. And our timing was good..we had been thinking about boating further north. Our friends and others are delayed -- many bridges are closed in the NC area due to the wildfires.

History Lesson in Charleston

2009-04-20T16:16:00.000-07:00

We took another walking tour, this one in Charleston, SC, a larger city than Beaufort
with another character. We really enjoy touring with one-person companies.

Marianne, a British transplant, came to Charleston in the 1960s and has been leading walking tours for 25 years. She is older than us, recently celebrated a birthday, and will not divulge her age. Can you guess from the photos? She's oh-so-proper with just-so make-up, a straw hat, her slim body in neat top and skirt, adorned with a double strand of pearls and matching earrings.

She too had a shipwreck story (so did Jon Smart,our tour guide in Beaufort and he milks it for all he can) but gave us only the briefest of detail -- it was off the coast of spain when she was 19.

Alan and I were her only strollers today and she lamented that April is usually very busy. Maybe it is the end of an era...this walking and talking. We saw a number of full horse-drawn buggy tours go by but they don't stop and go into gardens, churches, museums, etc.

Of course, the city history is full of rich white men, the slave trade, the churches (which are beautiful) and the natural disasters (hurricanes and earthquake).

Marianne is interestingly opinionated with first-hand knowledge from her experience with historical preservation projects and serving on local boards.
She, and we, were appalled that in the recent renovation of City Hall rather than restore it with Georgia marble, the city had it imported from Italy.
As part of the changing of the town she also related how she used to be invited into certain neighbors yards, whose inheritors are not so welcoming.

There's a hint of school marm when Marianne seems slightly disappointed that we can't correctly answer her southern history quiz-type questions and
she doesn't warm up to me, I don't charm her, probably less so the more I try.
Alan reassures me later it is her, she is very British

And an unplanned but serendipitous meeting along the way...
a woman in her side yard as we go by asks if we'd like to see her enclosed garden. Which we do and chat and then I ask her a few questions and from her answers can tell that she's probably an academic, maybe a writer which she is and then I figure out that many decades ago I was in a class with her sister-in-law at the
New School (taught by Letty Cottin Pogrebin, a founding editor of MS magazine).

The tour ends with tea in her small courtyard garden. It has seen better days just like she has. Overgrown weeds and former hopes, shabby elegant.A real delight.

History Lesson - Charleston, SC

2009-04-20T16:15:00.000-07:00

One Complaint...Oh, My Aching....

2009-04-19T14:39:00.000-07:00

I haven't felt this way since 1976.
Two weeks after I returned to NY, after my second round-trip across country (lasting almost a year), I went for a medical consult because I had a recurrence of vertigo and insomnia. When the practitioner questioned me, I replied that I had driven a U-Haul van from CA. That was the real source of my problem she said... Seems like my body was still vibrating from the travel, especially when I lay down to sleep.

Although this time my body is being moved even when we are standing still as well as taking the vibrations/movement with me. When I am on land I still feel the rolling. Alan keeps reminding me it will take a few weeks to get my land legs back.

But I am not sure I can really say I have my sea legs either. When we first started this part of the trip I felt like an agile salty. I could lithely go forward with a line and jump off onto shore from various points on the boat. But after days of that and nights in the small cabin with no headroom, I am withering and tightening. A little sciatica here, another discomfort there.

I'm gonna need a vacation from all this leisure!

The Dance of the Details

2009-04-19T13:47:00.001-07:00

Logistics....we knew we would be looking for the confluence of services and convenience. Weren't sure when we began this part of our trip how far or long we would go. Thought for a number of reasons that we'd pull out before the end of April.

So, based on the stars...the weather, a place to rent a car, a launch ramp, a place to leave the boat securely while we drive down to Stewart FL to get the van and trailer, Charleston seems to be it!

Tomorrow for touristing and Tuesday for driving to FL.
A few days of travel.

We can see home.

Charleston, Charleston (da-da-da-da)

2009-04-19T13:40:00.000-07:00

We took another long leap...for us in the boat that is....about 70 miles from Beaufort to Charleston, SC. A large and busy port. We stayed by the maritime center dock last night and got bounced around so moved over to the larger city dock and are getting bounced around...more expensive and the restrooms/facilities are a looong ways to go.

But enjoyed our sojourns today. I walked around the historical district and to the National Monument (for Fort Sumter and the civil war history) and Alan sailed for awhile as he wended over to the other marina.

Then we met at the downtown market....interesting booths and wares, including local specialties from pecans and pralines to sweetgrass baskets.

Tomorrow more touring and then...
stay tuned.

A Friend's Request... Participate?

2009-04-19T06:01:00.000-07:00

Hi...
When was the last time you heard someone make a truly outrageous statement?
The one statement that causes you to say, “What the …?” For instance, the mechanic who said my right tires wore out faster because I “made so many right turns,” or the car dealer who said if I’d wanted a good paint job (on my brand new Corvette) I “should have gotten a Cadillac.”

I’m looking to collect as many outrageous, ridiculous, unbelievable (and yes, even bitchy and sexy) of these stories as possible and I would like to add yours to my collection.

Send whatever you can – things your lover, first date, last date, boss, co-worker, mother, brother, in-laws or neighbors have said to:
please cut and paste this to your e-mail address line.

whathaveyouheard@hotmail.com

Then, please send this e-mail to people you know. I would like to get as many responses as possible and could really use your help in casting a wider net.

Everyone who contributes will get a list of the compiled outrageousness.

I appreciate your help with this endeavor and look forward to reading your best outrageous declarations. This should be fun! At the very least, it will provide a reprieve from the daily grind . ... and maybe get that little something “off your chest.”

Michael

Captain at Control Central

2009-04-17T18:49:00.000-07:00

I like Alan's makeshift office. Notice all the sticky notes on the cabin wall overlooking him as he checks charts and course.

Southern Charm and Southern Character

2009-04-17T18:24:00.000-07:00

Enjoying a few beautiful days in Beaufort, SC -- that's beau-- fort, pronounced like beautiful
(compared with Beaufort, NC, which is pronounced Bow-fort).
The marina is part of the lovely downtown waterfront park and a block from the historic area.

We don't usually take historical tours...because we find them boring. Often a well-meaning but poorly trained person droning on in a monotone...about this period of history or that local family.
But we took the real deal with a real character, who knows he's a character. Jon Sharp's Walking History -- highly recommended if you are ever in beautiful Beaufort. (Click to get to his website.)

Beginning with Jon's story of his seasickness and shipwreck after one February day at sea decades ago...which led to his landing and loving this area to his interesting and dramatic details of the american wars and weather, Jon is fun to walk with...in his words:

"Soon after Columbus discovers the New World, a Spanish sea captain sails into what, one day, will be Port Royal Sound and claims 'Santa Elena' for Spain. Then the great pageant of America is played out here in Beaufort, as the Spanish, French, English and Indians battle relentlessly for her. You will hear of Indian wars, massacres, pirates, slaves, planters wealthy beyond belief, the Revolutionary War, the Civil War, a great fire, a catastrophic hurricane, and the wonderful stories of the incredibly brave and tenacious people of Beaufort who lived through these times."

We also ate our way around the town...shrimp and cheesy grits, crab cakes, and soft shelled crabs...are some of the specialties.
The shopping is fine too -- enjoyed the shopkeepers as well as the stuff and with two bookstores and a library.

And we got to spend some more landtime with our boat friends, Char and Steve. The more time we spend together the more we realize we have in common. And also able to all chat about our plans and concerns as our sabbaticals come to a close.

Next stop Charleston....

Georgia

2009-04-15T05:48:00.000-07:00

Stayed in Brunswick a second night and ate a fine Easter Brunch at the newly opened 4th of May Restaurant (named after the owner's mother's birthday) which featured fried chicken and scalloped pineapple along with the other usual holiday dishes and unusual-to-us southern specialties.

Yesterday, we started out at 7 AM because we were trying to make a lot of distance fast and relatively early in the day, as there was a storm forecast for later. Usually we can hop, skip, and jump north in smaller increments, from 15 to 45 miles. But there were no marinas on this isolated part of the water for 70 miles.

I spent most of the blustery hours down below while Alan motored us along the GA ICW. We both got a bit nervous about whether we could make it with the limited amount of gas we can carry. The conundrum is...if we go fast enough to get there quickly, we burn too much gas to get there (that long a haul) at all! About seven hours later, with just over two gallons of gas in our tanks, we pulled in to the old marina where we planned to stay for the night. Alan had to request an inner space away from the gas dock. I walked up the rickety wood ramp to the ship store to register while Alan was tying us into our dock space. There were two guys ahead of me who had just pulled in with the very large motorboats and one said to me while eyeing the store, "There's a tornado watch and this place won't be good to come in to get out of its way...it's too shaky and has a lot of glass." So although we weren't out on the water, the weather was still a concern.

The short of the long of it is that the storm hit just as Alan and I both went below. And it poured for hours, steadily, some thunder, a lot of wind but no tornadoes. The boat got pushed around a bit but we hunkered down, sipped soup for dinner and were cozy.
News is that FL got hit harder with heavy storms and tornadoes.

And this morning as we were untying the same man came over to Alan and asked if he and his friend could follow us out into Hell's Gate, a narrow shallow part of the waterway. We draw less water than they do (about 3 1/2 feet to their 5 feet) and they were concerned about running aground. Alan, after reading our depth gauge, kept reassuring them over the VHF radio, "Depth is 10 feet...oh, we dropped to seven but holding there."

We are the babies on the water (the Dream On is a 26 foot trailerable MacGregor sailboat with a 50 hp engine)...one of the smallest traversing the ICW -- mostly a comfort issue
Funny part was -- the electronic navigational systems of the two large boats following us probably cost more than our boat does!

FEELINGS about the ECONOMY???

2009-04-12T15:18:00.000-07:00

How Do You FEEL about the Economy? The New York Times wants to know. They keep updating the responses. And you can fill in your own response, or choose from their list. I am -- cautious.

Fill in How You FEEL about the Economy.

Purple Aries Women

2009-04-12T06:04:00.000-07:00

Happy Birthday to US
Happy Birthday to -- the Purple Aries Women

There are four of us...all friends with birthdays on four consecutive days (April 12 - 15) and with a predilection for purple (inc. at least one purple room in our homes).
I will miss our annual celebration -- including our witty partners,
and great food and wonderful connecting chat and purple presents.

Postponed but not forgotten.

Along the Way

2009-04-12T05:35:00.000-07:00

Took a short hop from Jekyll Island to Brunswick, GA....about ten miles, north on the ICW and then down a side channel.
An hour and a half of threatening skies, heavy chop and spray, dealing with the wake of larger boats,,,,see us both hunkered down for some piloting. It was actually quite nice and the weather turned lovely, albeit continued heavy winds, once we arrived.

We wouldn't have known to stop at the small Farmer's Market, somewhat hidden but close by, if we didn't get such a long rap and multi-page handout at the marina office about all the local to-dos. (Each town marina handles the intro differently -- some give a map or a folder, some give none, and depending on who is behind the counter dictates what kind of advice you get).

Highly recommended was Earlleen's booth at the Farmer's Market. Earlleen's crabcakes, buttermilk pie, sweet potato pie, and cream cheese poundcake made for a great picnic lunch. Her booth with food and teddy bears is pictured.

Followed by a walk around the historic district....with stops and chats at Hattie's Books, Color Me Happy - Paint Your Own Pottery, art studios, library, etc....the town was pretty quiet the day before Easter.

(Lois, a co-owner of Color Me Happy, a few years younger than me, went to HS just a couple of miles from where I did. The box in front of her is full of her hand-painted gift certificates, great idea, and also used at an art gallery with classes next door. I like how the woman business owners collaborate -- two of the book groups that meet at Hattie's serve food and have been eating on paper plates. The plan is for over twenty women from those groups to go over to Color Me Happy and paint new plates -- definitely a classier presentation for the women who share cookbooks and recipes!

We were disappointed that the evening performance of the play "Waiting for Oprah" (with performances on Saturday evenings from March through May) was cancelled. The intimate stage and seating was in a large back room of an art gallery. Smaller than Cider Mill but with the same idea -- coffee and dessert served. Capacity of thirty people.

I did think we might get to see some local theater during our travels this year. But other than the Ashland Oregon Festival (fabulous; I saw three plays in three days!) we have either been a day or two late or a day or two early.
It would have taken much more planning than we wanted to do...this trip has been one of spontaneity and of stumbling upon new opportunities, which has suited us well.

Jekyll Island, GA

2009-04-11T05:14:00.000-07:00

Another Georgian Island, more inhabited (but restricted development) and similar history of the rich building "cottages" which were mansions.

First photo is of one of the island hotels. We had bicycled from the marina to this historic district. Ate lunch on the wide veranda (although I wasn't dressed for it -- more sailor-grunge than southern belle

Next three photos are of us with our new travel friends, Char and Steve, on their boat Namaste.
Char is giving my conch-shell lessons but she was the pro -- blowing the "horn" as the sunsets-- a skill they learned during their three months in the Bahamas.

Steve puttered over in their reliable motored dinghy to take us to their boat for dinner. Lovely time.

Theirs is an ocean-going vessel. 36 foot Cape Dory. In addition to size, their boat is over three times the weight of our boat (4000 lbs to 17,000 lbs) making it much more stable. Less rocking and bouncing anchored out then we feel at dock.

Hoping to meet up with them again...which is more probable than meeting up with road-trip friends. Here on the ICW we are all following the same course!

Georgia On My Mind

2009-04-10T05:53:00.000-07:00

Part of yesterday's wonders...Alan already wrote about the challenges...was stopping at Cumberland Island.
I love islands as much as I love caves and this one has a rich and not-always-lovely past. If I could illustrate it, I would use overlays like in old books. There were the native Indians, and then the British and Spanish, there were the rich-and-famous from Nathaniel Greene's crowd to the Carnegies, and there was also slave trade and cotton plantations. And now...overseen by the National Park...there are trails, wild horses, and the ruins of the mansions.

Our boat at the dock...from the serene scene, you can't tell that it was a hairy landing. Was very choppy and a large wake from a passing boat while I was forward with a bow line and Alan was on dock and almost couldn't hold the line to the boat...with me on it.
But calm and beautiful on the island. We skipped the Ranger talk and explored.

LOST ON THE ICW

2009-04-10T05:29:00.000-07:00

Yesterday we traveled from St Mary's Georgia to Jekyll Island, Georgia, a distance of about 35 miles on the waterway. I had looked ahead on the charts and saw that we had to cross Jekyll Sound and go a little bit out into the Atlantic Ocean to continue on the waterway.

Usually the waterway is rather narrow with lots of channel markers to guide you where the channel is and where it is too shallow to go. On the ICW heading north you keep the red markers to the left and the green markers to the right and usually you can see from one marker to the next and lots of times you can see a whole row of them.

However crossing this sound that was not going to be the case and so I prudently entered the needed data into our GPS navigational device and when we entered the sound I followed the direction it told me to go.
As anticipated the markers were too far away to see and so we were motoring blind so to speak.

After what seemed like too long a time, no markers were in sight and I was at the spot my GPS said I should be. Uh oh! What now?

Oh forgot to mention we had already run aground out in the middle of this big open body of water and I couldn't figure out why. There was nothing on my chart to run aground on if I was where I was supposed to be.
Now what to do?

Looking carefully at the data I had entered into the GPS and lo and behold I had transposed a number. Even though I had checked twice I got it wrong.
So now what?
Re enter the correct data in the GPS and get back on course.
Not so fast - first we need to know where are we cause if we go from point A to point B not knowing where we are we might run into something on the way.
No problem - just look at the GPS and get a latitude and longitude ( there are no charts on our GPS) then look at the charts to pinpoint where we are.
Oops again - we are about 3 miles out into the Atlantic and our charts don't go out that far and I hadn't loaded the additional charts into my computer.
So we feel our way back into Jekyll Sound now truly blindly because we have no chart and of course we run into shallow water again and run aground again.

Now I'm getting really upset though Barbara seems pretty calm and it is a beautiful sunny day with not much wind.
Eventually we get to deep water and find the sea buoy we are looking for and get back on course.
Many lessons learned (the same ones again)and hopefully I will be a more prudent mariner from here on. Ha!

Alan (posting from Barbara's computer)

Enough about ME??

2009-04-08T15:48:00.001-07:00

Just received a copy of this via email -- with a request to fill in about the sender and return (I did) and then send it on to others (which I didn't)...but here you have it. Anyone game, just jump in.

Where did we meet?_______________________________________

Take a stab at my middle name?______________________________

Do I speak a second language?__________________________

Am I a cat lover or dog lover?______________________

Color of my eyes?:_________________________________________

Do I have any siblings?___________________________________

What's one of my favorite things to do?_______________________

What's my favorite type of music?:

_____________________________

Am I taller than you?__________________________

Am I shy or outgoing?_______________________________________

Am I a rebel or do I follow the rules?____________________________

What is my birth month?____

I am a member of which political party?_____________________

Have you ever heard me sing?___________________

How many children do I have?_____________________________

If you and I were stranded on a desert island, what is one

thing that I would bring? ______________________________________

Am I right handed or left handed?_________________________

What type of work do I do?________________________

I can't wait to see the answers!

We Didn't Start The Fire

2009-04-07T05:17:00.000-07:00

I really like the Billy Joel song, We Didn't Start the Fire....but never caught all the mentions.

This online video illustrates the song, all the mentions of people and events with still shots, and the year they are from...and if you want to pause and learn about the person or instance you can click on the image and get connected to an entry at wikipedia. OR you can just enjoy the song.

I do think this is one of the fun ways to use the internet -- finding people whose hobby has overwhelmed them. This guy spent over 40 hours developing this and it has had over 11 million viewings!

Check it out yourself (and as for me -- I've gone to live links...just click):
We Didn't Start the Fire

St Augustine

2009-04-06T18:55:00.000-07:00

We are meandering north on the ICW. This first week has been lovely, easy and slow boating.
With stops in small town marinas, great and simple views along the waterway, and pleasant interludes – like a lovely Farmer’s Market. Some muggy days, a few minor navigational challenges and a slight delay.

On Sunday I called to reserve a slip at the marina and after asking me our boat info (name and dimensions), the dock master queried “ETA?” I told him that we expected to arrive within the next hour or two since we were within ten miles. He responded, “No, mame, we won’t be able to let you in then”

Me – Why? What’s the problem?

Him – Well, it’s the dressing of the fleet.

Me – (Thinking Naval Ceremony) How long will the Dressing of the Fleet take?

Him – No, mame, it’s the BLESSING of the Fleet and it will take anywhere from one to three hours depending on the number of boats wanting to be blessed.

This is an annual Palm Sunday tradition in St Augustine.

When we arrived outside St Augustine, like all the other boats, we were stopped by a small police boat with the same information. We hung out for about an hour and a half and watched boats festooned with flags and laden with palm fronds motor out of the channel.

Today’s forecast and conditions convinced us to stay here another day. It poured briefly and was gusty. It is supposed to get colder and windier over the next few days but without the threat of thunderstorms.

It is a lovely city to walk around in with an historic district and good restaurants.
We also stumbled into an interesting event this evening. George McGovern speaking at Flagler College. Open to the public. He is, of course, much older (than I remember him) and less dynamic but still so thoughtful. He spoke about making St Augustine his winter home, about the Middle East conflicts and wanting to bring the troops home sooner than President Obama’s plan, about ending world hunger, and his 13th book, about Abraham Lincoln, just released as part of a series on presidents. Sweet, intelligent, nostalgic, inspirational, hopeful.

We are planning to move on tomorrow but with another scheduling challenge. There is construction going on at the bridge right outside the marina, that we need to pass under, and it is on a restricted schedule. This week the bridge will be closed from 7 am to 8 pm every day -- except it will open only two times at 1 pm and 1:30 (usually opens every half hour except during morning and evening rush hours).

I thought Alan was going to want to make it out before 7am but he says our running lights aren't good enough for dark/evening navigation. So we’ll spend the morning here – that’s fine with me, a morning shower and a stroll over to check out a bookstore which I noticed only after it closed.

small town FL

2009-04-06T18:53:00.000-07:00

The Orchid Lady at the Farmer's Market sells individuals stems as well as plants.
The office supply store has a great collection of old typewriters and steno machines.

Holy Mackerel

2009-04-06T18:50:00.000-07:00

Mackerel sky, snack bar, another opening bridge (single bascule)....

TRAVELING THE ICW - BOAT TECHNICALITIES

2009-04-05T18:24:00.000-07:00

We are in St Augustine Florida more than 200 miles north of where we put the boat in the water. Not bad for our first week on the ICW.

We are traveling in a rather unique boat that would be classified as a motor sailor except that most motor sail boats are big heavy displacement hull vessels that cannot exceed their hull speed no matter how big an engine they have.

(Max hull speed = 1.3 times the square root of the waterline or for us about 6.5 knots = 7 miles/hour).

Our boat a MacGregor 26x is water ballasted - that is instead of a heavy lead keel or weight at the bottom of the boat or hanging down, the boat takes in approximately 200 gallons of water into its double bottom hull which increases the boat's weight by about 1600 pounds, providing the stability so the boat doesn't turn over when the wind presses on the sails. The boat also has a flip up centerboard and flip up twin rudders. The water is easily added or removed and so since we are traveling on the very sheltered waters of the ICW we have lots of opportunity to motor rather than sail. We have begun to drop our water ballast raise our centerboard and rudders while under way and this allows with the aid of a very large (for this size sailboat) 50 horsepower engine to achieve speeds of 18 miles per hour.

Some people we pass on the waterway are astonished to see a sailboat speeding by and the ability to go fast if and when we want increases our daily range as well as adds to our safety to get someplace when the weather turns bad.

Today we did 25 miles with water ballast in and so it took us about 3 1/2 hours (we had a following current) giving us a much quieter, enjoy the scenery ride.

Binghamton Tragedy

2009-04-04T16:38:00.000-07:00

Our hearts go out to our home community in response to this tragedy.

Thanks to all who called and emailed for sharing the news and your concern for us.

Scenes from the Water

2009-04-02T16:03:00.000-07:00

VERO BEACH TO MELBOURNE, FLORIDA

Great to explore the sights walking distance from the marina.
We could have taken the shuttle into the shopping area but preferred strolling over to the Museum of Art. One of the main exhibits, Navigators, seemed apropos of the Dream Year. An exhibit of the works of Marc Petrovic, it was engaging visually and verbally -- through the words/sentiments that accompanied his pieces:

We are all navigators, travelers on our journey between waypoints.

We, as vessels, have times in our life when we pick up and move onto
a new phase in our life, a new body of water.

Marc is a glassworker and a mixed-media artist. The pieces shown all were backed with nautical charts and lined with glass shelves that held bottles, bubbles, boats, and shells all made of glass. Since pictures can be worth a thousand words, just click this link to see his website and work.
http://www.marcpetrovic.com/
We left land in the late morning.
If you traveled from 11:30 am till 4:15 pm, how far would you go?
We traversed all of 34 miles during that time.

Generally it is slow boating on the ICW. We motored most of the day and due to slight winds, we had our sail up only for a short time. The weather was changeable…started out overcast, the wind was going our way which is good for forward motion but also intensified the 90-degree heat and humidity.

The waterway varies in width along the ICW and was pretty narrow all the way; land is easily in sight. We saw rows of bland Mac-mansions, lines of more modest homes fronting trafficked roads paralleling the ICW, stretches of lush bush, sand bars and small islands, water birds in the mangroves, osprey nests, small fishing boats with their groupie pelicans all gathering their catch , other “sticks” and many “stinkpots” (the nicknames of sailboats and motorboats).

It became choppier, windier, and started to sprinkle. And just as we were pulling into the channel to dock at the marina, those threatening clouds opened. It poured, really poured, we were drenched, sopping…and good-natured about it.
We dried off, it cleared up, and we ate dinner at the dockside restaurant.

Vero Beach Museum of Art & Sculpture Garden

2009-04-02T16:00:00.000-07:00

SAVE IT

2009-04-01T05:03:00.000-07:00

Save the Earth, the dolphins, clean water, innocence, spare change...everyone's trying to save something.
And for all my fellow language-lovers, here's an easy one to adopt :
SAVE THE WORDS

just click and you'll be at the site...

enjoy browsing or become the parent of a word on the endangered list

What WORD will you adopt today?

Tiny Techno Toy

2009-03-31T07:58:00.001-07:00

I have a new techno toy – it’s the cutest, handiest, and cheapest ipod speaker.
I often want to listen to my ipod nano but unless I need to be quiet for others around me, I prefer not using earphones.
This easy plug-in runs on just one AA battery. Obviously, the sound quality might mar the best musical choices but it is fine to broadcast my favorite podcasts -- Listening to Sunday's Puzzle and Wait,Wait, Don't Tell Me (NPR -- you do know that they are free downloads from the itunes store, right? Can listen from your computer or load to your MP3 player.)

Underway - We Cast Off

2009-03-31T07:54:00.000-07:00

Underway

2009-03-31T06:10:00.000-07:00

Writing this now while underway...
started the ICW trip just yesterday.
Using our aircard for online connection and an inverter to get juice to my laptop....boy, this tech life is a hoot.

Your boating the "Icey double-u"? What's that?

Here goes...Lesson 1

The ICW, aka The Intracoastal Waterway, is a protected inland waterway, built so that vessels don't have to travel on more exposed bodies of water (like the Atlantic Ocean). Although officially routed from MA at the Annisquam River snaking all the way down the east coast and across the Gulf to Texas -- THE PIECE THAT MOST PEOPLE REFER TO IS THE SECTION FROM NORFOLK, VIRGINIA TO MIAMI, FLORIDA.

News update -- Right now, via VHF radio, Alan is calling the North Fort Pierce Highway Bridge tender to request that he open the double bascule bridge to let us pass through. Our boat height is approx. 35 feet and the bridge's vertical clearance is 26 feet.

By starting our trip in Hobe Sound we bypassed a gaggle of low bridges but there will be some along the way. Here, the bridge tender was able to let us pass within five minutes but many bridges are on a restricted schedule -- and will only open every half hour or hour upon request and occasionally less so in rush hour traffic above, on the bridge's roadway.

So, back to the basics...we are boating north from FL towards Virginia. We have allotted four weeks for the trip, with plans to pick up our (beloved) van and boat trailer from storage by the end of April.
We could make it all the way to Norfolk if we kept on a strict schedule...but that's not the point. Let's see what the route offers...where we may stay based on choice or necessity; our moods and the weather are also important determinants.

An end note for Lesson 1...
Alan and I both like the line, "If I had an outfit, I'd be a cowboy too."
Most vocations and avocations are identified by their "outfits' -- the accoutrement, the clothes, and the language.
So...ahoy, matey... grab your boating cap and join us for this part of the journey.

The Third Part Begins with Provisioning

2009-03-29T08:52:00.001-07:00

The Dream Year seems to be a three-part harmony. Starting with our great cross-country trip out west in the Roadtrek (aka the van, the RV), this mid-section of going back home and then spending special time with family and friends in FL., ending with a boat trip north on the ICW -- from FL towards Virginia -- which starts tomorrow!

We are in a county campground moving stuff from the RV to the boat with plans to put the van with the boat trailer in storage and launch the boat from Hobie Sound.

Looking forward to the adventure but reluctant to give up my landlubber living in our small traveling home.

And one might wonder about the order of things...
as far as living space (but not by the calendar and weather) it would have made more sense to begin in the boat and then move into the van, which then would have felt so spacious.

Alan and I continue to share this small RV space well...but we are moving into an even smaller space with less amenities. Less bathroom, less kitchen, much less storage, etc.

But we'll have our own "front porch" or, depending on how you look at it, back deck...as long as the weather is good, we spend a lot of time in the cockpit, piloting, eating, reading, relaxing, water and sky watching.

One of the things both of us like about boating is that you approach towns and neighborhoods from the back, rather than the front. Backyards can be more telling -- sometimes prettier, sometimes more cluttered (toys and laundry), less trafficked and just more personal.

We'll keep you posted!
What's up where you are?
Is spring welcoming you?

Dock Friend Dave & NY Times

2009-03-26T19:12:00.001-07:00

A few weeks ago I wrote about going shrimping with our dock friend Dave Yoo and his family at Pennekamp Marina.
I also mentioned that Dave is an author...

and I just found out that his most recent book just got a thumbs up from...the NY Times.
Below is the review from the March 13 children's section of the book review:
(( So, let's all go out and buy the book. -- Even if it's not yet available on my kindle))
Yeah, Dave!

STOP ME IF YOU’VE HEARD THIS ONE BEFORE
By David Yoo.
Hyperion. $16.99. (Ages 13 and up)

It wouldn’t seem possible to make high school jocks, popular girls and losers fresh and hilarious, but Yoo does it. His Romeo and Juliet story is a winner (outcast Albert Kim with popular girl Mia? No way), but it’s Albert’s ice-dry telling of his tale of woe that sets it apart. From his uncool Korean parents with their “legitimately tragic childhoods” to the angry little kids next door (“a barrage of iceballs arc overhead like grenades”), Albert views growing up with all the comic sweetness and unsentimentality it deserves.

And The Day Ends

2009-03-26T19:02:00.000-07:00

From beach walks to sunsets at Bahia Honda State Park, FL

The Day Begins

2009-03-26T18:59:00.000-07:00

in Bahia Honda

Flagler's Folly in FL

2009-03-25T08:19:00.000-07:00

Went on a ranger walk this morning -- theme of the railroad built from miami to key west in the early 1900's. The relatively new ranger laughed about portraying an Irish conductor -- with his spanish looks and accent.

Notice -- that the group seemed to drift away from the ranger and program...and settled by the fence overlooking the water, after a few participants sighted two rollicking dolphins.

Yes, it was a folly...and Flagler was one of those interesting man I'm glad never to make acquaintance of...another resourceful, arrogant yet fanciful entrepreneur who probably would undermine any of my observations because I am female (where does this historical projection come from? Maybe I've been reading too many historically-reconstructed novels). But I love his bridge. The broken bridge. The pilings are more secure than that of the newer bridges on the Keys. It is a beautiful spot to watch the sunset and the break in the bridge is a wonderful focal point for photographs. (I like the one in a previous entry with the framing of the full moon).

MORE HISTORY -- THAN YOU MIGHT WANT TO KNOW from wikipedia
After the United States announced in 1905 the construction of the Panama Canal, Flagler became particularly interested in linking Key West to the mainland. Key West, the United States' closest deep-water port to the Canal, could not only take advantage of Cuban and Latin America trade, but the opening of the Canal would allow significant trade possibilities with the west.

Initially called "Flagler's Folly", the construction of the overseas railroad required many engineering innovations as well as vast amounts of labor and monetary resources. At one time during construction, four thousand men were employed. During the seven year construction, five hurricanes threatened to halt the project. Costs were estimated at between $20 million and $40 million.

Despite the hardships, the final link of the Florida East Coast Railway was completed in 1912. In that year, a proud Henry Flagler rode the first train into Key West aboard his private railcar "Rambler", marking the completion of the railroad's overseas connection to Key West and the linkage by railway of the entire east coast of Florida. It was widely known as the "Eighth Wonder of the World."

my note -- good timing on his part; he died not more than six months later after falling down a marble staircase

Demise
Much of the Overseas Railroad in the Middle Keys was heavily damaged and partially destroyed in the Labor Day Hurricane of 1935, a Category 5 hurricane which is often called "The Storm of the Century". The September 2, 1935 storm killed between 400 and 700 people and devastated Long Key and adjacent areas. The FEC's Long Key Fishing Camp was destroyed, as was a FEC rescue train which became swamped at Islamorada.

Already bankrupt, the Florida East Coast Railway was financially unable to rebuild the destroyed sections. The roadbed and remaining bridges were sold to the State of Florida, which built the Overseas Highway to Key West, using much of the remaining railway infrastructure. Many of the original bridges were replaced during the 1980s. The Overseas Highway (U.S. 1, which runs from Key West to Fort Kent, Maine) continues to provide a highway link to Key West. Many old concrete bridges of the Overseas Railroad remain in use as fishing piers and pedestrian paths.

FLORIDA Update

2009-03-24T10:05:00.000-07:00

This vacation in warm weather continues...

Alan had a great week sailing with the guys...even if it rained a few times and the wind was strong and in their faces or nonexistent and some other tribulations boaters face.

And I had a lovely, leisurely, connecting week with my brother and sister-in-law...activities like the art class and ikebana exhibit (last two entries) and movies, bicycling, eating, shopping, etc....and chatting more than ever -- about politics and economics, books, friendships, art, and family and neighborhood memories. A special time.

And now, Rebecca has joined us for a week and we are back at the marina at Bahia Honda State Park (the Keys). Although the snorkel/tour boat hasn't gone out for days due to high winds and chop, my intrepid boaters have taken Dream On out this afternoon to test the waters.
So I decided to stay land-based, a walk on the beach and this break on the Roadtrek to write to you all.

How are things back home? What are you up to?

Ikebana & Origami

2009-03-24T10:02:00.000-07:00

Enjoyed this demonstration and show of local ikebana school and origami. The man who makes the paper jewelry, is a multi-talented artist, who sculpted the bowl (no glue or adhesives; just folded water-colored paper) and it was purchased by my sister-in-law.

The ikebana demonstration both demystified the process (start with three elements and place them in such-and-such proportions at 15/45/and 75 degree angles) BUT THEN mystified it again with some of the more subtle and not-so-subtle rules for these seemingly simplistic creations. Sometimes the vases and vessels are just as interesting as the flowers themselves.

FL - Bonita Springs Art League Class

2009-03-24T09:50:00.000-07:00

My artist sister-in-law Phyllis is taking a wonderful class about...collage, installation, creativity, with the incredible side-effect of creating an interesting and supportive great of women artists.

The assignment for this particular class session was to create three projects using fabric -- one piece that would be exhibited on the floor, one on a wall, and one from the ceiling. Diversity of responses. And the "artist at the easel" -- was one woman's combined answer to this challenge -- Lulu, the painter, hung from a strap while working on a canvas on the easel, with a decorated floorcloth beneath.

Phyllis, my s-i-l, is pictured sitting at home working on her woven bowl project. The finished piece -- with a handwritten note about the sharing of arts and crafts, asked the viewer to participate, as the woman in the bright pink shirt is doing by knitting a row on the collaborative project. And the bright-pink shirted woman also created the bright pink hanging.

And Grace is pictured with her wall project and that hanging scarf mobile is hers too.

All fun and truly inspiring. As the instructor, Jennie, summed up -- these artists are now empowered to create without obstacles of presentation.

THE BOYS GO SAILING

2009-03-20T04:19:00.000-07:00

sailors & beach waking

2009-03-17T15:38:00.000-07:00

from Bahia Honda
first photo -- those small silvery jellyfish are "deceased" but the odd puffy thing held by the ranger is a man-of-war -- which can be a true super-villain. Even if you try to steer clear of them in the water, their tentacles octopus out....to about twenty-five feet. When Alan went snorkeling with a tour boat last week, I didn't go -- the water was too cold and rough for me. Four folks got seasick and a man was stung on his bald spot by a man-of-war.

FL Update

2009-03-17T15:29:00.000-07:00

Really enjoyed the both parks and marinas we stayed at in the Keys -- Pennekamp and Bahia Honda.
Then we returned to the Miami area to begin two weeks of activities with family and friends. Stayed at Black Point State Park and Marina and had a delightful conversation with the dockmaster there. Only problem -- the wonderful all-outdoors restaurant there gets raucous. We had been used to sleeping with the boat open...catch the breezes, see the night sky (had fabulous full moon) but if we did that at this marina, we'd get loud lousy music and a greasy french fry smell. So slept with hatch closed and the AC on.

And now, Alan and I have parted ways.

We are not together --
for a week. Pre-planned and fun.

We both liked the idea of him keeping to his annual tradition of boating with a couple of his close friends. Donald and Isaac flew down and the three of them are now off on an adventure.

I am staying with my brother and sister-in-law in their lovely home in Naples, FL. Although I wondered what I would do here for a week...it seems like we won't have time to take advantage of all the wonderful possibilities.
Yesterday the three of us rode bikes about five and a half miles through Naples, lunched at the great Dock Restaurant, and then biked back (I find pedaling after eating more difficult).

Today I was a solo woman of leisure -- went for a haircut, to the library and out to lunch, and a matinee. Finally saw (and loved) Slumdog Millionaire.

More activities planned -- I get to go to a collage class with my artist, sister-in-law Phyllis and to a gallery opening.
I'll post some of her paintings.... but you can also check out her website.

Click Bored

2009-03-11T08:32:00.000-07:00

http://www.dhteumeuleu.com/dhtml/fractal-F.html

so many internet ways to waste time
and to be creative?
if you follow this link -- of divisibe shapes -- you might lose ten minutes of work OR ?

Flashback

2009-03-10T17:30:00.000-07:00

I'm included...my short essay to be published in the anthology..coming out soon. Just in time for the 40th anniversary.

Just got photo of the cover but haven't read the other entries yet. What a hoot!

Today's Catch - The Atlantic View

2009-03-10T17:22:00.000-07:00

(you can click on the photos in the collage for larger views)

The Continuing Adventures of Lady Landlubber and Captain Waterboy

2009-03-10T07:58:00.000-07:00

When I mention this part of the Dream Year -- us traveling with the boat for the next few weeks with friends and family and our plans to motor/sail up the ICW from FL to Virginia in April -- there are those who are impressed. Some actually get starry-eyed, envying us the adventure. But many of you have told me -- I'll continue to read your blog but I'm not a boat person. True confession – neither am I.

Years ago, in a NH craft co-op, I bought a lovely painted tile. The scene of a woman reading cozily in an overstuffed chair by an open window, the curtain blowing in a slight breeze. Her view is overlooking a sailboat out on the nearby water. Ahhh...my perfect vision because I love to be by water, near water, overlooking the water. I like the sights and sounds and smell of the ocean, rivers, lakes, and ponds. And sometimes I like being in it -- splashing or snorkeling or some water sports, espec. kayaking.

But I can't swim, hate cold water, don't like being damp at the end of the day, and get both seasick and sick from motion sickness medication. As for sailing...I don't understand the wind, can't read a chart, and definitely don't like the run in heavy winds with the boat keeling over.

So how did I end up here?
As you know, the captain loves water. Thrown in the pool by his father when he was eighteen months old, rather than form a lifetime phobia or a relentless resentment at the potential abuse, Alan swam. And took to boats like, well, of course, -- a fish to water. He owned boats before I knew him and jointly owned a 17 foot day sailboat when I meet him in graduate school. Yet for years, we didn't talk much about boats. After all, we moved upstate NY-- not close to boatable bodies of water.

I don't know exactly how and when it happened but some of our vacations became boating holidays. I initiated the first family outing when I signed Alan, Rebecca, and I up for a few days on a restored racing yacht out of Camden, Maine. During that lovely time on the water, Captain Jory taught Rebecca the card game Go Fish, we were served simple and delicious vegetarian meals, and we caught the local Shakespeare in the Park right across from the dock as we disembarked.

We also sailed in Canada. And I encouraged Alan to go off with sailing buddies which he did to FL and the Caribbean. In 2001, the semester after the last college tuition payment, Alan asked me to go shopping with him. We make a good negotiating team and purchased a brand-new 26 foot trailerable MacGregor sailboat with a 50 horsepower engine.

Over the years I’ve certainly been initiated into the boating life and had some harrowing experiences on boats including our own, Dream On…we endured an engine fire, we dragged anchor in a lightening storm, we’ve run aground, motored through three and a half days of rain, and were hit by another boat – at dock while we were sleeping.

I am a fair weather, calm water type of boater. I like leisurely motoring on a canal, approaching a city from its waterway, exploring towns from their ports, chatting with other boaters at marinas, and the sensations of the outdoors, warmth and breezes, viewing the sunrises, sunsets and night skies.

I look forward to new sights and experiences along the ICW as well as enjoying how much Alan enjoys being on the boat, and how he looks younger and laughs more when he is sailing. It’s obvious…a major reason to spend more time on the boat is because I love the captain.

A Day at the Park

2009-03-09T18:09:00.000-07:00

Bahia Honda FL State Park and Marina
(click on collage for larger views)

Seduced to go Shrimping

2009-03-09T17:58:00.000-07:00

Dock friend, Dave, enticed me to go shrimping by noting it was definitely a bloggable event...and as you can see, it was. Alan and I joined the family, Dave and Jess and Sugar and Bob, and the volunteer group from the Univ of Toledo on Alternative Spring Break.

Humans armed with nets and flashlights pointed into the water, those poor little critters never had a chance.

And then I missed the last part so no photos of...pinching off their heads and cooking the headless bodies for three minutes in boiling water.

I admit, I really do like shrimp cocktail!

Signs of the Times

2009-03-08T09:22:00.000-07:00

Loving signs, subtle and overt, and campground views.
This hot pot on the dock (photos above) and words on the side of a truck (no photo available):

"Have breakfast with an international diplomat and a rock star fresh out of rehab?"

Hmmm, I read -- what's that about?

Next line... "We'll drop them off early?"

Did you guess yet?
It was a sign/ad for a newspaper. Clever indeed.

Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park, Key Largo FL

2009-03-08T09:12:00.000-07:00

I am sitting in the van in the parking lot next to the JPennycamp Marina.
Alan is going out on the boat with a lovely couple from the Boston area in their 30s who we met here. She's a clinical social worker and he is an author of young adult novels and a fiction writing instructor.
(Check out his website:
www.Daveyoo.com
I'd have bought his books today but alas, they are not available in ebook/Kindle version).
I don't want to be out on the boat today but will probably go kayaking later with Alan like I have done for the last two days. Beautiful calm protected waters for small boats but they will be out in bigger waters.
We will probably come back here when Rebecca is visiting in two weeks.

Yesterday was an incredibly lovely day.
Our upstate NY friend, Eve is down visiting with family and she and her sister and brother-in-law came to spend the day. I had prepared a picnic lunch. They didn't want to go out on the big boat but four of us went kayaking. Eve's sister was initially reluctant and Alan is great encouraging folks with those hesitations. Now she loves kayaking and would go again and would buy one, etc.!!
She and Alan went out in our inflatable and Eve and I rented a two-person sit-upon.
(I left my camera in the van).

Later we got a recommendation for a restaurant from the man who runs the marina and it was great. Sundowner in Key Largo. The whole thing including a small band singing about the sun going down as we were watching it from an incredible vantage point, at an outdoor table. (Photo below) The fish dinners were very good and Alan and I are doing a test-taste of key lime pies....
We wonder if there is a company named "Best" who distributes to all the restaurants in the Keys because so many places have signs -- Best Key Lime Pie.

FL - Pennycamp and Key Largo

2009-03-08T09:11:00.000-07:00

Campground Views

2009-03-06T13:29:00.001-08:00

1 & 2 -- Two men in the morning, watercolor painting waterbirds.

3 -- Woman, with computer, shielding herself from the glare of the sun OR from the glance of a passerby whilst she does her online banking OR ?

4 -- The book exchange here in Pennycamp is in two plastic bins on tables underneath the Campground Host sign. This "local library" ranks as the most weather-oblivious-site I've seen.
(Filled with too many old magazines...but I did find a novel of political intrigue by an author that Alan reads.)

Pennycamp, Key Largo

2009-03-06T13:14:00.000-08:00

1. Our boat at marina slip (notice the clouds).

2. Notice how this slip is bow (front of boat) to dock. Face docks, which a boat ties off to sideways, makes it much easier to get on and off the boat.

3. Alan lazing in Largo.

Yes, Frisbee Golf

2009-03-06T13:04:00.000-08:00

One if By Land and Two if by Sea

2009-03-06T12:27:00.000-08:00

One, we have the RV with us and two, the boat is in the water.

We are lazing the day away at John Penneycamp FL State Park in Key Largo, FL. Alan and I were here together about thirty years ago. That time I got seasick when we took a snorkeling tour -- a story for another time.

This time, we called last week to get reservations and were told that the campground was full and that most reservations had been made approximately a year ago! So, Alan thought to call the marina here in the park and they had space for us. In addition, each boater is allowed parking space in the lot right in front of the marina building for their vehicle and boat trailer.
Good deal for us.

These days feel more vacationesque than a lot of the first part of our trip. Vacationesque in the sense of...we just do what we would usually fit in between all the living of a normal day. Taking a walk, making lunch and eating a leisurely picnic, some chores, reading, writing emails. The time it takes to do them expands.

It is windy, with small craft advisories -- which translates to too rough for me to be comfortable out on the water. We did inflate our kayak and paddled through protected waters this morning.

Crapper Intrusions.They Stink!

2009-03-04T09:27:00.000-08:00

There is much to be said about semi-communal living and the sharing of public spaces like campground bathrooms. Some are just small events that one doesn't anticipate. Like the snarly dog edging into the cubicle I was sitting in this morning from under the next stall. My request that the owner pull her dog back seemed to wake her.

Then there are the signs, literal signs.
Some of you may remember the one of the tsunami alarm.
Alan doesn't like campground notices about food. Inviting one to an Ice Cream Social or BBQ.

There is not much graffiti in the public bathrooms we frequent but there is more and more paid advertising. I lifted the bad pun in my title from the ad with the man with his head popping out of the toilet in the poster. Can you read it?

We Love Comments!!

2009-03-03T08:12:00.000-08:00

We love hearing from you including your emails about your doings and response to this blog. But we'd like to hear from more of you, if you'd like to stop just peeking...I've copied an old post (from May) describing the ease of the posting process. Really, it's easy.

Dear Readers,

We really like the responses that we have already been getting about our recently inaugurated travel blog. Some people comment directly on the blog and some in personal emails to us. Both are encouraged and appreciated. But there have been questions about how to comment directly on the blog. And when Alan said he didn't know how to access people's comments, I realized that I should explain.

Under each blog entry, on the lower right-hand corner there is a link, in small blue letters, "comments."
It will have a number in front of it. If you look at the posts now, you will see a few have "0" and a few have a number. The entry, A Packer's Lament, presently has "7."

Click on the "comments" and you can read the comments that people have written and/or post your own.

It is easier than it looks. Here's what to do:

Type your comment into the box on the right hand side of the page (where it says "Leave Your Comment").
Complete the "word verification" -- just a precaution for the blog not to receive spam.

Then click on one of the options under "Choose Your Identity."
The easiest one is: Name/URL
You can fill in any name you want...Probably your first name is best. (You do not need a URL to post -- you can leave the field blank if you don't have one or don't want to share it. If you do have a blog or website of your own, this would be the place to enter the web address.)

If you would like a direct response from myself or Alan, please check back later in the comments for our response, or be sure to include your email address in the body of the comment if we do not already have it.

Finally, be sure to click on the "Publish Your Comment" button when you are finished. Please only click once, even if you do not see your comment appear immediately, as it sometimes takes a few minutes for the page to update.

Frisbee Golf VS Shuffleboard

2009-03-03T05:32:00.000-08:00

Judgmental I am and then I wonder...why do I rate frisbee golf "better" than shuffleboard?
At the expensive RV park we stayed in outside Naples, FL, a featured morning activity was the women's shuffleboard tournament. Let's just say...I missed it. I was in the shower and getting ready to leave.

Then it was another land-travel-across-the-state day -- Alan driving the van and towing the boat -- we found this lovely county park to stay in for a few days, Easterlin Park in Broward County. More trees, less people, same amount of dog walkers, no shuffleboard, and a few duos, male, tossing discs around. On some sort of golf course area with tees and baskets. So what's with this? Why am I discriminating?

Now you know where we are. Some of the van/boat logistics are challenging. We'll leave here Thursday to travel south to the Keys for a week of boating.
We'll keep you posted.
What's happening where you are?
And our northeastern friends, how are you faring with this lion of a March?

In With the Big Rigs

2009-02-28T17:31:00.001-08:00

Towing our boat, we expand from a 22 foot van to an approximately 50 feet combined vehicle...and need large space at an RV park. Now the big rigs don't look so big.
But RV parks can still be strange places...
when we arrived tonight there was a 4 pm Happy Hour, the "horse race" in the photo (guess one can only participate after getting happy) and square dancing at 5 PM.

When we stopped in an RV park in Savannah, I enjoyed checking out the crafters and watching a watercolor painting workshop. I reported to Alan that when I asked "where are the men, what are they doing?" One woman responded, "I think my husband is doing Sudoku this morning and will play shuffleboard this afternoon."

So when we come home, should we invite you over for horse racing and shuffleboard?

Laughing Friends

2009-02-28T17:15:00.000-08:00

My new favorite quote:

Among those whom I admire, I can find no common denominator, but
those whom I love, I can: all of them make me laugh.
W. H. Auden

Our friend Mike picked us up at the marina where we left our boat for servicing -- during rush hour and just before he was going out on a date. What a guy. He brought us back to his house again (thought he had gotten rid of us) and we hung out another couple of days. Leisurely days at his lovely home.

We had a marvelous time there...not just because Mike is a gracious and generous host. And offers us wonderfully comfortable accommodations. But because he is fun, intelligent, interesting, and makes us laugh! And looks like we make him laugh too.

Bagels & English Muffins?

2009-02-26T14:36:00.000-08:00

Cousin of a Bagel

2009-02-26T11:42:00.000-08:00

Here in Florida, I have found an old love. Not a person. A food. A soft chewy roll.
If you know that the cousin of a bagel is a bialy, you are probably from Brooklyn.

Here's the wikipedia description:

Bialy, a Yiddish word short for bialystoker, from Białystok, a city in Poland, is a small roll that is a traditional dish in Polish Ashkenazi cuisine. A traditional bialy has a diameter of up to 15 cm (6 inches) and is a chewy yeast roll similar to a bagel. Unlike a bagel, which is boiled before baking, a bialy is simply baked, and instead of a hole in the middle it has a depression. Before baking, this depression is filled with diced onions and other ingredients, including (depending on the recipe) garlic, poppy seeds, or bread crumbs.

(and for those who want to read more, see
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bialy)

I never get heartburn after eating a bialy like I often do from heavy bagels.
Bialys taste great with cream cheese and lox. For an even better treat, add capers, tomato, and a slice of muenster cheese. And some swear by extra onions, raw.

I admit that you can sometimes find bialys in upstate new york....like at the Ithaca Bakery.
But here in FL, in the Publix supermarkets, in the frozen food section are boxes of bialys to be eaten anytime...and they are de-lich.

Dream Year, Dream On

2009-02-25T18:23:00.000-08:00

ironic that this is the van and the slogan of the marina that is servicing our boat
(did you know that the official name of our boat is -- Dream On?)

Broken, Lost, and Did Someone Move the Island?

2009-02-25T17:44:00.000-08:00

I spent a few hours today on my bunk with my pillow cradling my head, shielding my ears from a constant high-pitched alarm. We were broken and lost. But at least on calm waters on the Gulf ICW, a sunny warm day, in a populated area.

Last time I wrote we were anchored in St Petersburg and had a lovely easy onboard dinner.

Diversion -- forget 30 Minute Meals. On board I especially like 5 in 5 (the five ingredients came from a box, three cans, and a jar), unrefrigerated, like couscous with diced tomatoes, peas, tuna, and marinated artichoke hearts.

But as we were tucked in cozily to go to sleep the wind shifted. Once it blew through the cove we were in, it seemed to ricochet and so what had been leisurely rolling became chaotic rocking. Alan says he knows he slept because he kept getting woken up. A bad night for both of us.

So it was nice to start out early this morning as we had planned. Out of St Petersburg back towards Clearwater. We knew we had six or seven bridges to go under like yesterday. Most of the drawbridges are 25 feet high and need to accommodate taller masts (approx. 35 feet) like ours by opening.

Alan turns the marine band radio to channel 9 and says "Bridge tender, bridge tender. South going vessel, Dream On, requesting that you open. Thank you." The bridges will open at certain times (like every twenty minutes or on the hour) when requested.

Sometime after the second bridge the alarm went off. And wouldn't stop. Even after Alan felt the engine and checked it and took out the thermostat. We knew we had to get the boat to a marine service station. After calling and finding one, we looked for it. We continued motoring -- with that damn alarm shrieking. That's when I finally went down to my bunk. But I popped up every once in awhile -- because we couldn't find Marine Max. We had seen its on-the-water billboard, got directions...the man actually said, "It's behind the island,"...but I tell you there were many channels and islands.

Finally we found it, and docked, and the guys were helpful....and so our friend Mike slogged thru rush-hour traffic to pick us up once again. Boat will probably be there for a couple of days.

Boating

2009-02-25T17:41:00.002-08:00

Bridges opening
Alan before and after the alarm
(see narrative above!)

On the Water

2009-02-24T15:57:00.000-08:00

First, a summary of where we have been:
After a lovely visit with our friend's Phyllis and Richard in Lake Placid, FL, we drove up to the Fort Lauderdale area. Nice, albeit short, visits with Alan's cousins and then my nephew and his family. Then stopped at St Pete's Beach for a library event before we went back to our friend Mike's house in Palm Harbor -- where we had left our boat (and now left the RV there). Mike was an old salty by the end of the day he spent on the boat with us since Capt Alan gave him sailing lessons.

Alan and I overnighted at the Clearwater Municipal Marina -- a very active tourist dock. Dinner cruises, fishing boats, jet skis, kayaks, pirate ships, snorkeling and shelling excursions,...all rentals there anytime. But our night was quiet and peaceful.

Spent today boating...mostly motoring with a tad bit of sailing. As I am want to do on water....I slept a lot on deck. We are now anchored out in St Petersburg harbor.
We did just over 36 miles in six hours. Boating is slow living.

This is a short trial run. For us being back on the boat, checking systems, and preparation. Lists of what we forgot (confession -- I am wearing men's underwear!--I am so comfortable in Alan's Patagonia's because that is something I forgot to pack. Alan only forgot his toothbrush).

Photos and more stories soon.

What are you up to?

Lake Placid photos

2009-02-22T17:54:00.000-08:00

Visiting friend's in Lake Placid, FL

2009-02-18T12:57:00.000-08:00

Lovely lake and area. In the late 1920s, Lake Placid, FL was renamed by snowbirders from residents of New York's Lake Placid (losing its original name, Lake Stearns). Headed by Dr Melvil Dewey, better known as the inventor of the Dewey Decimal system.

There are 27 small lakes in the area.

But the town is also known for being...ta da...
The Caladium Capital of the World (a plant with colorful veined leaves, similar but larger than coleus).

A Town of Murals. Over 35 murals depicting the history and geology of the area. With pride and perseverance, the town's mural society keeps the murals protected. I love painted towns...and here the illustrated garbage cans are just as nice (and funnier) than the paintings on the side of the buildings.

And a Town of Clowns -- a museum and training center.

Our friend's, Phyllis and Richard, have rented a cheery cottage, decorated in blue and yellow, with a screen porch with a long-view of the lake. A short stroll down to the beach. Alan gave kayaks rides yesterday.

Sunny and mid-70s with a light breeze.
No one's complaining here.

Lake Placid, FL -- The Painted Village

2009-02-18T12:54:00.000-08:00

Please Vote -- Which Boat?

2009-02-18T12:46:00.001-08:00

Blog survey -- which boat do you think we should take up the ICW?

A.

B.

C.

Going Boating

2009-02-16T07:50:00.001-08:00

Choice D (see entry above)

what our blog looks like....

2009-02-14T17:27:00.000-08:00

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from wordle
just click and look

FL Time

2009-02-14T17:13:00.001-08:00

We are having a great time visiting our friend, Mike, in Palm Harbor. Went to the cutesy town of Tarpon Springs, and saw the sponges and Greek restaurants (and, sadly, the Greek linens -- which were made in China) and a whimsical art show at the Tarpon Springs Cultural Center -- of visual work with puns. (Interested -- check out the artist and her work at ElizabethCoachman--dot--com)

Alan and I went to a West Marine store to buy some needed boat supplies. Planning to put the boat in the water tomorrow to check it out, all three of us go sailing, and then take out and leave boat here while we do some travel and visiting with the Roadtrek only.

FL BIRDS

2009-02-14T17:01:00.000-08:00

Happy Valentine's to Us ...and to You

2009-02-11T18:03:00.001-08:00

Savannah

2009-02-10T17:55:00.000-08:00

A Lovely Day in Savannah

After two long driving days, we decided to stay in Savannah a second night and go into the city for the day.
Alan unhooked the boat so we could leave it at our spot at the campground and we drove the van to the Riverfront area of Savannah. T-shirt weather, an active and picturesque port, great southern cooking, arts and crafts, and cobblestone streets; we really enjoyed ourselves.

Incredible basket maker. Should I believe that her last name, as her card says, is really DaVine? Her baskets are woven out of all wild vines that she gathers. She sits and weaves the day away and says each basket takes about two hours to create (half hour for gathering and one-and-a-half hours for weaving). She has found a use for kudzu, the invasive plant, as one of her weaving materials. She shared a southern saying about it...If you sleep in the south, you'd better close the bedroom window, lest you be strangled by the kudzu! Wish we could have fit more than the one we purchased.

Center Market has lots of small art galleries...some with older more experienced artists like the one in the photo...selling her original oil and giclee prints of landscapes and flowers. Soothing and simple images. I liked her painting of two red adirondack-style chairs by the side of a lake...as did two women with a self-published book, who asked to use a copy of the painting for the book cover.

Southern cook Paula Deen is VERY Big down here -- with a store and restaurant, catering business and line of specialty sauces and other gourmet foods.

Nice people, good energy, great stories (many artist's like to talk and talk about their art and their inspiration and I like to listen).
And Alan and I also commented on the seeming continuation of building and construction projects. Signs that say: Opening Spring 2009.
Did no one tell these Georgians about the state of the economy? An air of growth and optimism. Of course, that's probably not the whole story yet it was a wonderful feeling and a respite from the specter of crisis.

Some Shots of Savannah

2009-02-10T17:52:00.000-08:00

Traveling Along

2009-02-09T16:06:00.000-08:00

Monday Morning

How cool is this?
I am writing to you from the back seat of the RV as Alan drives. Our verizon card “air card” keeps me online most of the time but I just got kicked off as we drove into an area with different cell coverage. So, I’ll compose offline and post later.

I think we are in NC now. Alan got up way too early and we were on the road again just after 4 am, waking in the Walmart parking lot in Roanoke, VA. We’ll both wait to take showers since we are planning to stop at a campground in Savannah this afternoon with hookups and amenities – and the campground listing says it even has an RV car wash. The RV by itself doesn’t fit into most carwashes…and certainly wouldn’t with the boat. Both the van and the boat are filthy with remnants of new york mud and salt.

I don't drive at all when we are trailering the boat. Too big a leap from driving a 21 foot van with a few extra feet for extra tire and bikes (the latter which we left home this time) to this over 50 feet configuration.

It is warming up and the sun is shining.
And I am all set-up back here…with computer, kindle, books, my journal, snacks, etc.

Amazon has a press conference in a few minutes and I – and a lot of folks – am anticipating an announcement of an updated kindle…Back online so …Excuse me while I try to track it down.

Later.
Couldn’t find a live-video so I monitored three blogs each with live feed – in the moment-- of each blogger’s impressions and some photographs.
Just as expected, the kindle 2 was released with some great modifications and additions.
Not enough to entice me to update yet, but definitely makes a magical toy even better!

IF you plan to buy a kindle, please use the link on this site (on the right). It won’t cost you any more…or sadly, any less but if you purchase the kindle via this blog link my amazon associates account will be credited and I can order some free reads.

Later still.
Driving days like this are similar to long plane rides for me. I confess to eating junk food and playing Scramble on facebook. I started purging my overly-long list of “favorite” blogs
The ride is a little bumpy (road turbulence) but I get all three seats and all my stuff.

Got to campground outside Savannah. The carwash is broken! But the showers were good. Sat outdoors overlooking a large pond with ducks and geese.
To explore the city tomorrow.

We're On The Road Again

2009-02-08T13:59:00.001-08:00

Sunday, February 8

510 miles and a 5-state day

1. Early morning at home. Alan hooking the boat to the van...it is dark and icy.
2. On the street, ready for final inspection.
3. Hours later

in Virginia, sunny and in the mid-60s.

4. No photo -- we are in a Walmart parking lot for the night. Easiest place to park (and free) when traveling with a "big rig." The Roadtrek and the boat measure approx. 50 feet and we are now parked with the truckers.

Boating Soon

2009-01-31T19:06:00.000-08:00

The reality is our van and boat are down at the bottom of the driveway in snowy and cold upstate NY, waiting to go.

But, as you can see, we are ready to navigate the waters.

Depending on the weather, leaving for FL next weekend.

HOME and Baby, it's cold outside!

2009-01-27T06:14:00.001-08:00

Well, what did we expect? As all you northeasterners know...that thermometer hovers around the single digits.

We arrived home on Saturday night. Our house cozy, clean, uncluttered, inviting (thanks, R) and BIG -- compared to living in a 21-foot van for most of our trip.
Sometimes I seem to be wandering from room-to-room.

I digress but -- we did stay a number of nights with friends and family in their lovely spacious houses...and this past Friday night was the only night we stayed in a motel. The vehicle had already been winterized because of the low temps -- and a motel provided more heat and hot showers.

We are really fine -- except for those who might question our mental health for returning at this time of year.
Although our decision seemed abrupt -- and it was spontaneous, like most of our traveling decisions this trip -- it was planned in the larger scheme of things.

We never had a specific date planned to return but we knew that after 6 - 7 months we planned to return home, stay a week or two, and then tow our boat to FL for the next part of the trip...boating in FL and up the ICW (Intracoastal Waterway).
And we have been on the road for over 7 months! Our departure date was way back on June 16.

There seems to be a weather window today for Alan and a friend to try to pull the boat out of its temporary garage before we get more snow.

Be in touch...we'll be here. Either here on the blog, via email (use regular format: BHpurple -- at -- aol -- dot -- com), or if you call the home/Afton office number, you'll get our cell number to reach us.

I'll be spending alot of time indoors -- unpacking and repacking, reading, stretching out while we have the space, visiting with friends, and sitting by the wood fire.

Hugs to all.

Driving Along...on Friday -Revised

2009-01-23T10:39:00.000-08:00

Travelin along, singing a song, side-by-side....on the Music Highway between Memphis and Nashville.

At least we are listening to our IPOD and radio as we wend eastwards.
Billboards proclaiming Jesus' Love across ones advertising Adult Bookstores.
I wonder what we missed, having passed the signs for: Mousetail Landing State Park, the town of Bucksnort, and Miss Marble's Tea Room Antiques.

As I was driving a shift, I thought....hmmm, about this time yesterday I was getting a massage, and now I am part of the trucker traffic on I40. After 11 am with over 1100 miles to go.

The landscape is more similar now to home...barren deciduous trees and evergreens and clouds in the sky. Even when it has been cold during the last couple of weeks, the sky was clear blue with bright sun. Today it morphed to "partly sunny" then "cloudy" and now grey, lifeless drained grey --- guess I'll have to tolerate it for awhile.
The van is winterized and I hope we are too! Retrieved our boots and down jackets from storage. ETA -- probably sunday afternoon.

Home again, home again, jiggety-jog?

2009-01-22T19:56:00.000-08:00

Although it's not the moon over Memphis...it's sundown driving towards (yet bypassing) Graceland
and wending our way east.

We know, the weather isn't great and some friends will be away...but ending this part of our journey feels right. Close to our estimate although we had never decided on an end date, we have been on the road over seven months now. In a few days, we'll be home. Planning to spend a couple of weeks and then tow our boat down to FL. for the next part of the "Dream Year."

Maybe we'll see you soon...

Hot Springs National Park, Arkansas

2009-01-22T18:31:00.000-08:00

Yes, the photos in the entry below and these chronicle the bathhouse experience preserved in the traditional way in Hot Springs National Park. A number of rich mineral springs provide the town with 143 degree water which is then cooled for soothing and healing modalities -- bathing and drinking.

An interesting history -- with questions about whether it is the smallest National Park (probably) and if it is the oldest of the parks (maybe -- it was one of the first federally protected lands but its official designation changed years later when it became the 14th National Park.) Along bathhouse row, there are a couple of traditional bathhouses -- like the one pictured -- on contract with the park service to provide services. On the other side of the street are shops and restaurants and more contemporary spas.

I "took to the waters" and had the traditional bath treatment -- soaking in a whirlpool bath, a sitz bath, a steam, hot packs, followed by a "needle-shower" (the weird piped shower in photo) and a massage. All for the sake of research...what a hard life!!

A National Park??

2009-01-22T18:16:00.001-08:00

Big Bend - Lost Mine Trail

2009-01-21T17:09:00.000-08:00

Big Bend is one of the largest yet least visited of the National Parks. Over 800,000 acres. Going there for a day seems like visiting a european city on a city-a-day tour. But that's what we did. Arrived one night and took a short walk from the campground. And then took two different trails the next day -- the Hot Springs Trail (described/pictured the last entry) and the Lost Mine Trail. Two and a half miles each way, steep but gradual (elevation gain of 1100 feet), with some uneven path and stone steps. Rewarded with wonderful views and the feel of a summer day.
Got the shot of the roadrunner on the trail; also saw javelina while driving around the park.

Big Bend -- Hot Springs

2009-01-21T16:54:00.000-08:00

The drive in and out was on a narrow, winding road. The sign in the parking lot (about frequent thefts) was not inviting. But during the day, this sunny site of an abandoned hotel/spa, is wonderful. The group of men soaking with Alan included a guy from Montreal, one from Minnesota, another from Alaska.
And this was all on the bank of the Rio Grande. Just across, wading distance, is Mexico.

The story is that a mexican had a snack shack for years on the mexican side...and that he drove there on his mule eight miles each way, each day. But since the big floods that washed through Big Bend this past September, when the Rio rose more than five feet above flood level, and his shack floated off, he hasn't been seen. Yet there is a little set-up of goods on the american side...honor system; a necklace, some rocks, walking sticks, and scorpions crafted from red wire and beads along with a money jar. No one has spied the shack man but the items are replenished and the handprinted sign with pricing renewed.

This Is Texas

2009-01-20T18:15:00.000-08:00

Quick Hello from Texas

2009-01-20T08:12:00.001-08:00

Inaguration day...and I am just going over to the campground cafe to watch all on the TV there.

Very spotty internet and less cell (and none for a few days before)...so, if you haven't heard from us, that's why.

Spent a couple of great days in Big Bend National Park (one of the largest and least visited) -- I'll write more about it and post photos soon.

Carlsbad Caverns, NM

2009-01-17T19:53:00.000-08:00

Another National Park -- with wonderful large caves. Spent a couple of days exploring...a few different ways.
The first day we went on a guided hike to the deepest part of the cave open to the public (King's Palace)-- with incredible formations. We took an elevator down 750 feet to begin the walk. Followed by a one-mile stroll around the perimeter of the largest room in the caverns.

This morning we took a more advanced tour -- from where all the photos from the last two entries were taken.
Quite a "field trip." Had to drive 23 miles past the Visitor's Center to get to the trail head -- and then up a steep hill to the cave entrance. (the sign explains it -- one-half mile, 500 feet of elevation. On uneven stone pathway.)

And here is the park description:

"The Slaughter Canyon Cave tour takes the adventurous visitor into an undeveloped cave without electricity or paved trails."

Strange formations and slippery walkways and the usual "blackout."
If you take cave tours, there are always extra flashlights and the rangers usually carry a couple a piece. When they get you in a small cave room and everyone is seated -- they ask everyone to turn out their lights. You really can't see your hand in front of our face.

But the formations, the minerals (calcite and gypsum), the enormous hardened piles of bat guano, the pictographs in this cave and the quirky history is what interests me.

A Cave is a Strange Place To Be

2009-01-17T19:49:00.000-08:00

Carlsbad Caverns, NM Part 1

2009-01-17T19:41:00.000-08:00

Where Are We? -- UPDATE

2009-01-13T20:07:00.000-08:00

Left AZ last week and into New Mexico...with a no-nothing stop in Lordsburg (because it was time to find a place for the night) and a rest-and-chore stop in Truth or Consequences (named after the game show).

Now visiting Sharon and Pat at their home in Albuquerque. Hanging out with a visit to Old Town, some movies and some Scrabble, Trader Joe's, the local library, etc.
Alan and Pat are collaborating on some house and van projects. A few electrical problems got figured out and our GPS/GyPSy got fixed. Maybe we can again find our way...

It has been cold -- but sunny. Enjoying our time together.

Hoping to make it to Santa Fe and then Alan and I will be off...probably to Carlsbad Caverns next.

A Magical Day in Bisbee

2009-01-09T16:39:00.000-08:00

Two days ago...woke in the campground above the Queen Mine in Bisbee, AZ.
I was having a slow morning and thought we'd walk down for the 10:30 am tour but realized that Alan preferred the earlier one, so we got ready and went there. And...

IT'S A SMALL WORLD
At the ticket booth, a male tourist and I started to chat with the usual openers including...Where are you from? When I responded he said -- Oh, my wife used to live in Binghamton.
Turns out that couple and us were the only ones on the first tour of the day AND the woman Debbie B., worked at probation when Alan worked at the Alcoholism Center (we're talking over twenty years ago) and they had professional contact! We had a good time catching up.

MINE TOUR
Yes, I wrote previously about enjoying Tombstone. Cute and hokey Tombstone. This was different. Bisbee was a copper mining town and the tour we were taking was in one of the mines that closed in the mid-1970s:

"In almost 100 years of continuous production before the Bisbee mines closed in 1975, the local mines produced metals valued at $6.1 billion (at 1975 price) one of the largest production valuations of all the mining districts in the world. This staggering amount of wealth came from the estimated production of 8,032,352,000 lbs of copper, 2,871,786 ounces of gold, 77,162,986 ounces of silver, 304,627,600 lbs of lead and 371,945,900 lbs of zinc!"

The guide was a former miner, as are all the guides...so he knew what he was talking about and inserted some personal anecdotes, like the time -- the scattering of the white cockroaches presaged a cave-in.

Check out the Queen Mine tour at this site -- you can even watch the video
http://www.queenminetour.com/index.htm

THE WEIRD AND NOT-SO-WEIRD TOWN
A lovely artsy town -- some Woodstock of old mixed with a slice of Jerome, AZ -- but locals will say Bisbee is all of itself. Forbes lauded it as one of the 20 "Prettiest Towns in the Country."

See the weird photos last entry -- I loved the house with the orange stuff. Did you notice that there were a bunch of Etch-A-Sketch's hanging?

THE DAY DEVELOPED AND I MET INSPIRING WOMEN
Drawn to the open artist studio through the glass, I walked into Uptown Tribal, the glass bead and jewelry store of Kate Drew-Wilkinson. A fun interaction with her...a character, an inspirational woman, artist, former thespian, and world traveler. Her and her store manager had me engaged in conversation, the three of us laughing and chatting excitedly.

And I bought a necklace of magic beads. The necklace was fashioned by Kate but the beads were made by another woman artist, out of acrylic. Very hard to describe and the description will only undermine the specialness...but, what the heck; the closest thing to it is the mood rings of the 1960's. The beads turn colors, based on temperature and supposedly, "body chemistry." But the changes are subtle and slow and the variations beautiful. Didn't I write -- it is Magical?!

AND ANOTHER CONNECTION
A friend of Kate's walked in and when the conversation was over, it was decided that I would walk with this new woman over to her gallery, PanTerra, a few blocks away.
Of course we got to talking and I learned that she and her partner moved to Bisbee four years ago and that she used to be a clothes designer. It wasn't until we were looking at some clothes she carried in her gallery that I realized that I owned a jacket she designed -- she is Maralyce Ferree and I own a purple (no surprise) fleece Ferree jacket purchased in the Sweetheart Gallery of Woodstock.

One Side of Bisbee

2009-01-09T08:23:00.000-08:00