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

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.

 

 

 

 

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PostScript

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

 

 

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

 

 

 

 

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

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

 
 
 
 

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

 

 

 

 

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

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

 

 

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

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

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)

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?

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

 

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

 

 

 

 

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

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???

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

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

 
 
 
 

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.