A Vagabond Summer

If anyone has been holding their breath while waiting for my promised to be continued... from the last post, well you would have expired by now. It's still in the to be continued format because I haven't been able to finish it the way I want to.

But for now, something I can write about:

Road Trip 2011

After surviving 2 months of back to back 100 plus degree days, me and my fellow travelers hit the road escaping Texas. Our plans are on a loose timeline. We have a lot of destinations to hit and until the end of August to do so. I gave fair warning to all my friends and relatives via facebook that if they didn't want the three of us hanging out they were to speak now or forever hold thier peace.

Not only did no one deny me, we recieved many gracious invites. I figure it's karma for all the years we hosted folks at our "bed, breakfast, lunch and dinner" (lake house). I probably enjoy having company more than being the company. This year, I'm taking a bolder approach. It's more like I am in Chicago this week and I'm headed your way next week, if that's OK?

Peanut & Victor cruising

Part of our entourage on our Austin to Chicago leg of travel meant bringing along 2 nine week old kittens. Formerly, I've not been a cat person so I researched traveling with cats and most of it sounded like I could be in for a nightmare. I gleaned the suggestions I could and bought a nifty dog carrier, installed it with bungee cords to the backseat head rest so the little guys could see out the windows. Food, water, and a little covered litter box. It was going to be an interesting 1200 miles to Chicago.

Victor riding shotgun

It turns out they did spend a lot of time riding in their carrier, they also spent time wandering about. Victor preferred the front seat while Peanut was more of a back seat driver.

I'm happy to announce they were angels for the 1200 miles to Chicago. Two fuzzy cuddlebugs. I wish I could make the same claim for the 2 teens and the driver. We all had our moments, but most of the time it was fairly pleasant. Once I find my "driving groove" on a road trip I'm a pretty happy camper.

We were delayed by several major road projects and I was unsatisfied with the time were making. We stopped for the night in Joplin, Missouri, which was an unremarkable place. While I was in the hotel grabbing the last available room, my daughters were being hassled in the parking lot by some local yahoos. As they like to say, "we are from Detroit, do you think that is going to rattle us"?

Missouri was far more scenic than what I imagined. Even when we crossed into Illinois, it remained hot. The heat wave was following us north. We were delighted to find ourselves on the historic route 66 and we zipped by the the Classic Car Warehouse, missing out on the chance to get off and explore. Sometimes travel schedules can be a bitch.

A road trip with out being in a hurry is going to go on my bucket list. I'd love to do more of the Route 66 trip with stops at interests, probably sans teenagers. A little further into the very flat Illinois we came upon the most beautiful green cornfields. After driving through the whole drought of the century shriveled up dust bowl that has enveloped Texas, the ordinary "knee high by the fourth of July" corn stalks inspired gratitude and a feeling of normalcy.

The end of our trip to Chicago was approaching and some of the occupants had had enough of each other. At least that's what I was told. I insisted on stopping to top off our half full gas tank before we got into the city since the price tends to sky rocket once you get in there.

Although the kittens were still being angels, the 3 females in the car seemed to be motivated by the devil the last hour of the trip. Estrogen rising, tempers heated up and some nasty verbal bombs were tossed. The we saw it.

Chicago, We are here!

Now we are excited! Once we exit at Roosevelt/Taylor I send my customary text to my 3 older children, "The eagle has landed". All is well within the car again. We turn right on Halsted and go north into the homestretch. I remind them we need to unload the car right away.

Our precious cargo arrived safely and quickly acclimated themselves to downtown condo living.

Peanut, likes cuddling after the long trip

Victor, however, is ready to rumble

After an evening of pizza, beer and fun we settled in for our first night of our vagabond adventure.

Hanging in Beaverdam

The long and winding road trip has us hanging in the sleepy hollow known as Beaverdam Gap just below the Blue Ridge Parkway. It's hot. Very, very hot. My Aunt says we are having a dog day summer. Life moves slow here, there's no internet at the house, so this Yankee has made friends at the closest coffee shop.

The thought of sitting next to 3 or 4 deputies every morning of my visit intrigued me. I was anticipating overhearing some really juicy crime investigation details. So far I've been disappointed and bored. It's just as well because I need to plow through planning out the last leg of our trip and manage all the minions in my life from afar.

Up Beaverdam

Hummingbirds antics occupy a lot of my time these days, they seem to love my dad's simple back porch. It's not unusual to have 7 of them buzzing around taking turns on the feeder. Walking up the creek, target practice with the bb gun, reading and picking flees off of the dog have my girls occupied much of the time.

Yesterday, we were all fed up with the unrelenting heat and lack of air conditioning so we did what any respectable mother daughter trio would do and made our way down the mountain to the nail salon for pedicures. It was an hour of bliss watching Judge Judy in the cool of the salon, having our bug bitten legs lotioned and rubbed. I caught up with the girls eating french fries at the diner next to the salon, who were not in the mood for my picture antics when I wanted a memoir of their purple and blue selections.

Today, we are going to drive up on the parkway in search of bears and hit the Arboretum. Then I'm getting a lesson canning green beans. Dinner today will be compliments of 12 Bones in Asheville because it's too darn hot to cook again.

Tomorrow begins our last leg of the long and winding road trip to our new home in Austin, Tx. We are stopping in Memphis and then continuing on through Little Rock, Dallas and through to get a look see at our new house near the eastern edge of Lake Travis. Mercy!

Long & Winding Road Trip

We are officially moved out and the van arrived at our new home yesterday with my husband and his sister in charge of the "move in" process. It has been a task that has totally encompassed pretty much every waking moment for the past couple months for me. It's also a milestone for our family because in all of our years and moves it is the first time Raymondo has actually been present, let alone in charge of getting all of our stuff moved in.

Now, accompanied by my two youngest birds, we are taking The Long & Winding Road Trip to the new phase in our lives. The adventure of relocating from Michigan to Austin, Texas is officially underway.

Lake Erie

Beach days

My good old Ford Flex is packed in a fashion that would do a German engineer proud. We hit the road out of Michigan last Monday and arrived at our first stop at our cousin's house on Lake Erie and have been enjoying beach side living for the last few days. It only took us a few hours to arrive here, so it was just a very baby step in our journey.

My Aunt sharing garden lessons with the neighbor

Bounty from David's garden

We have shared a couple of days of bounty from the nearby gardens, fresh flowers mysteriously arriving on the porch each morning before we get up, sand, surf, games, camp fires, great food & wine. Traveling is lovely when your visiting salt of the earth people who can cook like nobody's business.

As hard as it is going to be to leave here, we need to finish our blueberry pancakes and hit the road. Today is a big travel day through Columbus, Cincinnati, Kentucky, Tennessee and on to the good old Smoky Mountains of North Carolina where my mountain goat of a Daddy lives.

My baby has a baby

My biggest challenge in the next hour before we hit the open road is making sure we don't have a stow away on board named Olive. When you have a 125 pound beast for a family dog, little Olive may be far too big of a temptation for my baby to bare. I can't have my cousin chasing after us trying to retrieve her little darling, can I ?

Thanks to the hostess with the mostest

Asheville, North Carolina

Warning: I had every intention of regaling y'all with my traveling anecdotes chronologically. I thought I could really raise my esteem in the eyes of my peers (oh my, how industrious is she?) but like most women with a myriad of responsibilities my plan went to hell when my dad with whom I stayed on days 4-8 didn't have any internet connection and we kept way too busy having fun to frequent the nearby coffee shop that did. To top that off on the last day of our trip my power connection for my lap top (containing many photos I NEED) malfunctioned and I am awaiting my trip to the Apple genius bar tomorrow to fix it. So now you'll have to take it out of order...

Road Trip Days 5-7: Sunken in the middle of the Smokey Mountains is the beautiful city of Asheville. I drive about 8 minutes down the mountains from my family property in the Beaverdamn Gap and another 8 minutes into the city and I am  in the midst of the most bohemian place you could imagine.

I promise I will absolutely make your mouth water and you may even gain a few virtual pounds when I can access my laptop and share all the delicious culinary delights to be had in Asheville.

My people are mountain people. They are not city people but I crave both. You know how I hate indecisiveness but I love staying up the mountain and driving down to the city for the stimulation I require. There are so much to appreciate about both.

My dad doesn't really comprehend it because he would be happy to avoid the city at all costs but he usually allows me to drag him around wherever we want to go for two or three days before he declines the offer to join us on our outings. He really loves when we return from out escapades with funny stories or yummy food we have found on our journey.

Once you get down the "hill" to the city you'll find a unique mix of  down home friendliness and urban sophistication. I think that is one of the draws for such a wide range of people you will find inhabiting, touring and retiring to this area. Not to mention the inexhaustable opportunities for outdoor recreation and the moderate 4 season climate. It is a prime example of the south with a diverse mix of folks with differing skin color, religions, political beliefs and socio-economic statuses. 

 There of course is plenty of controversy as migration to this area increases and development occurs. You'll find the typical battle of business trying to capitalize on the area's resources versus the environmentalist (close the door and lock it after you have found your personal piece of heaven) going on. I find the diversity and controversy stimulating due to my "smart growth" practical philosophy of life. I appreciate a workable approach to these things. I have a strong belief in respecting the environment and mother earth but not putting up stubborn roadblocks to expansion.

Sustainable is the new key word in our world and it is in Asheville too. I have no argument with that at all although I get the feeling it will soon be an over used label in our contemporary vocabulary that we all may become desensitized to like so many other good concepts. The economically responsible shopper in me was disappointed to find the prices at some of the boutiques that advetise social responsibility to be so out of touch of with the income level of the local population.

I find it ironic strolling through town multiple days in one week I found the same townies sitting out front of businesses that proclaim to be organic, sustainable and environmentally responsible smoking cigarettes and tossing their butts into the streets of this otherwise pretty little city with so much to offer.

A Respectful Afternoon

Road Trip Day 4: After a late breakfast on day 4 I felt I wanted to go to the cemetery to pay my respects to my dear Aunt Hazel. She was loving, loyal, a hard worker, generous, lived for her family. She taught me how to cook southern style every summer when I visited and immersed me in their culture.She would tell me to grab my pocketbook and let's go loafering! And Oh could that woman ever talk, for hours, about nothing. I surprisingly liked that.She was precious to me and although we had said our good byes last summer when she was helping to write her Eulogy, I was unable to attend her funeral over Thanksgiving and felt I had really missed out on something important.

You know I'm not a fan of drama and public displays of emotion but when I leaned down to gingerly touch, and then clean my Aunt's headstone I felt greatly grieved. And I missed her. It was my first trip to N.C. that I didn't see her smiling face and accept her "sugar" while trying not to grimace. Everyone on our side of the mountain is still feeling raw around the edges of their mourning. As they like to say we are all feeling tore up over her passing.

Her husband, my Uncle Richard passed away 18 years earlier in 1990. He would take me hiking and exploring all over in places my mother would never approve of me going. He talked and demonstrated as he walked along. He knew everything about the trees and the snakes that populate the area and of which I am deathly afraid.He had so many funny tales of he and his brothers exploits around these mountains. Just when I thought I had heard it all he would come up with another tale and  I'd discover a new piece of our family puzzle. It was like hiking with a relevant and interesting history book. Each summer when it was time for me to return to Michigan I always missed them the most.

Now I have my cousin David and some of his children and grandchildren to share memories with. We are striving to keep the stories alive and relevant and to teach these values to the next generation.

 On my last stop I had to see my Uncle James who had shocked us with his untimely death 4 years ago. After years of diminishing health and back problems they had done a heart procedure that really seemed to breath new energy into my tallest uncle whose nickname was treetop.

He seemed to be on a roll, able to move about more freely and having more energy than he had in years. That spring flu season hit hard. Both he and my dad came down with an unruly case. Subsequently my Uncle was hospitalized and entered a downward spiral that he never came out of and he passed, leaving his very close family shell shocked to say the least.

I flew down to the funeral all by myself and picked up my rental car which ended up being a very fast black Mustang. I felt a wee bit conspicuous tooling around the mountains in that car but all my male cousins got a big kick out of it. My Uncle James was a very quiet and humble man and our visits rarely had much conversation but instead companionable quiet and that was ok with the both of us. I do however recall some pretty wild rides on the back of his jeep up and around trails and through mountain passes- so maybe the mustang was a fitting ride for the funeral after all.

We spent a fair amount of time their taking in the air, pulling weeds and trimming back grass around the headstones of our loved ones.

Later I tried to explain to my 13 year old daughter who was with us how important these simple rituals were to men like my dad. It demonstrated to him that I had not forgotten to miss these dear people even though I live 600 miles away. And it comforts him to have us there as a matter of respect to these family members that he spent so much of his life with.

I was proud of her, she didn't roll her eyes once or act bored. She didn't say much but just followed along thinking. When we got in our own car and followed my dad back up the mountain home she said she thought it was a fine way to spend 30 minutes if it could make Grandpa happy and show him that we cared about the same things he did.

That made me so happy.