Change in Season

I was cold sleeping last night -- the first night I've been cold since I left the tent.  Fall has finally come to NE Florida and with it, a change in my status.  I've started working again -- just doing some consulting work from home for now.   Aside from one last trip to Virginia to help with my mother's sale of the house, I'm done traveling for the year. 

So what's next?  Many different opportunities are emerging but nothing is clear to me yet.  I'm heavily into the fight against slavery and poverty; I'm working in several ministries and doing leadership and team development consulting at church; and I'm putting the final touches on my business marketing plan. 

Retirement takes many different faces.  For me, it is all about having many options and the freedom to choose what I want to work on and how.  I love what I'm doing and have no regrets. 

Guess you can say that I've successfully transitioned to retirement, as I define it.  (Wonder what the next transition will be?)

View from the North Carolina house rented by my family this summer

Family Time

We've been spending time with family this summer -- his, mine and ours.  The experiences, all very different, cause me to think about how families grow and evolve.  Here is a summary of our summer family encounters:

• One afternoon we were surprised to see Tom's brother Bill from Lake City on our porch, along with two nephews and a fiancee.   The last time we spent any time with the two nephews they were kids.  I kept looking for the childhood faces I remembered as these young men talked about the joys and concerns of adults -- expecting twins, jobs held, relocating to be nearer a daughter, music and family memories.  How did these boys grow up so fast? 
• We spent a week in Orlando with our two grandsons and with our daughter-in-law and granddaughter for part of the week.  The oldest grandson will be starting high school this year, a milestone I can hardly believe.  Watching the kids interact, I wonder what their relationships will be like in 10 or 20 years.  Will they remain as close as they are today? 
• Right on the heels of that trip, we spent a week in a rental house in the North Carolina mountains with my five siblings, their spouses and the youngest nieces and nephews as part of the continuing celebration of my mom's 80th birthday.  In addition to the usual challenges of that many adults spending a week together in the same house, we have cultural differences introduced with a sister-in-law from Thailand and another from Sweden.  Getting a glimpse of child-rearing practices of my younger brothers' child rearing was at times interesting and at times maddening.  Suffice it to say that we don't all think alike.

In addition to these highlights, we've had short visits with Tom's two sisters and his mother in Georgia; and Tom visited for the first time in years with another brother in rehab following surgery for a work injury.

In thinking about these family encounters,  I realize that I don't really know these people all that well.  Probably most families spend little time really talking about what they value, what they believe, what they fear.  Talk of work, travels, movies and a host of other activities include stories to entertain or even surprise, but not usually to enlighten or expose.

I'm going to try harder to really know our grandchildren.  I think I made a good start on vacation with the two grandsons.  I listened carefully to the younger talk about his hopes for a life helping animals; and to the older one talk about hopes and expectations for high school.  I know they'll be grown in a flash but I can't slow time.  I'll just try to use a little more wisely in this time of transitioning to retirement. 

Deciding Where To Live

Throughout this year we've been talking and thinking much about where we want to live during our first step of retirement.  During our travels, we've identified many towns and cities that seem to fit us during the spring and summer months, but we're just not willing to brave those cold winter months. 

We recently visited The Villages and although I didn't think I would like the community, I found myself drawn to the many activities and opportunities for life enrichment.  So that option is still on the table. 

I recently helped my mom identify a retirement community for her next phase of life.  And listening to our friends discuss their thoughts about staying put or moving, I've been asking myself what I'm seeking in my next place to live.  Here's what I've identified so far, not in any particular order:

• Close to water, preferably within walking distance (after all, I am a Pisces)
• Lots of vegetation, preferably green and lush
• Community of believers in Jesus Christ where I can refresh my faith and support others
• Opportunities to interact with people of different lifestyles and backgrounds
• Good libraries as I no longer buy books and won't (yet?) read on an electronic device
• Open public spaces offering diverse outdoor activities
• Choices in things to do including educational, artistic, spiritual and physical activities

Now here's the final criteria that you may say doesn't fit with the others.

• Social problems where I can contribute my experience, time and skills to making life better.

That's right, I'm not attracted to a perfect community.  God willing, I should have a good 20 years to contribute to making improvements in my community.  I have no intention of wasting those years being self-indulgent -- well, maybe part of the time self-indulgent, but you know what I mean. 

For the foreseeable future we're staying put.  We simply haven't found a community that matches our lifestyle criteria better than where we are right now.  But like I said, The Villages is still a viable option down the road.  And let me know if you have other suggestions.   As long as I wouldn't have to acquire new warmer outer garments!

The Last Dirty Deed

Most everything is "back to normal" (whatever that means) after our trip.  But I've been postponing doing the last dirty deed:  hosing off the tarps and tent fly.  Tonight I'm proud to report that this final clean up has been accomplished.  As I sprayed water on the bottom tarp, blotches of Moab red dirt, rich Oregon soil, Nebraska farm dirt and rotting material from the humid woods in Pelham, Alabama ran together in a downhill stream.  With the hose in my hand, I remembered each time and location we spread the tarp and raised the tent. 

My final task is to deal with the photographs.  We've already deleted hundreds -- early in our travel we were more excited by scenery that later lost its appeal once we were well into the trip.  And in some cases we didn't need to keep snapshots taken from multiple angles.  I'm creating a hard-cover book of our photographs for our final souvenir and getting pictures sent to the various folks we visited or met along our trip.  Let me know if you'd like to see it sometime. 

Call me crazy (and you will) but I miss the tent camping.  A few nights ago I asked my husband when he thinks he might be ready to go tent camping again.  Suffice it to say that I first got "the look" before I insisted on a verbal response.  In case you are still left wondering, it doesn't look like we'll be going any time soon.  But who knows what cooler weather might inspire later in the year.  I'll keep you posted right here!

Some of My Favorite Big Adventure Pix

         

Short Highlights of our Journey

Here are some last general thoughts, in no particular order, about our journey.  Check back periodically to read about our other upcoming adventures during this year of transition to my new "post retirement" life. 

• Water played key role in most places we visited -- some places had an abundance with over-flowing rivers and creeks from snow melts and others were in multi-year droughts.  Beautiful waterfalls were seen in Utah, Colorado, Oregon, and Idaho. 
• SO-OO many dead skunks along the roads!
• Lots of trucks hauling the huge blades for wind turbines; they are so much bigger than they look from afar!
• Only real casualty:  a chip in the windshield from a truck throwing a pebble  
• Such beautiful wildflowers throughout the country in the spring!
• Underestimated the impacts of wind and hail out west
• Campers are the friendliest people; everyone wants to talk about where they are from, where they've been and are going and asking you about the same.  If all neighbors could just be as friendly as fellow campers.
• Advice:  when changing altitude regularly, open bottles carefully.  Beware exploding lotion bottles!
• A slow leaking air mattress is a real problem when sleeping on frozen ground; buying a new air mattress was a necessity (and finding on sale was a joy!)
• Nothing like sharing sinks at the campground in the morning with young ladies busy curling their eyelashes when you are just trying to do something with your hat hair.  
• My thanks to the many great tour guides, rangers, information center workers and fellow travelers who offered advice and made our trip so much more meaningful.
• Nothing tastes better after hiking for hours than a delicious fresh orange.  I'm glad I live in a citrus producing state!
• With all those beautiful girls at the Miss USA pageant in Las Vegas, all I could think about was how they are ruining their feet in those stiletto heels they were wearing. 
• Why do people own huge yachts on small interior lakes? Do they ever get tired of the same scenery?
• Camping schedule:  time for bed at sundown cause you'll wake up when the sun rises, sometimes before 5 a.m.
• Canadian geese have turned into the "pigeons" of many campgrounds.  Why don't they fly north in the warm weather any more?
• Now I know why they call it Cottonwood.  I thought someone was shredding pillows at first!
• Utah has some of the most beautiful rest areas; we had great picnics and almost hated to leave.
• I have a better appreciation of those who were part of our western history, especially the native Americans, the pioneer settlers, and the adventurers.  Our country is built on the fruits of their hardships.
• You can't get a bad lunch at a place that promotes its "Homemade soups and pies"
• The most beautiful man-made site:  a garden of wind sculptures in Taos.  The most beautiful natural site:  just too many to pick one. 
• Cuba, our waitress in Houston, gave us the theme for our trip when she ran out of the restaurant to wish us a good trip and advised:  "Drive fast and take chances!" 
• My heart did a little happy jump every time friends or relatives said "Welcome Campers" or "Welcome Travelers" when we arrived.  Nothing like great hospitality after being in a tent!  Thanks to all who welcomed us!

A Journey Is Not a Vacation

Now that our journey is over, we need a vacation ... and we have lots of other (shorter) trips planned throughout the year.  The journey taught me much about myself, about Tom, about us together and about the country we live in.  Here's what I'd like to share. 

About me:  I can be very happy living very simply.  I didn't miss TV, appliances, cosmetics, accessories, jewelry, etc.  I did grow tired of the two tee shirts I rotated through, but mostly because they appeared in so many of my photos.  I let go early on and trusted God to take care of us, and of course He did.  He gave me strength when I didn't think I had it in me:  hiking, in times of frustration, coping with weather or an unhappy husband.  Every day was filled with such new experiences, new discoveries, new joys.  My challenge now will be to continue to live such a full life as simply as I have in these 8 weeks.

About Tom:  I'll save that for my personal use.  But I learned that we really can and do work well as a team when we need to.  We could put up or take down our campsite in under an hour without even talking to each other.  We just knew what had to be done and did it cooperatively.

About our country:  First, something we noticed everywhere we went -- interstates, back roads, highways and streets through town.  Small memorials have been built to mark where loved ones died, presumably in car accidents from the look of most.  Some of the more dangerous roads had more frequent memorials.  Most were adorned by colorful flowers, some with stuffed animals or other treasures.  Please don't think this a morbid sentiment, but rather an acknowledgement of the love and the loss that has been experienced by so many.  And they serve as a warning to us to be careful with our own and lives of others on the road.

Some other things worth noting: 
Germans seem to be the people with disposable income.  Germans were everywhere out west on bus tours, renting campers, seeing America.  Glad they are bringing their money but sometimes I wasn't sure what country I was in given the amount of German being spoken. 

What is up with people out west and their espresso?!  Even out on the range, you'll find little espresso stands set up at the crossroads of highways.  Cowboys drinking espresso doesn't work for me!

People everywhere are trying to save money ... they tell the kids to share a dessert, they decide they won't pay the admission fee, they don't buy the souvenirs.  Lots of service workers are over-worked and tired.  People told me about working back to back shifts, covering for reduced staff and working multiple jobs.  I've been trying to be kinder and more supportive of service workers.

Small town folks pay more for their groceries and gas, sometimes a LOT more.  Without competition, their only hope is that a Super Wal-mart will be coming to a town near them.  Why do the independent grocers act surprised that people migrate to Wal-mart instead of paying such high prices?

The USA is under repair -- interstates, national parks, state highways.  Expect long delays.  And know that the stimulus money is being used across much of the US.  What isn't under repair probably should be as many interstates and highways are incredibly worn and pot-holed.

I'll be doing one more posting of some other short highlights of our trip.  Thanks for keeping up with me, I've enjoyed having you with me on the journey! 

Home!

I'm home. We emptied the car but not the trunk which is filled with
mostly camping and golfing equipment. Tom is watching golf and
nursing his mosquito and chigger bites. How am I spending my first
hours back?

First, I cleaned the fridge. How often does it get this empty?! Then
I vacumed (numerous bugs and dustballs around) and I just finished
cleaning and sanitizing the kitchen counters.

Now it is raining hard and for the first time in 2 months I don't
really give a flip about the weather. I'm going to read and maybe nap
for the rest of the afternoon. My last tasks will be to get sheets on
the bed and heat up something from the freezer for dinner. I have
lots of comments to make about the whole adventure ... but that can
wait for another day or two.

I did well on this hole at Oak Mountain State Park golf course. Shot a typical 111 which is good in this heat and humidity.

Driving into Oak Mountain State Park, Alabama. This may look cool but it was in the upper 90's with incredible humidity. Great weather for camping and golf!

Blind Mississippi Morris playing at BB King's in Memphis.

The music room at Graceland - blue was Elvis' favorite color.

Melting in Memphis

Yow, it has been really hot in Memphis; we moved slowly and ducked
into air-conditioning every chance we got. We visited Beale Street
late afternoon and early evening. Mostly listened to Blind
Mississippi Morris at BB King's. Went to Riverside Park to watch
sunsetting over the Mississippi, but we were just too dagum hot to
patiently wait. Anyway, we can take photos of sunsets over the river
from our own dock.

Graceland was interesting. Not nearly as big as I would have
thought. But the airplanes were kind of over the top, with gold
bathroom fixtures. And who knew so much Elvis "stuff" was available
to buy??!

This is probably our final tourist stop. We got a good Priceline deal
here, although not in the best neighborhood. If the weather holds out
we'll have two nights in the tent coming up. It may surprise you, but
I've missed camping since thunderstorms drove us into motels.
Hopefully we'll have a big camping finale for our trip!

The highlight of the Memphis stop, a tour of Graceland

Can you ever get too much Elvis? (Well, maybe.)

Southern Illinois Revisited

I graduated from Southern Illinois in 1975 and decided a trip back was
way overdue. We had intended to camp in the Shawnee National Forest
where I had spent many happy weekends. But the threat of
thunderstorms caused us to seek more protective shelter,

As we drove through Murphysboro we passed Angelo & Jan's Inn. The
place was funky but the price was right so we booked 2 nights. Tables
and chairs for dining in 4 areas but no food served, just coffee in
the mornings.

We went to the SIU campus on a Sunday, the day before start of summer
session. It brought back memories watching students moving in their
stuff at Thompson Point. But the dorms looked kind of tired, in need
of a facelift in addition to the inside remodeling many of thr
buildings were getting.

Driving around the campus it was disappointing how much of the open
spaces of my era had been covered with new buildings, many of which
didn't seem to fit archetectually.

The town of Carbondale was worse. All the retail moved out toward the
mall that opened in my time. The main drag that had been alive with
bars, restaurants and clothing stores was dead. We patronized Chicago
Hot Dogs (no more pinball and run now by an Asian couple) and Dairy
Queen. The Varsity Theatre no longer shows movies buy PK's bar still
operates and the train station is still in town.

We spent some time in Giant City state park. The lodge, water tower
and trails could use more attention; it is easy to see the potential
if only some money could be allocated.

We played a round at the Jackson County course but we weren't prepared
for the heat and humidity. Guess we'd better adjust before getting
home to Florida! We enjoyed eating at small town restaurants in
Murphysboro, including Mike Mills' famous 17th Street Bar and Grill,
the only 3 time World Grand Champions at the Memphis world barbeque
competition. Mike had just come back from a barbeque event in New
York, where he had appeared on Good Morning America, so we were glad
we arrived early and got a table.

I sure like the feel of life in a small town. It may not be
Carbondale or Murphysboro, but maybe I'll find my next home in a small
town. Some place green, some place without snow though. Send me your
suggestions!

Lots of places to eat but Angelo & Jan's Inn in Murphysboro, Illinois serves no food! Here are 2 of the 4 dining areas.

Southern Illinois is filled with so many things to do. Chester is the hometown of Elzie Crisler Segar, creator of Popeye.

A Thousand Little Surprises

We had a wonderful short visit with our friend Rejeanne in the
countryside between Solon and Iowa City, Iowa. Rejeanne is one of my
most imaginative, creative and gifted friends and I admit, I sometimes
envy all that talent.

My visit with Rejeanne was composed of thousands of little bursts of
surprise and joy. Visually, her renovated country home has so many
interesting features wherever you look. Gardens were overflowing with
flowers, strawberries, tiny green tomatos promising sweet summer
salads ahead, herbs and vegetables of all sorts.

Rejeanne's produced and aquired artwork sparked smiles and little
moments of extra joy; I just love how she turned everyday or unrelated
objects into works of art.

What else produced these sparks of joy? The homemade soup for lunch,
fresh strawberries with dessert, games of Boggle, visits from Dolly
the dog next door, watching TV with the cats. Most of all, just
spending time with a friend I've missed.

Rejeanne next to one of my favorite pieces, an enhanced mask of sorts. Rejeanne creates such interesting and beautiful pieces from second-hand housewares, discards and paraphernalia.

This scene of camping in the 40's doesn't look much different from camping today.

Here I am pushing our camping equipment to our next site - just kidding! This is at Archway Monument in Kearney, Nebraska.

Rainy Day in Nebraska

We listened all night to the wind whipping the extra tarp over the
tent, added for precaution. We broke camp quickly this morning and
postponed breakfast. As we pulled out of the park the rain started.

We headed to the Archway Monument also known as the Great Platte River
Road Archway, ate breakfast in the car then toured the exhibits
depicting cross country travel and the pioneer spirit. It was a
little like being on a Disney ride except we had to walk. Each scene
depicted the historical progression from settlers modern tourism,
following the trail/road that is now Interstate 80. It was a good way
to spend a rainy morning in Kearney, Nebraska!

Music Makes It Better

I'm glad we made up CD's of some of our favorite sing-along music.
Helps a lot on long boring drives or after short conflicts. You just
can't stay mad singing "Hooked on a Feeling" together!

Inside the Denver Capitol

Rocky Mountain Highs

Although we previously visited southern Colorado, we swung back to the
Denver area for a few days to visit David and Nancy, Tom's friends
from youth. We also stayed 2 nights at a Westin as I won the bid for
a travel auction for a weekend stay.

This will be our last mountain stay and I believe I'll really miss
seeing them on the horizon. Here in the Rockies we've done some light
hiking and have been amazed at the amount of water raging through the
rock and flooding the rivers in the lowe elevations. The weather has
been perfect (Nancy says the weather is almost always perfect) with
sunshine and deep blue skies. We relaxed Sunday afternoon with a
picnic by the rushing water and a stroll down pedestrians-only Pearl
Street in Boulder. A day exploring downtown Denver on our own is our
last event on the itinerary before our thank-you dinner out with David
and Nancy.

We are now within 2 weeks of returning home and I'm filled with
conflicting feelings. I'm looking forward to seeing friends and know
I have things at home that must be done. Still, I believe I must be a
descendant of nomads, for I surely love to wander.

Here's a great bumper sticker I saw earlier on the trip: "Not all who
wander are lost.". Amen!

The wind was hitting as much as 40 mph but the sun shone warmly. The air feels great and you can almost touch the clouds. God's work here is especially awesome!

Stark but still beautiful at more than 12,000 feet above sea level

On our way to the top of Rocky Mountain National Park, we stopped for some photos before climbing above the tree line.

It is a beautiful day in Rocky Mountain National Park!

Here is the 1881 Custer South Dakota courthouse, now museum. It was a good way to spend an hour before going to dinner. Custer was named for what famous person?! And who is buried in Grant's tomb?!

Site Seeing in Yellowstone

I've wanted to visit Yellowstone since I was a kid and finally made
it! We drove about 225 miles in the park over two days. Our travels
took us to the major geothermal attractions and formations. Our
favorite geyser was Fountain Geyser.

In addition to the ubiquitous bison (including those lumbering down
the middle of the road) we saw black bear, elk, pronghorns (like
antelope), coyote, deer, bighorn sheep, bald eagle, trumpeter swans,
uinta ground squirrels and pika (cute rodents). It was great fun
seeking and spotting wildlife and we got some great pix. I'll post
some at the end of the trip as I could't get anything good with my
phone.

We're on to South Dakota and hoping for warmer and drier weather.

Old Faithful gives off a few belches to let us know it is almost showtime!

Old Faithful lets off steam

Elk grazing by the Mammoth Hotel. We watched a small statutes guard trying to shoo them away. Should have shot some video, it was so funny!

Here we are waiting with all these people for something that happens every 90 minutes. Know where we are?

Having a beer at the Million Dollar Cowboy Bar in Jackson, Wyoming after the day in Grand Teton National Park. Notice the barstools are saddles!

After spending the day at Grand Teton National Park, we headed to Jackson for some fun. These are the elk antlers shed by the elk on the refuge, used to create arches in the center of town.

A stop at Shoshone Falls was quite worthwhile. In addition to the falls, we learned about yellow belly marmot, a type of small woodchuck causing you to have to watch where you step all over the park. This is close to where Evil Knieval crossed the Snake River.

Lava, lava everywhere in the Newberry National Volcanic Monument near Bend, Oregon. What differences from the rain forests we left further south, After Bend, we begin to head eastward. Next stop Boise.

It Could Have Been Worse

So we weren't able to see Crater Lake - we later saw another crater
lake near Bend. And our tent leaked and we feel mildewed - it didn't
drop below 40 degrees where we camped. And the noise of the
interstate was a distraction all night - but with only one other tent
site in use we had our privacy. All in all we loved the Rogue River
region of Oregon. Now we begin our return trip east.

Here we are in the old Florida Buick in our Florida clothes in Crater Lake National Park on our way to the scenic overlook.

Here is the view of Crater Lake from the lodge. We drove through a blinding snowstorm to see this so hope you enjoy the view!

How funny to say that the trail has limited use as a conflict resolution strategy!

Water everwhere! So many beautiful waterfalls, gorges and white water. We are learning about how the water flows through volcanic tubes. Every minute the water roaring by can fill an Olympic swimming pool. It's about 40 degrees so no swimming!

Boy, these fish are big!

Salmon and steelhead are running and looked to us like lots of guys were playing hookie from work to fish all over the Rogue River.