A loooong weekend!

abstractia reprise

Sorry that I wasn't more forthcoming in the previous post, but sleep deprivation does very interesting things to the mind. The trip to the Doc was not routine and I went with a lot of trepidation - probably the same trepidation that many of you imagined and it does scare me being fair skinned and all. Needless to say that I was relieved that he said "no" to cancer. I turns out that I'm allergic to something in all likelihood, but that's all he would say on the matter. I had some very serious hives as an adolescent and this is not hives but it is equally annoying and uncomfortable. The first time that I noticed it `en masse was when mom died 18 months ago and it has been a recurring theme since. I'm beginning to belive that it is stress related since I'm an itchy mess again after a few VERY stressful weeks. It is really crazy to develop something after being disgustingly healthy all these years.

I think I'm going to destress this weekend (if the rain stops) and go climb a rock or four.

The sun is out this morning and there is promise for the rest of the weekend.

New *Blog* space in the early morning light! I'm happy to be out of the basement - mushrooms no more! =)

Happy 4th ya'll!

Be safe and stay whole!

New travel installment next!

More abstraction

Naught to do with whences and salmon - sheer abstractia
*and the fern is where?*

Long day today (16 hrs) and two to go just like it! Long weekend and I'm going to sleep - well in between "honey-do-list", garage sale, and catching up on everyone in the Blogosphere. I'm only absent from everyone's comments under duress - catch up this weekend!

There have been 2 very interesting things happen in the last 24 hours:

1) I got a call from a woman formally known as "girlfriend" - it had been at least 3 years since I last heard from her and came out of the blue. One of the 2 *major loves* of my life. I need some time to process the conversation. Usually when I've heard from her it was regarding some tragedy befalling a friend or family member - this time was simply to "catch up"! I'll process and probably write more on the subject in another post.

2) I got to experience a "biopsy" at the dermatologist today - I'm gonna be a complete wuss if I ever need major surgery.

I'm going to bed! :)

Happy Thursday ya'll!

Looking forward

One cannot live forward from the past, one can only live forward from the present.

Another Hump Day!

Whence salmon came

Just another very manic week - hope to have something of substance soon!

HAPPY HUMP DAY!

ONE BOOB, TWO BOOBS, RED BOOB, BLUE BOOBS

It’s Solstice 2005 and we had us a PARADE! The annual Fremont Festival Summer Solstice Parade in Beautiful Downtown Fremont; otherwise referred to as The Center of the Universe.

The Solstice Parade has been a Seattle (Fremont is a Seattle neighborhood) institution for many years and is held under the watchful eye of our illustrious Bridge Troll and tended by our very own Bus Stop People.

A note on the Bus Stop People: it is an ever changing statue - people dress it up for birthdays, anniversaries, marriage proposals, holidays and any other event that someone wants to give a few days of notoriety to. Anyone can dress it up as long as they take it down in a timely fashion - system mostly works!

This was just a rather local event, a neighborhood festival, born when Fremont was populated by mostly hippy/artist types and provided the needed respite after a usually wet winter/spring. Somewhere along the way there appeared a few naked bicyclists and word spread that there was skin on the boulevard. Despite varying degrees of police intervention and rather minor public dissent the bicyclists have grown in number and so have the attending crowds. It’s colorful and it’s fun and will certainly set your mind on a different course than grousing over the crappy weather! Fremont may very well be the Center of the Universe, but after viewing the parade one might ask, “Which universe?”

What started as a pretty wet week, not boding well for a Solstice event, ended up being a wonderfully warm and mostly sunny day – perfect! So, without further adieu, here is the Seattle version of a Summer Solstice celebration. Is this a KEWL city to live in or what!!!

Warning! Free Spirit discretion advised – if you are offended by happy, naked, painted people then you probably need to go elsewhere and get some therapy! For the rest of you, come on in, come on down, there is something here for everyone!

This is just a sampling of the photos – the rest are in my Pbase Gallery (nearly 200 more) – Solstice ’05 (there are also last year's galleries - Solstice ’04 & Solstice '04 Reprise )

ONE BOOB, TWO BOOBS, RED BOOB, BLUE BOOBS
THREE CHEEKS, FOUR CHEEKS, GREEN CHEEKS, SWEET CHEEKS

Happy Weekend Folks!

Hump Day Teaser!

Salmon Under Glass

I hope everyone had an excellent Solstice - one of my favorite days except for one minor detail: the days will now be getting shorter :(

I had a Solstice Parade post in the works for today, but simply ran out of time - damn work! I'll post it for your Thursday pleasure!

Happy Hump Day!

The shell on our backs - part IV

Promise!

Heh! Got ahead of myself there and left out the grand metropolis of Mitchell, South Dakota. We were on the I-90 crossing out of Minnesota and purposefully bypassing Sioux Falls (we did take a few freeways and this one wasn’t too awful). We had decided that morning that this day would be a travel day – a very lazy travel day, as we mostly zoned out playing “brown cow”, name that “flasher” (we did sit tall in a motor home remember :p) and other travel games. We were approaching the need for gas and a pit stop and got off on the exit for Mitchell. Exhaustion got the best of us and there was a campground right behind the gas station; besides, we needed to restock our pantry and catch our breath after the visit in Mason City.

In our evening wandering we happened across the “Mitchell Corn Palace” (I know some of you know about it, but I’m sure there’s more that don’t!) and it almost defies description. Yep, it’s a music hall, exposition center, probably serves as a church on Sunday, but the most remarkable thing is its facade. The façade changes every year and is done entirely with ears of corn and corn stalks (see pic). We just were in awe of the time and care it must’ve taken to do this – maybe it was because they had nothing better to do but it was just cool!

Corn Palace detail

Now we can cross the Missouri River at Chamberlain/Oacoma.

“Wall Drugs” signs peppered the landscape and were as prolific as the “See Rock City” signs in the Southeast. If it wasn’t plastered on a billboard it was on someone’s bumper – or, in one case, plastered all over the tailgate of a pickup that long since should have been a goat hill! You would have thought that Wall Drugs was South Dakota! We waved at it as we sailed right on by, barely missing a close encounter with the fabled “jackalope”.

Now this will show the reluctance that we had to consulting a map – we suddenly found ourselves in the middle of the Badlands (how did we get here? Did you know this was here?) and took the 30-odd mile loop through the National Park. The land gets its name honestly and was very different from the bucolic landscape that we had grown accustomed to for the previous couple of days. The West was upon us and us upon it – yahoo! The best part was the thunder and lightening storm that happened near the end of the loop. We just stopped and were mesmerized by the ferocity of the storm and once passed the steam and mist rising amongst the blasted landscape gave us the feeling of being at the dumping end of the hand-basket trip to Hades. I was feeling inspired now!

We hunkered down in Rapid City for a couple of days – getting the feel for western hospitality, cowboy boots and hats, more pickups than cars and an amazing array of horse trailers. The Mazda got a much needed bath and we started making the rounds of attractions associated with Mt. Rushmore. We had really planned on bypassing that melee but after seeing it lit from a distance at night we changed our minds and were glad we did. It is impressive folks – just impressive and worth any time spent there. Returning for the night display was awesome to the tenth power.

A different perspective of Mt. Rushmore

That was fun in a monumental kind of way, but we were done with huge monument and needed huge nature and huge fauna. So, just following our nose again we happened on Custer State Park and we found both!

First we found the Bully Burros - asses, all of ‘em! Demanding, noisy and worse than bears looking for handouts! Oh! They were cute in a backassward sort of way. We knew we weren’t supposed to feed them, but sitting in an “animal jam” (a term with which we became very intimate in our travels) with head-of-burro hanging in the window they were hard to refuse and impossible to ignore.

We stopped in the ranger station to see what other huge fauna we would likely encounter and we were soon on “Buffalo Road” (sung to the tune of Thunder Road) – and we drove and we drove and we drove up a washboard road that should have been a test track for Caterpillar only to find NO buffalo. How the fuck do you miss a herd of 3000 buffalo? We did find a prairie dog town and they were a rodential riot – posers all of them. They were very cooperative, but if the sentinel sounded the alarm they’d disappear faster than money to the IRS.

The Mayor

Driving for a while we came to know that our butts were sore so we got out and wandered about and played in the piney woods. We returned back the way we came since it was a dead end forest road and several miles and sorer butts later we rounded the bend to witness a sea of Bovidae – bison `en masse crossing the road…well…owning the road. “There be buffalo Cap’n, there be buffalo!”

Out whips the trusty Pentax and I set out, stalking my photographic prey. I got stupidly brave and decided to shoot some photos of a single calf lying in the wildflowers – all alone, or so I thought. Fully involved in myopic view of the calf in the viewfinder I realized that my foot was not very secure and looked down to see, much to my dismay and disgust, that I was sneaker deep in a Bovidae muffin – fresh Bovidae muffin. In the same disgusting moment heard a snort, no, a SNORT! Firing the shutter (good, responsible photog that I am) I looked up to see a ton of bull buffalo heading in my direction! I’ve had cause to be afraid before folks, but this time I was scared – scared into as fleet-footed a run as I’ve ever done. Damn that truck looked far away. Now, remember the “muffin” I had been occupying just a nano-second before? Well, wet dung and slick bumpers just don’t provide a lot of traction at full bolt and I ended up diving into bed, pickup bed that is and through it all the Pentax met no harm. Turns out the bull gave up the chase at the edge of the road, having made his point and all.

The Prey

The Chaser

Because I was banished to the exterior of the truck by Captain Blye I decided to ride on the hood, feet propped on the tow bar and continued my photographic essay as we wove our way through the herd and other “brave” observers. (I realize in advance that what I’m about to say will forever brand me as a little thick.) You see, there was this wonderful “maternal” shot of cow and calf that was too good to pass up and we had already passed it. So I blithely hopped from the hood to backtrack, (I was ignoring the protest from the captain’s seat) determined to claim my prize. Predictably “mama” was having none of that nonsense and once again I was forced into the safety of the truck and the wrath of Blye. Dammit! I got the shot though – sortta!

The light was fading and our nose took us to the top of a mountain and the fire tower where we could view the Crazy Horse Monument – the Native American equivalent to Rushmore, only privately funded and moving along at a snail’s pace – it was sad to see so little interest at the Federal level for the monument. Onward through the Needles – spiky little vestiges of mountains long past and some “fine” rock climbing on another day. Deer, have I mentioned deer yet? Everywhere deer after dark and cause for many adrenaline rushes.

The Other Chaser

It had been an excellent day!!!

(next: Sturgis to Fort Peck)

The shell on our backs - part III

…hmmmm….where were we? Oh! We were having Intercourse…ok…we were having discourse about Intercourse…PA… Pennsylvania for the abbreviationally challenged.

Turning north, we were on the way to New York and the Adirondacks. We survived Three Families and a Funeral and enjoyed stomping around the grand lodges and museums. Parts of the event were fun and I was looking forward to spending time with my brother and perhaps some air time over the mountains. He brought his plane from Colorado, but some mechanical difficulties deemed that part of the adventure undoable. After a few very busy days I was eager to leave this familial farrago and get on with the trip, free of expectation and time constraints.

This was one of those times of choice and we left our ties behind and headed west to the next town to deliberate our options outside the cacophony of opinion. We gassed up and settled in for brunch, dominated by a map and buckets of coffee. This was one of the few times on the trip that we spent this much time figuring out what was to be next. Our options were this: 1 – take the scenic route through the Rust Belt, 2 – head across the White Mountains into New England and the Maritimes, 3 – cross the St. Lawrence into Canada. Yep, we summarily ruled out choice #1 – no disrespect intended for the fair citizens of Toledo and Gary, but we were looking for huge nature and not huge industrial. Our “need” to head west won and the Maritimes lost this round. We finished the gazillionth cup of coffee and, feeling sufficiently caffeinated, turned left and meandered toward Niagara Falls.

from the Skylon Tower

We did avoid freeways and stuck to the “blue highways” when it was practical. Experienced the Erie Canal and confirmed the rumor that the Canadian side of the Falls is “better”. I was still wrestling with the inability to relax into the trip – I was enjoying the trip, but the nagging connection to work and schedules and crap and crap and crap continued to plague my sense of calm. Hot Sauce helped me identify what was bothering me while eating 50 stories above the falls in the Skylon Tower. This began an evolution of growing peace that began as we crossed into Canada in our articulated behemoth.

We generally headed north out of Toronto and sort of followed the arching edge of Lake Huron. The deeper we drove into Canada the more we began to feel like we had truly left our old life behind. Perhaps it was the change in topography or the change in dialect that lent credence to our passage from one dominion into another; the shedding of convention and all that was familiar. There was a blooming excitement as we gained westerly ground and for the first time in what seems eons I was having fun and feeling the spark of spontaneity.

Ironically we crossed back into the lower 48 on the 4th of July – seemed obscurely appropriate to put our feet on native soil for Independence Day. Crossing at Sault Ste. Marie it occurred to us that it was freezing – well, the lower 40’s anyway. It was ok for it to be freezing while we were in Canada, but not on July 4th in the States. We spent the afternoon at the Soo Locks bundled up in all of the winter gear we brought with us and were grateful for every last stitch. Thankfully the cold snap was temporary and summer resumed in Lower Michigan.

Pub roof grazing - Door County, WI

We were appropriately awed by the Great Lakes as we doubled back into Upper Michigan and dropping into Wisconsin. Our pace was beginning to slow down and we experienced the unmitigated pleasure of spending entire days in one spot, enjoying the local cuisine, museums, obscure historical sites or just sitting in some little county park for the afternoon. We did climb (laugh hysterically) up Sleeping Bear Dunes, get chased by swans, slept in the shadow of a nuke plant, fall in love with Door County and squeeze in a visit to the EAA (experimental aircraft) Museum. Thereafter our need to do the typical touristy things was not very strong and we spent more time just “being” in the community that we chose that day. In retrospect I think that life was still a little too frenzied in comparison to the later part of the trip, but it was a start.

hysterical laughter and steep dunes don't mix well

We had enjoyed our naturist experience so much in Florida and Georgia that we continued to seek out similar venues around the shores of Lake Michigan and along the banks of the Wisconsin River. We were never disappointed in our searches.

One of the more memorable moments of that time was experiencing an astonishing sunset on a bluff high above the Wisconsin Dells. We snuck in across some private land and were surprised when we were joined by a PBS film crew filming said sunset. It was a joy to be with them and somewhere in the dusty archives of Wisconsin PBS are our silhouettes against a remarkable evening sky. This also marked the beginning of our penchant for finding and talking with some very interesting locals throughout the rest of the trip.

Wisconsin Dells @ sunset

It was westward ho once again and our shell glided across the expanse of the Mississippi River and into Iowa and another loosely planned stop that was unrestrained by time. Traveling through a seemingly endless sea of corn interspersed with pastures of bucolic bovine we arrived in Mason City and the home of a high school friend. Because they were still about the business of working my “productive demons” poked me more than once, but I was doing a better job of stilling their wicked machinations.

My catharsis came as we crossed the Missouri River. We were standing on the banks of the river looking west and I had one of those moments of absolute clarity and finally feeling that the/my/our trip had finally begun. The weight of work and the responsibilities of the daily grind were finally lifted – why it only took 2 months and a couple of thousand miles to reach normal. We were crossing into the unfamiliar and into home.

I'll be back......really!!!

just 'cause! :p

'tis been the week from Hell peeps! Sorry for the prolonged absence, but it's you or sleep...I'm just sayin' :) Back in the game this weekend! Zzzzz Zzzzzzzzzzz Z..........................

MEME (one of three)

*TMI*

(x) snuck out of the house (permanent hall pass, baby!)
( ) gotten lost in your city (how the fuck can you do that???)
(x) seen a shooting star (showers!)
(x) been to any other countries besides Canada (Mexico, BVI, Cayman Isles, Venzuela)
(x) had a serious surgery (only if tonsils count!)
(x) gone out in public in your pajamas (even boxers!)
(x) kissed a stranger (why not?)
(x) hugged a stranger (again - why not?)
(x) been in a fist fight (how can I hit thee? let me count the ways! - ok - younger days)
(x) been arrested (don't ask)
(x) laughed and had milk/coke come out of your nose (cathartic for the sinuses)
(x) pushed all the buttons on an elevator (including the *STOP* button)
(x) swore at your parents (both out loud and under my breath)
(x) been in love (twice been in that step-on-your-tounge-fall-on-your-ass kind)
(x) been close to love (rubbed shoulders with it)
(x) been to a casino (lost my obligitory $2 nickle roll)
( ) been skydiving (does a 600 ft. free rappel into a cave count? Had to climb out too!)
(x) skinny dipped (often @ the drop of the pants - can we go now? Huh? Huh?)
(x) skipped school (permanent hall pass, baby - permanent hall pass!)
(x) seen a therapist (shouldn't that be slept with a...?)
(x) done the splits (many attempts - I can put my forehead on my knees though!)
(x) played spin the bottle (heh!)
(x) gotten stitches (hasn't everyone?)
( ) drank a whole gallon of milk in one hour (WTF for?)
(x) bitten someone (in love and war)
(x) been to Niagara Falls (thought about jumping - wha' ? - doesn't everyone?)
(x) gotten the chicken pox (4 pox, more pox)
(x) kissed a member of the opposite sex (WTF kind of stupid question is that?)
( ) crashed into a friend's car (I did CRASH a friend's car - race car)
( ) been to Japan (is that where sushi comes from?)
(x) ridden in a taxi (too often - never sex in one though)
(x) been dumped (more than once - both dumpee and dumper)
( ) shoplifted (I've been shoplifted)
( ) been fired (always a step ahead :lol:)
( ) had a crush on someone of the same sex (been crushed on)
(x) had feelings for someone who didn't have them back (in spades)
(x) gone on a blind date (and she was mute...till the 3rd martini)
(x) lied to a friend (necessary)
(x) had a crush on a teacher (serious - didn't help that she was a neighbor as well)
( ) celebrated Mardi-Gras in new Orleans (Have Beads - Will Throw)
( ) been to Europe (in my mind)
(x) slept with a co-worker (fun, but don't ask)
(x) been married (twice)
(x) gotten divorced (once)
(x) had children (2 - that I know about)
(x) seen someone die { =( }
(x) had a close friend die (more than 1)
( ) been to Africa (been Out of Africa)
(x) driven over 400 miles in one day (ug! Yes!)
(x) been to US (looks around - WTF?)
(x) been to Mexico (ingested)
( ) been to India (Vindaloo?)
(x) been on a plane (statistically my number should be up!)
(x) seen the Rocky Horror Picture Show (more than once)
( ) thrown up in a bar (why?)
( ) purposely set a part of myself on fire (again - why?)
(x) eaten sushi (always stayed down)
(x) been skiing/snowboarding (an icy train wreck I tell you)
(x) met someone in person from the internet (the rest of you are next!)
( ) lost a child (wife has - close enough!)
(x) gone to college/university (several)
( ) graduated college/university (why?)
(x) fired a gun (without malicious intent)
( ) purposely hurt yourself (again & again - why?)
(x) taken painkillers (just today - and the day before and the...)
(x) been intimate with someone of the same gender (hasn't everyone?)


Pick it up if you want!
Hey Folks! Don't just check 'em off!!!! :) *I'm talking to you Tricia!* ;)

Happy Weekend!!!

The shell on our backs - part II

The trip began on a fairly uneventful note. We spent the month prior to leaving outfitting the coach and modifying or repairing the myriad of things that only a rolling home could dish up. New batteries (4 – count ‘em – 4), new starter, repaired leveling jacks, battery disconnect switch, etc., etc. Time was also spent fluffing up the interior with new window treatments, carpet cleaning and a general deep clean throughout.

We also elected to tow a dinghy, a Mazda pickup that served as bike rack, tool chest and overflow storage. Add the tow bar and the whole rig was 53 articulated feet (about the same as the race car trailer/pickup tow rig). Unlike the race rig though, we could not back this up more than a few feet so the whole package took a little getting use to.

Hot Sauce and I traded off driving duties so neither of us felt like we were prisoner to the wheel. We knew the roads between Georgia and Florida and they were relatively flat and straight, so we broke ourselves in easy. We were settling in quite nicely, adjusting to the new rhythm of the day – or so I thought!

So, it was off to visit family on various stops and then camping on Cape San Blas with friends. In between the family and friends we stayed a week at a camp in the Florida panhandle on the recommendation of our friends who owned the nudist camp in Georgia that we stayed in during the month prep time. Our intent was to work on the all-over tan before we got too far into the trip and catch our breath before hooking up on Cape San Blas. This is where the non-adjustment to a slower pace came in – came in spades! I was in the wake of nearly a year and a half of 12/6 and sometimes 7 (yes, that’s 12 hours a day 6 days a week) with shift rotations every 13 weeks. Hey guys – BREATHE – I got to the other side of it!!! Here I have all the time in the world in the most relaxed atmosphere ever and I had to keep busy ALL.DAY.LONG! WTF mates! Fix this, go here, get that, do more – holy shit – I was still working. I would try and slow down, do little or nothing and all it did was make me anxious, grumpy and depressed. This is not good!

We got to experience one of the most violent storms (short of a hurricane) we’d ever been in while camping at Cape San Blas – complete with lightning every ten seconds and waterspouts just west. It came so fast that we couldn’t get the awning up in time and just had to watch in horror as the winds had their way with it. Our friends fared even worse with all of their camping gear (including tent) scattered about the expanse of the marsh. Other than that it was a great time! We were beginning to feel like seasoned motor-homers and knew we were about to leave the relative safety of our familiar territory - the Deep South.

We pointed the coach north and despite the lack of planning we were on the way to yet another family event in the Adirondacks in New York. There was a date certain to be there (a memorial service for my 2nd cousin) but we began to learn the fine art of navigation via the seat of our pants. We were only limited by our imaginations, interests, road conditions and daylight. Hot Sauce did have to reel me in occasionally when I just wanted to be about the business of doing something or going somewhere. “There are no deadlines” she would say and 20 minutes later I would finally grok what she had to say.

Our wayward navigation took us through a meandering route through the western Carolinas and the Shenandoah Valley. We began to learn the fine art of site-ing the coach well at the campgrounds and communing with the others there. We found there was so much to learn from those more experienced with this kind of leisurely travel and learned to endure the wandering bands of Blue Hairs inspecting and critiquing our rig and set-up and other nuances of camp de rigueur. Probably the most fun we had was in eastern PA, enjoying places like Hershey, York and New Holland. We spent a whole day wandering blissfully about the little burgs of Bird in Hand, Fertility, Paradise, Blue Ball and Intercourse – yes, they are most real and they do love to capitalize on the uniqueness of their names. ;p For those of you who have never experienced the Amish country I will say that it is a complete mind warp to see a modern farm implement being pulled by a team of horses – all the while being surrounded by cars and trucks and highways and other modern conveniences. Frankly we felt a little silly in our wheeled home – for a little while.

I'm sure you all know that I’m leaving out a ton! To really do this justice would require an entire volume, so I’m giving you the highlights with the occasional digression. I also don’t want to make the post too long, so I’m gonna break it off here and let you stew in Paradise and wallow in Intercourse! ;)