Stephanie's Family Reunion 2010

[AmericaOverland]

Warning: this is not expedition material, as it doesn't contain recovery-strap-busting stories, getting eaten by hook-worms in Asia, getting chased by amorous people looking to fill a harem, nor floating down a river in the truck at a 20-degree angle. This your average American-getting-out-to-travel story with a few unusual twists. One was coming back in a different vehicle than I started out with, which was unexpected. Please understand that this trip report at my web site was done mainly for the benefit for my family so they can read my story and see what it was like for me. We had never met before this reunion, so that's another twist to the story.

That said, if you've seen this sort of thing before, there's the back button or the "close-tab" button up there. :smiley_drive:

This is my daily journal of my trip to Columbus, OH and eventually Boston, MA. I am now leaving for Columbus, OH in my car around 10 AM on July 25th, 2010. The first stop is Dallas to check on my scout restoration, take photos, and then be on my way to Little Rock, AR. I'll write at the end of each day until I've arrived home.

Day 1, July 25th​

Today has been a bit of a hairy day. My AC failed about 70 miles south of Dallas. It was very hot getting to my truck builder's house to look at the scout and take photos of it and find out what to do about the AC problem. It is 5 30 PM, and I'm still in Dallas. A friend of the builder's came to the house to try to get it going again, as it has a slow leak in the compressor itself. This a bit like South Africa, from what I've read online... People don't know how to work on your vehicle or don't have the tools/parts to fix it, so you have to alter your plans to keep the trip going. The problem is the car uses R12 for freon, which is outdated and impossible to get without a license. So I had to go with the man to a store to buy the freon, which costs about $32 a can. The man's freon license was expired but managed to get it anyway. We came back to the house to put it in, and the AC function still wouldn't kick in. He checked everything, and the entire system seemed to be getting current, but he couldn't get the compressor to come on probably because of a bad switch in the dash or something. We had to lose the $30+ can of freon that was still attached to the AC charging system, and I took the other can back to the store. I feel like I'm finished with this car!

It was 7 30 PM when I decided it was time to get going from Dallas, as my plans have changed. I need to make up for lost time by driving overnight to avoid the heat during the day until I get to Ohio. Since it is past 10 PM, here it is. I made it through some lightning and rain. I had to wipe the windshield, since the AC doesn't work. As of now, I'm in Texarkana about to cross into Arkansas.

It has been a hot drive! As soon as the AC failed, I pulled the car over at a rest stop and moved the ice chest to the front right seat so I could take my new bandana that I bought at the store on Friday and use it to keep me cool. Outside heat doesn't bother me; it's inside where it gets VERY HOT, something like 120 degrees? I've been dipping into the ice chest to wet the bandana and patting my face, wrists, and laying the bandana on my lap to help me stay cool, as the wind dynamics for ventilation (windows down) is horrible, sending my too-short-to-be-tied hair strands flying in my face. Instead, I left my window cracked just a bit, enough to feel the air hit my forehead. I was sweating the whole time! I noticed that I didn't have to cool myself down as much once the sun had set. The less often I have to do this, the longer the ice will last.

Day 2, July 26th​

Crossing into Arkansas, I could feel the air starting to cool off about 50 miles in. There was lightning to the east, and I ran into maybe 15 minutes of rain on the way to Little Rock. Although I was driving in darkness, a full moon was out, which helped me to see pine trees as indistinct, but tall shadows, which seemed to be everywhere! I could also see where it was still flat like Texas in the distance. And although I was driving at night, I could at least see the night skyline of Little Rock. Feeling that I was up to it, I continued onto Memphis. The air was really getting cool, which I really needed to help me stay awake until I could pull off just before sunrise.

Getting close to Memphis, I was wondering how I was going to know I was going to cross into Tennessee. The bridge with the twin arches and lights on it over the Mississippi river was a sign, obviously. I could see the shimmer of the river waters in the reflection of the night skyline and wondered how much of a night life would be happening around 2-3am on a Monday morning. There was a dark pyramid building off to the left right after I crossed the river. I went around Memphis on the north side and kept going until I got to Brownsville, Tennessee, about 2-3 hours west of Nashville. I got there about 4 30 AM and got a room for the day. I ate a few peaches and was in bed by 5 30.

Getting up around 3 PM, I ate and started getting ready with mid-size towels, not the full size bath towels that are supposed to be provided. These were about 1.5 feet by 2.5 feet. One was pretty wet by the time I dried off. I left for Nashville around 6 PM. I ran into a bit of rain and got to see two partial rainbows, which were showing strongly with all the beautiful colors.

It got really cool during the rain. Coming out of a rest stop, the car started to stumble while getting up to speed. I don't know what it is, but I decided that I wasn't going to slow down and drop back down into that speed range where I felt it. Oddly enough, it didn't happen again, but my confidence has been shaken now. I had to get gas and got to the Brentwood REI store just in time to introduce myself and eat my dinner. I took photos of the outside and of the closing shift staff of the store and got a copy of the welcome sign signed by the ranking closing manager of the night. A part of this little store ritual is to eventually travel to as many REI stores as possible, take photos, and get a signed welcome letter from the ranking manager at the time of the visit, and laminate the letter. Real proof that I have visited these stores! A lady working there is a musician in the Nashville scene, so we talked music for a little bit while they were shutting the store down for the night.

I was finally on my way to KY around 10 PM, later than I wanted to be. I went right through downtown Nashville! Lights everywhere! Going through KY, there was some hill climbing and dropping back down the other side, enough to have to make me pop my ears as I could feel and here the difference in the way things sounded. There wasn't much to be seen at night out here. One thing I noticed, that I hadn't seen before, was that tractors greatly outnumbered cars, and they were driving very fast! I was like, "If the economy is in such doldrums, where are all those tractors with goodies going?"

 

[AmericaOverland]

Day 3, July 27th​

It was after midnight before I got to Louisville in Kentucky. At this point, the night skylines of the cities have become a blurred memory from lack of sleep and having an upside-down schedule, driving at night and sleeping during the day before. It was a long night, punctuated with approaches into cities along the way on I-65 before changing onto I-71 in Louisville. Just outside of and going into Cincinnati, Ohio, there was a heck of an industrial smell. It reminded me of the paper mills back in Oregon, but I didn't think it had that metallic taste in my mouth (maybe I wasn't around here long enough for it to develop). Anyway, I pressed onward to Columbus. At 4 30 AM, I started to see light ahead of me, and I wondered, "Does Columbus really give out that much light?" As I got closer, I realized that it was dawning! At 4 30 AM?! I couldn't believe it! (I later asked my aunt, Panna if people actually went to work earlier because of an earlier dawn, and she said no, they just follow standard schedules) The very early moments just before sunrise had an echo to a much earlier feeling when I was a child. The feeling was a new, fresh start, like it did when I was in kindergarten that year, already into late October when I would feel the clarity of the sharpness from the cool, fresh air of the morning. It was cool outside this morning. So far, no further car problems at this point.

I finally arrived at the meeting point and waited for Panna to meet me. We smiled, waved excitedly, and got out to take a long hug that was waiting for a very long time. It had been since I was a baby, and I don't remember it. It was "finally." We connected in person. We were in Sunbury when we met. Sunbury is still a rural area to the northeast, complete with older houses and small streets. The downtown area has that traditional square area with a courthouse in the middle (I think that's what it is).

I followed her out to the cabin where she lives. Her daughter's family live further back in the forest in a log house, surrounded by trees, including maples, possibly birch and ash trees, and several others I don't know. Many of these trees stand over 30 to 40 feet tall, maybe as tall as 50-60 feet tall!

A caution out here is poison ivy, so they mainly stay on the rutted driveway. Anyhow, the forest here is beautiful, majestic! It's so quiet, and out here, you can hear the cicadas expand and contract in volume in an ebb and flow from different parts of the forest during the day, and the crickets will take over during the night. Here is Panna as we approached the log house.

The log house is beautiful, with pine-decked walls and floors. The living room has a very high vaulted ceiling with tall windows and a skylight window. There is an upstairs and a basement, but I haven't seen it yet. In the third photograph, to the left of the garage, is a tree-house-like structure covering a wood-burning water boiler that provides heated water for the house during the winter.

I was able to take my shower and go back to the cabin and take an hour's nap. The smaller, single-floor cabin is a log style with the interior completely of a light pine wood board style. It is beautiful and smells wonderful every time I step back inside!

I noted the construction details because I want to build a nondestructive, easily removed facade shell of this cabin in the apartment back home to help with boredom and more importantly, insulation against extreme temperatures in Houston. There are several water catch barrels under the rain gutters on one side of the cabin, and this water is used to water the flowers and garden. The cabin has a great compost toilet. Panna has two cats, both girls and fun to play with if they'll let you touch them.

We had some urgent business to attend to; my car. I needed to find out about the AC and the engine problem, so we dropped the car off at the mechanic and went onto other things. We drove around the area, a farming/rural area. Here's a photograph of a weeping willow tree.

We went back to the cabin and ran into a friend of Panna's. She invited us out to her family's property, where there is a pond with bass, catfish, and blue gill. One bass is HUGE, over two and a half feet long! Food was put out for them, and that's when we saw them. I tried to get photographs of them, but the light on the water surface kept tricking my camera.

We saw weeping willow trees out there, and they looked like women's hair, as Panna put it. We got under one of them.

Around the pond's shallow waters at the edge are these cattails.

The lady showed us her garden, about 50 feet square. We sampled some of her fresh peas, which were OH so fresh and sweet!! We went around the pond, sampling small and large varieties of wild black berries. Dee-lish!!

We went to the barn, where there were THREE Jeep trucks! Two were pickups and one was an SUV (like an overland type), dating possibly from the 40s and 50s. I wanted to get the photographs of the two inside, but it was simply too dark with no windows. I did get one of the one outside under the overhang. I noticed it was cool on ground level inside the barn, unlike the heat upstairs, where they were building an upstairs living area. We looked out the windows over the property. Beautiful!

 

[AmericaOverland]

Later in the day, we went out to the goat farm, where we saw goats, some of which were milk goats, and one about to drop some new babies! Some goats were huge, over three feet tall at the back. I didn't know they could get that big! We saw chickens out there as well. A highlight was seeing an old IH Farmall tractor there. It had been restored and is used there currently. These have not been made for several decades! And there's the dog to keep an eye on things.

We heard back from the mechanic with bad news. The AC compressor is clogged, meaning over 1,000 dollars to replace it. There's the worn motor mounts, causing the motor to shift in place, which could allow it to eventually break the motor mounts in the future. THAT becomes a safety issue, and we didn't even discuss the cost. All of us realized it was time to replace the car. I will start looking for another car right away. We went on to Whole Foods to pick up food before retiring to the cabin.

I kept noticing the odd sound of Panna's car motor. It was funny as it really sounded like a "devil's chord" interval at times. This in music parlance refers to a tritone, or an interval between two notes that is three whole tones apart. You commonly hear this in music with evil or angry connotations, or where you're trying to get a rock-bottom, richly textured foundation for a song. I just couldn't get over it and laughed about it. I had to explain it to Panna. I pulled up the theme song on Youtube from Forever Knight, that vampire TV series from the 90s, and she understood what I was hearing, though I recall it didn't quite sound that way to her. It sure did to me. Maybe the car was angry about something or just rocking because I survived the drive to Columbus! I have always liked that theme song because of the sonic quality of the foundation of that song, which again is that deep, richly complex tone underlining the sonic basis or feeling for the song and has a filling or a grounding feel to me. I just love the sound!

We were very tired when we got back to the cabin, but took some time to talk and catch up a bit on family. I was so tired! I slept in the big bedroom (not much bigger than the bed itself). It was peaceful, looking at the now-dark pine walls until I fell asleep. This night, I had the window blind drawn to help me sleep.

Day 4, July 28th​

We got up and Panna showed me what she does every day. She sat down in the white mid-sized white recliner and laid out a folded towel on her lap before calling the cats. They got up on her lap to be brushed, which is especially important for Petunia, a long-haired cat (the other cat is short-haired and named Sage). She brushed them for several minutes (hint for cat lovers!). Sage has a tendency to rub her head against the table next to the recliner. I got to watch Sage play with a golf ball, chasing it around the room. She just loves it!

We went outside to water the garden. She started the first part, and then handed the pail to me. I gladly went to the water barrels, fetched water, and carefully watered the garden. This was fun! It was cool outside, not hot at all! Panna ate, and we called the mechanic to pick up the keys and ask about used cars. We got ready and headed out of the forest.

We stopped by the mechanic to pick up the keys and ask about where to go to look at used cars. He suggested one lot small lot, so we went there to look, saw some options, but didn't find what I was looking for, so I asked where we might find it. He suggested a Honda dealership in the Westerville area. We went there and talked. We looked at one, and it was really nice, very tempting (and Panna and I agreed after the fact that well, it was the salesman's job to close the sale), but the amount was too much for my comfort. Earlier in the conversation with this salesman, he mentioned a different lot of theirs with a different selection. We went there, but the intended salesman wasn't there. We talked to a different one, a great big guy, seemingly nice upon approach, but very pushy and rude right away. We looked at a couple of models. It looked like I might have found what I was looking for. I wanted some time to determine what to do. Especially considering that this salesman was VERY pushy and rude. He kept forgetting to look at me while talking to us and sometimes wouldn't let me get a word in edge-wise and jumped ahead in the conversation. I was getting frustrated! After it was done, I asked for a few minutes in private. I asked Panna about the situation. This salesman is a pro at asking inappropriate questions about financing and getting around some of my questions. It was agreed that we would let him know of the decision soon. After we left, we also agreed that we should consider asking her daughter and her partner (Christelie and Monica) about suggestions on where to look when the family met for dinner. I think it was around 2 30 PM when we headed back to the cabin to eat and relax a bit.

Later on, we met at Skyline Chili to finally meet their daughter (Sophie), talk, and then discuss possible solutions for the car situation. Sophie started out being very shy at first, wanting to hide from me. Soon, she opened up and started asking me questions like what my favorite colors, animals, plants, etc. were. It was great to meet my cousins! Monica thought about contacting her cousin who works in used cars. She would contact her for us.

Afterwards, we caught up with them at a climbing gym, where Christelie and her family love to climb. Since I was still tired, I chose not to join them on the wall (I might later on in Boston). We watched them while I talked to Panna about the climbing gear being used and how two climbers work in tandem to provide safety to the climbing partner. Sophie was having fun climbing the wall and playing with a boy her age. I also talked with Christelie and the mother of the boy about their climbing gear and what I do in the climbing department at REI. Looking around, I was struck by the idea of using climbing as my "work-out" style instead of the gym, which I can't stand because of the boredom. Something I'll have to consider if I can get to where I can afford it.

We went back to the cabin, and once again, I could hear the crickets orchestrating again. A beautiful, primal sound I grew up with as soon as I had hearing aids. Panna and I sat around, talking about a lot of things before we went to bed. I didn't get up once during the night, which is unusual for me. Again, a peaceful night's sleep in the forest. Quiet, still, and safe.

Day 5, July 29th​

Getting up, Panna and I realized we didn't have a lot of time to try to find a car. We spent time getting ready for a busy day. We wrote up the route instructions for the trip to Boston, MA (which we decided we would leave for tonight). We called different car lots to try to find the car I was looking for. It really looked like the model we found at the lot with the pushy salesman would be a keeper, so we called them so we could stop by later. We went up to the log house to get online and look up Carmax in the area, but they didn't have a single car of the particular model that was a 2005 or older, not a one... Strange, so we moved on to pack for the trip to Boston and nearly left the forested property to go see the car again at the "pushy lot" when we received a call from cousin Christelie to say that Monica's cousin had found a vehicle for us at a lot just south of Columbus, at a substantially lower price than the other lot (because of connections ;-) ).

We went there, looked at the vehicle, got in it and test drove it, and discussed business. The salesman, John Cordell at www.autopawnohio.com, was a much nicer man to deal with. We couldn't submit the bank paperwork in time to get an answer this afternoon, so we went back to the cabin, picking up ice on the way. We packed up the car, ate a bit, and said bye to the cats and the forest that was my home for the last few days.

We left for Boston around 8 45 PM via I-71 to the north. Panna drove the first part of the night, and then I drove much of the night. I thought about Mom as we cut through the northwest corner of her home state of Pennsylvania on I-90. Sadly, I noticed that most of the interstate road signs in that state were neglected, leaving them hard to read at night because of the badly faded reflectivity. Through the night, we drove in the northern part of New York state on I-90. Much of I-90 is a toll system, the largest in the US, with very few exits for getting off for food, gas, and rest. If you get on this or other toll roads, be sure you have plenty of gas. It can be a long walk to get gas! I feel it makes for an unfriendly system for drivers. I hope we don't get them in Texas!! Anyhow, I-90 is the longest highway in the interstate highway system, at nearly 3,100 miles.

Day 6, July 30th​

Day 6 found us still on I-90 on the way to Albany, NY, where we would turn south on I-87 then onto I-90 Massachusetts Turnpike into MA. (I would like to mention that earlier in the overnight drive, we saw a beautiful past-full moon that was pinkish orange in the clear overnight sky) We then hit I-495 South to arrive at the hotel in Sheldonville, MA around 11 am, after driving for a little over 14 hours. There, I met my uncle Rick for the first time (being two years old doesn't count, as I don't remember). This was another "finally!" moment in a long line of such moments. He was making sure we arrived in the right place, where the entire family would be housed for the family reunion.

We got ready and went over to uncle Rick and Pam's house (affectionately called the Firehouse Tavern) for dinner, sitting around several tables put together into a single large table on the rear porch area. They had already started eating, so we got right to it after Panna introduced me to everyone (not everyone had arrived, so some others would be arriving tomorrow on Saturday). I was a bit nervous, not knowing what everyone was like. I was glancing around the table, figuring out the personality types, listening to some of their stories, and learning about their lives. We have a few people who are well-traveled. There are little children present, one boy and four girls, and they play when they're not eating! Here, cousin Christelie on the Left and Panna is talking with a neighbor, who is a practical joker. When I saw his tattoo, I thought, "Dude, isn't it a bit late to do that?" But no, it's a tattoo sleeve that you put on! He had me!

There is a large circus-type tent with the white pointed canvas ceiling and no side walls to keep everyone dry in case it rains, and cool as well. A stage is set up and tables are set up for the catered dinner which is tomorrow night. Some food was set aside just for me (VERY much appreciated!).

It was getting chilly in the evening, I'd say mid-60s or even lower! We got the fire pit going. It's a large stone-type pot, about three feet in diameter and reflects the heat upward REALLY well and has a lid when it's not being used. Rick uses the ashes for fertilizer mixes. It was great to see the family sitting around with the flames dancing over their faces as we talked to one another. I really enjoyed the immense warmth of the small-but-roaring fire in the chill of the night. Soon afterwards, we retired back to the hotel for the night.

Day 7, July 31th​

The family met for breakfast in the breakfast room at the hotel, where you could get traditional food, heck, even make your own waffles with the waffle machine! It's in the first photograph, to the right of the man standing in the background on the left. I stockpiled a small amount of fruit and ate a few pieces.

Cousins Christelie and Monica, Panna, and I went to Rhode Island Rock Gym to rock climb (Panna had never done it before, and I hadn't done it in over 16 years). Sophie stayed behind to play with her cousins.

Panna and I got our shoes and harnesses at the counter. We watched the other two get belay tested before going off to climb. I stretched out under my cousin's instructions, as I did not want feet cramps happening on the wall. On that note, I asked Christelie a couple of times in the morning to remind me to drink plenty of water so I wouldn't get those cramps. I made it all the way up on the first climb, and the challenge was more about the fear of falling, not so much heights. Subsequent climbs were easier as I got over the fear of falling. Sometimes, it was hard for me to stick to routes established with color-coded tape (using "rock holds" from different routes make it easier to climb, but if you want to test yourself before moving to slightly more difficult routes, use ONLY the holds marked with the same color and none others). Now, I REALLY like this! I have to wait until I get all the way home and settled in a bit before I can determine my finances and see when I can begin to afford a membership.

The following was amazing... I got to watch Panna receive instruction from her daughter on climbing the wall. Keep in mind that she just turned 70, and she had open heart surgery on April 26th to correct an irregular heartbeat condition. The first time she tried, she made it part way up the wall, but had to come down because of her forearms. But she tried again later and made it all the way up to the top! This was her Victory Climb!! And we have it on video! Including wiggling her bottom! She tried again later, but her forearms simply gave out.

I am very proud, so proud of my aunt for showing "can do" for someone her age. When I am 70, and I have something to gripe about, I'll always remember this. My role model... I was very surprised when she said in turn that she was proud of me for continuing on to Columbus after my AC failed and doing anything I could to keep going, even driving at night to avoid the heat. Surprised as in I usually don't think of myself in that light. Sure, I was upset about my AC, but that just meant a slight change in my driving plans. I just thought at the time that I was not going to drive home on the return trip without the AC being fixed, one way or the other.

I also tried bouldering after watching a lady do it. Bouldering is climbing short distances or climbing under rock structures suspended in the air, without protection (or ropes) and with mattress pads under the climbing area for added safety (on top of the padded floor). The challenge is staying on the wall without falling off on very non-vertical surfaces, but you start out on vertical ones. She was a very nice lady named Britney. Very nice and sweet lady (and cute too!!). I introduced myself and learned some of the basics. I tried a route with no success; I kept falling out of the starting position! I would have both hands on the holds and a foot up on the other one. As soon as I picked up the foot on the floor, I swung inward towards the wall and fell off! Later on, I went to watch the others climb some harder belayed routes. While I was doing that, I noticed a kid bouldering what would be a difficult route for me. Right then, I began to understand that there were additional bouldering routes mixed in with belayed routes on different walls. I tried an easier one and made it! At the top of the route (which is usually about 10-12 feet high) terminated with a color-coded tape marking in a "v," you're supposed to grab that last rock hold with both hands before taking your feet off the wall and hang from your hands before dropping down to the mattress pad below you, which I did. It's to make sure you don't bump against the rock holds on the way down, I think.

Here is Christelie and Monica climbing.

 

[AmericaOverland]

I went back to belayed climbing and tried a slighty harder route with Christelie's suggestion. It was hard because I tried to stay true to the route, but after getting within seven feet of the top and my hands becoming useless, I would slip and fall several times, laughing each time it happened. I called it a day and pointed down.

Christelie and Monica talked with an older kid who could boulder under a completely horizontal rock ledge and complete the route back down on the other side while Panna and I watched. Amazing climbing skills!

Before we wrapped up and started heading back to the hotel to get ready for the evening, we called the auto dealer to find out about the loan status, which was still pending at this point. We would have to wait until Monday. Panna kept reassuring me that it was going to work out. Anyhow, my forearms were very tight and slightly sore from the climbing.

We got ready for the evening and headed over to Rick and Pam's house for the catered dinner. I saw cousin Jenni, husband Paul, and daughter Lucy arrive. They are the only full-blood relatives of the group who showed up, if I'm not mistaken. It was an emotional meeting after I'd say 12 years of e-mailing and wondering what they were like in person. Unfortunately, their son Peter couldn't be there, as he was celebrating the Boy Scout's 100th birthday in Washington, DC. That'll have to wait until next time!

Here is Uncle rick with son Richard and daughter-in-law Rosemary. Richard seems to be growing antennae!

Behind the Firehouse Tavern.

We moved near the back of the property, under the trees for the family photos. We made some jokes while we waiting for the camera setup to be finished and had the caterer take the final photo of everyone in it (we counted 22 family members). We also had photos of different groups of descendants of the various ancestors of family lines, which was a great idea.

For the catered dinner, I had some food set aside for me. Afterwards, a beautifully done birthday cake (chocolate with artfully done white icing and I think with a touch of mint green icing) was brought out, and Jenni presented it to the twins of honor. On the top was a card with icing that said (for my twin aunt and uncle), "Happy Birthday Wombmates." I loved it, with a sense of humor that was obviously inherited from Rick, and it was true! A photo of them holding the knife together as they made the first cut of the cake is included.

Here is the appetizer table and the huge, pretty fruit bowl!

Later on, Rick got to show me their house. The original part of the house was built in 1835 and later moved 20 miles to its present location. The foundation for it still exists. The original part of the house was fairly small and was a chicken farmer's house (the farmer who worked for the landowner to provide chickens), and the last of the house additions were done in 1975. It is a beautiful house with lots of windows and hardwood floors. The original part of the house included an upstairs attic that served as the bedroom for the earliest families. The attic has the only windows made for the house in 1835! Rick pointed out that because of the glass making technology of the day in the area, you can see the scenery outside bend and swim with the imperfections in the glass itself. I looked outside and wondered what people saw outside 175 years ago... Skylights were added in later to provide more light for the attic. The downstairs portion has a smaller living area with a beautifully restored wood burning stove that juts out in front of the fireplace location. There are various music instruments like guitars and mandolins throughout the house and a room Rick calls the guitar shop, where he works on guitars. The basement is where you have to mind your head in various places, like the heat ducts. It was obvious that uncle Rick had plenty of experience! It was cooler down there, a perfect place for their wine collection.

We spent a bit of time in the large living room just going back and forth and around in conversation while uncle Rick was showing me a black book that had photos of musicians performing (including Rick).

The chilly evening in front of the dancing fire was repeated, the warmth welcome as usual. I got to talk closely with one of my cousins. It was a wonderful evening of being a step closer to family, getting to know them better and what their lives are like.

Day 8, August 1st​

This morning, we got up and got ready to meet a handful of family members down in the breakfast room. It ended up that Panna and I would be going to Cape Cod and everyone else would be doing other things. Panna suggested going way down south to the elbow region, where the Woods Hole region is. We took I-495 south to Hwy 25 to cross the Bourne Bridge over the Cape Cod Canal and take Hwy 28A down south.

We tried to find the better beaches located out of the way off 28A, but we didn't and was routed back onto Hwy 28, which becomes Woods Hole Road near the end. While we were going through the stretches of the road with large trees providing shade and that enclosed, forested feeling while in the car, I couldn't help but feel as if it were an old comfortable feeling of familiarity which might mean either I had lived here in another life, or it reminded me of the time of the arrival at Princeton University for the first European tour in high school, riding on the bus through similarly forest-covered roads and stepping out onto the tree-covered campus with that anticipation of adventure, something new, unforeseen.

We decided to make an adventure of finding Stoney Beach on the west side of Woods Hole.

Panna parked at NOAA's parking lot (since it was Sunday, parking was FREE) of all places!! It never occurred to me during the hurricane season when I would see the NOAA's icon on hurricane reports, that I would be standing in front of their buildings in Cape Cod!

 

[AmericaOverland]

We walked to find a place to eat and take a bathroom break at Captain Kidd's Restaurant, a very nice place with very dark, well-worn-but-varnished wooden floors, timber construction in the rafters above, old furnishings including powder and wine/beer kegs of the old wooden barrel style as seats, and fish nets hanging from the ceiling. You'd think we had stepped back in time to the pirate days! I wonder where the missing piece of the "Adventurer" sign disappeared to...

We sat at the rear deck, which faces Eel Pond (it connects to Great Harbor to the south on the east side of it). We had a sea gull fly right up to just a walkway's width from the table onto the railing, and I got close-up photos of the bird. We were just wondering what it was like to be the homeowners with yacht slips in the backyards and sailing when you wanted. It was beautiful and delicious! A moment of relaxation from the hectic pace we had today.

The bag of chips from Cape Cod! It got away from me per my request to Panna.

Afterwards, we went by the NOAA aquarium, which was closed, unfortunately. But we were there! We continued on, walking from there to Stoney Beach on the south end of Buzzard's Bay. It was a small beach, not overcrowded. You folks know what I love dearly, so I leave that to your imagination. ;-) Anyway, it's sand mixed in with very small smooth stones.

I took a photo of Panna at the Atlantic Ocean. She had been in the area for three months in 1961 for WHOI (Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution). I asked earlier during the drive down if the area had changed a lot since then, and of course, she said yes.

Down through Cape Cod and walking in Woods Hole, we saw some unique houses all along the way. I can't imagine what it cost to live there, especially in the exclusive area that you can only access by permit!

Anyhow, I stepped into the Atlantic Ocean at 1 28 PM on Sunday, August 1st, 2010. I did it! I had reached my destination! I washed my arms with the ocean and smelled the water. No signs anywhere of the Deepwater Horizon accident in the Gulf Coast. I was relieved that I got to see the beach and ocean as is.

I dipped a cup of water from the ocean and a cup of dry sand with a few rocks of different colors for added effect to take home.

And then it became a bit of a bittersweet moment, as the long journey home began barefooted in the water, out onto the sand, and then put my sandals back on at the edge of the beach for the long walk back to Panna's car. The rest of the journey home would be interesting, as I had not seen parts of Ohio, Kentucky, Tennessee, and part of Arkansas during the night drive up to Ohio.

We got back up to Sheldonville as quickly as we could so we wouldn't miss what was left of the open mic evening at the house. I wished we had gotten back sooner! BUT I did get to see cousin Jenni sing, which I didn't know she did. She has a wonderful voice. And of course there was Rick playing his guitar like a lap steel guitar and playing a mandolin as well. Pam plays acoustic bass guitar as well. Music was being performed by several people, including friends of Rick and Pam's. In the last part, people just got together and started playing and singing bluegrass music. There are really good musicians here! I recognized several musicians from the black photo book that Rick had shown me earlier in the weekend. As Jenni stepped off the stage, she gave me a friendship bracelet and a hug. A cousin bracelet! I will always remember that!

After the open mic came to an end, I talked with several of the musicians. Very down-to-earth people with no pretensions, very friendly. Especially Mike, a tall, lanky man playing left-handed guitar. He learned to play well rapidly in his later years in life. Panna told me that he had gone to the hospital to visit Rick when he was dealing with cancer, and brought guitars over to help Rick speed up and make bearable the recovery process. People there were cheered by the music, including nurses and staff standing in the doorway listening in when they could. Rick told me this evening after the open mic that music is what kept him going in the hospital and during the recovery since then.

We saw off more family going back home.

I helped with the tables, chairs, and rugs to help wrap up the event so that Rick could rest and have a few moments to enjoy some quality moments with family in the smaller living room with the wood stove, which Rosemary (wife of my cousin, Richard, Rick's son) felt wasn't warm enough for her during the winter visits. Panna, Heidi (Rick's daughter), the grandchildren, and myself were there to see Rick open a few gifts. We discussed departure plans.

Then it was our turn to say our bye-byes and to continue the journey home that started earlier today in the ocean, which would pick up tomorrow morning as early as we could. But first, we went to eat, where there were what Panna told me were drunk, boisterous men laughing and clapping when one of the staff dropped dishes. It was LOUD. At first, Panna was concerned about the noise bothering me, and I in turn said, "No, I'm complaining about the noise because I'm concerned for you!" We discussed some family stuff while we ate and got back to get to bed early for the drive home. The hotel room experience was interesting, where we had a little bit of the AC on, not like most people, who have it really cold. Panna slept with just a sheet, while I was buried under the fluffy, warm, and light comforter.

 

[AmericaOverland]

Day 9, August 2nd​

We met with the remaining family members down in the breakfast room; Richard, Heidi, and Christelie. The others were asleep or had departed the evening before. We said our bye-byes.

(I forgot to mention yesterday that when the reunion was largely over, we handed over our SD cards from our cameras so Heidi could copy the photos before giving the cards back to us. She will later make some giant photo album on disk to send out in the future.)

Since Panna had decided we were going to follow her Magellan car GPS home, I asked Christelie for a lesson on how to use it so that I could see the route and see if it made sense and how to access the route list. These things are easy to use and read, and like magic! If you get off somewhere, it'll get you back on and has voice directions. I remember the day we arrived in the area and had trouble finding the way to Pam and Rick's house - we had to go off in a different direction and hope that the GPS would plot us a different route, which it did. A limitation of using GPSes is that road data change from new or ongoing construction is sometimes not reflected in the database for the GPS maps. In this case, it was a name change that tricked us out of it, but we caught on once we followed someone back to our room and realized it was the same road we had decided to avoid. You live and learn, I guess. Anyway, while Panna would be driving in the first part, I would be using the GPS to read out distances and see where the route was taking us, and help Panna through the tricky interchanges ahead of time (since I could drag the route and "read ahead"), and while I was driving, Panna would say out to me what the GPS was saying out loud. We hugged Christelie bye one more time, but not without my begging her to show me their beautiful log cabin home, which I had seen parts of during the shower days and using their Internet connection (neither of which is installed in Panna's cabin yet; in essence, we're camping out at the cabin!). She would be home tomorrow during the day, so that would be my chance to see it.

I want to add here that during this whole trip, I opted for my blackberry map on the phone rather than the paper maps I brought with me, which was a lot easier to use during the night drives and could zoom to any level for detail. It's not GPS-enabled (as I don't want to pay for that functionality at this time), but I scroll and follow the route written down on my paper maps. But during the drive back to Columbus, I would go back and forth between the phone and the GPS, since we had NO IDEA where the GPS was leading us while driving blind and declaring "Let's see where it takes us!" This was the first time I drove not knowing exactly where I was going! Hopefully it wouldn't lead us into any lakes!

We headed up I-495 north to connect with I-90 west to leave Massachusetts for Hartford, Connecticut via I-84 west.

Here, you can see my aunt's car in the tractor's axle cap and maybe even my camera just above the front door handle! I couldn't pass it up!

We crossed the Connecticut River via the Bulkeley Bridge, said to be the oldest on the Interstate system. I was attempting to take a photo of downtown Hartford on the bridge when she realized it and pulled over, and lined me up in between the vertical posts of the guard rail. I got a really good photo of the skyline before admonishing her for pulling over like that. That was fun!

We continued on I-691/I-84 west to Waterbury (here, you can see Saint Mary's Hospital, the Timex museum, and an old town clock, which we did not have time to visit), and some time after that, we headed through New York state in the southern region above New York City, which we avoided like the plague to miss all that traffic.

I-84 really meanders through this state, giving us great views of greenery, lots of trees, hills, and short cliffs of dark/black rock, with some iron veins and underground water trickling out of the cliff's face in a few places, leaving wet, shiny runs down the face, and of course, elevation changes. Sure, it's not like driving through the mountains of the western states, but this was a long drive even though cruise control made it a bit easier. These variations are very nice for someone used to driving and living in flat southeast Texas.

Soon, along I-84 west, I came to my first construction jam in 2000 miles! About 12 30, we found we had a message from Wells Fargo regarding the loan, pulled over, and gave the information they requested for the loan processing. A trooper with a sharp, fine-denim-like pressed uniform came up behind to see if we were okay, and then continued on while we wrapped up the conversation. Two hours later, we got confirmation that the loan was approved, but with rather short terms, so I asked the salesman to try to get longer terms for the loan. Hopefully, we would have word that the loan would be approved and ready to go.

We went south on I-81, seeing more beautiful scenery in Pennsylvania before hitting I-80 west to the rest way into Ohio.

We reached the highest point along I-80 at 2250 feet. Eventually, we went through Akron via I-76 west before we hit I-71 south to Columbus. The last few miles were foggy, dark, and unfamiliar as the GPS led us down a path that Panna does not usually use. A couple of dogs chased us on the local roads, and that scared me because I didn't want them to be hurt.

We finally arrived at the cabin just after 12 30 AM, more than 16 hours after we left the Boston area. The sound of the crickets of the forest welcomed us back. After we unloaded, I took in a deep breath of the wooden scent of cabin, always a warm, soothing scent. The pathetic, hungry cats forgave Panna for being away so long after 10 minutes of brushing and being sung to. We went to bed soon after, and I fell asleep immediately. Hopefully, the days of driving so late at night would be over.

Day 10, August 3rd​

We got up late, but I spent a good part of an hour writing about the last several days, as I was asking aunt Panna afterwards to make sure my recollection was straight.

We had a little bit of rain, as you can see here in the skylight of the cabin.

We got ready to head over to the log house to finally get a tour of the house and take a shower before running errands like paying bills through the library computers, loading up the ice chest with food and more ice while we waited for the paperwork to be concluded this afternoon. Panna played with Sophie while I was showering and being shown the house.

The log house is absolutely gorgeous, with its white pine walls, high vaulted white pine ceilings, hardwood floors (all of these give off a beautiful glow under lights) and large windows, and two upstairs bedrooms and two balconies that offer beautiful views of the forest that closely surrounds the house, a basement with a short climbing wall that has T-nut holes to allow for variability of rock hold positioning and angles, and it also has different walls that are more horizontally positioned to make bouldering more challenging. The family is really into climbing!

After the showers we headed off to do the errands. Still no progress on the car loan. We decided to pick up my car for a last drive down to the dealership, and hopefully the car will be ready this afternoon. Strangely enough, I got suspicious when we found the car parked in a different spot at the mechanic's shop, even though I had all the keys on me the entire trip to Boston! Everything appeared fine. We drove the car down to the lot on the other side of downtown Columbus, BUT the paperwork was nowhere near done.

It would be, I don't know, one or two days. I was very upset about this. That would mean missing a day or two of work, and I don't want to make up for the loss in income with my small-and-not-growing vacation bank, never mind my savings!

I've been so stressed out over this that I asked to get food tonight before meeting with some people that Panna and Christelie know. We went and got something small and had a pretty good time before going somewhere for more food before going to a party they invited us to.

We tried to get to the party, but of all things, a train with TWO engines and ONE car was stopped dead on the tracks right in the middle of the street. Not 40 feet over to the left or right of the road. In the middle of the road... Panna had to figure a way around it by calling someone at the party. Eventually, we arrived at a really nicely decorated house owned by a woman who came from Turkey. Very nice lady, too. She even grows veggies in her garden. I picked a couple of home-grown tomatoes out of the basket on the food table. I sat with several people through the night in the well-lit screened patio in the rear of the house, enjoying the conversations with people from different walks of life. There was a swimming pool out in the backyard, but even if I had my swim suit with me, I wouldn't dare step into the hypothermia-inducing cold water of the pool! Someone was even playing a saxophone, but so loud I could hardly hear the conversations I was having. I later saw that the lungs belonged to a very tall woman. I wondered how she managed to play so loud without shattering the reed in her mouthpiece. Eventually, we had to leave for the cabin around one in the morning to try to catch some sleep in case the car is ready early in the day tomorrow. I was so sleepy, I slept most of the way back, and I went straight to bed.

Day 11, August 4th​

I woke up to the sunshine filtering in through my window, creating prisms on the bed and opposite wall through crystal pieces hanging within the window.

I drifted in and out of sleep later in the morning, as I suspected that the salesman at the car lot was fit to be tied by the banksters at Wells Fargo who didn't care that I have a job to attend to back at home and that the salesman had a job complicated by the interstate nature of the car purchase. Besides, this was an opportunity of quiet time working on my daily trip journal, which I hope you've enjoyed thus far. I'm still a couple of days behind. Poor Panna slept, slept, and slept. This has been a heck of an adventure with its ups and downs, and it is tiring when you have to deal with me in my current car situation and my tendency to experience cascading failures in certain situations like my car situation in the past, my scout restoration, failure to find a job in my chosen careers after going to school, never mind staying in a career during a bull market collapse like the tech bust of 2001. So, Panna needed her beauty rest.

So, once she was rested up, she called me out of my journal writing to say that there had been an update in the continuing drama of the final terms of the loan, leaving us with a couple of details to be cleared up. I discussed some other personal things in my life and what could happen to myself and family (as well) in the intermediate and long-term outlook of this country.

Panna heard thunder coming, so she suggested packing up into the car in case the salesman called, but the storm beat me to it, and I left my things staged by the front door while the weather went wild around us.

It was wild, wet, and windy weather. Trees were swaying heavily (which you could hear as the branches and leaves brushed each other in the very high winds), leaves blowing sideways, sharp, percussive, and solidly rumbling thunder felt through the pine floors almost like someone was hammering the floor with a light hammer near your feet, rain driven sideways and all the way to the front sliding glass floor (opening it and feeling the flying mist) from one windward side of the porch to the leeward side and maybe dropping ONE foot in that distance. The driven rain was VERY cold, and it was very, very cool outside. We moved to all the windows, pushing them down to just a crack to keep the rain out. There wasn't a lot of lightning, though.

During this time, Panna felt it was time to do a smudging. Sage is used as an herb for the purification process, which is burned in a handheld vessel and the smoke fanned with a feather fan. Native Americans (my Cherokee ancestors included) used these smudgings for various things by using certain herbs and plants for certain functions, such as protection and purification. First, the smudging of the house was done, I was smudged next, holding my arms out, smudged front and then back, I did the same for Panna, and then she smudged the forest. Finally, the smudging vessel was laid down to let the sage burn itself out, and it was done. Very soon, the storm moved on, and we saw that Christelie had been at the house and was moving downed branches off the driveway so she could get through to pick up Sophie from school. Once the rain stopped, we loaded up the car before it would rain again in case we got the call that the loan papers were finalized. While we loaded up, Panna handed me the last length of a branch that was torn off a tree in the storm as an offering of protection during the drive home, which I gladly accepted and thought to see if it would root in a container of water when I got home (before you lecture me, I don't know a thing about growing trees).

We later received a call from Christelie saying that in the years since they were building the log house, moved in, and lived there, that she had never seen such a violent storm in the area. A branch or a tree nearly hit the log house on its way down, and electricity was taken out at the log house.

We decided that the salesman might have run into another snag, so we called him around 3 45 and learned that the papers were now FINALIZED. Finally, we could sign the papers and pick up the car!

I petted the cats in farewell, and I waved at the forest and the creatures as I left the forest with Panna at 4 30. We saw blue skies coming out to the south and west. We saw a large downed tree by a low-lying area in the neighborhood and hoped that the storm wouldn't conspire to prevent us from reaching the dealership, which we found not to be the case with a big relief.

We arrived at the dealership; I checked the Toyota car one last time for anything I missed (a brand-new bottle of windex, no less!) and started the motor one last time to hear it.

And then we sat down to this entangling business that took nearly THREE HOURS to complete. I was getting flustered by the stack of papers as thick as a rough draft of a dissertation, even though it meant going home in a much newer, more reliable vehicle. I had to bite my tongue, as both the salesman and Panna worked their magic with me to make this possible. I thanked them profusely for making this happen, for all I had put them through. I definitely know what it's like to use public transportation in Texas cities; Austin for a year and a half through its then-most consistently cold winter on record and walking over a half-mile in the painful cold from the closest point of the bus route to the computer school (for some reason, I suffer pain right behind my ears either within the skull bone or inside the skull itself when it's very cold) and then for the first week of work at my store in Houston while my car was being fixed. If you are car-less, you should simply write Texas and similar states entirely off the list and go to far-more-sensible places like Washington, DC or New York City, where public transportation was built into the cities very early in their mechanized history of transportation. Here in car-culture states, being without a vehicle is an experience that makes you feel powerless and majorly inconvenienced.

I finally got in the new car and was being shown the features of the car.

I did catch some external roof trim issues that were fixed promptly. And FINALLY, I was underway in my new-to-me silver 2003 Honda CR-V! I followed Panna out to have a last dinner together for this trip. In the parking lot, I found that there is a vibration in the steering system when I turn hard into a parking spot. I hope that doesn't keep me from getting home (I know I can get help if I get stranded). I will have to get it looked at per the service contract that I have now. Glad I paid extra for that!

We talked about the essence of the journey together and ate slowly, as it would be a while before we would meet again in the future. We called Dawn in Cincinnati, and it looked like it would be too late to meet, as she has to be at work in the morning and is with child. We embraced out in the parking lot for a long time, as it was the first time I got to know Panna in person and for her to know me as well. It was also the end of this stage of an epic journey that wouldn't be repeated in the manner it happened. I do look forward to future trips to see the family again, and I hope it will be within a year or so.

I followed Panna out to my exit and blinked my headlights to say bye-bye, and she blinked her hazard lights in return. In the dark as I turned away onto the entrance ramp, I watched her car and waved as long as I could until it dropped out of view, and I imagined her doing the same.

I left Columbus at 9 PM EST. Driving down the highway, I found that there was a vibration in the steering wheel. I don't know if that's a steering problem or a wheel balance problem; something that has to be checked when I get home. It shouldn't be an issue for this last leg of the trip.

 

[AmericaOverland]

I decided hesitantly that I would stay on the same route that I came up on, as it didn't look like there would be enough time to try to reach a couple of places I wanted to see, as it would be dark already. Besides, before reaching Cincinnati, there were high winds and a very violent rain squall on top of that minutes later, I mean wind that was pushing my car around hard and raining so hard that I had to put the hi-beam and hazard lights on and drive around 30 mph so that I could SEE the stripes on the road. In the distance I could see not only white lightning but orange bolts as well (the latter I had never seen before!). I even pulled under an over pass for a few minutes and later ran into large hail. This system was massive, as it took over an hour to get out of most of the very active part, and I could see lighting all the way out to the horizon in front of me (the curvature of the earth limits line of sight on level ground towards clouds 30,000 feet in the air to about 200 miles!). I didn't know if this was the same system that came into Columbus earlier in the day, but I wouldn't be surprised. Either way, I didn't look forward to running in to any more squalls. By midnight, I was just inside Kentucky on the way to Louisville. I pulled off at a rest stop to take an hour's nap. I needed to refresh so that I could keep driving for a few hours at a time.

Day 12, August 5th​

I finally got out of the gigantic weather storm after getting through probably the same rain squall that passed me by during my nap and was able to drive on through Kentucky and Tenessee on the same route at normal speeds.

I reached Nashville soon after the sun rose, so it was too early to go a few minutes south to the REI store I visited on the way up, as they wouldn't be open for another 3 hours.

I pressed on to Memphis and got sleepy again, so I pulled off, went to the bathroom, and got back in and put on my eye shades for some sleep. It was about this time that I began to see how hot it was getting. Another hour later, I woke up, feeling somewhat ready to go, and took off. I soon crossed over the Tennessee river.

However, I-40 turned into a parking lot as far as the eye could see in both directions. I got photos of the lines of traffic from the median and from the center stripes, facing towards the rear and towards the front for effect. We just hung out for over an hour and a half, talking about the man who got caught in this accident and thinking of the family that would be getting the call this afternoon (word was passed down by radio from the truckers upfront to those further back from the site). Two ambulances headed back towards Nashville about halfway through the wait. See how many trucks there are compared to cars?

Finally, people started getting into their cars and moving forward. About a mile up the road I could see the destroyed car on the bed of the flatbed truck parked on the Nashville-bound road. The white car did not have a single untouched body panel nor window (nor even a fragment in the window frames that I could see), even the hood was gone! As plain as day, you could see the off-white air bag fired from the steering wheel. We then drove onto the bridge and over a hundred feet in, we realized what the other "vehicle" involved in the accident was - a tractor pulling a cargo trailer that lost its front end and both front wheels and possibly its front axle (the front end of the box frame under the cab was sitting on the road, the front wheels jutting out from under the cab body). The diesel fuel tanks from the tractor were ripped off and scattered several feet away, and I believe one of the air tanks from the trailer was on the ground as well. Recovery personnel were waiting for the right equipment to come and pick the tractor up off the road. There was simply no escape for the car driver. None...

And this is why you cannot afford to make mistakes on the highway. It's usually the place where last mistakes are made and the now-dead people are standing beside their dead bodies and going, "Whoops!" It also helps to keep your vehicles maintained. Maybe neither driver made a mistake and instead something mechanical failed, triggering the accident. Be alert, keep your vehicle maintained, and watch for recalls on your make, model, and year. Don't drive next to a tractor for miles; either hang back or pass it quickly. It could save your life. And of course, please don't text out your torrid life stories while behind the wheel! I do not want to be at your funeral, nor does your family.

I finally got through Memphis and gassed up in eastern Arkansas. By this time, I was beginning to understand the gas mileage performance of my new small truck (somehow I thought CR-Vs would average 30+ mileage) and looked up on the phone the specs on the model and found the actual mileage to be what the specs call for - about 22 MPG under mixed conditions, so it was working as advertised.

I was getting to see Tennessee and Arkansas in daylight, all the stretches I had seen only at night, including the Hernando de Soto bridge west of Memphis while crossing the Mississippi River back into Arkansas.

I have seen Kentucky only at night... That is for another trip. I had seen all of east Texas before it got dark on the first day of this trip, and it was getting dark about 60 miles back into Texas, where I stopped to rest for a while. There was no way that I would be visiting a friend in Plano and checking on my scout truck in Dallas, as I finally pulled around Dallas on Loop 635 to I-45 just before midnight.

Day 13, August 6th​

The time between driving breaks just got shorter and shorter during the course of the previous day and the remainder of the drive home. I was now at a point where I was on familiar stretches of the road and thusly wanting to get home. I was resigned to the fact that I would be arriving home at the crack of dawn and would have to figure out my work day that was to begin at 9 45 this morning. There was a problem communicating via relay when I rested in east Texas after dark last night, so I had no idea what was supposed to happen or what one of my bosses was trying to tell me. I gassed up one last time before getting home. I finally arrived home just past 6 AM, putting 1,322.5 miles on the little truck from the dealership in Columbus, Ohio to home. Here is the final mileage on the trip meter (add 1,000 miles to it);

I will have one more journal entry, but this is the final daily journal entry. This next journal entry is more of a period of reflection on the experience of the trip and missing details I might have overlooked.

Day 14, A Time of Reflection​

This had been an epic journey for several reasons:

* It was my first time out of Texas in ten years;
* It was the first time I met any of my family on Mom's side other than uncle Jim (deceased) and cousin twice removed Eve out in California. There is now a sense of being connected to family that e-mail had not given me - I now know to a degree what each person is like behind the e-mail addresses;
* I drove in these states - AR, TN, KY, OH, PA, NY, MA, CT, but did not drive in RI;
* I rock climbed for the first time in 16 years and bouldered for the first time ever. I also saw my aunt rock climb at 70 for the first time in her life in spite of her doubts and recent surgery;
* I reached the Atlantic Ocean in Cape Cod of all places;
* And I traded cars during a trip and arrived home in a "new-to-me" car, which I did not expect to happen and had hoped I would not have to do until next April after I had completed my short-term debt plans.
* The compost toilet was a very interesting experience. Basically, you do your thing, sprinkle sphagnum peat moss on top, and close the hole. It has a powered vent fan (which constantly runs) that is attached to a pipe that runs up through the roof for odor control, which really does work. There is no odor, none of that "What did someone just eat" smell.

There is one thing I forgot. When we were at Whole Foods Market, we got free food because there was no rice and we had to ask them to bring it out. Apparently, the lady behind the counter discovered the empty rice container, brought out fresh rice, and put color-coded stickers on the food boxes to indicate they were free because we had to wait on the rice. I found this out several days later.

I am in awe of my aunt and uncle for being accommodating of my dietary needs and aunt for helping me financially to make this trip possible, and for their bravery in overcoming serious health problems. I wish them well in their recovery so that we can celebrate more birthdays together.

I had to deal with a lot of frustration when it came to the car issue. I had to work hard to put this on the back burner and enjoy the trip anyway. I also had to deal with getting cold easily during the summer. Normally, I am Low Fat Raw Vegan (LFRV), but because of the stress and the very cool weather (and ice-box-like stores), I had to do something to take off the edge of anger from the frustration and ask my aunt to keep certain foods out of my reach and confront me if I tried to find them. Now that I'm winding down out of the scary and stressful parts of the trip (driving at night and the fear of running into animals and the logistics of getting home) and getting more sleep, I need to fall back into what I was living before and go back to being LFRV as soon as I feel ready (a final editing note - I have been LFRV for over two days now).

It was a great, awesome adventure, as we didn't know what would happen or how it would work out. So many different things happened. I feel changed from the experience. I'd say the most important part was the family and how I felt welcomed and being a part of it. Before, I felt like I was alone, with a few exceptions in Texas, very much on my own as far as family was concerned. This trip really brought us together, especially aunt Panna, cousins, and their families, and everyone else. I'm hoping that future trips will afford me the chance to become closer to other family members I didn't get to know very well and meet the ones who couldn't be at the reunion.

I began to understand why some people would want to travel with a GPS. It did make things easier, as long as there wasn't new construction that didn't make obsolete a previous route or take you right to a lake. Even after detouring for a bathroom break, it would route you back on to your intended destination. It's more work to pull up a map on the computer and print it out or draw out a simplified, easy-to-see map, which is what I have always done, and will always do for a backup in case the phone goes down. What was new for me was using the blackberry map, which allows you to zoom in and scroll over the route as you arrive in various places as long as you know where you're going beforehand. (another final editing note - slapping my forehead... I remembered yesterday that I actually have a GPS on my phone that is free! I had turned off GPS services months before. I was able to test it on the way to work yesterday. It's not like I need, but it is nice to know graphically where I am on the map. It will even give you directions in a list if you give it origin and end locations!)

It was very nice to take time away from daily life in Houston, and there was some effect on the perception of daily life as a result of getting out of Houston occasionally. I don't get out of Houston often enough, and this trip convinced me of that. I knew beforehand that I needed getting out, but the trip itself made it clear just how strong that need is. I need variety in my day -to-day living. Already, I'm planning a short, three-hour drive to the Sherwood Forest Festival to help out with grounds cleanups and maybe construction, then an evening of company, food, and a drum circle with fire in the sacred Seven Sisters circle. These events are always fun-filled weekends from what I see on the weekend reports and the photos online. Already, I can share some more of my experiences from the trip with customers in the store, and that feeling of "Oh, these people can afford to go to the north pole or even buy a ride on an orbital flight, and I can barely get a few hundred miles from home, never mind leave the state" doesn't have to be so big and overwhelming. To me, it makes a big difference to feel like I can participate in life.

While in Columbus on the last day, we went grocery shopping to refill my ice chest with fruit and ice for the trip home. Aunt Panna went by the card aisle and picked out several cards for some "kids." Several days later, I received in the mail from her a card that I vaguely remember... Anyway, it was a color drawing of a cute mouse with a hiking staff reaching the top of mountain saying, "You can do it!" It was very cute! I was one of the "kids!" She even bought it, addressed it, and mailed it right in front of me. She even giggled like a kid after dropping the card off in front of me, and I was oblivious to it!

Gas prices this summer seemed to behave differently than in years past. I'll put it like this. In years past, prices would increase in the summer in response to the vacation season, with people driving and otherwise traveling during the peak season. Prices seemed to stay put in most areas. I can't recall when I last saw that. Granted, some areas are more expensive than others (I'd say around $2.83 a gallon or slightly more - the further east you went, the more expensive it got). The economy seems to have an effect on people's traveling plans.

I learned something very important for traveling/overlanding; I don't want to drive during my bedtime ever again. I don't like that feeling of holding off sleep and the fear of waking up and realizing that there is a concrete wall 30 feet ahead of me. It is scary when I'm very sleepy. You never know when you slip that one time. I feel like I'm ready for another adventure now!

 

[AmericaOverland]

Comment away! It won't happen quite like this again, I think!

Stephanie

 

[Christian P.]

Stephanie,

I don't have the time to read it all right now (I will get back to it) but I just wanted to say thanks for taking the time to post so much!!! I know it requires quite an effort...!

 

[Lichen]

I read the whole report while eating lunch and really enjoyed it. You keep a good journal. Can a person actually survive eating nothing but raw veggies?

 

[AmericaOverland]

I read the whole report while eating lunch and really enjoyed it. You keep a good journal. Can a person actually survive eating nothing but raw veggies?

Thank you. I'm glad you enjoyed it!

You could survive, but it wouldn't be optimal unless you made fruit the vast majority of your dietary. See, the glucose in fruit is the main fuel source for the human body. Veggies will not give you that like fruit will.

Stephanie

 

[Mr. Leary]

:Wow1:

You are a much better writer than I.

Looks like you had a great time, and had a trip for the memory books!

Thanks for sharing! :victory:

 

[jim65wagon]

Good report, looks like you had a lot of fun. Congrats on the "new" car! Thanks for sharing!