My Mother approached me about taking a month long trip to visit family and seeing the sites in the western and southwestern united States with her and my daughter (then 4 1/2) in June. She wanted to see Mt. Rushmore and Crazy Horse, (which really wasn't much back in 1979) I wanted to see Zion and the Grand Canyon. And I had not seen some of my relatives, my godmother in Colorado in ages After a couple of months of planning and with my Mother's promise to help drive, the naive thought that she would be able to navigate the map, we set off early one morning east. We had a CB radio installed so we could get help if needed. Boy, did we ever need help!
We made it to a small town in Nevada the first night where I should have known what the tone of the trip was going to be when my mother unloaded bottles in the windowsill in the bathroom that overlooked a small casino alley. There were flashing signs and noise but we were all too tired to worry but Mom didn't want someone to come in through the window ads the latch was broken, then promptly took a sleeping pill. I laid awake guarding over us most of the night.
Next stop was Saturday night at Little America in Salt Lake City,Utah becuase my Mother wanted to hear the Mormon Tabernacle Choir sing in the morning. I just wanted to have dinner, put Shannon down for the night and go to the bar for a drink. I ran into a girlfriend who was a singer in a band and found out that in Utah after midnight on Saturday there was no alcohol served anywhere. We still had a good time catching up. My Mom got to see the choir and I got to sleep in thank you Jesus!!!!
Then we got to cross the Rocky Mountains. I say this with great respect. Because I had seen them before but in June they still had snow. As we began our ascent, I was in shorts a tank top and sandals. It was warm and clear with clouds in the distance. When we stopped for gas, I noticed it was beginning to rain, no, no, not rain, what? snow? in June? The attendant at the station said we would need chains to get through the Eisenhower tunnel within the hour as a snowstorm was coming. My Mother hadn't driven in snow in 30 years, she was beginning to panic. I remained calm and drove through although I had never been in snow but once. I just remembered from driver's ed class to slow down, don't break fast and never try to turn out of the way you are skidding, or was it the other way around? Anyway, we made it to Denver. The drive took us right next to the mighty Colorado river as it wound around the mountains. Some places it was right next to us. it was so fiercely wild and beautiful. It is a drive that I highly recommend for everyone. If you have time to follow it as goes down through Colorado to Arizona you should at least take part of it before they dam up the whole thing. We were lucky to see it before it became a small stream.
As we had dinner that night in a related restaurant to the one I worked in, the server brought me a drink. She said some people from the bar sent it to me. I said there must be a mistake, I was not from Denver. She said they knew me from California. I went in and was delighted to run into some customers from the restaurant where I worked. They had family in Denver. What are the odds!
We got lost in Wyoming and had a great sing along with a trucker who got us out of a potentially dangerous situation as there were flash flood warnings all around where we were. (We zigged where we should have zagged on the map, or so my Mom said) We never did see Mt. Rushmore as they were fogged in the day we got there, so I bought Mom and Shannon lots of pictures of it. And in the fog we couldn't find the building of Crazy Horse..
Then right outside Salina, Kansas I saw my first and preferably my last twister. I was on a major hiway heading for Oklahoma, the place of my birth. Where most of my mother's family is still residing.
Up to this point, my Mother had only driven about an hour of the trip. She didn't like the sun on her side of the car, she couldn't drive in an unfamiliar city traffic and she was out of state and unfamiliar with the traffic laws so she was gun shy and almost put us through the windshield more than once. So, I got the hint that I was going to drive. To say that after just over a week of being in the car with my Mother who is a worry wart, nervous nelly, and gasps at everything, you would think I would be ready for anything. But it was the tone of voice that got me.
"DON'T look over here!" She gasped. So, I ask you, what would you do?
I looked. And saw in the distance a very dark, taller than anything I had ever seen twister and it looked to be coming at us.
By then I was very good at talking on the CB radio with the truckers. So I got on there told my location, and got the trucker just in front of me about two cars up.
"Ladies, see that black cloud up ahead, that's hail. I want you on my mudflaps and stay there. When you see my brakes, brake slow and sure and hold on, we are gonna get out of the way!"
"10-4 broken saddle!"
And that's what we did. I got in behind him and that hail hit, we kept going about 70 mph and I was so intent on his taillights that Ididn't realize it had changed to just rain until he was talking to my Mom. Shannon blissfully slept through it.
We had dinner with him and his partner that evening and drove into my Grandmother's house late that night. That's when I found out about sleeping in the storm cellar and why I don't want to live in the south. I hate the humidity.
It was strange to wake up not knowing if the house was still going to be there. I kinda know how Dorothy felt.I woke up my Grandmother bossing my Momma around, I was already picking up the accent. My daughter was already feeding chickens. I was told to get up and start helping with breakfast. My vacation was over as far as my Grandmother was concerned. It was time to marry me off to a local boy.. But that's for part two of this trip.
Tuesday, September 28, 2010
Monday, September 27, 2010
Our first trip to Hawaii
When Cal and I first got together I didn't realize the man had never taken a real vacation. Oh he had gone off for a few days here and there, but never for more than that. He had never planned a real honest to god week or longer vacation since he had left home. Now, please remember that this is MY side of this story. I am sure that his would differ if asked, but since he is not writing this, well, he will have to live with my telling of it.
I wanted to go back to Hawaii. I hadn't been back since my girlfriends had moved back to the mainland. One had lived on Oahu and one on the big island of Hawaii so I had been able to see alot of the islands by visiting them. I wanted to spend a week or two with Cal in a romantic place and show him the Hawaii I knew. He was dead set against it. It would cost too much, we couldn't afford it, he wasn't going. Ok, I said, I have the time off, so I would go without him and see him when I got back, but I was going with or without him. (It was early in the relationship and I was very independent!)
When we stopped arguing about it, I asked him for a budget, and if I could work within that budget would he take the time off and go? He finally agreed with lots of hemming and hawing. $1500 for the two of us including air fare for a week. I wanted to go during the whale migration so it would be in the winter time. January to March.
We found that air fare in March was low. $199 round trip on Aloha from Oakland into Honolulu. Then $49 to Maui. Booked it! I found a timeshare that would give us a three night four day stay in Honolulu just for going to the presentation. We went and got it. $199 for the reservation hotel in Honolulu. I called a repo service I used in Oahu and asked if they could loan us a car while we were there. They did. No rental car for the four days! I researched for a place on Maui and found a Hawaiian family owned hotel that was not near the popular side of the island and booked a two night stay at the beginning a one night at the end of our Maui stay. It was $65 a night. So far so good We found a reliable but cheap rental car place I think called Dave's rental that was like rent a wreak, but they ran great. But the best was yet to come. I found that at Waianapanapa State Park in Hana the cabins were $15 a night during the week so I booked it for 5 nights! We were going for almost two weeks and I still had money left over!
We found coupons for everything from early bird dinners to whale watching. Saw so many whales that it was a life changing experience for me. We snorkled in Hanama Bay at 6am to beat the crowds and walked in Punchbowl when the rain came. We found the grave of the founder of baseball (Cartwright was his name!) and then spent Cal's birthday sitting on the lanai in Waianapanapa watching two humpback whales tailslap in the beautiful ocean in front of us while sipping some rum concoction Cal had made. BBQ's almost every night in front of our very rustic cabin. Watched the geckos play on the windows at night and the mongoose chase each other during the day. Took naps and side trips and found the blue pool to swim in. We didn't eat at the best restaurants and we didn't bring home alot of souveniers that trip, but the things I remember clearly are the moments that made it most special. The BBQ in Hana (There are only 4 places in Hana to eat and two close at 3pm) that we stumbled on, the grave of Charles Lindburgh sitting on the magnificent cliffs overlooking the pacific, Oheo Gulch as it splashes down to the sea on the other side of Haleakala. And the crater itself at sunset freezing my butt off as we sat in the car watching the beauty of it.
You can't buy that in a store, you can't bottle it or put it in a picture and send it home no matter how hard you try. But you can remember it once you have been there. It burns into your brain. Never to be taken away. It is even hard to explain to those that haven't been there. They just don't get it. And maybe for some (I have run across one or two) they can't feel the majesty and beauty of seeing a sunset that has brought tears to my eyes, or seen a giant sequoia that is over a 1000 years old that takes my breath away. Or understand why I can sit on a small boat to catch a glimpse of a whale day after day. To experience these things, to go out into the southwest and see where ancient people used to live, to hear the songs of the Hawaiians sung, or for that matter to hear the songs of whales singing to each other, these things make me feel connected to the earth and the ocean and the people who came before and the living things that are here now. You can't buy that. You can only live it enjoy it, embrace it. Do it everyday. Not just on vacations but find that moment every day to freeze in your brain to make it a special moment. What have you got to do today in the next moment? Hmmmmmmmmmmmmmm?
I wanted to go back to Hawaii. I hadn't been back since my girlfriends had moved back to the mainland. One had lived on Oahu and one on the big island of Hawaii so I had been able to see alot of the islands by visiting them. I wanted to spend a week or two with Cal in a romantic place and show him the Hawaii I knew. He was dead set against it. It would cost too much, we couldn't afford it, he wasn't going. Ok, I said, I have the time off, so I would go without him and see him when I got back, but I was going with or without him. (It was early in the relationship and I was very independent!)
When we stopped arguing about it, I asked him for a budget, and if I could work within that budget would he take the time off and go? He finally agreed with lots of hemming and hawing. $1500 for the two of us including air fare for a week. I wanted to go during the whale migration so it would be in the winter time. January to March.
We found that air fare in March was low. $199 round trip on Aloha from Oakland into Honolulu. Then $49 to Maui. Booked it! I found a timeshare that would give us a three night four day stay in Honolulu just for going to the presentation. We went and got it. $199 for the reservation hotel in Honolulu. I called a repo service I used in Oahu and asked if they could loan us a car while we were there. They did. No rental car for the four days! I researched for a place on Maui and found a Hawaiian family owned hotel that was not near the popular side of the island and booked a two night stay at the beginning a one night at the end of our Maui stay. It was $65 a night. So far so good We found a reliable but cheap rental car place I think called Dave's rental that was like rent a wreak, but they ran great. But the best was yet to come. I found that at Waianapanapa State Park in Hana the cabins were $15 a night during the week so I booked it for 5 nights! We were going for almost two weeks and I still had money left over!
We found coupons for everything from early bird dinners to whale watching. Saw so many whales that it was a life changing experience for me. We snorkled in Hanama Bay at 6am to beat the crowds and walked in Punchbowl when the rain came. We found the grave of the founder of baseball (Cartwright was his name!) and then spent Cal's birthday sitting on the lanai in Waianapanapa watching two humpback whales tailslap in the beautiful ocean in front of us while sipping some rum concoction Cal had made. BBQ's almost every night in front of our very rustic cabin. Watched the geckos play on the windows at night and the mongoose chase each other during the day. Took naps and side trips and found the blue pool to swim in. We didn't eat at the best restaurants and we didn't bring home alot of souveniers that trip, but the things I remember clearly are the moments that made it most special. The BBQ in Hana (There are only 4 places in Hana to eat and two close at 3pm) that we stumbled on, the grave of Charles Lindburgh sitting on the magnificent cliffs overlooking the pacific, Oheo Gulch as it splashes down to the sea on the other side of Haleakala. And the crater itself at sunset freezing my butt off as we sat in the car watching the beauty of it.
You can't buy that in a store, you can't bottle it or put it in a picture and send it home no matter how hard you try. But you can remember it once you have been there. It burns into your brain. Never to be taken away. It is even hard to explain to those that haven't been there. They just don't get it. And maybe for some (I have run across one or two) they can't feel the majesty and beauty of seeing a sunset that has brought tears to my eyes, or seen a giant sequoia that is over a 1000 years old that takes my breath away. Or understand why I can sit on a small boat to catch a glimpse of a whale day after day. To experience these things, to go out into the southwest and see where ancient people used to live, to hear the songs of the Hawaiians sung, or for that matter to hear the songs of whales singing to each other, these things make me feel connected to the earth and the ocean and the people who came before and the living things that are here now. You can't buy that. You can only live it enjoy it, embrace it. Do it everyday. Not just on vacations but find that moment every day to freeze in your brain to make it a special moment. What have you got to do today in the next moment? Hmmmmmmmmmmmmmm?
Sunday, September 26, 2010
Sunday drives with Shannon
When I was a single parent and working two jobs to support us, my daughter Shannon and I usually only had Sundays off together all day. I won't lie and say that we spent those days doing fun things all the time, because Now, my parents never really did much of that, and really you didn't want my Dad driving us around as he was sure to have had a few or many drinks and it would be unsafe. So, it was my own willingness to explore the world around me that kept me going off into the unknown of California to see what was out there.
I don't know if I passed that trait on to my daughter. I don't know if she will pass it on to her children. But I do know that all the short trips that we took are embedded in my memory bank, and when I see parts of California or hear of an area we have been to I smile because I took a Sunday drive with my daughter and listened to music and her, talked of mundane things, laughed and shared a space of time.
Now she is grown up and far away with children of her own. She has her own perspective on things, but I have the past history with her to keep. Funny, thats all we have of our children when they grow up. They become adults and although they are always our children, we are not the guardians of their lives as we were when they were entrusted to us. They have to find their own Sunday drives to take, and explore in their own way. We as parents have to take a step back and find a solo journey.
Were all of those trips the greatest? Nope. Were they all special? probably not. Some were fraught with problems, some were bad from the get go, some were magical. Some were calm and relaxing. But they made us strong and experienced and savvy to the world around us. And I wouldn't have given up any of them.
So, here's to Sunday drives anywhere you want to go.
I don't know if I passed that trait on to my daughter. I don't know if she will pass it on to her children. But I do know that all the short trips that we took are embedded in my memory bank, and when I see parts of California or hear of an area we have been to I smile because I took a Sunday drive with my daughter and listened to music and her, talked of mundane things, laughed and shared a space of time.
Now she is grown up and far away with children of her own. She has her own perspective on things, but I have the past history with her to keep. Funny, thats all we have of our children when they grow up. They become adults and although they are always our children, we are not the guardians of their lives as we were when they were entrusted to us. They have to find their own Sunday drives to take, and explore in their own way. We as parents have to take a step back and find a solo journey.
Were all of those trips the greatest? Nope. Were they all special? probably not. Some were fraught with problems, some were bad from the get go, some were magical. Some were calm and relaxing. But they made us strong and experienced and savvy to the world around us. And I wouldn't have given up any of them.
So, here's to Sunday drives anywhere you want to go.
Saturday, September 25, 2010
Flying at any age
When I was out of high school a couple of years and working full time and going to college part time (keeping my options open ha-ha) I was invited to a friends wedding in Tahoe. Two other high school friends of mine were going but I could not leave at the same time as them so I thought, I will fly up to Tahoe and drive back with them. It was only about an hour flight from Oakland to Tahoe. So, Debbie and Sue were going to meet me at the airport and our weekend adventure would start. I felt very grown up flying for the first time, short flight, had a fake ID and going to the land of gambling and sin as in Nevada with girlfriends.
I got on a small plane that held maybe 40 people. Sat next to a window so I could see the sights and had a businessman sitting next to me. I still felt very grown up. My flight was at 6pm in June and was a beautiful night as we left. The captain was able to point out Sacramento and as the sun began to descend to the west it put a wonderful glow on the sierra mountains as we began to climb over them. Some still had snow on the peaks. They began to loom largely in my vision as we passed over them and then all of a sudden we dropped. My stomach felt like it was in my brain. It didn't help that I had a glass of wine while flying. When I asked the man next to me about this aberration, he said we had to land down in the valley near there and he pointed to a very small, very thin strip that looked like it ended in Lake Tahoe itself. I didn't feel very grown up anymore.
I watched as we began to circle very fast in my humble opinion down into a very small space between two very large mountains. It took us 15 minutes to circle down from the top of the mountains to come around to make our attempt at landing. The pilot said there was a bad cross wind and it would be a bit bumpy. I hit my head on the overhead once before he finished telling us to put our seatbelts back on for landing. Funny, I was so wanting to enjoy my first look at Lake Tahoe from the air and all I could do was close my eyes and pray we didn't land in it.
When I finally felt the plane hit the ground, I then prayed we would be able to stop on the runway, and when we did, I was ready to cry. I am sure my makeup was a mess by then from hiding my face in my hands.
I was able to pull myself together by the time I got off the plane and walk to where Sue and Debbie waited for me. Back then Tahoe didn't have a terminal, just a shed to set the bags and overhang to wait for the plane. I wanted a few shots of tequila and a good cry but instead I got a conservative bachlorette party with the bride's womenfolk and her new friends at the basement of the catholic church where she would be married in the morning.
I looked at Mary Magdelene and thanked her for saving me that day. I also thanked her for not allowing the church from coming down around me after all the sinful things I had done. Having been raised between my mother a good Southern Baptist (tent revivals and Oral Roberts) and my fraternal Grandmother (the devout Catholic) I knew that at some point I had sinned in someone's eyes. I knew that I was going to hell from what I remembered from all the Sunday School teachings that contradicted all that I had been doing since I left home. Fake ID and all.
So, the next day we watched our friend walk down the isle in a beautiful white dress and say I do to the man of her dreams. I have often wondered if they are still married all these years later.
The rest of the weekend was spent as most single women will do, looking at, talking to and flirting with single men. We interspersed seeing the sights around the lake while doing that, but the main objective was having a good time with a few good looking men our own age. Ah yes, some things don't change with the ages.
So, I learned a couple of good things that weekend, I don't like small planes going over large mountains. I do like Tahoe at least without snow. I loved driving the mountain road home when no one else did.
Since that time, I have slid off the runway in a large plane after a bad rainstorm. Sat on a runway while a thundeI rstorm raged, and been rerouted to Nashville because of a blizzard. There was nothing to do in the Nashville airport for three hours, believe me I tried! And was upgraded to a convertible in Baltimore during a snowstorm. How's that for luck? Oh yea, I had my luggage lost when I went to Hawaii for a week. They found it the day I was leaving.
I still fly. Mostly because it is the only way to get to some of the places I love to go to. I make the best of it, but I don't have to like it all that much. I dont' like giving up control to some pilot I don't know. I don't like those people who tell you it's safer than driving a car. I think they are the ones that will scream the loudest and sit next to the emergency exits. I read all the instructions but I don't think it will help much if you fall from the sky. Seriously? But I think positive. I don't write about this to scare anyone, but I find it amazing that they really can fly. But I feel very grown up when I board a plane. Even if I become a very scared child inside. Amazing isn't it?
I got on a small plane that held maybe 40 people. Sat next to a window so I could see the sights and had a businessman sitting next to me. I still felt very grown up. My flight was at 6pm in June and was a beautiful night as we left. The captain was able to point out Sacramento and as the sun began to descend to the west it put a wonderful glow on the sierra mountains as we began to climb over them. Some still had snow on the peaks. They began to loom largely in my vision as we passed over them and then all of a sudden we dropped. My stomach felt like it was in my brain. It didn't help that I had a glass of wine while flying. When I asked the man next to me about this aberration, he said we had to land down in the valley near there and he pointed to a very small, very thin strip that looked like it ended in Lake Tahoe itself. I didn't feel very grown up anymore.
I watched as we began to circle very fast in my humble opinion down into a very small space between two very large mountains. It took us 15 minutes to circle down from the top of the mountains to come around to make our attempt at landing. The pilot said there was a bad cross wind and it would be a bit bumpy. I hit my head on the overhead once before he finished telling us to put our seatbelts back on for landing. Funny, I was so wanting to enjoy my first look at Lake Tahoe from the air and all I could do was close my eyes and pray we didn't land in it.
When I finally felt the plane hit the ground, I then prayed we would be able to stop on the runway, and when we did, I was ready to cry. I am sure my makeup was a mess by then from hiding my face in my hands.
I was able to pull myself together by the time I got off the plane and walk to where Sue and Debbie waited for me. Back then Tahoe didn't have a terminal, just a shed to set the bags and overhang to wait for the plane. I wanted a few shots of tequila and a good cry but instead I got a conservative bachlorette party with the bride's womenfolk and her new friends at the basement of the catholic church where she would be married in the morning.
I looked at Mary Magdelene and thanked her for saving me that day. I also thanked her for not allowing the church from coming down around me after all the sinful things I had done. Having been raised between my mother a good Southern Baptist (tent revivals and Oral Roberts) and my fraternal Grandmother (the devout Catholic) I knew that at some point I had sinned in someone's eyes. I knew that I was going to hell from what I remembered from all the Sunday School teachings that contradicted all that I had been doing since I left home. Fake ID and all.
So, the next day we watched our friend walk down the isle in a beautiful white dress and say I do to the man of her dreams. I have often wondered if they are still married all these years later.
The rest of the weekend was spent as most single women will do, looking at, talking to and flirting with single men. We interspersed seeing the sights around the lake while doing that, but the main objective was having a good time with a few good looking men our own age. Ah yes, some things don't change with the ages.
So, I learned a couple of good things that weekend, I don't like small planes going over large mountains. I do like Tahoe at least without snow. I loved driving the mountain road home when no one else did.
Since that time, I have slid off the runway in a large plane after a bad rainstorm. Sat on a runway while a thundeI rstorm raged, and been rerouted to Nashville because of a blizzard. There was nothing to do in the Nashville airport for three hours, believe me I tried! And was upgraded to a convertible in Baltimore during a snowstorm. How's that for luck? Oh yea, I had my luggage lost when I went to Hawaii for a week. They found it the day I was leaving.
I still fly. Mostly because it is the only way to get to some of the places I love to go to. I make the best of it, but I don't have to like it all that much. I dont' like giving up control to some pilot I don't know. I don't like those people who tell you it's safer than driving a car. I think they are the ones that will scream the loudest and sit next to the emergency exits. I read all the instructions but I don't think it will help much if you fall from the sky. Seriously? But I think positive. I don't write about this to scare anyone, but I find it amazing that they really can fly. But I feel very grown up when I board a plane. Even if I become a very scared child inside. Amazing isn't it?
Friday, September 24, 2010
My first trip alone
I know most women don't think of traveling alone, or even want to. They go with family or friends, or their lovers or mates. And I know that it is much less stressful or scary to go with someone else. It is more fun to share the adventure you are on with someone you can relate to. But some (probably most) women in their late 40's and up still feel uncomfortable going to a restaurant alone, or seeing the sights somewhere all by themselves. I have been privililged to know a few very strong and brave and intelligent women who felt the need to do independent things. Like do a walk about in Austrailia for 3 months. Or drive across the US by themselves to see the National Parks before going back to college. Yes, I am sure they were all warned about the hazards, and knew that they could be a victim at any point in time, but they still reached out to grab life by the scruff of the neck and run with it. They had good examples in history. Amelia Earhart for one. There are so many others.
I took a trip down the coast of California for a week once. I decided to go see the coast and have no real plan of attack for the week. I had friends I hadn't seen for a while that I would stop to see but I could wander down the coast and stay where I wanted,when I wanted and as long as I didn't max out my only credit card at the time, I would be able to enjoy a week of sun and surf.
It was in the early 80's and I was enjoying having a week of free time so I started in Santa Cruz. I stayed at the Dream Inn which at that time was a great hotel right on the beach at the end of the boardwalk. I spent three nights there as I met some younger people and ended up having a great time with them at the boardwalk and in Aptos. We enjoyed dinner at the Shadowbrook Inn the last night I was there which I would not have found on my own. They were all so much younger than I but it goes to show you that you can learn something from any age.
The drive down Highway 1 between Santa Cruz and San Simeon is so rugged and breathtaking that it takes you all day just so you can stop and catch your breath at all the phenomenal scenery. Stopping at Ventana or big Sur is always recommended but the jewel is the coastline itself. I never tire of it. It is not for the weak of heart with all the hairpin turns but the views are so worth it on a clear day. The sun sending sparkling diamonds over the water and the multitude shades of blue in the sea overcome the senses. Just keep your eyes on the road and pull off to really look at the views as they are what makes it all so worthwhile.
I stayed in Cambria on Moonstone beach, and took my camera down to the rocks setting up to take shots of the opera of colors that would sing with the sun setting. There I met a fellow photographer who was already set up and we talked until the sunset made us silent with its amazing chorus as we snapped picture after picture, both knowing we would never capture all of its beauty. He was an older fellow that had been widowed a few years earlier and was going up to San Francisco to visit his son. He and I shared a wonderful meal at the Sow's Ear which was his favorite in town when he passed through. Again another place I would not have found. I also took myself on a tour of Heast Castle and ended up sitting with a family on the bus up the hill. I couldn't place the face of the father but I knew I had seen him before. His wife and two daughters and I had a great time on the tour and I kept trying to place him. Finally I gave up and and asked him where I knew him from. His daughter who I had spent the last three hours with started to laugh, and gave him a bad time.
"Daddy! Doesn't know you! Your beard worked!"
His wife told me he was Greg Morris from Mission Impossible fame. I hated to admit that I did watch the show but it had been a while and didn't recognise him. We had lunch together and no one knew that a celebrity was amoung them. He loved it.
I spent the next couple of nights with friends in Morro Bay and enjoying watching them wrangle around each other because I was there. She never did like it when I visited. But Matt is like a brother to me and well, wives come and go it seems, at least she did.
Then I stayed one night in Santa Barbara and for all the hype, I guess I didn't find the real thing. I explored State Street, went down on the pier and ate some great food, but I found most everyone to be a bit too into themselves. I didn't like it much.
Last of all I took myself to Disneyland. I spent the day riding on the rides I remembered from my youth, that I had taken my daughter on when she was little and watching all the parents and the children enjoy what I so loved as a child. Some people looked at me strangely as I rode by myself or sat next to someone else's child that did not have a parent or friend. But most accepted that I was there having a good time being a child again.
I learned that I could go anywhere and not feel embarassed to be alone. That I was not a loser becuase I liked my own company. I met some very interesting people that I would not have met had I been in the cocoon of friends and family. I learned how to rely on myself to make my trip a sucess, and not worry that I had to be on time for someone else's schedule. Most of all I really had time to think about things or not. My choice. Something we forget about sometimes in our daily life.
I have taken many trips alone since that first one. I have really loved each of them. We learn more about ourselves when we take chances and step out of our everyday roles. I like that I am not afraid to go alone and do the things I love to do. But I love it most when I can share it with my friends and family because they want to be adventurous and learn something new and see all that there is out there to see.
I took a trip down the coast of California for a week once. I decided to go see the coast and have no real plan of attack for the week. I had friends I hadn't seen for a while that I would stop to see but I could wander down the coast and stay where I wanted,when I wanted and as long as I didn't max out my only credit card at the time, I would be able to enjoy a week of sun and surf.
It was in the early 80's and I was enjoying having a week of free time so I started in Santa Cruz. I stayed at the Dream Inn which at that time was a great hotel right on the beach at the end of the boardwalk. I spent three nights there as I met some younger people and ended up having a great time with them at the boardwalk and in Aptos. We enjoyed dinner at the Shadowbrook Inn the last night I was there which I would not have found on my own. They were all so much younger than I but it goes to show you that you can learn something from any age.
The drive down Highway 1 between Santa Cruz and San Simeon is so rugged and breathtaking that it takes you all day just so you can stop and catch your breath at all the phenomenal scenery. Stopping at Ventana or big Sur is always recommended but the jewel is the coastline itself. I never tire of it. It is not for the weak of heart with all the hairpin turns but the views are so worth it on a clear day. The sun sending sparkling diamonds over the water and the multitude shades of blue in the sea overcome the senses. Just keep your eyes on the road and pull off to really look at the views as they are what makes it all so worthwhile.
I stayed in Cambria on Moonstone beach, and took my camera down to the rocks setting up to take shots of the opera of colors that would sing with the sun setting. There I met a fellow photographer who was already set up and we talked until the sunset made us silent with its amazing chorus as we snapped picture after picture, both knowing we would never capture all of its beauty. He was an older fellow that had been widowed a few years earlier and was going up to San Francisco to visit his son. He and I shared a wonderful meal at the Sow's Ear which was his favorite in town when he passed through. Again another place I would not have found. I also took myself on a tour of Heast Castle and ended up sitting with a family on the bus up the hill. I couldn't place the face of the father but I knew I had seen him before. His wife and two daughters and I had a great time on the tour and I kept trying to place him. Finally I gave up and and asked him where I knew him from. His daughter who I had spent the last three hours with started to laugh, and gave him a bad time.
"Daddy! Doesn't know you! Your beard worked!"
His wife told me he was Greg Morris from Mission Impossible fame. I hated to admit that I did watch the show but it had been a while and didn't recognise him. We had lunch together and no one knew that a celebrity was amoung them. He loved it.
I spent the next couple of nights with friends in Morro Bay and enjoying watching them wrangle around each other because I was there. She never did like it when I visited. But Matt is like a brother to me and well, wives come and go it seems, at least she did.
Then I stayed one night in Santa Barbara and for all the hype, I guess I didn't find the real thing. I explored State Street, went down on the pier and ate some great food, but I found most everyone to be a bit too into themselves. I didn't like it much.
Last of all I took myself to Disneyland. I spent the day riding on the rides I remembered from my youth, that I had taken my daughter on when she was little and watching all the parents and the children enjoy what I so loved as a child. Some people looked at me strangely as I rode by myself or sat next to someone else's child that did not have a parent or friend. But most accepted that I was there having a good time being a child again.
I learned that I could go anywhere and not feel embarassed to be alone. That I was not a loser becuase I liked my own company. I met some very interesting people that I would not have met had I been in the cocoon of friends and family. I learned how to rely on myself to make my trip a sucess, and not worry that I had to be on time for someone else's schedule. Most of all I really had time to think about things or not. My choice. Something we forget about sometimes in our daily life.
I have taken many trips alone since that first one. I have really loved each of them. We learn more about ourselves when we take chances and step out of our everyday roles. I like that I am not afraid to go alone and do the things I love to do. But I love it most when I can share it with my friends and family because they want to be adventurous and learn something new and see all that there is out there to see.
Where was I? Oh yes, moving....
o, now that I have started this, let me elaborate. When you move, you bring all of your hopes, desires, along with your baggage with you to the new place. You lay it all out in a new enviornment and expect the fresh salty sea air to change the neurons and protons in your brain. Or you expect that you will see things differently. Or maybe with a new job or new spouse, mate, that things will be different enough for that "big change" to occur to make things different. But what we all forget is the one thing that is always happening is we are different every moment. No it is not really profound. Just the reality of time. We just need to be cognizant of it. Science tells us that the one constant is that all things change. Yet we as humans make the same mistakes over and over thnking that we will get a different result. What has this to do with moving? I watched someone try to take a chair through a doorway five times when the first four times it didn't fit. And never once did they change the way they were trying to take it through the door. Understandably they didn't want to take it upstairs through the sliding glass doors that are bigger and then back down the stairs but it fit that way.
I do know that I myself have those habits that I keep doing that are so self humiliatingly insane, but human. I know that I am smarter than that, even sometimes as I do it, but, what am I but human? As I moved this time I wanted to throw out so much of what I had collected over the years, mostly because I didn't want to lug it all up stairs and move it to the new house that was smaller (downsizing, who ever thought of that!). But as I went through things, the memories of trips to Mesa Verde and Yosemite came roaring back in full color and detail. I remembered the moose that almost made us run off the road in Colorado who could have cared less that he was in the middle of that road when we slammed on the brakes. I wanted to get out to take a picture of the majestic beast but it was getting dark. Patty was afraid we could have an accident on the side of that mountain there. That was the one and only trip we took with Cal's sister Patty before she died. So, I ended up keeping all those little magnets on the refridgerator, and all the trinkets that are collecting dust on a shelf. They don't mean much to anyone but us, but they do remind me of the great times and places we have visited.
Hopefully I will share some of those on this blog with those that want to remember or hear about them too.
Coy
I do know that I myself have those habits that I keep doing that are so self humiliatingly insane, but human. I know that I am smarter than that, even sometimes as I do it, but, what am I but human? As I moved this time I wanted to throw out so much of what I had collected over the years, mostly because I didn't want to lug it all up stairs and move it to the new house that was smaller (downsizing, who ever thought of that!). But as I went through things, the memories of trips to Mesa Verde and Yosemite came roaring back in full color and detail. I remembered the moose that almost made us run off the road in Colorado who could have cared less that he was in the middle of that road when we slammed on the brakes. I wanted to get out to take a picture of the majestic beast but it was getting dark. Patty was afraid we could have an accident on the side of that mountain there. That was the one and only trip we took with Cal's sister Patty before she died. So, I ended up keeping all those little magnets on the refridgerator, and all the trinkets that are collecting dust on a shelf. They don't mean much to anyone but us, but they do remind me of the great times and places we have visited.
Hopefully I will share some of those on this blog with those that want to remember or hear about them too.
Coy
Moving to Lincoln City, Oregon or anywhere.....
People move everyday. Across town, across the country. Away from home, back home. Always it is a stressful and sometimes exciting thing. Always tiresome at any age. There is the preparation for it, the anticipation, and the actual backbreaking moving of all the "stuff" you have collected over the years to the next phase of your life. In a way it is like being in your head and changing jobs, or changing boyfriends/girlfirends, husbands/wives etc. Interesting to me how they are all interconnected to each other. We carry all the old to the new. But I digress don't I?
Lincoln City was very different than Paso Robles in location. Paso is dry and inland. Lincoln City is right at the ocean and wet. But they are both small towns. They are both somewhat isolated from the rest of the state and larger cities. No real shopping centers (bummer!) But the commonalities that I have already found is that people are helpful and fiendly and ready to give you directions and tell you where to get the best deal or the best Mexican food in town. This has been a common thread in all the moves I have made.
Yes, those that have known me, know I am a gypsy at heart. I would live in a suitcase if I could for weeks at a time. I love to see new parts of this land. I love to talk to new people. So, moving, well I just hate the heavy lifting stuff. Bring in the muscle and I am good to go.
I have anchors that keep me sane in old friends that have been around in my adult life that are my "home" in my heart. No matter where I go as long as I can keep in contact with them I know I am still within reach of balance. So, moving to Lincoln City is to explore the Northwest and find a calm space to write more.
There are many good things here already. I will tell you about them in the future. Many interesting people here that we all have run across where you are. So, lift up your head and look around. Who are you sitting next to?
Coy
Lincoln City was very different than Paso Robles in location. Paso is dry and inland. Lincoln City is right at the ocean and wet. But they are both small towns. They are both somewhat isolated from the rest of the state and larger cities. No real shopping centers (bummer!) But the commonalities that I have already found is that people are helpful and fiendly and ready to give you directions and tell you where to get the best deal or the best Mexican food in town. This has been a common thread in all the moves I have made.
Yes, those that have known me, know I am a gypsy at heart. I would live in a suitcase if I could for weeks at a time. I love to see new parts of this land. I love to talk to new people. So, moving, well I just hate the heavy lifting stuff. Bring in the muscle and I am good to go.
I have anchors that keep me sane in old friends that have been around in my adult life that are my "home" in my heart. No matter where I go as long as I can keep in contact with them I know I am still within reach of balance. So, moving to Lincoln City is to explore the Northwest and find a calm space to write more.
There are many good things here already. I will tell you about them in the future. Many interesting people here that we all have run across where you are. So, lift up your head and look around. Who are you sitting next to?
Coy
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