A PLACE OF AT"HOME"MENT

I didn't fall off the boat and drown.  I just got so busy!  Oh to write it all down in one post will be impossible for the DO NEWs so I need to highlight and move on.

There was a place in Virginia that I had always wanted to visit but I never found myself close enough to stop.  From where I was staying in Gloucester, VA to Virginia Beach was only 1.5 hours so I got up early and went.  And I am so glad that I did as it got me reconnected to something, to some energy that is hard to explain.  Not so long ago I was tapped in and turned on by a constant community of healers.  I left that comforting world as it became annoying. I began more to LIVE IT instead of living it in the shelter of others and talking about it.  I no longer needed the support network. I haven't needed that for a very long time. I moved on to a true constant wherever I went and with whomever I met.  Going to Edgar Cayce's Institute was an experience for me.  I stopped in at the INFO center as I was early for a scheduled tour (I preferred to tour on my own) and as I spoke to the man at the desk I heard my voice crack to hold back the tears of vibration.  I was re-visiting a powerful energy that is universal to light-workers.  "I am heading up to the labyrinth to see if I get an answer to my question."  And I did.  Enough said. :0)

I then drove around using my GPS.  I looked to see what was interesting in the area and there were two light houses coded and I picked the one that seemed to be the best.   SO FUN.  It was a military installation so I was stopped, asked for my license, registration and proof of insurance, told to open all four doors and open the hood and truck.  YES!  This is a DO NEW.  I said to the soldier "OHHHH I guess you won't let me shoot a photo of this will you?"  He laughed and shook his head, "HAAA NOOOO."

I drove down the Virginia Beach strip off season and cringed at the negative energy .  Such a different energy that the Cayce Institute.  It was the Daytona Beach of Florida on season but I was there OFF season and could easily take my time before leaving over the many bridges to get back to my boat stay.  A different world indeed.

The next morning I left VA and headed up to the inner city of Baltimore to visit with my friend from Buenos Aires.  It wasn't a long ride but I had to pick someone up in DC on the way and then tour around as the driver to see the Baltimore sights.  I was pooped out.  The next morning I was up early to crank driving back to MA.  It was a Sunday and I thought it would be the best day to get through the megalopolis without stop and go traffic.  I slid through easily but 8 hours of driving SLAYED me.

Fast forward...Back in Massachusetts.   So much to do and not.  I have my agenda...the thing I have been waiting to DO once I was in a spot for a few weeks without volunteer work or getting to know anyone and that is Interval Training.  During all my driving I was planning.  And it all came through beautifully.  There is a new park 1.5 miles from the house that I am staying at with pristine fields and new baseball diamonds to start my walks - to jog - to run routine, a play jungle gym sturdy enough to use my exercise bands and a couple of benches to relax between.  I call it my NEW OFFICE.  It is complete with a shady desk if I wish to bring my netbook and actually see the LCD screen to answer emails.  I even found fantastic FREE interval training music online and downloaded it.  The New England colors are getting very real and beautiful (my hay fever is blasting me) and I am ON TRACK.  I have been out the last four mornings. YES!  RUN PATT RUN!  Tomorrow rain is fore-casted so....  it takes 21 days to make a habit.  Maybe I will run in place.  The slides will be WET.

Oh and though I don't have any photos of YOM KIPPER it was GREAT!  I Broke Fast but NAH- I am not atoning for anything this year because I was ALL GOOD.

MORE BIG L.O.V.E.

I am leading with a photo taken at one of Virginia's rest stops along the interstate.  Its tourism campaign slogan is "VIRGINIA IS FOR LOVERS."  The photo just seemed fitting after my last post and the giant LOVE sculpture in Indianapolis. 

LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE     I have gone from tree house to boat.  Ain't that just grand?  YES!

Yesterday I left Harper's Ferry and drove down to Gloucester, Virginia which is near West Point.  The rain had stopped making the ride so much more enjoyable.  Also I was able to utilize my cruise control.  In western West Virginia that was next to impossible.  There were too many hills and I drive a stick shift.  Boy does that cruise control option make for a less stressful drive.

THE HOUSE IN THE TREES IN WEST VIRGINIA

THE BOAT ON THE WATER IN VIRGINIA

I am staying with Cole, a couchsurfing HELPXer and his chef roommate LJ.  Cole owns a restaraunt so they are both gone most of the day.  Cole will be heading off to Australia next month for a 5 month  adventure HELPXing and CSing along the way.  I LOVE my organizations and its members.

There is a quirky cottage on the bank in the forever process of renovation, a big chicken and duck coop, an awesome outdoor shower (which I couldn't get going this morning so had to shower on the boat) and THE BOAT which is where I am sleeping.  I have my own aft quarters and private bath.  NICE

LJ had my head spinning last night talking about all the dishes he likes to cook.  Hopefully tonight he is inspired to create one after a long day at the restro.  Both of these southern gentlemen have me endeared now.  They thought I was 40.  It must be the new brown hair color.  I LIKE IT.

I slept well and awoke to a beautiful sunrise, the mist skimming the water and the sounds of nature.  A definite DO NEW for me!  Life is good.   Thank you angels!

That's it.  Enjoy the photos.  I sure enjoyed shooting them.

L . O . V . E - IT'S BIG

Have you ever seen this image?  I bet you have.  It has been reproduced in colors with white background on cards and posters but did you know it was an Indiana sculptor that first made it in true form?

I left Illinois and headed to Indianapolis to visit again with one of the CS hosts that housed me for a night on my journey to Wisconsin.  I was so happy that Chris could receive me.  We didn't have enough good quality time the first time I breezed through.  I requested two nights this time and what a wonderful experience it was indeed.  We talked again for hours, drank wine, created and ate tapas (delicious) and I felt so at home.  I brought the Argentine Malbec. :0)

Sunday Chris directed me to the Indianapolis Museum of Fine Art and before I even got out of my car and parked I saw the LOVE sculpture.  It was the first photo that I took.  Buenisima!  The gardens around the Lilly Mansion were designed by Frederick Law Olmsted.  How well we know him in the northeast. And the interior of the museum had more than I could take in that day - not to mention the 100 acre gardens to the rear of the museum that I will have to go back and visit.

Sunday morning I was off again for my long ride to Harper's Ferry, WV.  It is a 10 hour ride if you don't stop along the way even to pee.  If I routed it correctly I could take the time to visit my first HELPX hosts Gwen and Bruce.  I did :0)  Oh it was a great reunion.  I so LOVEd it!!!!  And in the morning I got up to great coffee in the kitchen.  I was asked how well I slept.  "I slept in the BEST BED IN THE WORLD."  HAAA. Gwen told me she could have put me in another space as that room had acquired more stuff while I was away but as she knew that  I LOVEd that bed so much, that it was the "BEST BED IN THE WORLD" she had made sure that room was for me for the night.  LOVE LOVE LOVE.

So where am I know?  Harper's Ferry, WV.  I drove six hours to get here, got the frig and water heater plugged in and headed out for groceries to cover me for the next two nights.  I have been blessed with quiet "no people" alone time in a beautiful house on the water.  Tonight and tomorrow there will be storms so I am planning on hunkering in and taking the time for me.  It is way too little time to write book before I head out again but it is enough time to go brunette...OK SORRY.  I had promised never to DO that again but.........but..........but..........I want a NEW DO for fall.

HAVE FUN!  MAKE FUN!  LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE

HITTING THE MARK

Before leaving Illinois I wanted to tour at least one historical spot.  This is the Land of Lincoln.  In fact, second to Springfield, IL the city of Normal was where Lincoln spent most of his time while in these parts.  Although he was already dead by the time the David Davis Mansion was finished being built he did spend a great deal of time on the property when there was only a meager farm house.  Later David Davis would construct a beautiful house.  David was a lawyer and Lincoln's great friend, his campaign manager, and a Supreme Court Judge.

I went over yesterday and toured both the inside and outside of this grand home.  Photos were not allowed inside but there was an original building in the back with a display of the era's circuit court system where I was free to snap a few.  Knowing I was slotted to shoot my first firearm in the evening I found this piece of the display interesting.  I will type part of the narrative below.

"When we think of the settling of the frontier,  we think of gunslingers, like the one portrayed by John Wayne in the western movie "The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance."  But the reality is that lawyers, such as the one played by James Stewart in the same movie, were the ones that truly tamed the West and created the modern American landscape.  More than the church or the gun, or even the state legislature, in frontier Illinois it was the men of the courts who imposed civil order and developed the laws that would help Illinois to transition to a market economy."

Later in the day when my CS host Doug finished work we went back to the Gun Club where he and his coaches have been constructing a separate building and the target boxes needed for Olympic style marksmen shooting.  I may be getting these terms wrong but what I am attempting to do is to make it clear that this is not a loud "BANG BANG SHOOT 'EM UP WIPE OUT THE COMMIES" environment or a training spot for hunting though I have no idea what goes on in the other building.  I have no experience with guns but I do have (or had) many misconceptions about things and people.  That is what I am enjoying so much about traveling through my own country, meeting and talking with people and doing so with an open more journalistic mind.  I am seeing that in reality we are more alike one another than not.

The media, especially in this election year has polarized many of us and we hook onto the differences and get blinded to just how similar we all really are.  Our good basic values are the same, our desires for the welfare of our children, neighbors and country are THE SAME translated and tweaked just a bit differently on certain aspects of certain subjects.  We all want the same basic things and if we would only focus on the SIMILARITIES and let the DIFFERENCES blur I believe that we would become a stronger country/world overall.

So yes, I was I was shooting pellets at a NRA target and I didn't care one bit whether it was politically correct in some circles or not.  And if I was hitting a little white ball into a tiny round hole in the ground I wouldn't care if anyone saw that sport one way or another either.  It was sport, it was fun and standing up and shooting with that heavy $1600 pellet gun was challenging.

Doug is a coach so we didn't skip any part of the lesson.  We went through a full explanation of everything from gun safety and operation, loading and positioning and more.  I began in prone position with the gun supported on some rolled up mats.  It was not easy for me to line up the scopes even with my contact lenses in.  In fact, through all of the shooting I feel that was the hardest part, focusing.  But I did very well.  I nailed all my shots into the target's black holes from that position.  Such was not the case standing up.  The standing position was really awkward, the gun heavy and my eyesight a true hindrance.  But I did it.  I missed all the black bull's eyes but I did hit the paper.  Success!




So that was a DO NEW for sure and a great experience in the Heartland of America.  I continue on today to Indianapolis where I will be staying with my friend Chris from CS.  I had the pleasure of being hosted by him on my way to Wisconsin and now... Patt's coming back.

See ya on the flip >>>>>>

WILL IT PLAY IN PEORIA?

On the road again.  I left my fabulous hosts Bruce and Becky and headed toward Normal, IL yesterday morning.  I had some time.  It wasn't a long stretch of road between stops so I let my fancy guide me.  I saw a sign on the highway for KICKAPOO CREEK WINERY.  I simply had to stop and make a visit.  After all, I had just finished with a volunteer gig for the last three weeks at a vineyard in southwest Wisconsin plus I had just tipped a canoe on the Kickapoo River.  Kickapoo - Winery - come hither Patt. I took about a half hour stop off, chatted with the staff, did a little gift shopping but passed on the tasting.  My stomach was empty and drinking and driving, even a small tasting was not on my responsible agenda.

On the road again #2... I decided to stop in Peoria.  "Will it Play in Peoria?"  Or is there play in Peoria?  I guess so.  There is an amazing park there.  Although I did not stop at the Zoo I did stop next door at the Botanical Gardens.  What a great spot for a little driving rest.  It was a perfect day for walking the gardens.  The little baby bunny I stumbled upon definitely agreed.

 

Having had worked in the creative departments of three different advertising agencies in California Peoria always held the significance of being America's test market for new ad campaigns - "The Heartland of America".  This is where researchers did their focus groups to see if an idea would "Play in Peoria" and therefore the majority of the country. Not all USA citizens come from big sprawling megalopolises like the one I was raised in.  Taking this trip outside I really am seeing the differences in people, attitudes, lifestyles and concerns..  Not everyone rises each morning to NPR, Dunkin' or Starbucks and a commute into an even more condensed city.  I see neither it good or bad.  I have been experiencing the diversity and I have been thoroughly enjoying chatting with people along my path.  I ask questions and I listen without judging the right or wrong in their opinions and viewpoints.  I simply find it refreshing to get out of my own northeastern bubble (besides South America and Europe that is).

At one point while being routed by my GPS into a small Iowan suburb I say aloud to myself,  "What do these people DO here." I answered myself with my observances.  "They raise kids, get involved with their community, are active in their churches, they recreate with boats, some have campers, they fly American flags, tie yellow ribbons on trees, have ceramic decorations in their yards and most likely don't lock their houses up tight at night.  This is the Heartland, and so is Normal and Bloomington, Illinois.

My host Doug invited me to an outdoor dinner at a huge park last night.  I had thought it was going to be a bunch of his friends having barbeque, chipping in for the food, tossing down a few beers and maybe tossing a frisbee.  Well... not exactly.  It was at a park, a HUGE park owned by State Farm Insurance, a major employer in the area.  The park is for the employees and their families and has a multitude of amenities including minature golf.  I felt catapulted back to the 60's when corporations had full communities for their employees complete with social structure and events.  People were lifetime employees, not changing jobs every five years, with pensions and gold watches.  I didn't know this still existed in the USA.  I thought it had completely disappeared.  Not in Normal, IL and not with State Farm.

The dinner was not a picnic and there wasn't any beer.  It was held in a big covered area filled with present and retired employees and their families.  For the cost of $6 you got a full meal and a chance to sit with your fellow employees and friends and a gazillion little ones.  It is good clean family fun, a good vibe and a nice company perk in the Heartland of America.

After dinner it was off to the shooting range to help (well I watched and joked more than helped) construct 16 Olympic-style shooting boxes for marksmen/woman.  My CS host Doug has trained the majority of his life in the sport.  Three of his former coaches were there putting the target stands together.  It was great fun to use power tools again.  The pneumatic staple gun was a DO NEW for me.  We didn't take a photo of that.  I believe that you need a license to use one of those.  While shooting staples into the wood I mentioned that I had never shot a real gun, arrows yes but firearms no.  Two of the coaches asked if I wanted to try.  YES!  That may be on my DO NEW list for tonight.  We'll see.

OK - done for now.  I have some Abe Lincoln stuff I want to check out today.  After all I am in the "Land of Lincoln."  I am sure of it.  It's written on most of the license plates here.

TWO 2 TANDEM

Where to begin, the morning, afternoon or...?  And where is my film crew?  Someone needs to film this stuff.

I am (at this very moment) in Illinois.  I arrived to my CS hosts Bruce and Becky's house last evening.  They are cyclists and brethren of the road.  This afternoon after my morning expedition into Iowa (highlights to follow) Bruce and I went out on one of his tandem bikes.  This was a NEW DO for me and FUN too.  I learned that you can't just sit back and let the front guy do the peddling, you actually have to pedal exactly as he does.  The front man takes the lead, you follow and much like TANGO it takes TWO TO TANDEM.

We road along the bike path by the Mississippi River crossing in and out of camp grounds to stay along the shore as much as possible.  For a turn around point Bruce picked an ice cream shop he knew that had a pin board.  He had wondered if anyone had claimed Argentina yet.  Well it is claimed now - I PINNED IT - IT IS MINE.

As for the ice cream I had to twist his arm to let me buy him a cone.  I really didn't have to twist too hard.  The SUPERMAN ice cream intrigued me.  It looked like PLAYDOUGH, tasted like vanilla, cherry and blue raspberry and turned my tongue blue.  Horrors.  That called for a ride all the way back to get an amber ale to wash it down.  Hey, cyclists need their fuel.  It was a lovely Ilinois jaunt.

This morning I headed over the river into Iowa.  The Buffalo Bill Museum is right there in Le Claire.  If you could throw a rock from this house a 1/2 mile over water you could hit it.  I peaked in then decided to check out my GPS and see what else was nearby.  Off I headed to the Cody Homestead.  I missed my turn, ended up driving on gravel roads awed by the expanse of dried up past harvest corn fields.  They seemed to go on and on and on.  Eventually I reached the homestead.  It was full of old stuff (of course) and a few things caught my eye.

I chatted with the museum lady for awhile, asked to refill my water bottle and use the bathroom.  There wasn't any drinking water and I was directed to the outhouse.   At least it was clean but I noticed a well and a hose right next to it that was feeding a toilet-like trough for the homestead's buffalo.  I guess it was OK for buffalo and not humans.  The buff (I can call them buffs, they are my friends now) were high on the hill.  When they saw me they scurried (wrong word, buffalo can't scurry) down to check me out.  I guess they must have sensed my bovine connection from Wisconsin.  There I had made a great friend of Rib Eye, the big Black Angus bull.  Bison are bovine.  They must have sensed my good nature.  Before you knew it I was DOing something else NEW, I was touching the nose of a buffalo.  No lie - I touched the nose of a buffalo.  I didn't say he liked it.

I then headed off to the Walnut Cove Pioneer Village.  It was full of more old stuff and Vern.  I won't call Vern old stuff.  He said he was 82 but I never would have guessed.

I parked my car, read the welcome sign, poked my head into the cobbler's store, took some photos (look to he bottom for footwear photos, it was beginning to become a theme today).  The place was empty save for a fellow sitting at a picnic table to the rear of the buildings.

"Hello there.  Are you the custodian of this great place?" I asked.  He was indeed and he invited me to sit down.  We chatted for about an hour.  He was getting ready to retire after 12 years at the Village.  He had taken the job after his wife of 52 years had passed on.  They met when he was 19, just before he was going to enlist in the Air Force (Korean War) but he couldn't leave her and he changed his mind opting to work as a mechanic instead.  He was too afraid that four years was too long to expect the love of his life to wait.  Later in years she developed Alzheimer's.  He cared for her day and night for the last 3 years of her life refusing to put her in a nursing home.

I asked what he would do if he retired.  He needed to keep his mind and body active and stimulated or he would die.  He responded that he wanted to volunteer, maybe go to India on a mission and help people dig wells for water.  Nice thought.  I suggested he try something more local.  I reminded him of VISTA and of course told him about HELPX.NET.  He doesn't own a cell phone or a computer.  I doubt he will ever look into online volunteer listings.

What a lovely man.  He told me I was adorable and then blushed.  I think he really needed a bit of SUNSHINE.  I guess most people don't just sit down and chat much these days.  It impressed him.  "Vern,  I'd give you my email to stay in touch but you don't have a computer.  We can't even be pen pals."  He wished I would be in the area a few more days so that we could have more chats.  This is his last season at the Village.  If you are anywhere nearby go on over, sit a spell, chat about life and tell him Patt says hello.

OK - enough typing.  Let me pick some photos and hit the hay for the night.  It is onward to NORMAL, ILLINOIS tomorrow and a new CS host.  I bet NORMAL ain't so NORMAL, not when PATT gets to town.  Oh and if you see that film crew that is supposed to be following me around could you please tell them to get with the program and check in by 4:00pm tomorrow. Thanks.

And now for the day's footwear...