A Little Bit of This and That

The stories of me, and us and them...

[iamamyjo]

Trip of a Life Time - Day 35

The drive to Chicago was long. We traveled some 12 hours through North Carolina, Virginia, West Virginia, Kentucky, the corner of Ohio, Indiana and Illinois, but I was determined to push through and make it in one day come hell or even an unexpected detour through the back roads of Kentucky.

Our navigator’s slip in Huntington, West Virginia was an unexpected treat of the AA Highway, which cuts through northern Kentucky’s rolling, green hills. I’d never seen an area quite like it. From the most basic of trailer homes to the biggest estates, everyone had manicured lawns and well groomed gardens, all nestled between tall trees, green with the new colours of spring. It was like being sucked into a beautiful, alternate universe that had me driving and looking for anything that wasn’t picture perfect, to no avail.

We were soon brought back to the city realism in Cincinnati, which took a few goes to get out of, but at least we got a bit of a view of the Ohio River as I made u-turns trying to get back on track.

From Cincinnati, Ohio to Indianapolis, Indiana we drove on…

My goal was to evaluate how we were doing and how I was feeling in Lebanon, Indiana just north of Indianapolis. We were loosing light and although we were slightly tired we felt it was just a 2-3 hour shot more and we would manage through.

We travelled up a bumpy Interstate 65 to Gary, Indiana and the south side of Lake Michigan. We easily got onto the toll road heading west to Illinois.

At this point I was feeling pretty confident about our progress. The traffic on the Indiana Toll Road was almost non-existent, which surprised me for such a populated area but it was 10 pm on Saturday evening and I wasn’t looking a gift horse in the mouth…

We moved from the Indiana Toll Road to the Chicago Skyway, still smooth sailing.

Then came a northern turn and the Dan Ryan Express Way, which leads into the heart of Chicago, and all I could see across the 8 lanes ahead of me was red tail lights, all moving at speed with seemingly great confidence in what lane and exits they needed.

Among these confident Chicagoans, was us, in our little white Toyota Corolla, trying to make sure we found our way off and not somewhere in southern Michigan (although, it would have added another state…)

Any missteps the navigator made earlier in the day were long forgotten as she confidently directed me into the necessary lanes to get us off the Dan Ryan ‘Torture’ Expressway and into downtown Chicago. Where I immediately managed to get in the wrong lane and had to drive around for 5-10 minutes before we found the way to the long missed Chief Stuart of our tribe, at the Sheraton Chicago Hotel and Towers, heralding the end of the driving part of our amazing journey…

[iamamyjo]

Trip Of a Life Time - Days 30 - 34

We came to the Winston Salem area from San Antonio, Texas in March of 2001. It was not where we wanted to be but work dictated it to be a necessity. So we went, begrudgingly, and some five years later we left to move back to New Zealand and family.

Being in Winston Salem, I count among my most surprising blessing. The city and area are full of beauty, art and scenery but it was the friendships we found here that surprised me most.

Most people don't know it but by nature I am a very shy person. So the first year and half in North Carolina I really didn't meet many people. We lived on three stunning, park like, rural acres so daily interactions with others wasn't part of life. Then, Rachael started kindergarten and from week 1 I began to hear about Sarah. Sarah this and Sarah that, Sarah everything...

So a few weeks into the school year, I found myself following a lady across the road to the school at pick up time, I made myself step outside my comfort zone and ask if she was Sarah's mom.

Kay and I chatted, then volunteered together and became friends. We were amazed at how our lives had mirrored each other, from previous husbands to current, to our mothers first and middle names (both going by their middle), to their character, our dedication to our children and our view on life. Each find brought us closer.

The friendship held for both Kay and I, and Rachael and Sarah despite the fact that we left Walkertown to homeschool and eventually moved across town.

We did finally find ourselves back at a public school. The girls started 2005 school year at the Arts Based Elementary in Winston Salem.

It was a great school full of amazing people who only wanted to facilitate an education based on student lead learning through unit studies that spanned art, music, dance, drama and the basic curriculum.

One day, about half way through the year, I received a phone call from Sterling, a wonderfully, eclectic mother and naturopath, I had met only a few times despite Rach and her son being great friends.

"Look, I know you may think this is crazy but I heard your girls have chicken pox. Could my kids come over and roll around in the floor with them to get exposed?"

A strange request heralding the beginning of my other great friendship.

I hear its a blessing to find at least one great friendship in a lifetime. Someone you can tell anything to without fear of judgement or rejection, the person that hits you with honesty when needed and makes sure you're managing when times are tough.

I supposed the week in Winston was about celebrating being with those types of friends. Sitting, talking, eating, commiserating, shaking our heads in wonder at the complexities of our teenage children and soaking up the friendships of a lifetime...

I love and miss you guys!

[iamamyjo]

[iamamyjo]

[iamamyjo]

Trip Of A Life Time - Days 28-29

Rachael’s kindergarten school year of 2002/03 at Walkertown Elementary, North Carolina, gave us a few gifts. Firstly, we learned that a standard education of lock step learning wasn’t going to be our path in life and even better was the amazing friendships of Sarah and her mother, Kay.

Kay and Sarah inadvertently took the scenic route to the cabin but we still had enough time to sit and catch up on old times and the trip as the last daylight slipped away and we settled in to enjoy our weekend.

Saturday morning we made our way 20 minutes west to a little town called Bryson City, a collection of small shops and the home of the Great Smoky Mountain Railroad. While we hadn’t organized a train ride, we were directed, by one Girl Scout selling local, to the waterfalls just inside the national park boundary. Using the break in the rain as a perfect opportunity to find these beauties, we wandered on.

Of course to create waterfalls you need at least two things, water, which the rain had supplied in copious amounts, and a vertical surface. To get to these vertical surfaces we found ourselves on another uphill path. A short 1/4 ml ( .4 km) walk in and you hear the 80 ft ( 24 m) Juneywhank Falls before you see it. A walking bridge stretches across in front of the falls, midway through its decent to the rocky stream below.

Having taken full advantage of the photo opportunity we headed back down, but managed to pick the steepest part of the loop for the decent but, to our credit, we did make it down without anyone slipping in the wet conditions.

We arrived back in Cherokee hoping to visit the Cherokee Museum but were too late, so a plan was hatched.

The next day being Mother’s Day, Kay and I decided the girls could make us breakfast before leaving for Kay and Sarah’s but in order to have time to get back to the Museum before leaving we volunteered them to do 'breakfast for dinner' instead.

Hash browns, eggs, biscuits and sausage, sounds good right, and it was, but the process was absolutely priceless. First there was finding all the things that needed to be used in an unfamiliar kitchen, then the apprehension of cooking on a gas stove with fears of starting grease fires. Kay helped keep things from getting too stressful for them and I just sat back and enjoyed the efforts until it was time to do the dishes...

Sunday morning we cleaned up and departed our ant and hornet infested cabin and headed off to the Cherokee Museum.

The museum tells the story of a people who lived in the area for many thousands of years. Their history handed down through stories told by their ancestors and more recently archeology. How they lived before and after the settlers arrived from Europe and the impact that has had on the Cherokee Nation. The agreements made with King George II in 1730 and the abused suffered when those agreements were handed over to the newly formed United States and how Cherokee and non-Cherokee fought by legal and not so legal means to protect their land and way of life.

We wandered through the Cherokee and Native American craft store across the road and finally loaded up to hit the outlet mall in Concord, NC for our Disney deprived Sarah, who is forever on the hunt for anything relating to the Frozen movie.

We drove through the mountains and toward Charlotte but somehow I misunderstood my navigators directions and we inadvertently added South Carolina to our list of states. Quickly back on track, we arrived at the massive outlet mall.

On the drive to the mall, I learned that while at the Cherokee museum some of us were listening to the stories and reading information, evidently others in our party felt the need to see if the wax figures were anatomically correct. I did use this information during lunch to wind the girls up, telling them I’d had a call from the museum about our party and they wanted to understand why someone would disrespect there ancestors in such a manner. I forgot how easy it was to play these games with Sarah and as her face became a beautiful shade of red, she begged me to tell her it wasn’t true. I decided to stretched the fun out until I thought she was at risk of spontaneous combustion before letting her off the hook….

We finally walked Concord Mills Mall till our legs, and my foot were at the point of exhaustion. We drove out for the last leg of the the day toward Belews Creek, for a couple of days with Kay, Sarah and Kevin.

[iamamyjo]

Wandering around in The Great Smoky Mountain National Park…

[iamamyjo]

Clingmans Dome Lookout, Great Smoky Mountain National Park, Tennessee. The walk up was slightly more steep than expected…

[iamamyjo]

Trip of a Life Time - Day 27

My mountainous night drive brought us among the mountains and tall trees of the Cherokee Reservation in south eastern North Carolina.

The Cherokee reservation isn’t like any of the other pueblos or reservations we experiences in the west and midwest. Where other reservations seemed to have shunned extensive commercialism, Cherokee is a thriving village with not only a casino but prosperous native craft shops some authentic, some not. The housing is much more “mainstream”, for lack of a better description. Rich greens take the place of the red and pink clay. From the outside it seems the Cherokee Nation has managed to thrive without letting go of their history.

The cabin was roomy but basic and we woke to find the kitchen counter a mass of tiny ants, who helped themselves to the angel food cake I bought for strawberry shortcake, little bastards!

I salvaged what I could and toss out everything else. With that job done we ventured out to the Great Smoky Mountain National Park.

The day was cloudy, and we knew we only had little time before a band of rain was supposed to pass through. So we headed for the first planned stop, Clingman’s Dome, the 3rd highest US mountain east of the Mississippi River it stand at 6,643 ft (2,025 m). Our destination was the observation tower which gives a 360 degree view of the Appalation Mountains. Seemed like a good idea, my foot had been doing pretty good and the walk to the 45 ft (14 m) observation tower was only a half a mile (800 m) paved trail.

The view was amazing, with a clear outlook in every direction, most importantly, toward the approaching rain clouds which hurried our decent along. I will admit that I did miss the small print that said it wasn’t just a short walk but also slightly steep…

My foot was a bit sore after my first extended walk since breaking it but at least I wasn’t wearing new boots like someone else in our party or walking like I had been riding a horse for 3 days when I arrived back at the car from walking down hill in those pretty new boots…

From Clingman’s we drove back to the main road and continued the scenic drive down to the main part of the park. It was about lunch time and having to fight the ants for our food earlier in the morning meant I completely forgot my plan to pack a lunch so we’d be able to hit Cade’s Cove and the part of the park we’d be more likely to see bears. (I love bears, I love seeing them in the wild. I grew up seeing them in New Mexico and desperately wanted the girls to see one on this trip) Sadly, hunger defeated my desire to see the rest of the park and it’s bears so we banked right at the bottom of the mountain to head into Gatlinburg, Tennessee.

Gatlinburg is a small valley town at the edge of the park that is packed full of hotels, motels, and every food, entertainment and souvenir shop you can think of. We managed to find a parking lot and wander through people to a Johnny Rockets that the girls had seem while looking for a carpark. After lunch and awesome shakes we hit the candy store and watched a machine pull taffy. Rach is a big taffy fan, so Kat and I waited while Rach picked out a custom selection of flavored taffys.

Armed with a box of taffy and a desire to leave the crowds behind we traveled back up the mountain toward Cherokee, stopping occasionally to check streams for bears. We had no luck with bears, but I did have to make a mad dash for the car and lock myself in to get away from Rachael after she thought she dropped the car keys in a rocky stream. She spent about 5 minutes in a panic looking for them, only to find out they’d been in my pocket all along. I thought it was hilarious but Rach, not so much. So I locked her out and waited for the storm to calm before opening the doors. Sitting in the car and laughing probably extended the ranting slightly but if she had told me what she was looking for I might have been able to save her some anxious moments…

We finally arrived back at the cabin delighted that the table proved to be a better place for our food than the counter. We now only had to rid the cabin of a few lethargic hornets. And wait for our friends, Kay and Sarah, to arrive from Winston Salem, North Carolina.

[iamamyjo]

Locust Inn, Natchez Trace

[iamamyjo]

Emerald Mound, Natchez Trace The first photo is from the small mound built at one end of the expanse of the larger mound.

[iamamyjo]

Trip of a Life Time - Days 25 - 26

Leaving Livingston meant leaving behind Texas and the family side of the trip.

We’d had a great time time traveling through and seeing everyone, but it was time to head east…

We drove for 5 hours, exiting Texas, going through the middle of Louisiana, crossed over the mighty Mississippi River and into Natchez, Mississippi.

In contrast to the the dry west, the east looks green and lush. We finally managed to find the south end of the Natchez Trace Parkway and head north.

The Trace is an old trail used first by local tribes and later by settlers trading between what is now Mississippi, Alabama, Tennessee and further north. The 444 ml (714 km) scenic drive occasionally lines up with the old trail but connects a collection of historically and archeologically significant areas. We only drove the first 86 ml (140 km).

Our first stop was at the Emerald Mound, which covers eight acres. Although it didn’t look like it when we walked up, it is said to measure 770 ft (230 m) by 435 ft (133 m) at the base and is 35 ft (11 m) high. The flat top mound is thought to have been built between 1250-1600. Baskets of dirt were carried to an existing hill to create the mound. It was painstakingly built up until it was a solid. Mounds were used mostly for ceremonial purposes. It is an impressive sight to see still intact, especially when you consider it is a simple dirt structure that has managed to stand up to time and erosion over the past 400-750 years.

We also stopped at the Locust Inn, which was built in the late 1700 to accommodate travelers and traders using the Trace and boatman traveling the Mississippi River. Crops were farmed here in the 1800’s mostly by slaves, which numbered any where from 21 to 56 in census records.

We left the Inn and it’s history behind and traveled on up the Trace toward I20. The trace was a beautifully peaceful drive but our goal for the day was Meridian, AL. We arrived there finally at about 7:30 pm and were able to get a bite to eat but not a room could be found…

The a day that started in Livingston, Texas, by chance, ended in Livingston, Alabama at a rather dark and spooky Comfort Inn but the magic of a beautiful, sunny day proved that it really wasn’t as dramatic as certain members of our party thought it was the night before.

The goal for this new day was to drive - no scenic stops, no history lessons, just acquiring a destination. Somehow, sometime through the day, I took a well laid out plan, (to head to Townsend, Tennessee and then spend the next day wandering casually through The Great Smoky Mountain National Park on our way to a few nights in Cherokee, North Carolina) and turned it into a hellbent drive into the eastern mountains of Tennessee to get to Cherokee a night early.

We made it but there were a few drivers behind us that were none to pleased with my progress once we got further up into the mountains in the dark…

[iamamyjo]

Near Livingston, Texas

[iamamyjo]

Trip of a Life Time - Days 21 - 24

We scooted on up the road after a quick morning hug from Daddy and Lolene.

We set our sights on Victoria, Tx. and Aunt Joyce’s place.

Most of my school age years were spent in Victoria. My grandmother lived here and we found ourselves here with the promise of a job for my stepdad sometime in the late 70’s.

I showed the girls through the old neighborhood, which has mostly been claimed by reoccurring floods and looked half deserted. As for the rest of the town, the resurgence in the oil business has brought an influx of growth which has allowed for exponentially growth.

As always Aunt Joyce put on a great lunch complete with cherry cheesecake. We talked and looked through old photos with cousins and 2nd cousins but the tears of leaving came all to soon and we had to get back on the road.

The next destination was Livingston, Texas, north of Houston. A 3 and a half hour drive up 59 found us among the tall trees and lakes of east Texas.

We’d come to spend some time with Brent, who was married to my mom when I was growing up, and Patricia, his wife of over 20 years. There place was the perfect spot to relax for a few days, sitting on the screened porch looking out over the small lake.

Kat enjoyed riding around the neighborhood on the golf cart and taking a quick spin on the back of a motorcycle. Both girls did some target shooting, Rach even tried shooting .45, with unnervingly good results.

Patricia laid out all the favorite foods, the yellow squash and bread rolls are big hits.

You can all rest easy now knowing that Brent and I settled most the world woes over a few days discussions. We are now waiting on the national and international communities to ask for our guidance…

In reflection, I’ve had a week of Dad’s. These 2 men, Daddy and Brent, had a huge impact on who I am today. At different points in my life they’ve supported me through life's ups and downs. More than anything else, I feel that they love me and respect me for me.

You truly can’t ask parents for more than that…

[iamamyjo]

Turkeys and algae and alligators, oh my!

[iamamyjo]

Trip of a Life Time - Days 18 - 20

We left Round Rock after waving tootles to the baby sis and our 3rd morning stop to grab sausage kolaches from Sarena’s. Yummy!

We traveled down I35 to San Antonio, Tx., birthplace of our youngest daughter. We lived in San Antonio from 90-94, and again from 97-01. It’s a large city at about 1.4 million people, ranking 7th in the US, but the metro area population is more like 2.2 million. The city was founded in the early 1700, and it’s most well known building is the Mission San Antonio de Valero, built in 1744. You may have heard it called The Alamo. The sights to visit in the city are extensive, from the missions, to the River Walk (which was developed after this city part of the river was saved in the 20’s from being covered over as a storm drain after disastrous flooding), La Villita historic art cottages, San Antonio Museum of Art… The list goes on, and that’s just in town. San Antonio also boasts a Sea World and Fiesta Texas on the west side of town. All these are cool, but I wanted to take the girls to the Institute of Texan Cultures, which I used to visit as a kid. The Institute covers the different cultures that settled in the land that now makes up Texas. From the early native peoples spanning some 12,000 years ago, to the Spanish, French, Mexican, Polish, Irish, German, Chinese, Czech, Danish, Dutch, English, Scottish, Jewish, Swedish, Italian, Wendish, Hungarian, African, Japanese, Filipino, and Swiss. These cultures are reflected in local celebrations, and names of different areas and cities across the state. My own ancestors made their home in Texas some 200 years ago, in the early to mid 1800’s, which is a source of pride and sometimes angst, depending on the history being considered… We left San Antonio and headed towards the Gulf of Mexico. We met up with my Dad and step mom, Lolene, in Corpus Christi. Corpus is home to industrial plants and refineries, but they also have many local attractions like an aquarium and replicas of the Niña, Pinta ,and the Santa Maria, the original 3 ships that Christopher Columbus sailed over in from Spain in 1492. While there is other great stuff to see, we chose to spend our days visiting Padre Island along the Gulf of Mexico via a short ferry ride in Aransas Pass. We had long talks about genealogy and family, which among photography, gadgets, traveling, and wildlife, are some of Dad and Lolene’s passions. We also visited Aransas National Wildlife Refuge. It is about an hours drive north of Corpus Christi, and the seasonal home of the Whooping Crane. The Whooping Cranes dwindled to about 21 birds in the early 1940’s, but run around 450 today after extensive efforts to save the species. The park is over 114,000 acres of wetlands and grasslands, with some brush and trees scattered throughout. It is also home to many animals including deer, wild hogs, snakes, alligators, and birds. We drove through, but didn’t see many animals in the dry conditions that currently affect most the south-central and west of the country. We stopped one last time before driving back to Corpus Christi. Water birds scattered away from one of the few larger ponds we’d seen as we walked up, hoping to see signs of any animals (but mostly alligators). We had no luck to the right, so we checked to the left. There in a mud hole in the short distance was an alligator that had stopped to camouflage himself. It was only about 6 ft (2m) long, and after a little look-see Dad and I turned our attention back to the large pond to the right of the path. Dad was looking out over the pond in front of us next to a rope barrier, trying to see if we’d possibly missed seeing another alligator in the distance. I was more focused on the beautiful yellow blossoms decorating the large cactus in front of us, but it wasn’t long till I tapped Dad on the shoulder and pointed to the area just the other side of the cactus, where the 9 ft (3m) alligator that was eyeing us only about 8 ft away. I called Rach over (she was still photographing our earlier find), and as she approached I pointed to the bigger and closer version, watching her as it sank in that she was now within chomping distance of the very prehistoric looking creature. She didn’t run away, but the reaction was priceless. Kat joined us, and as we looked it over from that short distance (as no matter how large the look they are truly fast when they want to be), it moved its feet and opened its mouth wide in warning. We knew to keep away, but he never actually moved its body. By the time we left, the smaller alligator was lumbering on into the brush, and we decided to head out as well. We spent the rest of our time with Dad and Lolene sharing more stories, talking about family history, and enjoying hugs.

[iamamyjo]

Institute of Texan Cultures, San Antonio, TX.

[iamamyjo]

Zilker Botanical Gardens