The trip to North Carolina is over. I arrived back at my cabin at Serene Lakes on Wednesday and posted the statistics below on Atlasquest shortly thereafter. I repeat them here for those of you who are not letterboxers:
7408 miles driven
211 boxes found
18 boxes planted
22 driving days
1 tick bite
no flat tires, breakdowns or car trouble
no accidents
1 parking ticket
1 really happy parrot
I received comments about tick bites and responded about how hard it is to check for Ticks when I travel alone with a parrot. This comment elicited a great poem from my friend and fellow letterboxer, Grumpy Grinch.
A letterboxer should beware that tick bites can infect her
With Erlichiosis, lyme disease, and Rocky Mountain Fever,
Fevers titled boutonneuse and some are labelled Q,
Relapsing, and babesiosis, just to name a few.
Concerns about these illnesses are anything but funny
But after hikes you should enjoy
Nude tick checks with your honey!
but alas my honey didn't make the trip with me so I'll have to wait until I pick her up at the airport in Oakland to fulfill this part of the trip.
I arrived in Serene Lakes to my perennial nemesis, broken water pipes. I called the plumber and he came the next day. I swear the devil was the plumbing subcontractor when this house was built. Ive spent a fortune fixing pipes not to mention the days without showers or hand washing while waiting for Charlie the plumber.
Not to rest, Friday, my friend doug came up from the Bay area and we went letterboxing in Reno. Saturday I finally made it back to Orinda, safe and happy. Ive driven across America 5 times in my life, the first when I was 16 with my dad. This was the best trip ever. Letterboxing created a goal for every hour on the road and Sirius radio kept me entertained. The parrot only spoke soothing words and never made me stop so she could go to the bathroom, that's what the towel on the seat was for........mmmmm just thinking ya think Maggie would wear.......................nah. nevermind.
I hope you all enjoyed reading this blog and it inspires you to do something YOU want to do regardless of all the raised eyebrows, shaking heads and unbelievable grins. So as my old boss Hap Payne used to say Carpe Diem! or was that Horace? just go do it!
Sunday, June 15, 2014
Tuesday, June 10, 2014
In Grantsville, Utah tonight, about 25 miles west of salt Lake city. Last night was spent in Vernal. I had a nice drive through the Rockies on Monday from Golden to Vernal. joined a huge bicycle ride of thousands over rabbit ears pass which added a few hours to the trip but allowed me to see more sights as I had to drive pretty slow.
I had a wardrobe failure a few days ago, no its not what you're thinking. I blew out the knee on my jeans. All the way over Rabbit ears pass there were ads for FM Light company in Steamboat springs. They sold jeans. Mmmmm, I thought, why not, just stop in buy a pair and wear them out the door. All went well until I arrived in Vernal and needed my compass. alas it was gone. I wracked my mind for where I could have left it, searched the car fiendishly but no idea where the compass went. It wasn't a trivial loss, it was expensive and quite accurate. I do have a compass app on the Android but its not accurate.
Just on a whim I sent and email back to FM Light in steamboat sprgs and lo and behold, Sherie called me during dinner tonight, found my compass and for a small fee is shipping it to the house. Its the first and only thing I've misplaced on the trip. Now I lose car keys like a snake sheds skin,,,,, say that real fast sometime , it isn't easy. Knowing my weakness for misplacistis, I hold them in my hand every time I lock any door on the truck.
Venus has gotten pretty good at saying I'm a pretty girl because when she is upfront and says it, I reinforce it with a small treat. Unfortunately I think I've heard a few other words I wont reinforce.
Nothing too odd in salt lake city but the gravestones of the old Mormons buried in the City Cemetery. One headstone was about 8ft high because it had to list all of the man's wives and children, about 10 wives and 20 or so kids. It took me a few seconds to realize these were concurrent and not serial marriages... So much for Big Love.
I had a wardrobe failure a few days ago, no its not what you're thinking. I blew out the knee on my jeans. All the way over Rabbit ears pass there were ads for FM Light company in Steamboat springs. They sold jeans. Mmmmm, I thought, why not, just stop in buy a pair and wear them out the door. All went well until I arrived in Vernal and needed my compass. alas it was gone. I wracked my mind for where I could have left it, searched the car fiendishly but no idea where the compass went. It wasn't a trivial loss, it was expensive and quite accurate. I do have a compass app on the Android but its not accurate.
Just on a whim I sent and email back to FM Light in steamboat sprgs and lo and behold, Sherie called me during dinner tonight, found my compass and for a small fee is shipping it to the house. Its the first and only thing I've misplaced on the trip. Now I lose car keys like a snake sheds skin,,,,, say that real fast sometime , it isn't easy. Knowing my weakness for misplacistis, I hold them in my hand every time I lock any door on the truck.
Venus has gotten pretty good at saying I'm a pretty girl because when she is upfront and says it, I reinforce it with a small treat. Unfortunately I think I've heard a few other words I wont reinforce.
Nothing too odd in salt lake city but the gravestones of the old Mormons buried in the City Cemetery. One headstone was about 8ft high because it had to list all of the man's wives and children, about 10 wives and 20 or so kids. It took me a few seconds to realize these were concurrent and not serial marriages... So much for Big Love.
Sunday, June 8, 2014
The Ace Hi is still in business
Today I stayed in Golden, Colorado and letterboxed my ass off. I found 15 boxes all over the area and had a wonderful time. This one day was better than the entire 1200+ days I lived in golden in the mid 1960's. Those of you know my stories of hazing don't need to be reminded of how miserable I and most of my classmates were during the period.
Golden has been transformed! in Spades. I cant begin to tell you what's changed, but by example, I was served really good sour dough bread at a restaurant last night and when I was in college I used to stuff my suitcase with the stuff because it wasn't available anywhere in the entire state of Colorado. Some good things have gone away, like the huge cinnamon buns at Foss drug, that were the staple of every Sunday breakfast for years. And the sheriff is now ticketing people who tube Clear Creek when the water is too high.
I had breakfast in a coffee shop this morning and was talking a bit about the 60's to the owner when a young lady walked in. she heard me talking and introduced herself as a recent Chemical engineering graduate of Mines....going on to graduate school in Archaeology. She shared there is hyperawareness around hazing at Mines now but still thought it was pretty tough slog and not much fun. Some of the same professors are still hanging around,,,after 50 years..amazing.
Some things haven't changed that much either. My old apartment house, rooming house and dorm are still pretty much the way they were when I left, well the rooming house is purple now but it's still recognizable. The Ace Hi tavern is still in business. It was one of the few bars in Golden and they never carded anyone. The food was poisonous but the drinks were good,,,,then and now. I didn't try the food. We had one fellow who had a straight A average at Mines and who had a barstool with his name engraved on it for the whole four years I was there. I never went into that place that he wasn't there and drunk and still got straight A's.... Wonder how long ago he succumbed to liver disease too.
Golden has been transformed! in Spades. I cant begin to tell you what's changed, but by example, I was served really good sour dough bread at a restaurant last night and when I was in college I used to stuff my suitcase with the stuff because it wasn't available anywhere in the entire state of Colorado. Some good things have gone away, like the huge cinnamon buns at Foss drug, that were the staple of every Sunday breakfast for years. And the sheriff is now ticketing people who tube Clear Creek when the water is too high.
I had breakfast in a coffee shop this morning and was talking a bit about the 60's to the owner when a young lady walked in. she heard me talking and introduced herself as a recent Chemical engineering graduate of Mines....going on to graduate school in Archaeology. She shared there is hyperawareness around hazing at Mines now but still thought it was pretty tough slog and not much fun. Some of the same professors are still hanging around,,,after 50 years..amazing.
Some things haven't changed that much either. My old apartment house, rooming house and dorm are still pretty much the way they were when I left, well the rooming house is purple now but it's still recognizable. The Ace Hi tavern is still in business. It was one of the few bars in Golden and they never carded anyone. The food was poisonous but the drinks were good,,,,then and now. I didn't try the food. We had one fellow who had a straight A average at Mines and who had a barstool with his name engraved on it for the whole four years I was there. I never went into that place that he wasn't there and drunk and still got straight A's.... Wonder how long ago he succumbed to liver disease too.
Friday, June 6, 2014
Look in the trunk!
Left Indianapolis in a downpour of epic proportions. Living in the drought state, I haven't seen much rain in a few years and this storm seemed like a whole season worth in an hour. I sat in the car for about an hour waiting for it to stop and finally gave up. I did get to see Louis Chevrolet's grave which was very modest. I expected something the size of a Suburban at least.
speaking about graveyards, I've been a heap of them lately. I was amazed at these old towns and how large, like several thousand acres, the graveyards are. I have resorted to going into the office and asking for a map and sometimes have to stand in line with grieving people. If they only knew why I was there....."get the tarbucket, fred....." I was followed around one cemetery by the security for a while and so I'm also amazed at the millions of tons of granite that has been quarried, carved and shaped. Are these monuments the last clinging gasp of people for some physical immortality? And another thing, I keep wondering how much formaldehyde is in the water table under these plains of the dead. I think it's time to letterbox somewhere else for a while.
I recrossed the Mississippi river at Davenport Iowa and headed directly to Le Claire, home of American Pickers TV show. No stars were there except one gal who worked in the office and was on TV a few weeks ago. They have two stores, one in Nashville and the one here in LeClaire. This store is really tiny, a converted gas station. There is no way they are covering their costs by picking stuff, its all the TV rights and swag they sell. And I bought a T shirt too. If you watch the show, you know they have an iconic old Nash in front of the store. The trunk of this car is filled with letterboxes, yes about 50 of them in a big bucket. I spent half an hour stamping in.
I headed across Iowa to and then down to Cameron Missouri where I stayed in a motel with about 50 prison preachers. they rode motorcycles and were planning to visit the Penitentiary the next day. they were very pleasant and asked me " Is Jesus in your life?" I was able to reply simply , and then started worrying if the next question was how? I wouldn't have had much of an answer for that....Maybe I could have said I spend lots of time with the dead.
I visited the gravesite of two of my great grandparents, Henry and Martha Carroll and then drove through Kidder Missouri where my grandmother grew up. No one in my family lives there anymore and from the looks of the place its in pretty sad shape. I retraced my steps and got up to Nebraska City on the Missouri River and saw where Lewis and Clark started their cross country trip. I'm still amazed they crossed the country twice and not a single member of the expedition died.... this was in the early part of the 19th century too.
I drove across Nebraska and headed down into Kansas and found the geographic center of the lower 48 states and just down the road a piece the spot where "Home on the range" was composed.
Of course there were letterboxes there.. that's why I went there. tonight Venus and I are in Ft Hays, Kansas on I 70. Tomorrow Colorado!
speaking about graveyards, I've been a heap of them lately. I was amazed at these old towns and how large, like several thousand acres, the graveyards are. I have resorted to going into the office and asking for a map and sometimes have to stand in line with grieving people. If they only knew why I was there....."get the tarbucket, fred....." I was followed around one cemetery by the security for a while and so I'm also amazed at the millions of tons of granite that has been quarried, carved and shaped. Are these monuments the last clinging gasp of people for some physical immortality? And another thing, I keep wondering how much formaldehyde is in the water table under these plains of the dead. I think it's time to letterbox somewhere else for a while.
I recrossed the Mississippi river at Davenport Iowa and headed directly to Le Claire, home of American Pickers TV show. No stars were there except one gal who worked in the office and was on TV a few weeks ago. They have two stores, one in Nashville and the one here in LeClaire. This store is really tiny, a converted gas station. There is no way they are covering their costs by picking stuff, its all the TV rights and swag they sell. And I bought a T shirt too. If you watch the show, you know they have an iconic old Nash in front of the store. The trunk of this car is filled with letterboxes, yes about 50 of them in a big bucket. I spent half an hour stamping in.
I headed across Iowa to and then down to Cameron Missouri where I stayed in a motel with about 50 prison preachers. they rode motorcycles and were planning to visit the Penitentiary the next day. they were very pleasant and asked me " Is Jesus in your life?" I was able to reply simply , and then started worrying if the next question was how? I wouldn't have had much of an answer for that....Maybe I could have said I spend lots of time with the dead.
I visited the gravesite of two of my great grandparents, Henry and Martha Carroll and then drove through Kidder Missouri where my grandmother grew up. No one in my family lives there anymore and from the looks of the place its in pretty sad shape. I retraced my steps and got up to Nebraska City on the Missouri River and saw where Lewis and Clark started their cross country trip. I'm still amazed they crossed the country twice and not a single member of the expedition died.... this was in the early part of the 19th century too.
I drove across Nebraska and headed down into Kansas and found the geographic center of the lower 48 states and just down the road a piece the spot where "Home on the range" was composed.
Of course there were letterboxes there.. that's why I went there. tonight Venus and I are in Ft Hays, Kansas on I 70. Tomorrow Colorado!
Tuesday, June 3, 2014
Spongebob squarepants has died and is buried in Cincinnati
Yes, sad to say he was burned to death by a hot iron after escaping a harrowing spinwash cycle near Cincinnati. His likeness was duplicated for the eventual death of the love of his life, Washrag Wrinkleskirt. I was fortunate enough to visit his grave here in Cincinnati and have taken a picture of it for all you to see.
The family vacation with the Tripp's was wonderful, everyone, even I , behaved himself and we all left Emerald Isle with good feelings. I almost dis ingratiated myself with Donald and Hilary by suggesting they buy a truck and a tractor now that they have purchased a one acre farm on Swamp Rd in Schwenksville. But alas they did buy a tractor and even sent me a picture of it so I'm happy one machine can do all their farm chores now.
I drove a bit on the Blue ridge parkway and found an Alpaca ranch that sells yarn and of course there was a letterbox to be found nearby.
West Virginia was beautiful and I could almost still hear all those anticlines and synclines moaning as the plates buckled over the millennia. I stopped for a letterbox along the way and a man and woman got off their porch to see what I was doing. he was 85, had raised 7 children and worked in the coal mines all his life. He was a cheery guy until I asked him what he thought of the EPA's new rule on carbon emissions... shouldn't have gotten him started. glad he still votes, maybe someone can legislate some sense into "political warming".
Most of my boxing in Kentucky and Ohio has been in graveyards. there are heaps of boxes here in graveyards and the instructions are much better than the ones in Charlotte,NC.
Today, while leaving Lexington Kentucky , I stopped to find a box at a Crate and Barrel, it was missing so while returning to my car, who should I run into?? Grumpy Grinch and his wife Susan.. They are good friends from San Jose and while I knew they were in the area ,I had no idea Id ever see them here. We took a few pictures, promised to talk when we get back to the bay area and off we went stamp in hand.
I can report Venus is doing quite well, she rides free in the truck until about noon ever day and then starts exploring the back seat at which time I put her in birdie jail for the rest of the day. I can use the radio as much as I like either, she sings and yaps at most every station. No song makes sense yet but it's sure loud.
Ok that's all for now folks,, if you ever want to make a statement to eternity.... and hope god isn't watching,use a statue of spongebob squarepants for your gravestone
The family vacation with the Tripp's was wonderful, everyone, even I , behaved himself and we all left Emerald Isle with good feelings. I almost dis ingratiated myself with Donald and Hilary by suggesting they buy a truck and a tractor now that they have purchased a one acre farm on Swamp Rd in Schwenksville. But alas they did buy a tractor and even sent me a picture of it so I'm happy one machine can do all their farm chores now.
I drove a bit on the Blue ridge parkway and found an Alpaca ranch that sells yarn and of course there was a letterbox to be found nearby.
West Virginia was beautiful and I could almost still hear all those anticlines and synclines moaning as the plates buckled over the millennia. I stopped for a letterbox along the way and a man and woman got off their porch to see what I was doing. he was 85, had raised 7 children and worked in the coal mines all his life. He was a cheery guy until I asked him what he thought of the EPA's new rule on carbon emissions... shouldn't have gotten him started. glad he still votes, maybe someone can legislate some sense into "political warming".
Most of my boxing in Kentucky and Ohio has been in graveyards. there are heaps of boxes here in graveyards and the instructions are much better than the ones in Charlotte,NC.
Today, while leaving Lexington Kentucky , I stopped to find a box at a Crate and Barrel, it was missing so while returning to my car, who should I run into?? Grumpy Grinch and his wife Susan.. They are good friends from San Jose and while I knew they were in the area ,I had no idea Id ever see them here. We took a few pictures, promised to talk when we get back to the bay area and off we went stamp in hand.
I can report Venus is doing quite well, she rides free in the truck until about noon ever day and then starts exploring the back seat at which time I put her in birdie jail for the rest of the day. I can use the radio as much as I like either, she sings and yaps at most every station. No song makes sense yet but it's sure loud.
Ok that's all for now folks,, if you ever want to make a statement to eternity.... and hope god isn't watching,use a statue of spongebob squarepants for your gravestone
Saturday, May 31, 2014
Most oft photographed bird in all of North Carolina
Dozens of people came up to me and asked me what she was. I told some people she is a Carolina Parakeet, "really? " Some people missed the day in biology class when they talked about extinct species..
when I was asked if they could take a picture, I sometime said sure , just 25 cents, take all the pictures you want. I loved the hesitation before they realized I was kidding.
In all the week was wonderful, not much rain, great food, and good company. The twins were on the go every day and had a great time. They finished the week at the NC aquarium and left this morning at 645. Donald and Hilary leave later this morning and the rest of the crowd in the evening. I'm saddling up Sunday morning heading home, 3 box finds short of 5000. I really hoped to reach the magic goal while everyone was here but it didn't happen. I'm sure I'll find #5000 on the road Sunday, just about 7 years since we started letterboxing. Atlasquest posts a hall of fame which shows every members finds. the site used to have brackets that separated finders who found 1000, 5000 etc. Too many people got hung up on the numbers so the thresholds were made arbitrary, e.g. 4316, 1243. I'm still happy to reach 5000 finds.
Sunday, May 25, 2014
sleeping people cant see turtles
I drove through South Carolina and Charlotte without any wild adventures but I did see a few interesting sites. The Peach shaped water tower in Gaffney very interesting. I think it elicits visions of something other than what it was designed to look like.
Charlotte is all Bank of America, including a huge stadium for the Panthers that looks really out of place. I remember when California's business climate became too much for Gianinni's bank.
I arrived in Fayetteville Friday afternoon and had a nice German dinner with my inlaws,Barbara and Frank. At this point I've found 4991 letterboxes, 9 more to the 5000 mark. . We drove to Emerald Isle near Swansboro yesterday and the rest of the clan showed up by midnight. There are at least 14 more letter boxes around the area so Im encouraged we will make the goal. This morning we had squealing and running around as Aaron and Dahlia discovered the turtles in the pond in the backyard.
Tuesday, May 20, 2014
Back on track
I took a bit of a detour to Nashville but am now back on track and nearly in North Carolina.
My first stop was Birmingham, the only industrial city in the south for over 100 years. They made steel there and the mill was right in the center of town. The homes on the hill are still monuments to the wealth that it brought this area.
When I was 16 years old, my father and I drove from Stockton to Washington dc and went through Birmingham and took a night tour of the city in a taxicab. We had trouble flagging down a cab and finally when we were picked up the driver explained only white cabbies drove white folks. I remember stopping on this overpass and watching the red hot steel ingots sliding across the ways and watching two Birmingham cops beating a prisoner on the bridge. It was a lot to take in. My father, always acutely aware of his heritage, asked the driver if there were any Italia"ns in Birmingham and how they were treated. The driver replied ," they're about the same as the niggers". He and I looked at one another and didn't ask too many more questions. We also went up to the statue of Vulcan which towers over the city as a symbol of the wealth that Iron brought to the region. So today, 52 years later, I visited both the iron works, which are totally shutdown but un-demolished and the statue of Vulcan, of course there were letterboxes there. Gone were the segregated bathrooms and water faucets but so too was the economic engine that drove this area for a century. It's a pretty seedy place.
Atlanta was fun too, many memories here, of being a student at Ga Tech, being recently married, Underground and Stone Mt. Letterboxing was better than Birmingham but the weather is warming up and I have to leave the window rolled down when I leave the car if I don't take Venus with me. I learned there is no good to come of doing a good deed too. I parked and didn't put any money in the meter and ran to get a letterbox. I encounter a scoundrel in front of the Fox theater who was repeatedly asking folks for their cell phone so he could call his father..Unhuh. I walked away and called 911 and reported him... they thanked me and as I rounded the corner, having been delayed by doing my civic duty another cop was putting a parking ticket on my windshield.
Two more cities,, Greenville SC and Charlotte and Ill be done with the first half of this trip.
My first stop was Birmingham, the only industrial city in the south for over 100 years. They made steel there and the mill was right in the center of town. The homes on the hill are still monuments to the wealth that it brought this area.
When I was 16 years old, my father and I drove from Stockton to Washington dc and went through Birmingham and took a night tour of the city in a taxicab. We had trouble flagging down a cab and finally when we were picked up the driver explained only white cabbies drove white folks. I remember stopping on this overpass and watching the red hot steel ingots sliding across the ways and watching two Birmingham cops beating a prisoner on the bridge. It was a lot to take in. My father, always acutely aware of his heritage, asked the driver if there were any Italia"ns in Birmingham and how they were treated. The driver replied ," they're about the same as the niggers". He and I looked at one another and didn't ask too many more questions. We also went up to the statue of Vulcan which towers over the city as a symbol of the wealth that Iron brought to the region. So today, 52 years later, I visited both the iron works, which are totally shutdown but un-demolished and the statue of Vulcan, of course there were letterboxes there. Gone were the segregated bathrooms and water faucets but so too was the economic engine that drove this area for a century. It's a pretty seedy place.
Atlanta was fun too, many memories here, of being a student at Ga Tech, being recently married, Underground and Stone Mt. Letterboxing was better than Birmingham but the weather is warming up and I have to leave the window rolled down when I leave the car if I don't take Venus with me. I learned there is no good to come of doing a good deed too. I parked and didn't put any money in the meter and ran to get a letterbox. I encounter a scoundrel in front of the Fox theater who was repeatedly asking folks for their cell phone so he could call his father..Unhuh. I walked away and called 911 and reported him... they thanked me and as I rounded the corner, having been delayed by doing my civic duty another cop was putting a parking ticket on my windshield.
Two more cities,, Greenville SC and Charlotte and Ill be done with the first half of this trip.
Sunday, May 18, 2014
Today is Sunday, the seventh day of my trip. Its a good day. I spent the night at Ellen's, got all my clothes and Venus's dirty towels washed, took a real shower for the first time in a week and caught up with an old friend.
This morning I realized I was on the northern end of the Natchez trace parkway. Its a splendid two lane road that runs for 300 plus miles from Nashville to Nachez Mississippi on the river. Its all a national park so its unfettered with any advertising. there were 5 letterboxes between Nashville and tupelo,Ms, my goal for the day. I found most of them but the most interesting was a box at the Key Underwood Coon dog Cemetery. it was started in 1937, only coon dogs can be buried there and it has a population of several hundred curs. Many tombstones are granite and there are two monuments depicting the dogs treeing a raccoon.
The drive to this cemetery went WAY into the woods of Northern Alabama... I thought I could hear banjo's or smell the sweet odor if corn mash. The weather was nice but I did my business and got the hell out of there quickly.
Tupelo, Mississippi, where Elvis was born, suffered a pretty bad tornado early in May this year. Id never been in a tornado zone before the mess was cleaned up, it was pretty stark, roofs blown off hotels, complete buildings destroyed and when I asked the waiter at a restaurant about it, he said the staff had to hide in the cooler and bathrooms til it was over. give me a little ground shaking anytime.
This morning I realized I was on the northern end of the Natchez trace parkway. Its a splendid two lane road that runs for 300 plus miles from Nashville to Nachez Mississippi on the river. Its all a national park so its unfettered with any advertising. there were 5 letterboxes between Nashville and tupelo,Ms, my goal for the day. I found most of them but the most interesting was a box at the Key Underwood Coon dog Cemetery. it was started in 1937, only coon dogs can be buried there and it has a population of several hundred curs. Many tombstones are granite and there are two monuments depicting the dogs treeing a raccoon.
The drive to this cemetery went WAY into the woods of Northern Alabama... I thought I could hear banjo's or smell the sweet odor if corn mash. The weather was nice but I did my business and got the hell out of there quickly.
Tupelo, Mississippi, where Elvis was born, suffered a pretty bad tornado early in May this year. Id never been in a tornado zone before the mess was cleaned up, it was pretty stark, roofs blown off hotels, complete buildings destroyed and when I asked the waiter at a restaurant about it, he said the staff had to hide in the cooler and bathrooms til it was over. give me a little ground shaking anytime.
Saturday, May 17, 2014
How Venus saved the day and odd sounding offramps
You ask, how could a parrot save a day. well let me tell you. It all started several years ago when I started letting Venus fly with a harness in Orinda. It proved to be a really good thing, she learned to fly, tired herself out and behaved better in the house and I met lots of new people on the Donald drive ridge behind our house.
Now we are in a far off land with a freeway that has off ramps called Toad Suck Pond and Bucksnort. I was looking for one called spider bark but never saw it.
So today we were driving down I 40 eastbound headed for Nashville to drop off some art for Ellen and pulled off at a reststop to find a letterbox. we were unsuccessful. While Venus was flying a group of people came up to me and gawked at her and shared their amazement at a green bird flying around a rest stop. We talked a while and they warned me that a that a truck had exploded along the road and offered that I could use an alternate route to avoid the back up. Indeed I did and saved about 2hrs sitting on the freeway waiting for the authorities to clean up this mess....... so Venus saved the day!!!
Now we are in a far off land with a freeway that has off ramps called Toad Suck Pond and Bucksnort. I was looking for one called spider bark but never saw it.
So today we were driving down I 40 eastbound headed for Nashville to drop off some art for Ellen and pulled off at a reststop to find a letterbox. we were unsuccessful. While Venus was flying a group of people came up to me and gawked at her and shared their amazement at a green bird flying around a rest stop. We talked a while and they warned me that a that a truck had exploded along the road and offered that I could use an alternate route to avoid the back up. Indeed I did and saved about 2hrs sitting on the freeway waiting for the authorities to clean up this mess....... so Venus saved the day!!!
Friday, May 16, 2014
Silence is golden
More boxing along Hwy 40 for the last two days. Ive taken to leaving Box radar up and running all the time as I apparently didn't capture all the boxes along the route using Atlasquest's trip search. I've found about 5 boxes just looking at box radar and pulling off at the closest exit. One benefit of driving alone is I don't lectured everytime I look at the GPS or my phone. The silence is golden.
Last night I pulled into Oklahoma city around 6pm and thought I would have time for just one more box. It was located in Stockyard city. things must have been slow because there wasn't much cache au vache in the air. What there was , was great restaurant, Cattlemen's café. A total throwback to the 1950's including awesome food. Of course I had a filet wrapped in bacon, what else would I be eating there? fish?
I didn't fly Venus for a couple of days because we were at high altitude and the she doesn't like the new harness, its too tight. So I have been letting her roam the truck unharnessed.The problem with her not flying is she gets restless in the truck and starts munching on things like my ear, the window controls etc. this entails making a quick stop and putting her back in the cage. Other wise our trip is pretty calm. Venus trying to talk more but mostly she just sings along if I have music playing. I never thought Id tire of XM satellite radio, but it seems Bloomberg is obsessed with fines for GM, Fox wants to go to war in Nigeria and medical shows make me want to pull in at every ER to check the symptoms they are talking about and I keep getting. Silence is golden sometime
I think I've found 54 letterboxes so far, less than I expected but still it keeps me busy for 12 hrs. every day. And as for sleeping arrangements. I've been able to sneak Venus into the room every night and keep her in the backpack, she goes right to sleep when its dark.
Not much to say about Little Rock, I've been here before in 2007 with Maggie and saw all the Clinton junk. The food was pretty awful tonight. I've never eaten a pizza with absolutely no spices whatsoever. On the way into Little rock I drove up to the top of Petit Jean Mountain. It had gorgeous view of the Arkansas river and lots of camping sites.
Tomorrow I think Ill stretch and make it Nashville and stay with Ellen. She has a washing machine and I'm running low on clothes. Then its off down the Natchez Trace to Tupelo to see where the King was born.
Last night I pulled into Oklahoma city around 6pm and thought I would have time for just one more box. It was located in Stockyard city. things must have been slow because there wasn't much cache au vache in the air. What there was , was great restaurant, Cattlemen's café. A total throwback to the 1950's including awesome food. Of course I had a filet wrapped in bacon, what else would I be eating there? fish?
I didn't fly Venus for a couple of days because we were at high altitude and the she doesn't like the new harness, its too tight. So I have been letting her roam the truck unharnessed.The problem with her not flying is she gets restless in the truck and starts munching on things like my ear, the window controls etc. this entails making a quick stop and putting her back in the cage. Other wise our trip is pretty calm. Venus trying to talk more but mostly she just sings along if I have music playing. I never thought Id tire of XM satellite radio, but it seems Bloomberg is obsessed with fines for GM, Fox wants to go to war in Nigeria and medical shows make me want to pull in at every ER to check the symptoms they are talking about and I keep getting. Silence is golden sometime
I think I've found 54 letterboxes so far, less than I expected but still it keeps me busy for 12 hrs. every day. And as for sleeping arrangements. I've been able to sneak Venus into the room every night and keep her in the backpack, she goes right to sleep when its dark.
Not much to say about Little Rock, I've been here before in 2007 with Maggie and saw all the Clinton junk. The food was pretty awful tonight. I've never eaten a pizza with absolutely no spices whatsoever. On the way into Little rock I drove up to the top of Petit Jean Mountain. It had gorgeous view of the Arkansas river and lots of camping sites.
Tomorrow I think Ill stretch and make it Nashville and stay with Ellen. She has a washing machine and I'm running low on clothes. Then its off down the Natchez Trace to Tupelo to see where the King was born.
Wednesday, May 14, 2014
downhill
I spent last night in Albuquerque and tonight its Amarillo, Texas, a ride downhill. Beside the difference in altitude, the food isn't so good either. If you ever visit Albuquerque, make sure you have dinner at the Church St Café, its in Old Town and worth the drive. Today was a full boxing day, 15 finds and I found out a little about my preplanning too. I started printing boxes to be found on this trip in March and thought I had done a pretty thorough job. Ive had a few surprises. Some of the boxes have gone missing and some more got planted. I had about a 70% coverage, meaning about 70% were actually printed and I found them, the rest went missing or I printed the clue in the hotel last night. Im pleased with the $35 printer I bought for the trip too. Today I saw the first plowed field since I left California. It was just across the Texas border. And I let Venus into the truck today sans harness. If you've been reading along, you know she escaped in Los Banos the first day. The replacement harness seems tight over her neck and she squawks when I take it off, so today we drove without a harness. She never bolted for the door and seemed pretty content; lots of singing when I played the radio. Speaking of radios, I sure appreciate Sirius XM satellite radio; no jump to jesus, no farm reports and no espanol, just good old Bloomberg.
Hwy 40 is loaded with relics of the route 66, decaying hotels, gas stations in shambles, café signs leaning against walls. It made me realize how much commerce was generated along this highway with folks wanting to reach California. I spent some time on the old rte 66 and I could hear the pavement talking about the millions of people who passed there. I even planted a letterbox at a dismantled indian gift store at the continental divide. I found a few boxes at a Mountain Lion zoo near Flagstaff as well. I think in many places along this road, nothing at all has changed in the last hundred thousand years too.
Hwy 40 is loaded with relics of the route 66, decaying hotels, gas stations in shambles, café signs leaning against walls. It made me realize how much commerce was generated along this highway with folks wanting to reach California. I spent some time on the old rte 66 and I could hear the pavement talking about the millions of people who passed there. I even planted a letterbox at a dismantled indian gift store at the continental divide. I found a few boxes at a Mountain Lion zoo near Flagstaff as well. I think in many places along this road, nothing at all has changed in the last hundred thousand years too.
Monday, May 12, 2014
Living with Avian Pesto
As the name of this post implies, I severely underestimated the amount of avian pesto that would be produced on this trip. I'm keeping up however by changing towels everyday. Pity the poor Laundromat or motel six days from now when I stop for a washing.
Enough scatology, I had a real neat moment just west of Kingman, Az. today. Hwy 40 goes through a set of steep hills and I was listening to "An Army at Dawn", the story of the WW2 north African campaign. The author was describing the struggle to take the steep hills, and there I was, able to completely imagine soldiers trying to take and retake the hills right next to me. It was a serendipity moment.
..
One of the boxes I found was dedicated to BLEVE that occurred in Kingman in 1973. As I walked off the hill back to the car, I swear I could smell odorized propane....that's what caused the fire and explosion 41 years ago.
I also went to Pluto's home and found several letterboxes. The Lowell observatory is a really neat place, they have both day and night programs and star gazing. Its actually pretty cool here tonight, 45 or so I'm not going back up there.
Dinner was at a place called Grannies closet. Food was ok but the name was enough to make me almost drive by the place.
Yesterday Barstow, tomorrow Albuquerque
Enough scatology, I had a real neat moment just west of Kingman, Az. today. Hwy 40 goes through a set of steep hills and I was listening to "An Army at Dawn", the story of the WW2 north African campaign. The author was describing the struggle to take the steep hills, and there I was, able to completely imagine soldiers trying to take and retake the hills right next to me. It was a serendipity moment.
..
One of the boxes I found was dedicated to BLEVE that occurred in Kingman in 1973. As I walked off the hill back to the car, I swear I could smell odorized propane....that's what caused the fire and explosion 41 years ago.
I also went to Pluto's home and found several letterboxes. The Lowell observatory is a really neat place, they have both day and night programs and star gazing. Its actually pretty cool here tonight, 45 or so I'm not going back up there.
Dinner was at a place called Grannies closet. Food was ok but the name was enough to make me almost drive by the place.
Yesterday Barstow, tomorrow Albuquerque
Sunday, May 11, 2014
hellava way to begin a trip
I hope the rest of the trip is a bit less eventful than this morning. I found the first letterbox in Los Banos, the wind was blowing fiercely and I thought I'd let Venus have some exercise, bad idea. She took flight and harness lanyard broke. As she soared above me at about 50ft I could see the tail end of the harness hanging down.
Have you ever watched those medical shows where the guy's heart quits beating and the doctor stabs him with a dose of adrenalin? then you could picture me in an empty parking lot watching Venus circling about in a 25kt wind. Down she came, up she went, close to me, tried to grab her and she slipped away, not once , not twice , maybe four or five times. we raced across the parking lot together and finally she got tired and came in for one of her normal landings on my hand and chirped a few times, like ,wow that was fun ,can we do it again?
I intentionally bought two new harnesses in case her existing one started falling apart. Glad I had a backup or we would be looking for a bird store tonite.
Oh and you know how you feel after an adrenalin rush? wiped out, kinda had to rest for a few minutes to get my strength back.
Boxing was fun and I ended up in a Barstow motel full of 1920's and 30s automobiles. Didn't even us Hotwire and got it for $39. Venus is searching the bedding for chimichi now.
Have you ever watched those medical shows where the guy's heart quits beating and the doctor stabs him with a dose of adrenalin? then you could picture me in an empty parking lot watching Venus circling about in a 25kt wind. Down she came, up she went, close to me, tried to grab her and she slipped away, not once , not twice , maybe four or five times. we raced across the parking lot together and finally she got tired and came in for one of her normal landings on my hand and chirped a few times, like ,wow that was fun ,can we do it again?
I intentionally bought two new harnesses in case her existing one started falling apart. Glad I had a backup or we would be looking for a bird store tonite.
Oh and you know how you feel after an adrenalin rush? wiped out, kinda had to rest for a few minutes to get my strength back.
Boxing was fun and I ended up in a Barstow motel full of 1920's and 30s automobiles. Didn't even us Hotwire and got it for $39. Venus is searching the bedding for chimichi now.
Saturday, May 10, 2014
It was the night before departure all through the house
the bags were packed and the truck is loaded
all food is in the truck, the feeding station installed, the poop shield in place
the new printer has been tested and the laptop is charged
I bought two spare harnesses , just in case
Maggie was dispatched to Las Vegas this morning
no eggs yet in the parrot cage, the pen is spotless for the other fowl
Venus is ready, she just had a bath and her cachet is not foul
Los Banos will be our first stop , then Bakersfield, Boron and Barstow
I 40 ,not 15 will take us to Needles,
On to Kingman, Flagstaff, Winslow, and Albuquerque
Guess what color caused them to name Amarillo?
OK City and Memphis and ft Smith,Little rock then Tupelo
see where the King was born and then to Underwood Coon Dog Cemetery
I lie not, its there really!
Birmingham, Atlanta,
Greenville and Fayetteville and them Emerald Isle
Letterboxes everywhere, too many to list but never too many to find
follow us daily and chuckes I promise, and remember my daily prayer
Oh Lord , protect us against speed traps, stinging nettles, nails on the freeway, bedbugs, ptomaine,
hail storms, floods and critters that bite. Turn every hawks gaze away from us as we fly. May all the Innkeepers be so profoundly overtaken by Venus's beauty that they welcome her into their establishment without conditions.
the bags were packed and the truck is loaded
all food is in the truck, the feeding station installed, the poop shield in place
the new printer has been tested and the laptop is charged
I bought two spare harnesses , just in case
Maggie was dispatched to Las Vegas this morning
no eggs yet in the parrot cage, the pen is spotless for the other fowl
Venus is ready, she just had a bath and her cachet is not foul
Los Banos will be our first stop , then Bakersfield, Boron and Barstow
I 40 ,not 15 will take us to Needles,
On to Kingman, Flagstaff, Winslow, and Albuquerque
Guess what color caused them to name Amarillo?
OK City and Memphis and ft Smith,Little rock then Tupelo
see where the King was born and then to Underwood Coon Dog Cemetery
I lie not, its there really!
Birmingham, Atlanta,
Greenville and Fayetteville and them Emerald Isle
Letterboxes everywhere, too many to list but never too many to find
follow us daily and chuckes I promise, and remember my daily prayer
Oh Lord , protect us against speed traps, stinging nettles, nails on the freeway, bedbugs, ptomaine,
hail storms, floods and critters that bite. Turn every hawks gaze away from us as we fly. May all the Innkeepers be so profoundly overtaken by Venus's beauty that they welcome her into their establishment without conditions.
Thursday, March 20, 2014
Seals are Pinepeds
About 60 days left before I begin my cross country adventure and I haven't had the truck serviced in about four years. Well , I had the oil changed but I got really mad at the local Nissan dealer in Walnut Creek. You see some crook broke into my truck and stole my radio and cd and ripped open the console. I went to get it repaired and was told the parts would be in "next week" Next week turned into 4 months and then they called and said " the parts are here, bring your truck in tomorrow". I was over joyed and came in with a smile on my face, just to be told it was a prank by the parts manager who had quit the night before. I was furious. So off to LA and I took the truck in to a dealer in Hawthorne and asked , "how long to get this console repaired?" He responded " one day, the parts are local". right then and there I made up my mind never to use the local dealer again.
Now its four years later and I went to a new dealer and told him I am planning to travel across the country and don't want to miss the family gathering while being stuck in Upper Armpit, Alabama waiting for parts. The service manager smiled and assured me he would give the truck a complete inspection. That was Monday morning, by the afternoon the patient was found to be suffering from severe seal failure, bad breaks( spelling error intended), and list of maladies to numerous to enumerate. He let me know the cost to repair everything would be slightly more than a first class airline ticket to North Carolina..... mmmm what to do? scap the truck? fix it and swallow hard or buy a new vehicle. I chose option two.
Four days later its Thursday night and I still have no truck. It seems they have ordered a seal and it hasn't come in yet. Does this sound familiar? If not re read paragraph 1, different dealer same story. I even offered to go over to Marine world and get them a seal but the fellow laughed and said it wouldn't fit my model. The only silver lining to this cloud is that the trip is still 60 days away and its spring here in California and the seals are all pupping and maybe one of them will volunteer to help keep my transmission intact.
Now its four years later and I went to a new dealer and told him I am planning to travel across the country and don't want to miss the family gathering while being stuck in Upper Armpit, Alabama waiting for parts. The service manager smiled and assured me he would give the truck a complete inspection. That was Monday morning, by the afternoon the patient was found to be suffering from severe seal failure, bad breaks( spelling error intended), and list of maladies to numerous to enumerate. He let me know the cost to repair everything would be slightly more than a first class airline ticket to North Carolina..... mmmm what to do? scap the truck? fix it and swallow hard or buy a new vehicle. I chose option two.
Four days later its Thursday night and I still have no truck. It seems they have ordered a seal and it hasn't come in yet. Does this sound familiar? If not re read paragraph 1, different dealer same story. I even offered to go over to Marine world and get them a seal but the fellow laughed and said it wouldn't fit my model. The only silver lining to this cloud is that the trip is still 60 days away and its spring here in California and the seals are all pupping and maybe one of them will volunteer to help keep my transmission intact.
Thursday, March 13, 2014
GETTING READY
Last year we spent a few days in Swansboro, North Carolina with Maggie's cousin Graydon and Melba. They invited the whole Boscoe clan back to their fabulous home on Emerald Isle this summer. We will all be there from May 25th to June 1st. This blog is dedicated to how Venus and I will get there and back.
We'll drive, yep both ways and Venus will fly along the way, no, not behind my car but on her tethered harness. Flying shots will be available as I get more proficient with blogging.
And if I hadn't mentioned it, we will be letterboxing. If you aren't a letterboxer, read about it on Atlasquest.com. So I am busily preparing to leave Orinda around May 10th, bird in hand without my lovely mate, Maggie who is threatening to go to Vegas for a weekend to celebrate my departure.
Right now I'm collecting all the stuff I need to make the trip successful such as having a poop shroud made for my truck. If it interests you I'll be driving an '04 Nissan Titan PU . Its good for sleeping and has a huge back seat for coolers and bird cages. Venus will ride on the top of the front seat, thus I need a poop shroud. Poop shrouds aren't sold in stores or even on line. The only shrouds I could find reference to on the web was the Shroud of Turin, so my shroud shall henceforth be called the Shroud of Turdin. There will three of them and if I see the image of the Messiah in the streaks I'll promptly notify the Vatican and nominate Venus for canonization.
I bought a new really cheap HP1000 printer, only for sale on the web for $35. It only prints black ink,doesn't use much power and can be plugged into the lighter socket in the car to print letter boxing clues
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