Birthday!

"I'm the present!"

Miss C and the Birthday Guy, Daddy!

Miss C got to see what a birthday is all about yesterday -- Daddy's birthday.  Cake was a favorite, the paper and box were exciting, and the "Happy Birthday to You" on the accordion were the best.  Gma La La practiced playing the accordion in the afternoon, just to be sure that Miss C would like it, and she did!  She especially loved dancing with Mommy to the accordion music.  

Busy Weekend

J, Gma LaLa, & Miss C

My friend from NJ visited today, and how great it feels to have someone I have known for a long time be just two hours away.  I have been feeling tied at the hip to my daughter and son-in-law, so to know that J lives so close is a huge blessing.  We caught up on our families, enjoyed dinner together, and made plans for the next visit.  The richness of a good friend has been added to my life on the right hand coast. 

My Day

Here comes the train . . . 

It's Mommy!

This is my new typical day:

Play, play, play with Miss C.  Feed her (she's just now started actually putting her own food into her mouth), change the dipes, play some more, read lots of books, try out a few new toys, nap time: repeat.  Then we go to meet Mommy at the train station.  I don't know who is happier to see the other, Mommy or Miss C.  We catch up on the day as we walk the 20 minutes back home.

Day Off

Two days to tend, then a day off!  Sounds pretty good, huh?  Miss C went to work with her mom today for a "family picnic."  

I started the day with a bike ride along Wissahicken Creek to Philadelphia's only covered bridge, and back.  The cool air of the shady Forbidden Drive were perfect!  I could do this every day, and I probably should!!  I'm looking forward to seeing Forbidden Drive with snow.  

This afternoon, I found a nail salon for a bit of a pedicure including hot stone massage, and found the stores to shop that I had intended.  The part I did not intend was getting lost on the way back.  And me with frozen food in the hot car.  If you get a little off, the roads go in angles rather than grids, so the farther you go, the farther off course you are.  EEEK!  I did get back, and am here to write this.  

I am missing the "getting ready" stage of the almost-fall at home.  I'm not missing the cold and rain and wind.

I love hearing from those of you who are reading this.   

A New Life for a While

Miss C loves her books!

Please read THIS one.

Today's my first day to tend to this beautiful Miss C.  She's a little confused -- I usually go to the shop with Daddy, but this is different.  

We were going to sit on the front porch for a while when it was cool, but the city maintenance workers were up earlier to jack-hammer the street.  Too Noisy, so we played on the living room floor, read books, ate breakfast, had the "baa-baa", and a little nap.

More later, Miss C is calling from her crib. . . .

Her favorite activity is reading books: The Foot Book, Where's Baby's Belly Button, If You're Happy.  Any book with flaps brings great glee.  She also loves her empty plastic cartons used as blocks, and the pop up puppets that I brought for her.  We are having fun, and she wants to have someone play with her all the time.  I know if I sit in one chair, it's book, book, book, book.  What could be better?

Longwood Gardens

Water Lily Pads

The Italian Garden

Topiaries 

Miss Tea and Miss C in the Children's Water Garden

Longwood Gardens near Philadelphia spread herself at our feet today.  The water fountains, the water lilies, (the biggest water lilies I've ever seen) the water garden for children delighted us.  Miss C was a trooper keeping up with the whole day; captivating many people with her charm.  

B and I said good-by after Longwood.  My last Left Hand Coast connection is gone. . . 

Hello, Right Hand Coast!

Still Here

We're not going ANYWHERE today.  No miles.  No car.  No seatbelts.  No wondering if we're on the right road.  No wondering how the water will taste.  Just being still.  Here.

Miss C smiles and PFTS at Gma La La.  Those teeth come in handy: can't make the FFF without them.  Toys on the floor, books on the lap, cups and balls and a cute wheeled doggie.  Can't get any better than this.  

Mr Tea had a famous person in the shop this morning!!  Well, semi-famous, depending on your TV viewing habits . . . . .  Cool.

WE'RE HERE!!

Gma La La brought new toys and books -- gifts from her friends

Pennsylvania Corn

Mr Tea welcoming us

Gma La La in G Town

B's here, too!

We arrived at 1:57 PM today!  3338 miles later, Gma LaLa is in GTown!  It was an easy drive from Strasburg.  A sweet young man toasted bagels for us this morning and told us about his life.  The water main in Strasburg had broken, so we only had bottled water to drink and brush teeth.  B had a queezy tummy in the night, so we wondered if last night's dinner was cooked in the bad water. . . . 

She's napping while I get acquainted again with Miss C.  Miss C with the new big teeth, commanding voice, and gorgeous big blue eyes.  Captivating!

Miss C and I walked to the station to meet Miss Tea, my daughter and Miss C's Mom.  I'm really here to do what I can to make this sweet girl's life all it can be.  When we got home, we opened the box of "Gma La La" gifts -- books and toys to keep a baby happy for a good while. 

I have one thing to say about the USA: CORN.  Corn: rows and rows of corn cover this country from South Dakota to the outskirts of Philadelphia.  Today we saw corn and tobacco.  Some days it's corn and hay; some days it's corn and soybeans, or corn and unnamed crops.  Corn, corn, corn!

 

Last of Ohio

Thursday morning, August 21, we visited Stan Hywat Hall in Akron.  The beautiful Tudor mansion was built by the Seiberling Family of GoodYear Tire Company.  It was a different kind of a place to visit, we have been concentrating on the natural beauty, but we enjoyed the expansive gardens, B asked for and received a cutting of hibiscus, and we saw the gate house where AA began.  Our stop for the night was in Strasburg, PA, at a relaxing Inn.  Dinner at the Tavern, sleep, sleep, sleep and sleep in!

Something Extra

Lake Erie's Marblehead Lighthouse

Lake Erie from the top of the lighthouse

We altered our route today to include Lake Erie and Marblehead Lighthouse.  The lighthouse sits on a peninsula forming Sandusky Bay, Ohio.  The lighthouse is open, so I walked the 77 circular steps to the top.  Cool.  We lunched on Lake Erie, and tonight are in Macedonia, Ohio.

Drive, drive, drive east: oil change for Blanche.  The tollways are fun: sometimes you need a quarter or two, sometimes you get a ticket and pay at the end, sometimes you throw your money in a basket.  Those who use it pay . . .   

Peaches and home grown tomatoes from a farm stand.  Ohio has apple orchards . . . and corn and more corn. 

Both B and I are still rocking and rolling after we stop for the night or just for dinner.  I'll want to stay put for a while when I get to GTown. 

Another Thought for today

The further East I go, the more real this adventure becomes.  It would be easy for me to fly back to the left hand coast, but now Blanche, my car, is all the way to Indiana!  EEKS!  I'm really doing it!

Two Days, Six States

Gma La La in Lake Michigan

Jolly Green Giant in Green Earth, MN

Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore -- Lake Michigan

If it's Tuesday, it must be Indiana!

Minnesota presented herself with the Jolly Green Giant in Blue Earth, and the Spam Museum in Austin.  Both neat, tidy, and worth every minute.  We then turned south into Iowa to see the Effigy Mounds National Monument.  4,000 years ago (give or take), a civilization lived on the banks of the rivers -- these are on the shores of the Mississippi -- and honored their dead by burying them in mounds, some shaped as animals or birds.  The people were nomadic and left no other signs of their civilizations.  

We then drove through Dodgeville, WI to pay homage to "Land's End", but it wasn't really a place for fans, just one little store in downtown open for shopping.  But, it was on the way, and now I've been there!  

J drove the last leg into Rockford, IL to cousin Pat and her husband Tom.  Delightful people, a comfortable home, lots of information about where to go next, and a fun dinner at "Steak and Shake."  A really good night's sleep.  Too many TRUCKS on the road!!

This morning, we had a lazy morning, drove to Indianan Dunes National Lakeshore.  Gma La La bounced in the waves of Lake Michigan, and here we are in Elkhart, IN after a quick -- just to say we did -- trip over the border into Michigan.

We're still laughing and enjoying traveling.  More than half way, here I come, Miss C!

Out of the Wild West

South Dakota is bigger than it looks.  We did have a leisurely start to our day today with coffee from Starbucks (the only S. in Rapid City was right across the road from Motel Row.)  Then, drive, drive, drive across S. D.  

We stopped at Wall Drug after being beaten over the head with their road side advertising, and at the Corn Palace in Mitchell.  If you are doing the drive across SD, skip the drug store in favor of the Corn Palace.  The outside is decorated with mosaics made of corn of all colors plus other products of SD agriculture.  

Then, finally, a civilized Minnesota.  We felt the comfortable, clean, progressive nature of the state immediately.  Wind turbines, so beautiful across the landscape, neat farms, friendly people.  And we missed the time zone change, and it's suddenly 8:30 PM, not 7:30 PM.  (All the wind in South Dakota, and there's lots, is just going to waste; no wind turbines.  LET'S GET WITH IT, PEOPLE!)

Question of the day: what color is vermillion?  We passed the Vermillion River in South Dakota. . . . . just wondering. . . .

Another Long Day

We started the day in Cody, WY planning to drive to Devil's Tower and Rapid City, SD.  And we did, but we're really tired and the hotel-motel for tonight only has wi-fi in the LOBBY!!  Can you believe it?  There's a pool with a waterslide for the kids, but wi-fi only in the LOBBY!  (I was going to swim, but the postage stamp sized pool was too crowded.)  

Today's highlights: 9033 foot pass in the Bighorn Mountains, antelope sightings, beautiful Shell Canyon, the feeling of driving on the top of the world on the plateau at the pass.  The roads have been great, but all along I-90 are signs that say, I-90 closed when flashing, followed by gates like at a rail road crossing.  The sign will then say, "Turn back to Antelope," or whatever the last city was.  Oh my, I'm glad to be passing this way in August and not January or February.

Driving into Graybull, WY, a sign next to the road announced, "Big Horn Quilt Shop."  I thought B would jump out the sun roof!  So, we had to stop.  It's a shop she has frequented virtually, and here it is in a little town in Wyoming, in the flesh.  The shop was full of the greatest cottons I've seen in a long time, so I bought a few pieces to sew something for Miss C.  B shopped as well.  It's a good thing that fabric doesn't take up much room!!  We left there quite happy, both of us.

The biggest highlight today was Devil's Tower.  WOW.  It's a place that draws Spirit.  I want to see the "Close Encounters" movie once again.  Prairie dogs burrows fill the area at the base of the tower.  Birds flying on the thermals.  

J and I are enjoying people watching, figuring out where people are from, figuring out their stories.  Lots of stories. 

After a nice dinner, I'm feeling more human once again.

Yellowstone Day

Leaving Montana, we drove due south to Yellowstone today, entering the park at West Yellowstone.  Our first look at the park was a traffic jam: what's going on here?  Is there an accident?  Will it be like this for the day?  Oh, no, it's a moose alert!  Traffic jams occur when people stop along the road to see the wild life.  Later we were smarter and saw elk and deer, and a bison!

Geysers and hot pools, bubbling mud, streams of orange water, steaming: Yellowstone is a huge caldera.  I hope the photos and videos will do it justice.  The lodges at Old Faithful are the castles of the USA.  Old Faithful blew three times for us, and "beehive" geyser -- the biggest that we saw -- blew once.  Photos of Old Faithful Inn and Beehive Geyser. 

My favorite story from today was listening to a woman (probably not from the left hand coast) tell others standing in line at an espresso cart that this coffee man was the "best barrister!"

Good night from Cody.  A very friendly town; we met a woman at the grocery store that has an organic beef ranch.  

New Time Zone!

Today was the "drive like hell" day: 662 miles to Belgrade, MT.  Big Sky country is full of a big beautiful sky, and rocky outcroppings.  Passed the Continental Divide, 6939 feet, this evening, and now it's down hill all the way!  Miss C, here I come!

The driving was easy today, B and I traded: 2 hour shifts, with stops to stretch, loosen up, and trade drivers.  Views of wind mills near the Colombia River,  picnic lunch in Coeur d' Alene at the lakeside park, dinner in Butte, with an extra stop in Wallace Idaho for emergency banking.  (Don't worry, everything's OK.)

Filled the gas tank twice, thanks to my wonderful Acme Book Club friends!

Now, I'm going swimming to knock off some of the road dust.  Yellowstone drive-through tomorrow.  All is well.  I feel like I've been on a boat all day.  Didn't they nail down this motel?

Last day on the Left Hand Coast

Today I packed the car!  Cooked my last meal for a while, took photos of my house.

I'm tired, but I probably won't sleep much tonight.  7:00 AM start tomorrow.

Miss B and I drive a long way to Montana.  I'll keep you posted.

Good Bye for REAL

Today, it was good-bye to two important C's in my life.  Both wonderful women: a lump was forming in my throat.  It's cumulative: book group bye-bye, family bye-bye, MM bye-bye, Mr N bye-bye, accordion band bye-bye, bye-bye by phone, bye-bye by email, bye-bye by hugs, and words.  So many people that will go on this adventure with me in my heart.

And I discovered space bags!!  Put your things in, suck out the air with the vacuum, and, presto!  More things in less space.  Thank you B for the great idea.  I will get everything in, including that big accordion case.

More Good-Byes

Mr N and I had a delightful day on Friday in B'ham; a little shopping, a little ice cream, a little walking, a few cribbage games, and most importantly a lot of talking. He's deep into summer school, looking forward to several weeks off in late August-early September. What a guy!

Saturday it was GB to my family; brother, sister-in-law, the nicest nieces and their significant others and of course baby S. (Not a baby any more -- a real toddler!) And dinner with my traveling companion, B and her husband.

I'm scattered, running from thought to thought, idea to idea, project to project. Whatever I'm forgetting will take care of itself. Does everyone have my new address?

Good-byes

Yesterday I said Good By to Mount Rainier.  That glorious mountain has always been a part of my life.  When the clouds cover, I always have known that she is there; when "I lift up mine eyes unto the hills, from whence commeth my help" it is Mount Rainier that is in my mind's eye.  JAM drove with me around the mountain, walked in the grove of the patriarchs, was patient while I took lots of photos.  Mount Rainier is a massive presence and beautiful meadows and flowers.  Snow lingered, and Paradise was full of a huge construction project.  Rain came in the afternoon, as Mt Rainier has her own weather.  Driving home we were back to the warm and dry.

 

Sort, Sort, Pack, Pack

Living in one's home for 34 years is problematic; do you realize how much "good stuff" one accumulates?  Why can I now throw away the birthday cards from 2006 that I could not do in 2006?  Some discoveries are precious: the programs from memorial services bring those dear departed people to mind; jewelry collected for a preschool teaching career; photos; journals.  (I can't seem to pack them away without reading them first!)

My stack of things to jam into my little car is growing.  Three boxes have been shipped. I'll go through my accordion music tonight to see what I want to work on during the next little while.  I'll fill the crevices of the accordion case with whatever will fit.  

During my last accordion lesson, my wonderful teacher talked so fast to say all the things that she will want me to know for the next YEAR!   Well, Gma La La, get back to the real work at hand.  (This blogging is addicting.)

To Be Continued!

This morning I woke up with only my trip and this new adventure in my mind.  Teddy Bear Camp finished yesterday, and with lots of help, all the TBC treasures are stowed until next summer.  I got the OK that someone else can make camp happen for 2009, so TBC now means Teddy Bear Camp -- to be continued!  

I have spent hours on the AAA website looking at the "trip-tic" plan of our drive to G Town.  We have reservations at planned stops, now I just need to organize my things, ship another box, and see all those wonderful friends that I'll miss.  But first the Saturday crossword puzzle.