Trip Home

Trip Home

Well, the jar is empty so I guess I will head home…  When I arrived back in BC after a few weeks in Ontario over Christmas, I cracked the seal on a brand-new jar of orange marmalade.  Just 17 days later, the jar is done and so I must start my next adventure, the trip home.

I took the time this past couple of weeks to upgrade the trailer with solar and batteries with an inverter.  Thinking that this leg of the journey could see me staying without access to power, and it would be better to be self-sufficient.  The project gave me time to work with my hands and mind and the ability to call on the generous help from my host Bob.

Growing up neighbours with Bob, this is not the first project we have worked on together.  In fact, it is Bob that “taught me everything he knows”.  So much learning on my part in that basement next door.  Computers, electronics, wood working, welding, fabrication, mechanics and so much more.  Bob taught me photography and gave me the great outdoors.  Took me camping and snowmobiling, ice-fishing and regular fishing.  So, working with him after all these years was more than special for me.  I few times, my emotions got the better of me, and I had to visit the bathroom to cry.  Happy tears for sure but tears non-the-less. 

If I am talking mental health for a second, there have been a few low days during this time on the west coast.  I thought the “retirement” vibe would carry me to a happy place always, but the realization that I will need to find a job at some point rehashes those old feelings of failure and inability. 

I have never really talked about it out loud, but it was these feelings that were at the root of all my mental health issues over that last 7 years.  Just before my breakdown that caused my first “leave of absence” from work, everything was crumbling in my life, and I was lost and felt I was a failure.  My finances were shot, my 23-year marriage was ending, and my job was no longer rewarding.  I felt I was thrusted into this career I never asked for and just spinning my wheels.  I had even applied for my bosses’ job and was told I didn’t have the experience for it, and it was then that failure hit me.  Or at least the feelings of it. 

I have come a long way from there.  So tomorrow I wake up and start my trip home.  I am planning on driving from Vancouver Island down the pacific coast highway – route 101 towards Los Angeles.  I will spend a few days in California before heading east along route 66 towards Albuquerque and farther east towards Memphis and then Virginia.  Then north towards Ontario. 

Off to find some marmalade…

This day started awfully early. 3:00 am (pdt) to be precises, although I suppose it was maybe a couple hours before that, when I awoke and couldn’t get back to sleep. My mind was racing and I was going over check lists in my head.  Others count sheep, but I review mental notes and process over and over, when laying in a haze.  I was tracing the path of the wires Bob, and I laid out in the trailer. I was going over the map of the pacific northwest in my minds eye.  The way I-5 goes through Seatle and Tacoma and how I was originally going to head west towards Olympia but changed my mind to try and cut down the amount of driving I was going to do for the first day.  I am glad I did, but with an extra couple of hours at the border that I didn’t account for and the extra maybe hour and a half of traffic delays along I-5, anything gained by staying on the interstate was totally lost and more, in the end.  So, I am posting my blog far later than I wanted to.

The drive was lovely at times, between the rain and stiff wind.  The landscape reminded me of the Interior of BC.  Mountains in the distance, at times looking like the clouds they were among.  Downtown Seatle looked like the pictures, only I thought the space needle was bigger.  It was pretty when I crossed the Columbia River into Portland, Oregon.  From there, I started to make my way west to the coast and now find myself settled in for the night at the Beverly Beach State Park.  The extra-long drive meant that I arrived in the dark and so for the first time parking the trailer in a site in the dark, I will just say it was a bit of a challenge.  It did teach me two lessons however, so I am calling it a win.  First, always arrive at a park/camping site in the daylight.  And second, when walking past the hook-up’s, be careful when passing the water spigot… if you bump it with your leg as you pass, you WILL GET WET!

Off to dry off…

Where I started, https://maps.app.goo.gl/ngjrsJ73v36fPemY8, where I ended, https://maps.app.goo.gl/UcHwzVsxZ8wJacCN6

Was great to sleep in and the state park was comfortable.  Made myself an omelette and some toast.  The toast part reminiscent of mornings on Vancouver Island at Bob’s place with the marmalade.  But alas, I ran out as noted on my Monday blog.  But, as I packed my last things to leave that very early morning, Bob had a surprise for me.  A brand-new jar of marmalade was sitting on my stuff. So today was a great morning.

The road was fine.  Rain again between pockets of sunny clouds and gloomy.  Radio on and the music moved me south along route 101.  One small town followed by another, with beautiful views of the Pacific Ocean around every bend, the next better than the last. The tree lined highway was full of sitka spruce, douglas fir and pine trees that I have never seen before called lodgepole pines.  Naked so far up with the evergreen needles at the top.  I also saw handfuls of tall birch trees covered in patches of dark green moss, but the star was the Oregon coast.

I had read someplace, that the state of Oregon allows camping at rest stops and so my quest was to find some place with a view of the water that was somewhat open but ok for an overnight stop.  And after about a 4 or maybe 5 hours of driving, past Newport, Florance and Bandon, after Port Orford and Gold Beach I find Meyers Creek Beach Viewpoint that checked all my boxes.

Watching the waves crash over huge rock islands made of boulders and rush angrily into the shore can ground you.  Make you think of power and repetition and relentless motion.  Forward motion.  There is no pause button in the water world.  I made pasta for dinner and ate it watching all the waves while the sun slowly dip itself into the distant horizon.  It was breathtaking.

Tonight rest, tomorrow northern California…

Where I started, https://maps.app.goo.gl/UcHwzVsxZ8wJacCN6, where I ended, https://maps.app.goo.gl/eJYg4jaWASMd8cqS6

Saltwater air fresh in the morning walk on the beach, having a tea.  That’s how today started.  The generator ran all night but puttered to stop around 8:00am.  I just laid in bed for a while longer to hear the waves continue to roll.  It was a comfortable sleep.  My game plan was clear, a shower, some toast, but first a tea and a walk on the beach.

I decided on a detour off route 101 based on the name alone.  The Avenue of Giants.  I had entered California a couple of hours back, so I assumed it had something to do with Redwood trees.  In fact, the road I was leaving was called “The Redwood highway”.  I turned off the radio and rolled down my windows so I could hear the trees whisper stories from past generations.  I heard tails of toil and hardships.  I heard horses and workers clearing roads, but mostly I heard the awe of all who pass, in the shadows of these giants.  To say they are majestic seems still not enough.  The smells of the forest are fresh and damp.

I have had a few calls from friends who are following the blog as well as a couple of different cousins.  Also, dozens of messages from people asking to be added to the email list.  It has meant the world to me that people are taking the time out to not only ask to be a part of this journey, but to also thank me and tell me I am doing great.  I have even heard from a couple of people very worried about me being in the US currently.  I get it.  I was worried but understand we are not promised tomorrow.  If I don’t do this now, who knows what next week brings.  I will tell you this, on the first day, sitting in traffic just outside of Portland, I got a sign that all is going to be fine.  Beside me, in a lifted orange late 90’s Ram 2500 with a “Trump in 2024” window sticker, sits a 20 something dude with a brush cut.  In front of me is a lady driving a Toyota with, you guessed it, a Kamala Harris sticker, with her signal on and wouldn’t you know it.  The dude in the truck let her in, without hesitation.   

I have had my window down for a lot of the ride the last two days.  The temperature ranged from 8 degrees to as high at 21 this afternoon. So, when I came around a bend at one point and saw the crew landscaping the median, I was hit hard with the smell of fresh mown grass.  It is a great day.     

Off to dream of damp wood and fresh cut grass…

Thanks, Tim, for the suggestion to include a pin location so the readers can follow along… Where I started today – https://maps.app.goo.gl/kTCA1vKy7GquGLL5A and Where I ended today – https://maps.app.goo.gl/ncGCuksbjvf9dZYg9

The morning began again with the sounds of the Pacific Ocean rolling endlessly into the coastline a few hundred feet below my trailer.  But the sound I noticed first was a pretty bird singing me awake.  Sounded like such a small bird for this big location.  Birds seemed to guide me today.  California highway 1 hugs the water with roads that dangle on the edge.  You get a sense of the vastness of everything by looking out over the endless ocean, but what struck me today was the height of it all.  Roads at times what felt like a thousand feet from the water.  Roads serpentining back and forth so much, you can see your future route minutes before you reach it.  Cars coming and going from different levels. What would be a very fun drive but for pulling a trailer.  I did notice birds soaring high, just gliding the air.  Barely moving their wings but doing turns and twists effortlessly.

I heard Chuck Mangione – Feel So Good for the second time in two days and I was very surprised.  But I was not the only one. I was driving by a lovely field with maybe 15 cows and 1 burly sheep.  As I passed, I swear the sheep suddenly looked up straight at me, cocked his (her) head, as if to say, “OMG is that not 70’s flugelhorn virtuoso Chuck Mangione?”  I of course imagined the voice was Scottish.

I have crossed many bridges in my life, both figuratively and literally, but today I checked a special one off my list.  Today, I drove across the Golden Gate Bridge.  I almost took a wrong turn just before and so it came out of nowhere after rounding a bend, and I said, ok, we are doing this…. The lanes are not what I would call super wide and that was a little bit of a challenge, but I did it.  I even looped back around after to grab a picture.  

Off to bed for tomorrow is LA…

Chuck Mangione – Feel So Good (https://youtu.be/FExBwfQHXlE?si=dv5OAi9KUPzDRSLy)

Where I started, https://maps.app.goo.gl/ncGCuksbjvf9dZYg9 and where I ended https://maps.app.goo.gl/A3eDKSmgQtJwTA3y9

My blog today actually starts last night, about 3 seconds after I closed my laptop, after sending out the yesterday’s blog.  It was startling, as soon as the latched clicked… loudly from outside, I heard the last post played on speakers in the park.  It was 10:00pm and I was in Monterey Veterans Memorial Park, so it all made sense but caught me off guard, nonetheless.  The US really does support their veterans.  I think we do in Canada as well, and we are for sure patriotic, but the US is just a little more.  I drove on at least 3 different “veterans and first responders” highways and roadways.  I drove over named bridges and in tunnels honouring this person or that.  It is powerful and moving, and I quietly reflected on this, while listening to the last post.

I was up and, on the road, very early, because I had to make it to the airport in LA by 12:45.  It was dark and I had to navigate some tricky city streets for a bit, until I was out of the city and heading down a long country road.  The light in the distance was starting to make itself know with the most beautiful colours. Shades of orange and peach and orangey-peach, with wisps of blue.  With the fog in the air, it looked like a special effect, created in a computer and when there was an oncoming car, the way the fog encircled the lights, it looked like the car was shooting out smoke.  It was pretty.

Why did I need to be at the airport by 12:45 you ask?  I had to pick up my new travel companion, my sister Debbie.  She asked me if she could join me, and what kind of brother would say no to that?  I always thought I would first come to LAX as a passenger on a plane, but no, my first visit to the US’s 5th busiest airport was circulating the arrivals area with a trailer.  It went smooth and I was pretty much on time. 

We are settled into the Hollywood RV park, around the corner from the Van Nuys Airport for the next couple of days.  The guy who runs the park says, “We have had more murders here than any other park, but don’t worry, they have all been for movies”.  He said they have shot many movies and TV shows here.  Anytime they need to kill off someone in a trailer, I guess it is close!

Off to lock the door, just in case…

Where I started, https://maps.app.goo.gl/A3eDKSmgQtJwTA3y9, and where I ended https://maps.app.goo.gl/1Cio1PaG61Mixw6C7

Can’t recommend Hollywood RV Park enough.  The staff is over-the-top nice, all the other guests and campers are super cool, and the place has a real homey vibe.  Lazy morning, and then hit the road for the sights, sounds and signs of Los Angeles.  I used ChatGPT to plot us a course that included the streets of movies, songs and folklore about the city of angels. 

Mulholland drive winding its way through Coldwater Canyon, then descending Laurel Canyon towards Hollywood Boulevard.  Slight detour for a street closure at the Dolby Theatre as the Oscars are on tomorrow! Eventually a left tun on to Sunset Blvd and a cruise on the strip…  Santa Monica Blvd in there somewhere and of course a drive and shopping spree on Rodeo Drive.  I may be kidding about the shopping part. 

We hit Mulholland again and ventured to the Jerome C. Daniel Overlook for a picture of the Hollywood sign and then checked out the drive to the Griffith Observatory for another view of the famous sign.  Passed West Hollywood and Melrose too. Saw the Whisky a Go Go, the Comedy store and Capitol Records Building.  It was incredible, the history and place that these names have in my heart and mind.  LA has always been a bit of a magical place in my head.  A place I have always dreamed of coming to. 

We stopped for lunch at SUR in West Hollywood.  Debbie’s choice, as she has watched the show that staff and the owner are featured in called Vanderpump Rules.  We saw a lead (Venice) behind the bar and in a true fan girl moment, Deb went to say hello, and it made her happy and that made me very happy.  The food was good too. Cool vibe as well, so another recommendation.

All signs point to another awesome day on this little adventure…

Where I started and ended…https://maps.app.goo.gl/1Cio1PaG61Mixw6C7

This will be a short blog…. I have done a whole lot of nothing today.  I mean, I did successfully navigate the 405 and another highway to make my way to the new campsite for the next 2 nights.  Dockweller Beach, at the foot of the LAX’s busiest runway.  I don’t actually know if it IS the busiest runway, but the planes have not stopped all day.  We went shopping for some groceries, but other than the basic camp setup, we have only listened to the waves roll in, the planes landing and taking off, and enjoyed time sitting in the sun.

I got a lovely text from a cousin, who is enjoying the blog and commented that it would take them days to be able to write something like this, and it made me think about my journey of writing.  I have talked about this with my students in the past, but I thought I could spend some time talking about it with the blog, in lieu of other meaningful content.  I used to hate writing.  Really hate it.  Fear it almost, but hate it, mostly because of spelling.  Spelling and grammar, I guess.  We teach it all wrong, I think. There are times we should “mark” the spelling and grammar, but mostly we need to focus on the story. 

Before I started writing this blog, I had two words or thoughts in my head.  1) Did nothing and 2) writing… I wrote those two things down on the blank page and started from there.  Just stream of consciousness kind of thing.   Writing like I am saying it.  Get it all down and then go back and make it make sense.  In my case, I am a fan of humour and tying thoughts together, so I am always looking for the connections. 

I wrote a weekly blog back in 2009 until 2016.  Now it started with the best intentions of being weekly, but many times, I went to monthly. My point is that writing is a muscle that you need to exercise.  The more you do it, the better you get, and I truly believe anyone can do it.  And I really recommend it as a way of committing your thoughts to the permanent record.  And when you do, and if you try, you get some amazing feedback and comments that really do wonders for someone like me that struggles with self-esteem.

Sunset picture for attention…  

Where I started, https://maps.app.goo.gl/1Cio1PaG61Mixw6C7 where I ended, https://maps.app.goo.gl/nEdz1kCXddgzYg4H8

Dull and a bit dreary to start today, so instead of hanging around in no sun, we decided a trip down the coast to San Diego was in order mostly to see some animals.  The San Diego Zoo is world famous and was on Debbie’s bucket list, so punched it into the GPS and made it happen. 

On the map of the zoo, it looks flat… however, I can tell you it is NOT.  We did over 10,000 steps and around 6 km and but the iPhone health data – 3 flights climbed metric doesn’t seem to add up.  It felt like 20!  Overall, it was a beautiful way to spend an afternoon, and I thank Deb for having it on her wish list.

Oh, and I saved a man’s life…  Standing / walking in the Panda line, the man just behind me gets stung by a bee.  He asks his family members, one at a time to remove the stinger from his neck, and none of them are successful. I say, “do you need tweezers?” as I present the little tool from my pocket Swiss Army Knife.  I love my little knife.  The original, a gift from Julia for Christmas, and this current one, a replacement from Sam because she knew I was sad for loosing it.  Not all Canadian superhero’s wear capes. 

Off to buy a lotto ticket…

Where I started and ended, https://maps.app.goo.gl/nEdz1kCXddgzYg4H8

We hit the road by 10:00am, for our trip to Arizona.  We left the sun and the sand and the ocean breeze, first for thick heavy mountain air, followed by the dry desert heat you can taste on your tongue.  The once scattered in green hills in the distance, turned from dark black earth to a bland brown, grey and reddish tan.  Even in its bleakness, stunningly beautiful.  The contrast of the dark crevasse, not touched by sun and the high hung cliffs, brightly lit was magical. Temperatures climbed like our elevation.  At one point we hit almost 4000 feet above sea and the dash thermometer hit 36 as we crossed the state line.

On the 605, as we left LA we passed a funeral procession.  It made me sad.  Not for the mortality part of it, like you would think, but for the plans not fulfilled or paths not taken side of things. I wonder if the person in the back of the shiny white hearse, has ever driven the edge of Lake Superior in the fall, or watched the sunset high above the ocean on the Oregon coast.  Where there things like that on their list that they never got to do?  I am so lucky to be on this adventure.  I hope I never forget that.

I have always been intrigued with the idea of travelling on Route 66.  It covers almost 4000 kilometers from Chicago, through Illinois, Missouri, Kansas, Oklahoma, Texas, New Mexico and Arizona and ends in California close to where we stayed last night.  We will not stay exclusively on it for all the trip home, but we will jump on and off it and I will be talking more about it in later blogs, I am sure.  But for now, I can officially say we had lunch at a diner on route 66.

Off to bed on the edge of the desert, tomorrow, Lake Havasu…

Where I started https://maps.app.goo.gl/nEdz1kCXddgzYg4H8 and where I ended https://maps.app.goo.gl/HCRJ2Jsn8etKdsJb8

Relaxing morning in the desert, but for sure a warm night.  We are off grid, so no AC.  The generator and/or the invertor are not quite enough to push all that cold air, but with a little wind and some fans, we slept comfortably.  After some breakfast, the 15-minute drive to Lake Havasu city.  The first stop a bit of a mystical experience for me. 

The background, growing up in the 70’s our closest family members with weekly visits where my mom’s twin sister, her husband and their three kids.  Now Michael, the oldest, was away in university, for most of those formattable years, so didn’t spend much time with him, but the younger boys where our closest friends growing up.  Paul and Stephen are a couple of years older than my twin sister and me, but we got along swimmingly. 

I remember wasting away summer days at their house in Scarborough and getting into trouble doing boys’ things with my older cousins.  I broke my elbow bone one afternoon, after my cousin Stephen convinced me that I could ride a tricycle on two wheels, just like him.  We used to ride skateboards around their neighbourhood, Steve and I doing the “cart” move with each of us sitting on a board, with our legs on the other one’s board.  We stopped after an unfortunate “not sharp enough” turn landed us on Lawrence Ave with cars coming.  OMG, we once had a kite flying so high that when the second or third roll of string spooled off the poll, we used to hold it, the kite crashed easily 2 kilometers from their house.

Needless to say, I was pretty heartbroken when they announced they would be moving to the US and the far-off land of Lake Havasu, Arizona.  I remember going to my room and crying the day then all came to our house, all packed up to say goodbye.

We got lots of reports of the place, the “you can cook an egg on the sidewalk” and “It’s a dry heat” stories, and we were told about the London Bridge.  I grew up hearing about this place all the time, but we never did make it down while they lived there.  They stayed there for I think more than 10 years.  In the early 90’s, when I worked in Toronto for my uncle Henry, he continued to regale me with stories from this far off land and it has always held a special place in my heart.

The city was created by Robert P. McCulloch, of chainsaw fame, who became a land developer by buying the land for the city as well as purchasing the London bridge for 2.46 million dollars.  The more than 10,000 granite stones, all numbered were shipped across the Atlantic Ocean, through the Panama Canal, up the Pacific coast to California, and then trucked to Lake Havasu, where they cut the stones to leave only the façade of the stones to use on the new bridge.  This solved the original problem with the bridge, as it was sinking into the River Thames because the granite was just too heavy.  Plus, Robert, ended up selling all the remaining cute stones and recovered the cost of not only buying the bridge, but the cost of shipping AND reassembly as well.

Back to the first stop on our adventure today, we visited the house that my uncle, with my cousins built to live in. My uncle ended building 20 or more houses and bought and sold properties as one of the cities many early developers.  It was emotional to stand at the foot of the driveway of a house I have only seen pictures of, knowing that it represented a significant milestone for these important family members.

We ended the day with a lovely boat cruse of the lake and Copper Canyon and learned other fascinating facts about the city and area, thanks to captain Kenny, who was a school friend of Stephen.  It was another magical day on this adventure.

Off to sleep, tomorrow, the edge of the Grand Canyon and Flagstaff…

 

Where I started https://maps.app.goo.gl/HCRJ2Jsn8etKdsJb8, where I ended https://maps.app.goo.gl/X4tJqQXsrgXV9rq99

Started the day with tea and toast, and a quick trip back into Lake Havasu to check out a 30-year-old rock wall built by my two cousins.  I stood there for a minute, picturing 20–18-year-old, Paul and Steve, hand picking the stones in the foothills, and placing each one with pride on the side of this property.  Amazing job!

We hit the road north then east and the landscape changed

again.  The once close baron mountains became farther away with darker rocks, before eventually adding these little grass/tree balls that looked like tumble weeds.  They made way for bigger balls and eventually trees and finally a forest here where we landed for the night. The temperature also dropped 4 or 5 degrees when all was said and done.

We did a little over 100 miles on Route 66 today.  Kinkman became Hackberry then Yampai and Seligman and eventuality to Williams; “The Gateway to the Grand Canyon”.  From there we pointed north on route 64, aiming for the prominent landmark called Red Butte, located in the Kaibab National Forest for almost all the way to the southern edge of the Grand Canyon.

To think, we only peeked at a small little part of the canyon, a corner if you will and it was impressive.  There is a reason it is called Grand!

 

Off to bed, tomorrow towards Albuquerque…

Where I started https://maps.app.goo.gl/HCRJ2Jsn8etKdsJb8, where I ended https://maps.app.goo.gl/X4tJqQXsrgXV9rq99

 
 

Tea and toast to start the day, sitting outside in the middle of a forest, in the balmy 15 degrees.  It dipped to 8 overnight in the trailer, but warmer in the morning and by the time we hit the Grand Canyon again, it was back to the Arizona 36.  Amazing swing in the mercury, in just a matter of hours.  It continued going up and down as we drove today and now settled in for the night, it is 26.

Roughly a mile deep and 280 miles long, while between 600 feet up to 18 miles wide, the Grand Canyon comes upon its name honestly, and for the second day we made a few stops for pictures, as we kissed the southern rim.  Pictures really don’t do it justice.  You just get lost, following lines of different rock types, telling stories of era’s gone by.  I read that the canyon is relatively young itself.  The rocks have been there for billions of years, but the Colorado River started carving into the rocks only 5 or 6 million years ago.      

The other day, on the boat tour of lake Havasu, Capt. Kenny talked about steamboat captains on the late 1800 hundreds, using stone and rock formations to guide their way along the Colorado River that feeds the lake and carries on past the city.  I was thinking about that yesterday and today, when I had land masses to guide me.  Yesterday, I talked about Red Butte, today it was the snow-capped Humphrey’s Peak, part of the San Francisco Peaks, the highest point in Arizona.  I saw a glimpse of them yesterday a few times, along I-40 on our way east.  They are part of an ancient volcanic mountain range and hover over Flagstaff like a huge “this way sign” leading people to this pretty little town.

We jumped on Route 66 for a quick trip to the town famous in music thanks to the top 12 Eagles song, written by Jackson Browne and Glenn Frey.  Couldn’t pass up a chance to stand on the corner in Winslow, Arizona to see if a girl in a flatbed ford would slow down to take a look at me…  I stood long enough for a couple of pictures, and although the truck was there, alas, no girl.

Tonight rest, tomorrow the painted desert and Albequerque…

Where I started https://maps.app.goo.gl/X4tJqQXsrgXV9rq99, where I ended, https://maps.app.goo.gl/bGFhGKXFQpCoX7xJ8

Slept well on the edge of the Petrified Forest, for our last night in Arizona.  After the required tea and toast, we made the drive through the National Park of the same name to check out the Painted Desert.  The 28-mile road weaves its way around the park with marked viewpoints to see the artwork.  Colours painted in the sand and stone millions of years ago by time, and erosion, leading to the oxidization of iron and manganese to form the red, yellow, blue, and purple.  I had to look that up, by the way.  It was not top of mind!

Spent most of today on interstate 40 moving east, that’s left to right on your screen, pointing towards the next state over, New Mexico.  That makes 24 states for me in my lifetime, 5 in the last 13 days.  I have spent a lot of time looking for other plates on passing cars and have seen lots of course.  What I have not seen are Canadian plates. There were two motorhomes in LA at the park by the beach from Québec, but that is it so far.  Not surprising, given how far south and west we are, I suppose and given the economy and the political situation, but somehow, I thought there would be a few more.

Fan boy moves today in Albuquerque, when we drove the required Breaking Bad filming locations throughout the town.  Walter Whites house on Piermont, Hank and Marie’s house up in the hills, Saul’s office on Montgomery, the car wash on Snow Hights and of course, Los Pollos Hermanos that is actually a burger joint called Twisters.

Bed for now, tomorrow we add another state to the tally, hello Texas panhandle…

Where I started https://maps.app.goo.gl/bGFhGKXFQpCoX7xJ8, where I ended, https://maps.app.goo.gl/2G7i54fiF9Qn8Dt2A

It was maintenance morning, as the hot water heater had stopped working yesterday, and I needed to change the oil in the generator, as per the sellers’ recommendations.  Check-out was “high noon” (it really said that on the form), so that meant Debbie made breakfast, and I pulled out the multimeter.  I narrowed it down to the thermal fuse showing no continuity.  I do love throwing around the big words, sometimes…. Next door to the park was an RV store with a large parts department, and $30 dollars later, we had hot water.  Changing the oil was simple enough, thanks to google, and breakfast was just awesome.  When all was said and done, we had 10 minutes to pack up, before the guy with the sheriff’s badge showed up on the horse to kick us out!

It was a pretty straight drive towards Amarillo, east on I-40 again.  We made 3 planned stops.  The first in Santa Rosa to see the blue hole, second to Glenrio to see the ghost town and our final destination was Cadilac Ranch. The blue hole is 80 feet deep and a natural artesian spring fed from the high-pressure Ogallala Aquifer more than 200 feet below the surface and with an inflow of 3000 gallons per minute, it only takes about 6 hours to cycle out the water.  So, I guess you CAN pee in it?

When I mentioned in the first blog that I would be using Route 66 for a bunch of the way, my cousin Robert sent me a message to tell me that the roadway is celebrating 100 years this year.  I had no idea.  I thought a lot about that today, when travelling I-40 for so much of the way, only feet away from route 66, seeing no traffic on it. When we visited Glenrio, the true results of the US interstate system, came into focus. 

For around 30 years, Route 66 was the main road from north/east to south/west.  Chicago to LA. Businesses popped up, people needed to eat, get gas and sleep.  In 1957, Glenrio had 3 gas stations, a restaurant and a motel.  Today all the buildings are derelict, but for one.  The other interesting thing about the town is it is on the border between New Mexico and Texas, so, it was a hub of activity that was “banned” in the other state.  That part made me laugh, when the only business in the town today is a weed dispensary.  Only funny, because since 2024 in Texas, it is completely illegal to use and hemp products.

Our last stop was Cadillac Ranch, a public art instillation from the 70’s that evolves each and every day since, because visitors are encouraged to bring spray paint and add their own touches to it. The 10 buried Cadillac’s have so much paint on them, they barely resemble the cars they once were.  It was still cool to see in person.  Another stop on Route 66 with something to see, referenced in song and pop culture checked off my list.

Off to wash the paint from my hands…

Where I started https://maps.app.goo.gl/2G7i54fiF9Qn8Dt2A, where I ended, https://maps.app.goo.gl/mW9CjXghg4NRGrVNA

Left the Cadillac RV park for the short drive to Amarillo for a trip down 6th street, their “Route 66 Historical District”.  Debbie found something in an antique store that she has been looking for years.  A set of 4 corbels, she wants to use to decorate a wall with.  Made my day to see her so happy with her find.

The drive towards Oklahoma City was again, straight forward and we didn’t plan to stop much.  AI gave us a few options, but we only planned for 1 and we decided that our end point would fall short of OKC by about 90 minutes.  Making it a perfect pass by in the morning on our next leg.  We did need gas and so ended up passing by one of the suggested stops, and so we ended up seeing the “Leaning Water Tower of Groom”, not nearly as scary as the name lets on.  Now, the “giant cross” by the highway, was just as scary as you would imagine.  We stopped in Shamrock, Texas for a photo of the U-Drop Inn, toted as “one of the most iconic Route 66 buildings”.  It is an art deco gas station and diner, resorted to original glory for all to see and take a picture of. 

The landscape is far from that of a couple states over and coincidently, 2 time zones.  In Arizona, it was red clay and rock, with mountains close enough to touch.  In New Mexico the colours softened but the rocks looked harder and more of them.  Near the end of the state, the hills and mountains pushed back and by the time we got to Texas, the earth revealed its flatness, and the horizons’ hills disappeared, replaced by wind turbines as far as you could see.

Traffic has become less it seems also, and I think I counted 10 west bound trains and maybe 4 east in those early days on I-40 but did not seen a locomotive in Texas and nothing yet in Oklahoma.  Even the endless tractor trailers seem less, but notably still 1 or 2 in 10 are Amazon Prime labelled rigs.  You wouldn’t say by this metric, that there are any issues in the supply chain and the economics of this current political situation.

If I hadn’t seen the sign for the 100th meridian museum, I don’t think I would have realized we had just crossed it.  That longitudinal line that goes from the north pole to the south pole, representing the great east/west divide.  Humid west, arid east.  It all makes sense, as the temperature has continued to dip and there is more and more green showing on in the landscape around us. 

Off to bed by Elk City Lake, Oklahoma and off towards Arkansas tomorrow…

Where I started https://maps.app.goo.gl/mW9CjXghg4NRGrVNA, where I ended, https://maps.app.goo.gl/jFccYbCoz5LTpkwn9

Was a chilly morning by all accounts but still enjoyed some breakfast outside the trailer by the little Elk Lake.  Left with the best intentions to make one stop on the way towards Arkansas.  AI gave us a couple of places along our route that seemed interesting, but the one I focused on was in Arcadia, Oklahoma – the Pops 66 soda Ranch, featuring the “giant soda bottle” out front.  I laughed when I read it, thinking about the podcast link, blog reader Pat sent me called “The World’s Largest Roadside Attractions: From Giant Twine to Jumbo Pistachios”.  It made me laugh, because the giant cola bottle was not featured, and so I thought, look at me, going over and above.  It wasn’t until I was about 30 or 40 minutes past the turn off, now on a different highway, that I realized my mistake in not putting it on the GPS before we left.  So alas, no go on the giant pop bottle today… (picture of what it may have looked like?)

Today was the first time I saw signs of spring like I am used to.  I mean the houses, gardens and boulevards in LA were filled with pretty flowers and lots of colours, but the shades of brown in the desert of Arizona, and darker clay but still rocks of New Mexico had very little “pretty” colours.  And Texas, where you would think there should be grass, it was still mostly beige.  But today I saw purple.  Lots of it.  Along the highway, trees “blooming” with beautiful purple flowers.  Cercis canadensis or “eastern redbud” and some of the darker ones could have been Oklahoma Redbud.  It is Oklahoma state tree.  They flower in early spring and that is where we are.   

I heard Kiss Me by Sixpence None The Richer today.  The first time I heard that song, it was 1998, in room 115 on Finch Avenue, at the little SCA mall campus of Seneca, during a 15-minute radio test/show.  I think her name was Melissa.  The song forever will remind me of the 1st semester end of term practical test in the radio program.  The students picked 3 songs they liked, and played them, along with 2 commercials they produced and an interview they conducted, over the course of the semester, all to the exact time of 15 minutes.  Commercial 1 in week 6, commercial 2, week 8 and the interview due week 10.  I spent 32 years marking time by counting weeks.  It was always the same.  Today is in Week 11 and I would have been doing 30-minute shows in my second semester class if I was still teaching.  Today is the first time since I retired last June, that I thought about that.

Off to prepare my lecture for class tomorrow on driving to Tennessee…

Sixpence None The Richer – Kiss Me – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8N-qO3sPMjc

Where I started https://maps.app.goo.gl/jFccYbCoz5LTpkwn9, where I ended, https://maps.app.goo.gl/tF87gKF71sRBwrVj9

Not sure if you would believe this or not but started the day with tea and toast.  The Jar of marmalade is taking a beating.  Had a comfortable sleep and after sustenance, hit the road to continue east towards Tennessee.  Made short work of Fort Smith, Ozark, Russellville and Mayflower before passing by Little Rock.  Didn’t stop at any of these places, but they all looked lovely.  Another few hours later we crossed the Mississippi River and the big fancy bridge that takes you to Memphis.  I kept looking at the map as we were driving but didn’t remember the state boundary was the river until we crossed it.  Something I then remember learning and finding fascinating the first time I was in Memphis when I was maybe 17.  We went with a middle school music trip and over 4 or 5 years we did a trip a year, and did Nashville, Washington DC, Florida and of course Memphis.  I was lucky, because I was not even a student at that middle school, and by the time the Florida trip happened, I had already graduated from high school.

The last time I was here, I remember it looking far less rundown.  And way busier.  I guess it was in the summer months, but it was weird today driving downtown towards Beale Street at 4:30 in the afternoon, mid-week and there was no foot traffic on the streets.  Very few cars, and only a small handful of people here and there on Beale. It was sad to me.  And driving past Graceland was an experience I find hard to describe.  The house, up on the hill looks like it did in my memory, but the whole area around is falling apart.  In shambles really.  My sister said, “Not fitting a king” and she is right.  It is a little sad.

So many billboards along the way.  LA it was lawyers and TV shows; “Sweet James”, “Hitman”, “Call Jacob”, “Call the sniper” … Albuquerque as well, and that made me laugh, thinking about “Better Call Saul!”.  In Texas it was casinos, gun shows and a place to get a free 72-ounce steak!  Also seen several accounts of the comings and goings of the big guy… “He has risen” and “he will return” as well as the popular answer to the unasked question? “God is the answer”.  Even laughed in Arizona at a cow grazing at the bottom of a billboard for Burger King, if they could only read.  We don’t have the sheer number of billboards in Canada as they do in the states, and they always makes me laugh.

Tonight rest in Jackson and tomorrow it is Knoxville…

Where I started https://maps.app.goo.gl/tF87gKF71sRBwrVj9 where I ended https://maps.app.goo.gl/WMy4u4VFSg1JSr5u6

Waking up in Tennessee, it seemed more appropriate to have a biscuit with my tea this morning, so I did.  However, I now remember that I am not super fond of biscuits, and don’t get me started about the gravy.  No pictures today and not much of a tale to tell about anything, really.  We drove the 5 or 6 hours and landed in Knoxville and are parked at the home of Deb’s cousins, Mike and Amy.  They are Lovely.  Great parents, with so many amazing stories about their great kids.  We all had an awesome meal and shared stories about our own kids and the night got away from me.  So, I am sorry no meaningful blog tonight.  

In my head, I am working on a funny account of road signs and how they differ state to state.  Because it is still in my head, it needs some time to be committed to words in sentence form.  Hopefully, I will have that story and a few more clever, witty anecdotes from this amazing adventure I am on in future posts.

Bed now, long drive tomorrow towards Chesapeake, Virginia…

Where I started https://maps.app.goo.gl/WMy4u4VFSg1JSr5u6, where I ended, https://maps.app.goo.gl/Qj6PPM6oWU4TKoGU8

Back to tea and toast but made in a full-size kitchen with a fancy toaster oven with a timer. We hit the road early, because the next leg is a little longer than our “normal” length.  We planned for about an 8-hour drive, and it turned into about a 10 or 11-hour trip to Chesapeake, Virginia.  Not sure what added the time, other than some traffic and weather.

Ever wonder what it was like to get gas and a snack at a 74,000-square-foot travel center? Welcome to the world of Buc-ee’s.  We could have lost a few hours in there for sure, but we picked our jaw’s back up and got out in around 15 minutes.  It felt like there was a hundred people working there, and at least another 100 customers grabbing stuff off the shelves like there was a global shut-down.  Arms full of food and clothing and drinks of every variety.  It is really something to see.

The Landscape was pretty on the drive leaving Knoxville, skirting the norther edge of the Great Smoky Mountains.  As we got closer to Virginia going through the ridges and valleys of the Appalachians, and finally after we hit central Virginia, the Blue Ridge Mountains.  I was happy to see, as we crossed the state line that Virginia is still for lovers… It is also for travelers in warm raincoats and high rubber boots apparently, because it started to rain and the temperature dropped to around 12.  Between the rain drops, I saw so many of those beautiful purple flowers on trees and others with new green leaves.  Things alive and growing their spring things.  Because of the elevation, the ground is still covered in autumn leaves, and the contrast between seasons was really cool to see.

When I left Canada a few weeks ago, one of the first “well that is interesting” observation I made involved the signs on the interstate, specifically the signs on the emergency access roads in the median.  In Washington state, it said something like “For Use, Only by Emergency Vehicles and sited a bylaw number. I thought, wow, so many words.  In Oregon it was something like “Emergency / authorized use only” and I thought better, but California was “No U-turn Except Authorized Vehicles” or something like that. I went looking at my dashcam footage to see if I could get the exact text but gave up.  In Tennessee there was NO signs on most of the medians and in Virginia we got the straightforward “Authorized Vehicles Only”.  It just made me laugh thinking that the different people involved in making those decisions must have the most interesting conversations.

Off to bed to dream of words…   

Where I started https://maps.app.goo.gl/Qj6PPM6oWU4TKoGU8, where I ended up, https://maps.app.goo.gl/3Hu4vgzsTMBdxo9y8

Yesterday we arrived at Deb’s Aunt’s place in Chesapeake, Virginia and had a nice sleep and easy, lazy morning.  After a quick breakfast, I decided to head a little north / west to Richmond so I could spend some time with one of my oldest friends in this world, Pat.  I will stay the night and head back down to pick up Deb sometime tomorrow and we will come back here to Richmond for another night, and then we will head to our next stop towards Ohio, first thing Monday Morning.

Tomorrow, I will post a little something about the area and some things that I saw on the way here, but for now, bed…

Where I started https://maps.app.goo.gl/3Hu4vgzsTMBdxo9y8 and where I ended, https://maps.app.goo.gl/ocWXT7VjJn9CAeMu6

Started the day with a lovely breakfast made by Pat.  We hit the road and plotted a course around this pretty city to see some of the sights.  We started at the Maymont Mansion.  This Gilded Age home built in 1893 by James and Sallie Dooley overlooks the James River and it is beautiful.  Next stop, the trendy Carytown district and the posh bar, Can Can Brasserie for a drink and a soup and a full dose of coolness emitted by the staff, decorations and overall vibe.

Then we made our way to the Hollywood Cemetery.  In 1861, Richmond itself was the capital of the Confederate States of America – The “south” or the confederate side of the American Civil War, that lasted from April 1861 to May 1865.  This is important to understand when you learn that this cemetery is the last resting place for 11,000 confederate soldiers.  It is also one of three places in the US that contains the remains of 2 US Presidents.  In this case, James Monroe and John Tyler rest here.  It is huge and there are so many interesting and powerful tributes to so many of the area’s notables. 

Since we are talking the US Civil War, there are just so many sites of interest and learning about that time in history in and around the city.  I am not going to talk about it, but a drive down Monument Avenue, with its absence of monuments is oddly powerful.  The waterfront is pretty and the walking bridge to the historic Belle Isle strands the James River from there.  The island served as a Union prison, at some point housing about 30,000 soldiers.  We also stopped to see a mini replica of the Statue of Liberty, in Chimborazo Park.

If you google “most famous speeches in US history” you get a list of the ones you would of course expect.  I have a dream, Gettysburg Address and Kennedy’s 61 Inaugural Address are arguably the top 3.  But as for an older chestnut, number 4 could likely be the 1775 speech by Patrick Henry – “Give me Liberty or Give me Death”.  Well, it was delivered on the grounds of the St. John’s Church, in you guessed it, Richmond, Virginia.  In the audience, future United States presidents’ George Washington and Thomas Jefferson.  We stopped for a picture and visited his bar so we could toast the speech that eventual helped inspire support for armed resistance and contributed to the growing movement that led to the American Revolutionary War and eventual independence from British rule.

It seems Liberty is a thread woven through this beautiful place.

I am writing this from Pat’s office and there is a picture beside her desk of her two boys, when they were young.  Back then, we spent lots of time with her and her family.  In fact, first in our “circle” to have kids was my sister Deb, then it was Pat.  After Deb’s second was born, so was Pat’s, then my twin sister Janey had her first, and finally I had my oldest, followed by my youngest, and then Janey’s second.  Those 8 kids have had and continue to have a huge spot in my heart and that picture made me smile thinking about them all, and it also made me cry a little, because sitting beside the boys is the first dog I ever really loved. I hope Two-Toques the chocolate lab is playing right now with Bentley and Kokomo and even Jersey too.

Looking for some treats as we speak…

Where I started and where I ended, https://maps.app.goo.gl/ocWXT7VjJn9CAeMu6

This morning was about making my way back to pick up Debbie in Chesapeake.  I got on the road at a reasonable hour and so made it in good time.  The highway from the north to the south is filled with so many war sites and significant war related places along the way.  For example, The Historical Triangle, Jamestown, Williamsburg and Yorktown.  The first permanent settlement in the New World – Jamestown, Colonial Williamsburg, with a huge living museum of early American life and Yorktown, the place Cornwallis surrendered to George Washington in 1781 in the last battle of the American Revolution. 

I passed Norfolk, one of the biggest Naval Bases, West Point, the world-famous military school and Yorktown Naval weapons station.  Sites important and significant now and for the last many hundreds of years.  The history has a way of seeping into the air if your window is down.  It is both powerful and moving when you allow that air in.  Seeing the names and thinking I remember the significance, but then doing a little reading about it has been both humbling and rewarding.

It is a little like our current political situation, a conflict of opinion.  A belief different from our neighbour.  With all the advancements and changes, human nature is really just the same as it has always been.  War is about this and most of the issues with settling in a new world are all about learning about others’ traditions and understanding differences, NOT forcing one’s ideals.  

After I picked up Deb, we made our way to the official cool area of Virginia Beach to walk around and check out the ocean.  It was cool to touch the second US coast in just 15 days.  You can tell the Atlantic and Pacific are sisters, but it is clear to me that the east coast is the older, slightly angrier one.  Obviously lived a harder life. The water… cold and unrelenting.  The air, churning but the sun full of love and warm embraces.  It was a good day.

Made it back to Richmond to sleep so tomorrow we can head towards Ohio, our last stop on the journey home…

Where I started and where I ended again, https://maps.app.goo.gl/ocWXT7VjJn9CAeMu6

After a nice lite breakfast, we hit the road, by 9:30 with full intentions of making it to Ravenna, Ohio by end of day.  The road and mechanical gods had other plans, as about 1 hour into the drive, we got waved at by a nice couple of guys in an old work truck, pointing at a trailer tire.  We quickly pulled off at the next exit and could smell burning and the tire hub was smoking.  That’s not good I thought, so I google the closest RV repair place 7 minutes away, and we spent the rest of the day in Fredericksburg, Virginia. 

The staff was lovely, but they didn’t have the parts, so they sent me to go get the goods, about 20 minutes away, and I brought them back and they installed them.  That would have been it, except for the realization that I also needed a new drum that the second place didn’t have.  So, another trip to a third RV place, 35 minutes away to buy that part.  Brought it back and after some fighting with it, the dude came through and all was good.

After we got going again, we passed Washington DC, and after a wrong turn on the highway, ended up downtown in rush hour traffic.  We passed Quantico and crossed the Potomac River, raced through Germantown then Frederick and ended up in Hagerstown, Maryland, in the heart of the Great Appalachian Valley.

Tonight I rest thankful for the good Samaritan who waved at me, to the RV people I talked to today and of course fixed the issue and to my sister for being very grounding in a stressful situation. 

Tonight sleep, tomorrow the rest of the way to Ohio…

Where I started, https://maps.app.goo.gl/ocWXT7VjJn9CAeMu6 and where I ended, https://maps.app.goo.gl/gkBjDPM3UnfdGBza8

Changed it up slightly this morning.  Tea with toasted english muffins and peanut butter.  I know, just a little crazy.  We had 4 and a half hours on the GPS this morning, and the last few states on this amazing adventure – trip home.

Most of the drive was through the Appalachian Mountain range and there were pretty picture post card scenes, around every bend.  Rolling green grass hills, the greenest spring could paint with white churches and tall steeples and houses and farms all around.  The tall trees in the mountain passes, still wearing their winter wear.  No signs of any colour to be found.  After we crossed the Allegheny River, slight signs of greenery emerging from the lower trees, but nothing like the purple and bright green in the forests around Virginia.  Makes sense I suppose, based on our distance now far north of the warmth.  The thermometer gave up degrees every hour and by the time we stopped, we dropped 18 or more.

We are stopped for the night with Deb’s uncle, and of all her family in the US, he is the one that I have meet a few times over the years, with him visiting the family in Canada.  It has been many years, but I remembered quickly, why I always enjoyed time visiting with him.  A Vietnam vet, and hardworking proud family man, with little time for fools or not saying what’s on your mind.  Just a straight up great guy.  Thanks for the hospitality, Terry and thanks for the licks, Billy!  

Last sleep in the US, tomorrow we point north and end the trip home…

Where I started, https://maps.app.goo.gl/gkBjDPM3UnfdGBza8, where I ended, https://maps.app.goo.gl/WXNNx6UATwdrxhUR6

Had a lovely sleep and a nice hot breakfast, featuring eggs and sausage with fancy bread toasted, lightly covered in peanut butter and homemade jam.  We hit the road for a pretty straight run northeast, along the south shore of Lake Erie.  The interstate is a little way from the water, but at a couple of points you could see it at a distance.  Watched the dashboard thermometer give up a few more degrees and the hot sun from the west and the south is but a memory at this point.

It wasn’t until almost 30 miles from Buffalo that I saw my first, second and then a bunch more Ontario licence plates.  It took 13 states to see just one and that blows me away.  Left in the south with the warmth was any signs of spring colour on the sides of the roads. When we hit Buffalo and crossed the Niagara River on the Peace Bridge, there was still ice chunks in the water that looked like lily pads, you could hop across.  And when we crossed the Burlington Skyway, Lake Ontario looked like the angry Atlantic Ocean, with its dark water and contrasting white caps, crashing into shore.  It was also raining a bit, and when I parked the trailer in the driveway at home, the temperature was the lonely single digit of two.

I will be taking a few days off from the blog and be writing a summery and some final thoughts soon, but for now I will say this.  Anything is possible.  I always believed that, but now I have lived it, so I know it is true.  Without fear, I set out and did something so many people wouldn’t even think of doing for one reason or another.  I am so very lucky to be able to have done this. 

The writing my thoughts each day and doing it, even if I didn’t feel like it, taught me some things about my will and my ability.  Your comments, lovely thoughts and texts and messages in response made me feel amazing and I really can’t thank you enough.  I really appreciate you.

Now I sleep…

Where I started, https://maps.app.goo.gl/WXNNx6UATwdrxhUR6, where I ended home.

I drove more than 11,000 kilometers, over 25 days from British Colombia to my home in Ontario.  14 states, 7 for the first time, 4 time zones and temperature swings from cool, to too hot, to comfortable, then to near freezing cold.  I used more than 600 gallons or almost 2500 liters of gas.  The most expensive gas, if you don’t convert currency was the day I left in Tsawwassen, BC and the day I got home to Mississauga at 1.879 and 1.799 per/l respectfully. In the US it was for sure in California ranging from 1.32 to 1.558 per/l.  Now, if you do apply currency exchange, it would be closer to 1.83 to 2.16 per/l.  Cheapest was Texas at .83 cents per liter or 1.15 allowing for the exchange rate.  Over the course of the trip, I stayed in 10 different camp sites ranging in price from 35 to 90 dollars per night, but the big win was the free places.  The highway rest-stops, the desert and forest BLM’s and the store / restaurant parking lots.

The purpose of the journey had never been really said “out loud” as a self-discovery, but I suppose it was partly that.  It was not to see first-hand what is going on politicly, as in exercising my journalistic soul, but that too was a bit of it. No, retirement has had a bit of an unexpected impact on my way of living.  The realization of time gone, and the hit over the head awareness of an end to something.  Tomorrow is not guaranteed. I did this to learn and seek.  To experience and to find out if I could tell stories about what I see.    

The other night, while trying to get caught up watching all my recordings of my favourite TV show, Jeopardy, under the category, “State Capitals” this question came up.  “On March 23, 1775, Patrick Henry delivered his famous “Give me liberty, or give me death!” speech at St. John’s Church in this city.”  I knew the answer to be “What is Richmond?”, not because of a book or a lesson from school, but because I stood at the foot of the stairs leading up the hill to the church and took a picture.  I then looked up the info about the speech and read an account of the text and learned that in the audience was future United States presidents’ George Washington and Thomas Jefferson.     

I watched the sun put itself to bed off the Oregon coast and listened to the redwoods whisper stories from eras gone by in California.  I slept under endless stars in the Arizona desert and got lost following the rock layers from the southern edge of the Grand Canyon.  I Followed the worn tire tracks of so many generations before me on Route 66.  I crossed rivers and traveled highways, saw trees and mountains and touched two oceans.  I lived and learned things by doing.  I wrote stories about my experiences, and those memories will be with me for the rest of my life.  Thank you for coming along with me.

Until the next adventure…