June 15, 2005

New friends driving Miss Daisy.
Today is estimated income tax day. Nothing I look forward to but necessary. Bearfoot is relaxing along with his crew in the backyard of the Calhoun estate. I have a heated pool just a few steps away and a welcoming kitchen very closeby. I attended my 12 yr. old granddaughter Emily's graduation last night in Pawlet, VT. As she marched in, I was taken aback by how grown up she looked with her hair pinned up, make up, high heels and a gown. Reality check!!
She won the American Legion award. I connected with a couple of former friends from the past and just barely made it back to Hartford before dark. I no longer drive after dark since it seems my perception is not as clear as it once was. Happens to just about all of us, I guess.
My kayak is stored here in the shed. I will bring it out, clean it up and hopefully get out on the water somewhere nearby. Back to the progressive trip since I seem to be running ahead of it:
June 6, 2005 Sebastian and I pulled out early in the morning from Ashland, VA on Rt.1, the old Washington Hwy. There was very little traffic and four beautiful lanes of new pavement all the way to Fredericksburg, VA where we did relent and jump onto I 95 for a few exits to Hwy. 17. There was again light traffic and good road up to 15/29. We veered off on 15 in Frederick, VA and cruised on north on a scenic ride up through Maryland to Gettysburg, PA. We camped at Drummer Boy and I wrote of it in a previous post.
June 8th, I drove north on 15 which is a great road. It was very hot but we remained cool in Bearfoot until mid-day then I opened all the windows. We veered off on Rt. 11 in Sunbury, PA to follow the big beautiful Susquehanna River. Eventually, I grew weary of the stop/go traffic of the many small villages we passed through. It was a long slow hot haul to Rt. 29 which crosses the mighty river and put us on I 81 north. I 81 didn't disappoint me with it's famous pot holes, cracks, ridges and heavy truck traffic. Most unpleasant to put it mildly. I am aware as I travel that the infrastructure of the US highway system is deteriorating at an alarming rate. Everything in Bearfoot was shaking and falling. My jaw was clenched, shoulders aching by the time we pulled off on I 88 in Binghamton, NY for the short trip east on Rt. 7 to Belden Hill Campground in Harpursville. It was our longest day yet at over 300 miles. Sebastian suffered a short bout of motion sickness but recovered rapidly when allowed to run through the long high meadows at Belden Hill. I sat on a bench overlooking the Catskill Mts., layer after layer of blue mts. A lovely place to ground oneself after a long trip.
June 9th we are off again on I 88 east to Albany where we pick up I 87 N to the Adirondack region. A hot trip dodgeing those orange barricades and riding on the rumble strip through miles and miles of construction. But I am happy to see that NY is repairing the road. In Saratoga Springs we detour to 9N which rolls up and down to Corinth, NY and the Alpine Lake RV resort. I am looking forward to a 3 day rest from the road. Our site is next to a small lake with a fountain. I shut off the AC at twilight and sleep with the sounds of fountain and a couple of bullfrogs. My daughter Theresa, her husband Alex and son Colin join me for an overnight on Saturday. Just as the sun goes down, my son, Matt, his wife, Kellie and their two daughters, Emily and Lilly pop in. How wonderful it feels to be surrounded at last by family.

June 13, 2005

Moved east yesterday to Hartford, NY, a rural town close to the VT border. My sister's home sets high on a hill with spectacular views to the mts. I am backed in next to the house protected from the daily T-storms and any winds. The pool is just a few steps away and we are huddled into some bird-loving spruce trees. The grass is soft and welcoming on my bare feet. It is still hot and humid generally initiating a T-storm every afternoon, cooling the air for only a few mins. My grandson, Colin who is 12 is with me. He enjoyed his first ride in the motorhome as we rolled and weaved over from Alpine Lake. I watched him duck his head as we passed under a low overpass. I told him how I had learned years ago during my coastal sailing experiences to not look up as the tall mast passed under the bridges. The same rule applies to this mode of travel. The sign states 13'6" clearance, one has ato trust it is correct and don't look up! My plan is to just rest for a few days and then begin cleaning inside and out, waxing and doing laundry. The mundane tasks of upkeep lurk ahead this week. I will be pulling my kayak, Namaskar, out of storage here too. I look forward to getting out on the nearby lakes.
Going backwards in my story thus far to April 21st: Unfortunately, I was not able to connect with a few additional friends in the New Bern area so we rolled on up to Emporia VA where we encountered more strong t-storms that night. I had a few repairs that needed to be made in Bearfoot. I made a half-day stop at Crisp RV Center in Chocowinnity, NC. The work was carefully done by competant, cheerful people and I was out of there at noon for the short trip to Emporia.
The next day the storms brought in cold air from our northern neighbors and Sebastian and I went on to Christopher Run Campground on Lake Anna, VA. We were given a site in the woods but leveling Bearfoot was next to impossible. They have few level sites on the hills there. I was given a choice of 3 other sites. I tried each one but there was no way without planks and blocks which I don't carry. The last site was doable but required my sewer pipe to run under the MH to the dump pipe on the other side. It's a good thing I carry lots of sewer hose. The next day, a friend from MA joined us for 5 days. It was really nice having company aboard. Parting was a sad time on many levels.
April 30th, I moved over to Brian and Marilyn Sumner's home in Goochland, VA. Their drive way and separate garage lend itself perfectly to Bearfoot's bulk. I do need to be guided in and out though because of the closeness of the trees. Brian offers his expertise and we manage to position Bearfoot without any damage. The Sumner's have generously allowed me a safe haven before. Christmas Eve '04 was one of those times. I was unable to drive Bearfoot due to a recurance of an on-going eye lid problem. My eyelids are another story going back to 1997 when I began suffering from burning, itching and dry eye symptoms. The symptoms worsened when driving, reading or watching TV. When driving, I felt I needed to sleep so I would pull over, close my eyes but then wasn't sleepy. A few miles later, the same thing happened. Doc's concluded I was suffering from common dry eye and prescribed otc eye drops. The symptoms continued to worsen until 2/1/98 when I stopped driving altogether. My marriage of 27 years ended and my eye condition became nearly unbearable. I sought help from specialists at institutions such as Duke, ECU as well as neurologists, opthhalmologists and others. Finally, I saw a doc associated with Harvard Med School in Boston the summer of '98. By that time, I was unable to drive, read, cook, use the phone, write a check, watch tv or walk without guidance. The NC Assoc. for the Blind visited me and provided training so I could care for myself safely. They also provided books on tape and planned to train me with a white cane for walking about. Neighbors called to check on me and to pick up my groceries. Another dear friend came to read to me. I spent much of my time meditating and scribbling in a notebook. It was a time of pain and darkness, of unimaginable frustration, sadness and fear but it also was a time of incredible growth for me. The interesting thing about this condition is when I sing, my eyes open therefore I sang a great deal. In fact, I found I could drag my kayak to the creek in front of my home in NC, slip it into the brown brackish water, climb aboard while singing the entire time. I sang every song I know plus I sang my story in the Native American tradition. I kayaked nearly every day and became a familiar figure on the estuaries connecting the Neuse River near Pamlico Sound. I was almost resigned to being unable to use my eyes ever again when the doc from Boston diagnosed my condition as BEB (Benign Essential Blepharospasm); one of a family of Dystonia diseases. www.dystonia.com Long story cut short: I went to UNC, NC to receive Botoxin injections in the muscles of my eyes in Nov. '98 and within 7 days was able to use my eyes for the first time in nearly a year. I held a Thanks-For-Giving Party for my friends and neighbors. What a celebration it was! The treatment wasn't and still isn't perfect but I could live a better life. I just couldn't drive or ride my bike for another 4 years. The stress in my life was greatly reduced and I found a new doc in Richmond, VA. I drove again in '02. Obviously, I am doing well now since I am writing from this big rig.