Half Cross-Country Road Trip Take 21 Planned for November 2013

 [The Charlies: Insane-o Traveling Folks]

Come October 26, Sara Schultz will be taking the Red-Eye flight to Chicago, Illinois with connection to Cedar Rapids, Iowa arriving at 8:42AM. She will likely be rested and cheery, anticipating a joyous reunion with her three sweet nieces and the other nice folks in Iowa including Baby Sister Molly Rose & Josh and Mom & Chuck.

What was to be a short trip to assist boyfriend, Justin, in his drive cross-country from North Carolina to Oregon has extended into a thirteen day vacation. After months of working extra she decided she deserved some days off. Then she decided she deserved some more. So they will have ample time to complete their journey to the West Coast before work calls again on November 8th.

As well, she is looking forward to celebrating Justin's 39th Birthday on November 7th. The last year of the thirties! Spooky! Also spooky is a Halloween with the nieces who have decided to be the Strawberry Shortcake Clan. Is it a coincidence that Middle Sister Carrie has a Strawberry Shortcake costume which also fits Sara? I think not. Auntie will be twinning up with Miss Lily for a night of evil fun! Hopefully they dole out lotsa fruit for the trick-or-treaters.

Speaking of Hurricanes, Justin has been working up a storm out East. Selling the camper, helping a friend staff his new business, repairing the house (bathroom overhaul and a couple new appliances, as well as new rugs, bedding and more), fixing his truck, buying a new used Suburu, visiting relatives, attending a wedding (today!), renting out his house on AirBnB, and developing a continued rental plan for when he returns West. All in under three months. He'll be hauling a carload of stuff and Mr. Bailey out to Oregon, picking up Sara in Iowa.  *She has volunteered to maneuver the Suburu through the snow and mountains should weather conditions become precarious.

Sara is not sure how many trips she has made across the USA. She could try to count.
Here is a rough guess:

• North Dakota to Texas and back
• North Dakota to Colorado and back
• North Dakota to Oregon/Washington and back (either direction, one time driving back through Canada on Hwy 1) - 6-7 times
• North Dakota to Missouri and back
• North Dakota to Pennsylvania and back 
• Up and down the West Coast
• Iowa to Virginia
• North Carolina to Pennsylvania and back
• North Carolina to Florida and back
• North Carolina to Iowa and back- twice
• North Carolina to Oregon 

She thinks that is about 20 half-country trips. Or so. In a nutshell, pretty much an insane person. But Justin knows this, and likes her anyway. They are both very independent people looking forward to their long-awaited reunion and sleeping in the same bed again. They are hoping to settle in soon enough into a house with a Mother-In-Law suite where relatives may visit for extended periods, including moms and grandmoms and any other stragglers who have long yearned for the beauty of Oregon.

Example of Grandmoms who might visit Oregon:

"life shrinks or expands in proportion to one's courage."

Rainy day. Coffee and conversation drift through the air. The clank of saucers stacking. Electronic music. The ceiling fan in my side vision. A yellow & blue Trimet bus on Albina. The man next to me leaves with the newspaper and his backpack. He was writing with his left hand in a large unlined notebook. Oatie sleeping on my lap. 

I'm waiting for my mom and Chuck to arrive this evening. The house is ready. My mind is calming. I look up writing workshops. Request library books. My soy latte nearly empty. Searching for houses again. Not the right one yet but getting closer. The girl at the grocery store told me not to give up- keep going. It's wet- the buyers aren't so hungry. Houses sit sadly on the market, prices drifting down. Less anxiety. More civilized. Less frantic. Less impulsive. Thoughtful. Pensive. Like fall. 

Justin bought a Suburu. He's wanted one forever. It's used but new to him. Less miles than my mini. But one year older. We can sleep in the back. It came with a plug-in cooler. And racks and heated seats. He's a cold weather wimp so they will serve as weather therapy. 

I bought a one-way ticket to Iowa. Overnight through Chicago on October 26th. I plan to take a week and a half off. Go trick or treating with my nieces. Hitch a ride back with Justin and see him through the mountains and the snow. He's still green in both areas, having only lived on the east coast. He wanted me to ride with him. At first I thought, he's a big boy, he can do it himself. Then I thought, you can be nice, you know. So why not. 

After months of working extra days, I can take two off. Besides I like driving the Wyoming to Oregon part. If we could delete Nebraska that would be nice. But not likely. I have a lot of friends from Nebraska who might get upset. So I think that it's perfect. Even though I thought I didn't want to. Drive back that is. We will for the first time, enter Portland together. Enter the west on the ground, a pair, taking a chance on a real life together.

Mother Earth News Fair- Pennsylvania

[Pennsylvania]

 Last weekend, we drove up to Somerset, Pennsylvania to attend the Mother Earth News Fair, which is all things sustainable, off-the-grid, organic, and farming-related. After many years in west, I imagined we'd be surrounded by a crowd of bearded, pierced and plaid-wearing hippie farmers. Instead it looked like people from Iowa. Or North Dakota. Just regular folks, from mostly the upper east coast: PA, MD, NY, OH. We were some of the furthest traveling attendees, aside from another couple we met from Alabama.

The theme was definitely not organic, though it was an emphasis. I think it was more do-it-yourself, and mostly for cheap (though there were so many vendors it's easy to suddenly find an empty wallet). We sat though a talk by Joel Salatin, who has a farm in rural Virginia and has been featured on several documentaries about farming. His approach is really back in time, and logical. Rather than piling on chemicals, and penning up his animals, he lets his cattle graze and moves his chicken coops to spread their droppings, which serve as fertilizer. Of course he's written several books on the topic, which we started reading, and only 20 pages in to "The Sheer Ecstasy of Being a Lunatic Farmer", we'd gleaned enough to warrant the price of the book.

 [Joel Salatin]

I dropped in on Mother Earth's editor Cheryl Long's talk on Organic Fertilizers, and learned that human pee is a good addition to your garden (diluted). As well as confirmation for what my mom always said, "Leave the grass clippings on the yard!" (Or stash them in your compost bin for later.) We met a couple from Chicago who bought a farm in rural Wisconsin and have been slowing going off the grid while running a B&B and raising their son. 

Three days worth of conference introduced us to new ways of thinking and ideas for our place. We figured out that solar panels are very involved and expensive and maybe something down the line.

For a long time, I've been rethinking lawns. The whole idea of them is rather insane, as well as the amount of pollution we produce by having a lawn. After the conference, I wanted to find a way to forgo a lawn all together and truthfully would not mind planting the whole lawn to garden. But I don't think I am going to have a choice in that matter.

[what we'd like for our next camper trailer]

The Lawn Boy

 Quite a lot on animal husbandry. I'm still pretty much vegetarian, and if I had to kill it myself, that would cement my feelings toward meat forever.

 How true this is, especially something I've noticed since escaping the city traffic.

 I wish we would take this seriously.

The seeds were $1 a packet so we went crazy. They are now stored in air tight bags in our fridge until we're ready to use them.

I noticed everyone was wearing blue jeans.

Americans.

The festival was held at Seven Springs Resort in PA which is owned by the same family who runs Mother Earth News, Grit, and Utne Reader.

 I have a strange affinity for the idea of a composting toilet.

Until next year, goodbye PA! 

(The festival is also held in Washington south of Seattle, 

and a third location is planned for Kansas starting next year.)

Milwaukee

My favorite song by the Head and the Heart:

Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Seventy-five miles south of Manitowac, where I lived from 1978-1981. Carrie was born in Two Rivers, Wisconsin because they wouldn't allow men in the delivery room in Manitowac in 1979.

Wisconsin looks like Germany. It's part of the reason I instantly adapted to German countryside; it felt like home. The hills clothed in multicolored leaves, churches peeking out above the trees, cool air swathing the hot, a premonition of winter to come. This year, the darkness of fall has stayed away.

Last weekend there was a concert by a Seattle band, the Head and the Heart at the historic Turner Ballroom in Milwaukee. We stayed at the Plaza Hotel, also a historic building, peaceful and retro, simply and accurately restored (or perhaps just very well kept up), and reasonable rates. The quiet of Milwaukee contrasts with Chicago's financial frenzied stressed population. It was a peaceful weekend.

Turner Ballroom was gorgeous and open, and the band amazing.

Resting in the grass along Milwaukee's biking and walking path. I've been so tired, and keep thinking that I'm going to have some time to rest soon. I realized that I've been on a non-stop pace since the end of March when I found out that my job was eliminated and I was on a crash course to move home. Of course, the traveling was self-inflicted pleasure & pain. Today I've been home for two months, and have not yet spent two weeks in one place. It's life on the road. I don't expect it to end anytime soon.

The Comet Cafe. Excellent food! Excellent coffee.

Surprisingly, I found tons of good tips in here. One always needs to practice self-improvement. Never stop learning! I don't intend to get old ever. (The book is The Encyclopedia of Immaturity.)

I shelled out muko bucks for new jeans. It's been about seven years since I bought a new pair of designer jeans. I like to practice delayed gratification so that I really appreciate my nice things.

Demonstrating the "mine and toss" technique. When you've bought too much ice cream and you can't eat it all, you are totally justified in mining out all the good sections and flicking the rest down the drain.

Holy Hill is a Cathedral Basilica in the countryside about 30 miles out of Milwaukee. The traffic to reach it was worse than anything I've seen in Chicago, and at the top we even sited tour buses. I tried to hide in the corner to cure my crowd phobia. But it was better just to go home!

We checked out the newly renovated Cheese Palace, after stopping last time the day before they closed for remodeling. I wanted to get one of the cheeseheads for Lily but they were not for sale, so a picture has to suffice. Next time I'll just take a picture of the Palace from the freeway and keep going. The place was swarming with people, and non-delicious samples for the second time in a row, so I'd have to rate this as a "no-go". Avoid!

Lastly, I'll mention Beans and Barley, a cafe and grocery store with hippie roots (though now very gentrified). For about a year, I've been hearing about their Tofu Scramber. I'm a big fan of tofu scramble: you can eat it alone, on top of salad, with bread, hot or cold. I like it all ways and it's quick and simple to make at home. A lot of restaurants will offer it, but drown it in oil and spices, so that later my stomach hates me. Beans and Barley makes a simple, savory version which I think would delight everyone's palate. I've found the recipe for it, so if you want to try it at home, you can savor the flavor without a trip to Milwaukee.

BEANS & BARLEY TOFU SCRAMBLER

Source: Beans & Barley Market and Cafe, 1901 E. North Avenue, Milwaukee, Wisconsin

1/4 C. tahini
1/4 C. shoyu
1 tsp. black pepper, or to taste
1 tsp. salt
2 tsp. garlic powder, or to taste
2 lb. firm tofu, drained, dried and coarsely crumbled
2 tsp. olive oil
2/3 C. sliced fresh mushrooms
2/3 C. diced tomato
2/3 C. chopped green onions
Toasted sesame seeds for garnish

Combine tahini, shoyu, pepper, salt and garlic powder. Add to crumbled tofu, being careful not to crumble tofu too fine.

Heat 12-inch nonstick or well-greased, skillet over medium heat. Add oil and sauté mushrooms until cooked, about 5 minutes. Add tomatoes and green onions and cook for 1 minute.

Add tofu mixture and cook, scrambling occasionally, until some of it begins to brown a little. Garnish with toasted sesame seeds. Makes 6 servings.

NOTE: Serve with home-fried potatoes and toast. This dish is also good with corn bread, muffins or bagels.

An unwanted interesting experience- heat exhaustion/ dehydration

It's Sofia Take 3: (and here is why)

I’d been noticing the heat is pretty intense down here- direct sunlight coupled with humidity and temps which stay elevated from 9AM-10PM or later had left me feeling quite faded. But I was still walking a bit every day, drinking water, and trying to enjoy myself. (I did fine in SE Asia but then that was their winter.)

Yesterday I attempted to walk (mostly in the shade) to a neighboring town which was about 2.5 km away. Normally not a problem. But I started to feel a bit funny and decided to turn back. I found a roadside market where I bought ice cream and juice, and was drinking water. Slowly, I made my way back to the hostel, knowing that I was not probably getting enough liquids even though I had planned and carried water. The heat was too hot and too direct. I told myself to just get back to the hostel.

I felt pretty weird by the time I got there, so made myself a bottle of water with rehydration salts in it and hopped in a lukewarm shower. I was not feeling normal at all, but sat down to try to wait it out. Molly came on chat, and I told her I was feeling weird. Not wanting to be alarmist, but I was getting scared. (Like telling someone on the other side of the world is going to help…) I emailed my hostel information to her and my aunt Dee, who also happened to be online, and tried to feel normal but was still feeling worse: dizzy, nauseous, faint, flushed, and more… and starting to wonder if I needed to go the doctor. (I never think that!) So I got up to tell the staff and a few other travelers who were in the common room where I was sitting that I was feeling really strange. They all seemed to think I was overreacting and it was no big deal- said to sit down and not worry. I thought, if I pass out hopefully they take me in. In reality I think if I would have passed out they would have just thought I was sleeping and not worried about it. I was probably the only one with any medical training in the room. This is when it is not fun to be traveling alone, and needing to rely on a bunch of untrained, immature (regardless of age) people

Obviously I am not dead or in the hospital, so I was actually ok, though it was not maybe until about midnight that I really started feeling normal and this morning pretty good. I’d looked at the forecast for the last two cities I had planned, and they were forecasted to be even hotter. Plus I’d heard that Romainia was hotter anyway… so I started dreaming of flying north early, where it was only about 68, and even raining! I thought perhaps I was overreacting but then thought, how am I going to take a night train if it does not cool off, what if the bus a/c doesn’t work that well? How am I going to see anything if I am afraid to walk outside and overheat/dehydrate again?

It didn’t take much effort to find a flight for 116E from Sofia to Berlin on the 21st of June. Eight days earlier than planned. I knew the busses in Bulgaria are quite decent, so here I am headed back to Sofia. In the morning I can go north, where the sun is kinder and gentler on my feeble heat-tolerance genes. I am not interested in testing out Bulgarian or Romanian medical care on my own. That’s a trip I don’t want to take!

I’ve decided to just take the week and pretend I’m living in Berlin. I miss speaking German anyway and the analness of the north. It is true. I am anal. And I like colder weather.

I am forever a northerner.

Current location: Veliko Tarnovo, Bulgaria (just south of the Romania border)

Current temp: 31C/88F

It does not look particularly hot. But I wonder what the heat index is here. I feel unable to do anything outside, without feeling an impending heatstroke. I have noticed this the last few days. Several years ago, maybe ten actually, I was hiking in Oregon with friends but I didn't have enough water along, and it was summer and hot, and I was near dehydration or heatstroke, not sure which one, so ever since then I've been a bit careful.

I'd say that I usually adapt to the heat just fine- my body normalizes, and I eventually feel cold in the evenings regardless of the location. But there is something about the heat here in the Balkans and Eastern Europe. I have not been able to adapt. It is disabling to me. I don't know what exactly I can do about it.

Macedonia in a nutshell

I walked around old town today with a couple guys from my hostel. We stopped in the Museum of Contemporary Art, which was atop a hill behind a castle. The building looked unkempt and uninviting from the outside, but inside was clean modernity. After wandering past the art, I spotted a bathroom, and decided to make use (bathrooms are not so ubiquitous in Europe as elsewhere). The bathroom was tidy as well, with all the modern western amenities installed (toilet paper & paper towel holders, toilets), but all completely empty and missing toilet seats. They'd built the infrastructure but couldn't maintain the finances to keep it up.

Moving pictures and Last Fruhstuck mit Ernst & Helga

The piano being crated!

Everything waited on the curb for the truck to arrive.

Inventory.

With everything inside and the wall built.

The mini was sparkling for customs. Note the USA license plate.

Ernst.

Camping in my house.

Ernst & Helga.

Goodbye Fruhstuck.

Next stop:

That's all she brought! The green bag strikes again!

Dreaming: The Idea & Facts

"Dreaming is a dangerous proposition; it dares us to risk everything, to walk blind into the hills, to do the hardest work in ourselves and in the world- and to reap the richest reward. Sometimes, possibly, our dreams urge us to reveal ourselves intimately to an audience of strangers, and hope they'll meet us where we most want to be." -from Off the Map.

The History: I've been doing it forever, back to childhood, when my mom thought I had a hearing problem, and my dad wrote letters to his grandmother describing me as "dreamy."

A Date: The movers are scheduled for May 24th, clearing up mental anxiety, making room for more dreaming.

The Bag: With the small green waterproof backpack that went to Asia in mind, I'm pondering what to wear to not look like a tourist and not look dirty; I still care about fashion even if I pretend I don't.

The Feeling: Rushing toward the mouth of the river where I'll soon be shot out into the open sea of travel and joblessness and wandering, the feeling of possibility overwhelms and envelops me, pushing me along and relaxing me at the same.