Jax, Carolina & Home again jiggity jig

As the song goes: 'All good things have to come to an end, and it's the same with the wildwood weed'. However in this case, it's my trip.

I left Naples Florida after a week with my sister and brother in law, bound for Jacksonville. Actually, Talbot State Park, on the coast east of Jax on Little Talbot Island.

Checking in at Talbot State Park, the ranger station had an interesting display of stuffed critters.  The little guy on the left was my major concern relative to George the Rabbit.  He doesn't like coming in at night, but he is still alive, which is something.

The incoming tide at the Park was very much affected by the Super Moon.  The campers on the shoreline were relocated to make way for it.  My space was a little further in and didn't share that same fate.  While there I met Ron, a retired geologist.  He is the third and last solo camper I ran into.  The other two being Frenchman Louie in San Antonio and Alabama Bob the racist in Slidell Louisiana.  When I asked geologist Ron about fracking, he said it's much like slurping the last of a milkshake with a straw. Good only for a short while.  He also cited seismic changes in Oklahoma (wasn't a zone, now it is) that he said resulted from the pressurized injection fracking requires. Scary stuff!

I took a four mile loop on my bike while at Talbot State Park.  Half of it was tough going in a forest with sandy soil off and on, and half on the beach below.  Like all the days extending the entire trip from Oregon to Jacksonville, it was a beautiful, clear day.

This fisherman landed a red drum of about 30" that he told me must be released.  I took better pictures than this one on his phone at his request.  Although I carried two fishing rods on the trip, I didn't ever get them wet.  Almost did once.  But there was always something going on that kept me away from the placid activity.

On the last night in Jacksonville Florida I posted this pic on Facebook.  It signaled the last solo night of my trip across America and back.  A significant event for the four month trip!  Not my last night drinking Jameson's Irish Whiskey though.

After Jacksonville, my next stop was at Laura and Michael's house, my youngest of four sisters.  I managed to see all four of them and my two brothers along the way, which was a treat every time.  Although my camper isn't in the pic below, Laura's back yard was where it stayed quite contentedly for three days.

North Carolina was where I was introduced to cold weather.  I had managed to avoid all cold weather for the entire trip except at night in the desert around Yellowstone.  A psychological shock if ever this was one!  Journeying further north it only got worse, as you might imagine, for my shorts, T shirt and flipflop wardrobe.

Michael Hartley's most excellent 'low country boil' featuring snow crab, sausage, and shrimp.

Me playing till I ran everybody out of the room.

Sister Laura and my expanded waistline.

Niece Heather with George.

With 4 days till Thanksgiving I made it to Williamsburg, home to son Peter, wife Jenny and the three boys Eli, Luke and Quinn.  More weather reality kicked in at Eli's soccer game as the temperature dropped to 33 degrees and the wind picked up to 20 mph. My weather complaints fell on deaf ears however. Looked like Grandpa Don just had to get over it!

Parked for a week at P&J's. Using my small portable generator for the first time in the trip.

The Williamsburg Family, embracing the season (and each other).

Quinn slept in the camper with me for two nights.  He's missing below, but Big Dog sleeps on.

Quinn, Luke and Peter practicing our songs.  The trombone added a little New Orleans seasoning.  I can honestly say that I haven't heard renditions of Happy Birthday, Queen's We Will Rock You, and Ode To Joy quite the same before.

George hung out with Peter's chickens. I can only imagine the lively conversations held when we were out of earshot.

My artistic sister Marilyn helped me refine my logo. First iteration was a henna tattoo on my wrist at FloydFest 15. Now it's on the back of the camper east of Maryland on the map of 'merica.  If you look closely there is a ddp in there somewhere.

So it's come to an end.

4 months, 27 states and 12,000 miles. From August 5, 2016 to November 27, 2016. A thoroughly delightful segue between working for a living and living. I said quite a bit about it in my last post 'Florida Baby!'. Here I can add how it has felt to return.  Like coming off a natural high, comfortably. Like downshifting at the end of a long bike ride, getting ready for the stop/start. Like getting slapped in the face with my own question: 'Well, what's next big boy?!" And not exactly having an answer. Like "What you gonna do 'bout that rabbit Willis?! It's cold outside!"

Can't help but feel sad that this will be my last post.  After entering with trepidation and very little skill, I've become reasonably adept at putting a post together with the right words and pics.  And found myself enjoying it. I think I'll print these out, along with the thousand or so pictures I took, and make a little hardcopy book.

George has been on reasonably good behavior, except for a little biting problem and humping my sister.  I have found him to be fastidious enough to get free rein in the tile floored basement, which makes him a nicely interactive affectionate pet.  But I am looking into a little emasculation operation to calm him down a bit and solve both previously mentioned issues. I'm afraid my sister will never be the same though.  He doesn't call and he doesn't write.

I'm not quite sure how the next life chapter will play out.  But I can only hope that it will be as eventful, rewarding, and meaningful as the last four months have been.  Probably will involve adjusting to the next phase of family life, a little part time work at SFCS (maybe 4 days out of 30) and a little volunteering (maybe the Rescue Mission).  It's not out of the question that the camper will hit the road again.  After all, there are 23 states that I didn't get to.  And the poor thing looks lonely and forlorn in that storage yard. It would also be a good opportunity to flout my Arcosanti wind chime.  Perhaps this summer.  Though as I mentioned to others, my downward trending time and money curves intersected at the Roanoke County line on November 27th.  So some financial enhancement is definitely in order. In the meantime, I've resigned myself to long pants, sweaters and socks.

I'd like to thank all of you who have supported me along the way. Who have read my blog or noted my Facebook posts. Who have given me good reason to return and catch up. And who have been wonderful friends and family.  You are appreciated more than you can know!

Things and events on the top of my remember list:

• Family: Camping in the great northwest with daughter Diane, husband Josh, 1 year old Apollo Oscar Otter Peterson, 15 year old Eli and 12 year old Luke. Sightseeing, deep water fishing, ATV riding on coastal sand dunes, and general hanging out. Visiting all 6 siblings in 3 different states. Hanging with the kid's Uncle Paul and family in Tacoma. Visiting cousin Jay in Mesa, AZ.
• Places: Kansas City, Yellowstone, Rushmore, the Northwest, the Redwood Forest, LA, NOLA, Arcosanti & Taliesin West, and all the states between and further east.
• Music: The Desert Trip concert in Indio, CA! Iris DeMent & Loudin Wainwright III in Monterey, Jeff Jensen in KC, all of New Orleans particularly the keyboard player at The Blue Nile, and Meschiya Lake and the Little Big Horn at Chickie Wa Wa.
• Good fortune:  I didn't get sick, injured, or have failed body parts (excluding mental issues). And the weather was perfect, everywhere and all the time! My trailer didn't leak, probably because it only rained two days in the entire four months.
• The pleasure of traveling solo.
• Friends: Meeting hundreds of good people and almost none of the other kind. Largely homogeneous RV people and all the rest of America. Hanging with Ken 4 days in San Fran, Suzie in St. Pete and Brenda and Randy in Seattle. Chance encounters with Larry, Louie, Bob, Ron, Cora, AnneMarie, Tracy and Sue, and Binky the guitar tech for The Who.

Other things, in the middle of my remember list:

• Watching the Cubs beat the Dodgers in the final game of the NL Championship in a Bourbon Street bar's upper room with 25 Cubs fans. Pandemonium! Then watching the seventh game of the World Series outside, next to my camper. Quiet pandemonium. On the phone rabid Cubs fan Pam from Roanoke hanging up on me in the tenth inning at midnight because I wasn't optimistic enough.
• Long stretches of highway that were far more interesting than the pictures could convey, particularly through South Dakota, Wyoming and Texas.
• Descending from the Rocky Mountains into Washington state on vertigo inducing Highway 90, a rapid 2,000 ft elevation drop.
• Crossing Lake Pontchartrain on Highway 10 from Slidell Louisiana into New Orleans: With New Orleans directly in the distance, it reminded me of Dorothy crossing the field of poppies on her way to Oz.
• My trailer tire blowout in La Grange, TX. And smoking brakes on the Sonora Pass descent from Yosemite.
• A rainbow of yellow shooting from a sunflower combine.
• 95 degree days with 45 degree nights in Wyoming.
• That they sell all different kinds of marijuana in Oregon.
• All my cousins in Indianapolis look remarkably like my aunts and uncles.

Things at the end of my remember list:

• Everything else.

So thank you one and all for Rolling with DDP! It's been a trip!

The End

Don

Florida Baby!

When last we met, I was about to leave Destin, Florida for St. Petersburg.  Made it.  Located in a nice, mid-sized KOA campground skirting a back bayou. It was pleasant.  While there, I met a couple and their 13 year old daughter Gracie Ray. Gracie Ray was taken with voyager-rabbit George so we got to talking.  Born without a fourth chamber in her heart, she's survived, enduring 7 surgeries so far, starting 16 weeks after her arrival on the planet.  A sweet kid with outstanding parents.

Also while there, my next door neighbor in the pictured teardrop camper was taken away in an ambulance around 2 am.  He was moving when loaded on the stretcher, so hopefully that was a good sign.  Reminded me of my camping trip to Virginia Beach, where a guy who was having a 50th anniversary dinner at the next table stroked out.  Fortunately one of the servers at this restaurant (Croakers - an unfortunately apt name) had EMT training and the guy started breathing again before the ambulance ride. You can never tell how long this ride we are all on will last!

A full week with my Roanoke friend of 32 years, Sue (or periodically Suzie), was the intent.  Found that Suzie lives in paradise.  Beautiful weather, beautiful sunsets, and wonderful friends at Treasure Beach. A great time.  The hardest part of living in Treasure Beach is stopping for people in crosswalks.

A little fun with the photoedit program Snapfish below.

Friends on the beach 

A supporter of the now president elect. Although we were 20 feet away, we all ended up singing a vintage song together - might have been Del Shannon's Little Runaway.  Might not. Fun though.  The election came and went as well all know. I've interacted with good folks on both sides of that fence, and remain positive that there is hope for the future. Enough said.

Sue & friend Scottish Margaret on a boat we took out from her boat club.  Take any boat you want - nice!

Went to the Salvador Dali Museum in St. Petersburg.  The building is strikng!  Didn't know too much about Dali, other than the melting clocks in the surrealistic Persistence of Memory. Found that the guy had a whole lot of issues. A whole lot.

Suzie and her daughter Bri

Sue's mom and other daughter with spouse live not too far away in Dade City, so we journeyed there.

Went sailing on a friend of Sue's 

30ft Catalina.  An excellent 6 hours on the Gulf, about 10 miles out for much of it.

Captain Jerry let me take the helm going under the Cory Draw Bridge - and beyond.  Really awesome!

Dancing could have been involved while at Treasure Beach - I'm told.  A little night life in the daytime, where the bands go from 1pm to 5, and then again 6 till late.  Very nice to hear live music while I'm still awake!  This is a little 'Where's Waldo' shot.  I'm in there somewhere dancing with short Margaret.

Had a surprise visitor while at Treasure Beach. Pam drove up from Key West. Sue, Pam and I spent a long, great night recalling times past. We noted that one's true friends can usually be counted on one hand.  These ladies are two of them.

Watched the Cubs take the World Series.  Couldn't have been a better contest! Late night/early morning phone call in the 10th inning with diehard Roanoke Cubs fan Pam, another finger on that hand of friendship. 

After the great week with Sue and company at Treasure Island, I journeyed down the coast to sister and brother-in-law Marilyn and Peter's house in Naples.  Left the camper across the alley and somehow dodged the Naple's zoning laws.

Spent equal time at Marilyn and Peter's lake house.

Threading a needle on the pontoon boat with a friend between two lakes. 

George unchained at my sister's house.  I didn't let him do too much of this.  Don't want him to get freedom ideas. I think that George's allegiance transferred to my sister due to her excellent vegetable pantry and attention.   

A great dinner and a great Floridian view with a group of M&P's friends. Hadn't had mushrooms for 3 months - most excellent along with the grilled steak! 

Made a donation to the Indian Nation at the casino in Immokalee. Disappointed there was no craps table, where I could have donated more. 

The beach in Naples.  Rode my bike back and forth. Worked well.

Reflections on my trip are starting as the sun begins to set on my Naples segment.  I've been on the road 3.5 months since the Roanoke departure on August 5th. There are only 2 weeks before I'm back in Roanoke. I tell people it's like that bowl of soup that is so good you want to eat it quickly but never want to see the bottom of the bowl.  It's been exactly like that.

This trip idea started as I recovered from back surgery and contemplated retirement. I came upon distance as the way to effectively separate myself from the rich and rewarding work life I've had for 40 years.  It has worked.  I continue to have a closeness and great regard for my work environment and all my friends in it, but don't feel the magnetic pull. It's quite comfortable, really.  Knowing that these four months are much different than the day-to-day Roanoke time to come, I still feel that the spirit of independence and work/play time that I've achieved here can continue.  That is also a quite comfortable feeling.

While still on this journey, time with friends, time with family, and time by myself continue to be a part of it. The first 3 weeks of 'alone' time was bracketed with Indy family and Oregon family.  I was back on my own in California, with the trip stretching through Arizona, Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi and Georgia all the way to Florida. From Florida back to Roanoke is devoted to dear friends and family.  I look forward to this part, but I will miss the alone days. I hadn't thought that that time would be so valuable.  The sense of adventure has been exhilarating, with my compass bearing turning as I felt the inclination.  I've explored a vast expanse of America on my own terms, and have become much richer in the process. I wished to share much of it with the people I know and love. Writing this blog, the surface-skimming, abbreviated conduit that it is, has been an attempt to do so.  It also serves as my memory of what has been, which may be the most important thing of all.

Some may say "What's this waxing-philosophic bullshit you laying on me brother?!"  A most accurate observation, to which I extend my apologies.

Anyway, thanks once again for Rolling with me!  Till later,
Take care,
DDP