Meditative Interlude

While walking on the boardwalk yesterday we were the discussing the not original idea of running into someone you know when you are in a strange place. Since I am a firm believer in the concept of an n-dimensional multiverse (in which everything that did or could have happened, everything that is happening now or could be happening, and everything that will happen or might happen is actually simultaneously happening in every moment), I was therefore forced to conclude that I have already run into everyone I had ever known on this very boardwalk. As Kant laboriously pointed out, the perception of time and space is a function of human consciousness rather than a function of reality itself. Our path from birth to death is merely a continuous set of possible moments required by the immutable yet ultimately illusory laws that govern the physical shell of our bodies. It would be nice to be transcendent but it's time to do the laundry. Ha!

-Gerry

Surf-n-Safari

Forget the Museum of Natural History. When I'm in the mood for nuzzling a full-grown lion, I head straight for the Safari Motel in Ocean City, Md. This beauty is perched on a stand right over the lobby. We didn't even notice it for the first day since the lobby, like everything else in this small friendly motel nestled in high-rent oceanfront property, is tiny and cozy. The safari motif is evident every where and would be on the hairy edge of over-the-top were it not

for the harmonious and expected marriage of shore and kitsch. Hell, there's a food stand on the boardwalk here named Johnny Polock's. Hello, John Waters.

The Safari is a family run operation. From what I can ascertain, there are two sons in their thirties and a mother and father. They have an accent that is vaguely Eastern European or, I should say, east of Eastern European but, after the break-up of the Soviet Union, I hesitate to suggest a country because I don't want to be in the uncomfortable position of suggesting, for example, that a Belorussian is Georgian or vice versa. People get understandably touchy about those sorts of things.

The sons run the front desk during the day and the parents guard the small lobby like two thirds of Cerberus from their matching armchairs for much of the evening. There's only one way in and one way out of the Safari Motel and no way to pass their scrutiny even when the dad is in a snoring doze. One eye will partially part to identify you as a paying guest and then close again. The Safari Wifi (or Sawifi as I like to call it) here is password protected (as we found out after we checked in, of course) and when I asked the father about it, he couldn't find the info sheet at first but later, when we where returning from third floor deck (aka smoking lounge) he had a hand written password for me. I asked if the network was named 'Ocean', which I had noticed earlier on the network scan from my laptop and the mom says "Of course! What else?" Ha!

Safari Motel

From Near Disaster to Paradise

Every picture has a context. In order to understand this one, I'll need to provide that context. Since we had the Eurovan packed with everything we owned, when we had to switch to the rental car we wanted to take as much as possible with us. Not that we didn't trust the dealership, which is big, modern, and clean. It's just that we had lot's of electronics (cameras, laptops, etc.) and lot's of personal stuff like passports, checkbooks, and other stuff we don't like to let out of our sight. Plus clothes and toiletries and Otis and Otis supplies like timothy hay and kibble and bedding and...well. you get the picture. So we're packed into a rental Hyundai Accent the size of a roller-skate and we have to move all that stuff in and out of every motel room every time we check-in and every time we leave. So imagine the look on the desk clerk's face at the Econolodge in Hagerstown last night when I check in for one night and I look like I'm moving the luggage for an extended European vacation. Plus I'm using the bellhop cart in the picture with these huge brass tubes and a finial that looks like it's from the glory days of the Austro-Hungarian empire. Anyway, this morning I load up the bellhop cart and position it outside the front door of the motel, hand Wendy the room key to return to desk and go to get the car which is parked only about twenty feet away. As I am starting the car, something catches my eye in the rear view mirror and I panic as I realize it's the bellhop cart rolling away down a small incline. My panic increasing as it narrowly misses a parked car and starts heading for a drainage ditch. Mind you, Otis is aboard for the ride since his pet carrier is wedged between the two duffel bags on the floor of the cart. Luckily, the cart did not reach dangerous velocity and came to rest against a curb with a gentle thump. Still, I ran to check Otis and, of course, he merely gave me his usual 'Time for Carrots Already?" look. Near disaster averted.

The dealership (Sharrett's Volkswagen-Subaru in Hagerstown) is ripping open the engine on the Eurovan today to see what's going on in there. They think it's a cylinder head or something in the valve train so major surgery is probably in order. Hey, with the warranty, it will be like getting a new engine for free. Not like I need to be anywhere.

Since we had time to kill (at least a few days) we booked a room at a pet friendly ocean-front motel in Ocean City and drove back to the coast. It's another beautiful day here and it's real quiet and not crowded because it's off-season. Still, it's in the mid 60s and partly sunny. Might even get a beach day in tomorrow.

On the way over we stopped at Unicorn Books (Used and Rare) on Maryland 50 which I had noticed we had trucked over to Assateague last Saturday. I was looking for an used copy of the unabridged Don Quixote (did I mention I have time on my hands but the guy was sold out. Imagine that. He said he had a run on it lately. I said that's a good sign for America. We wound up buying paperbacks of Jane Eyre, The Wapshot Chronicles (Cheever), Love in the Time of Cholera, Atlantis Found (Cussler) and a 1931 Hardcopy of Buddenbrooks by Thomas Mann (Michaelian I will be mailing that when I done.) The proprietor added up the total on an antique

adding machine and rung us out on an antique cash register. Pretty cool.

Unicorn Books

-Gerry

Wendy's photos to follow but the Wifi scene hear is a little sketchy so we'll

have to see.

Incident at Cunningham Falls

This time of year, the drive to Cunningham Falls on Maryland

State Road 15 climbs and twists through the the autumnal reds

and yellows until an unexpected summit is reached and a quick

descent follows with more twisty turns that are forewarned with

flashing yellow lights and a diamond sign with a squiggly black

arrow. Just past the summit there's an immediate turn into a

parking lot which is marked with a blue handicap sign. I pulled

in thinking it was the general parking to the falls only to be bemused

that all of the parking spots were designated as handicapped. It

was only later, while sitting on a rock beside the regular boardwalk

below the falls that I realized that the second boardwalk across the

rocky stream must have originated at the handicap only parking lot.

That realization came slowly as I observed a family group consisting

of a gangly boy of about ten and a soccer mom pushing a large three

wheeled blue stroller. The woman, whose pale face was pleasantly

rodential, sat on a bench and leaned her head back on the fencing at

the end of the boardwalk with quiet resignation while her son silently

hopped and navigated through the rocky stream-side ground. It was

then that I noticed her special child. I could only see his face through the

slats of the boardwalk face but what a beautiful blue-eyed face he had

and he seemed so content to stare at the high cirrus clouds that were visible

in the leafy gaps of the high red and yellow trees. I wanted so much

to be able to lay my hand on that boy's head and somehow allow him

to rise up from that stroller and run among the rocks laughing with his brother.

He just stared at the sky and yawned contentedly. Eventually his mother

rose, reversed the stroller and the family disappeared down the boardwalk

into the foilage. Eventually, I too rose and backtracked the trail to the parking lot.

-Gerry

Hanging at Terrapin Station

Yup, still in Maryland. Go Terps! Life is good.

On our first day in temporary stasis, we decided to keep the road trip spirit alive and, following the advice of some gum-smacking twenty something at the rental car counter, took a trek over to Assateague State Park. Since we are stuck in Hagerstown, this basically meant traversing the entire state of Maryland from west to east and back again in our rented Hyundai sub-compact. The impetus for what otherwise might seem like an insane idea was the mention that Assateague Island has the only population of wild ponies on the east coast. I could hear the theme song from Chariots of Fire playing in my mind as I envisioned herds of wild ponies frolicking in the surf. So the idea of a three hour drive seemed trivial in the face of such a wondrous thing to see. Well, Assateague in indeed a wondrous place, a beautiful coastal island just south of Ocean City. But we only saw two ponies in the distance from the causeway. They appeared to be standing forelock deep in a salt marsh. So ponies frolicking in the surf? Denied. Lovely walk along a beautiful pristine beach on a sunny autumn day? Win! The drive was uneventful. I will say Maryland has a great highway system. Plenty of state troopers too.

Assateague State Park

Today we went to Cunningham Falls State Park, which is about 10 miles east of Hagerstown. Cunningham Falls is the highest waterfall in Maryland at 87 feet. It was a gorgeous autumn day here with high cirrus clouds and the autumnal colors were at their peak. It felt good to get out into the woods and do some light hiking. The falls themselves are not exactly breathtaking, more like some individual rivulets coursing down a cliff face. The park itself is really scenic and we saw a great blue heron standing beside a small lake, a small lake that was reflecting the colors of the trees. Nice.

Cunningham Falls State Park

Tomorrow we will be checking out of the Super 8 and hoping to hear good news from the Volkswagen dealer. Since I have a super-duper extended warranty with no deductible, I am not really worried about it except for the delay in getting south. On the other hand, since we have no plan, it's not like we need to be somewhere. If we are delayed further, we are going to find a pet friendly motel since neither of us has been completely comfortable with Otis smuggling. Since we can't leave Otis in the room, we've been putting his entire pet carrier inside my duffel bag and sneaking in and out through the side door. I usually send Wendy in first and when she gives me the high sign that the coast is clear, I hurry down the hallway to our room. Silly right? I am not even sure if 'No Pets' refers to rabbits since the set of humans traveling around the states with a rabbit has to be a rather small set indeed. I really just don't want to get yelled at. Ha! It's the Man, man.

Wendy took a bunch of photographs, so she'll follow up with a second post.

-Gerry

Astral Nomads Down

We regret to inform you that our first day on the road has provided some unexpected adventure. After stopping for gas (petrol) at the Sheetz in Hagerstown, Maryland, the Eurovan would not start. The Eurovan (who we have named Astrid) is currently at a Volkswagen dealership but they cannot work on her until Monday. AAA and the extended warranty will cover the costs so that's not really a concern at this point. So we rented a car and are hunkered down at a Super 8 motel. You may call this disaster; we call it adventure. Tomorrow and Sunday we plan to discover what Hagerstown and the local environs have to offer. We will report back on what we find. The people of Maryland thus far have been really nice which is always a shock when you're from the New York metropolitan area, where we are mostly validated by rudeness.

Otis is hunkered down after we smuggled him in the side door because this exquisite road house had a big 'No Pets' sign posted at the front desk. Luckily, a rabbit is pretty easy to hide. If you read this post, please keep that information to yourself. Ha!

BTW, we're still laughing.

-Gerry

Just About Packed and Ready

Well, well, well. Finally about to hit the road. Where 'about' means tomorrow morning. Yippee!

The Eurovan is pretty much packed with the essentials.

The top two pictures show the kitchen drawer and kitchen cabinet, respectively, which now contain all of the items listed in the Camp Kitchen section of the Expedition Manifest (which follows at the end of this post.) We still have two small storage cabinets to the rear of the kitchen drawer (where the goddess is perched) that are empty as yet. We will probably use them for dry goods food and long term bathroom and kitchen supplies. The blue rectangle in the top picture is our portable screen house. It's big, bulky, and pretty heavy. I was going to strap in into the storage bin over the cab, but there was no good way to lock it up there, so we decided to lay it on the floor behind the front seat. I took the mattresses off of the upper sleeping berth (which we will not need) and laid the unrolled sleeping bags, sheets, and wool blanket flat up there.

The bottom picture shows the bikes and chairs swung away from the tailgate on a Yakima Swing Daddy hitch-mounted bike rack. At the center above the rear bumper is a storage nook that is packed with camping gear that we won't need to get to while driving. There's another storage area immediately to its right that is accessible from the top deck as well as a storage bin beneath the rear seat. The sliding door up and to the left is the wardrobe which has towels and a couple backpacks in it.

Our clothes duffel bags we plan on strapping to the rear seat. My guitar will lay on the rear storage deck and the other backpacks will go either in the wardrobe or on the floor. Otis will ride in his pet carrier facing forward just behind the front seats. His pen, which folds like an accordion, I will strap in with the table which is stored behind the driver's seat. The Eurovan has two tables which clip into the edge of the kitchen deck and have a single leg that swings down for support. The table can be mounted anywhere along the kitchen deck so you can use it from the rear seat or from the front seats (which swivel to face backwards). We decided to leave one table behind so that Otis's pen can be stored unobtrusively. That should be fine unless we get on each others' nerves to the point where we are forced to dine separately. Four feet apart.

I tested the propane burners and they fired right up and burned clean (Yeah GoWesty!). The Eurovan has a propane furnace with a thermostat but my travel plans do not include going anywhere near where I am going to need that. The fridge runs on AC, DC, and propane. I will start that up tomorrow to keep our yogurt and beverages cool while traveling using DC. I emptied the wastewater and will not fill the clean water until we get to a camp-site to cut down on travel weight.

We are heading due south in the morning, probably just over-nighting at motels and/or Walmart's (there is free over-night RV parking at every Walmart in the United States) until we get somewhere where it's warm enough to camp. We're going to bump around Florida for a bit, hit Everglades National Park and then head west when we get around to it.

Now, the moment you've all be waiting for............

Expedition Manifest:

• LL Bean King Pine 6 Dome Tent and footprint
• SwissGear 10' by 10' portable screen house
• 12' ratcheting tie-downs
• Coleman Montauk 10/30 sleeping bags
• Woolrich wool blanket
• 2 pillows
• 2 Full Flat Sheets
• 1 Beach Blanket
• 2 Beach Towels
• 2 Body Towels
• 2 Hand Towels
• Igloo 17qt. cooler
• Cannondale Bad Boy Ultra retrofitted with DT Swiss 26" wheelset
• Trek WSD 6 series MTB
• 2 Faulkner Mesh Gravity Recliners
• Washburn Rover travel guitar (blue)
• Hohner Piedmont Blues Harmonicas (D,G,B-flat,E,F,A,C)
• Hohner Special 20 Marine Band (A,C,E,D,G)
• Coleman LED Quad Lantern
• Vanguard Alta Pro 254ct camera tripod
• Blackburn AirTower1 bicycle pump

• WorkForce 16" tool box:

1. electrical tape
2. assorted phillips- and flat-head screwdrivers
3. standard pliers
4. needlenose pliers
5. medium vise grips
6. tape measure
7. duct tape
8. pruning shears
9. kitchen shears
10. box cutter
11. hatchet
12. ball peen hammer

• 17" Macbook Pro
• Droid 2 (Verizon)
• 120GB iPod
• Bose rechargeable iPod player
• 350GB Passport external drive
• 500GB Passport external drive

• Rear Storage Nooks:

1. 2 Addidas Aluminium cycling water bottles
2. Northface fanny pack:
3. 26" MTB tube (presta valve)
4. CO2 tire inflater
5. 9 CO2 cartridges
6. Multi-size allen wrench set
7. Tube patch kit
8. Swiss Army Knife
9. 4 Tire Levers
10. 1 Panaracer Fire XCPro folding tires (26")
11. 4 toe clip straps
12. 2 26" MTB tubes (presta valve)
13. Hohner Special 20 Marine Band (Keys: C, D, E, F, G, A, B-flat)
14. Motorola Walkie-Talkies w/charging base
15. Bell MTB Helmet
16. Giro LiveStrong MTB Helmet
17. 2 pair Pearl Izumi fingerless cycling gloves
18. Bolle prescription cycling glasses
19. Swift binoculars Plover #7028 8x,40

• Northface Jester Backpack (green & grey)

1. Tire pressure gauge
2. 4 H. Upmann Corona Majors
3. Bjarne tobacco pipe + 4oz. Cherry Bomb pipe tobacco
4. Acoustic Guitar Complete Lesson Series
5. Guitar Fretboard Workbook
6. Guide to Playing Harmonica (for Wailin' Wendy Weigands)
7. Howl - Ginsberg (Pocket Poets Edition)
8. Remembrance of Things Past (Moncrieff 2 volumes)
9. Borges - Collected Fictions
10. National Audubon Field Guide to North American Birds
11. National Audubon Field Guide to North American Reptiles & Amphibians
12. National Audubon Field Guide to North American Insects & Spiders
13. National Audubon Field Guide to North American Mammals (Bears!)

• High Sierra Backpack (black, corporate swag branded Celgene):

1. Dell Latitude D530 laptop and power supply
2. 2GB thumbdrive
3. Logitech M305 wireless mouse
4. Sony MDR-642 headphones
5. TI-1706SV solar powered calculator
6. Checkbook
7. Moleskin 4"x6" notebook
8. 4 blank journals
9. 2 fountain pens
10. 1 bottle ink
11. 5 Pilot G2 gel pens (assorted colors)
12. 1 Pentel mechanical pencil
13. Samsung N150 Netbook (2G RAM) and power supply
14. 1 book blank checks
15. 1 box envelopes

• Camp Kitchen (in Eurovan Cabinets):

1. Le Creuset 2.75qt Dutch Oven
2. Stansport Enamel Tableware (4 plates, 4 bowls, 4 cups)
3. Wooden salad bowl
4. Tea Kettle
5. Tea pot
6. GSI 32oz French Coffee Press
7. 4 anodized aluminium drinking glasses
8. Rubbermaid 1 gallon cold beverage jug
9. 8"x12" plastic cutting board
10. OXO 12" tongs
11. Grill basket
12. Vegetable steamer
13. Whisk
14. Kitchen Shears
15. Vegetable peeler
16. 2 Steak knives
17. 12" Henkel Chef's knife
18. Henkel paring knife
19. Bamboo skewers
20. 4qt Stockpot w/lid
21. 3 mixing bowls
22. 10" Cast Iron Skillet
23. Dishwashing Liquid
24. 1 Sponge

• Gerry's Duffle Bag:

1. 3 pairs Cargo Shorts
2. 2 long sleeve Addidas shirts
3. 1 pair Levis Jeans
4. 1 pair Columbia camp pants
5. 6 pairs Body Glove briefs
6. 2 pairs swimming trunks
7. 1 pair Oakley flip-flops
8. 1 pair Merrel Gore-tex trail shoes
9. 1 pair Hi-Tech hiking boots
10. 4 colored T-Shirts
11. 1 NorthFace fleece Jacket
12. 1 Marmot hooded rain-jacket
13. 1 Under Amour scully cap
14. 1 Painter Lizard baseball cap
15. 5 pairs Under Armour short socks
16. 1 pair long rag socks
17. 1 Patagonia polypro long sleeve shirt
18. 1 blue denim workshirt
19. 1 pair Descente cycling shorts
20. 1 pair Pearl Izumi cycling tights
21. 1 Cannodale sleeveless cycling jersey
22. 1 Troy Lewis long sleeve cycling jersey

• Gerry's Toilet Kit (dark blue Northface Jester Backpack):

1. 5 disposable razors
2. 1 Tube shaving cream
3. 1 Mennen Speed Stick
4. 1 British Sterling aftershave
5. 1 tube topical cortisone
6. 1 battery operated electric tooth brush
7. 1 Conair electric hair clippers
8. 1 tube Tom's of Maine toothpaster

• Otis's Corner:

1. 1 16" x 9" Pet Carrier (aka Otis's Rockin' Road Hutch)
2. Timothy Grass w/Marigold
3. Bedding
4. Carrier Liners
5. Folding Metal Small Animal Pen
6. Kibble

• Wendy's Duffle Bag:

1. NorthFace fleece jacket
2. Denim Jacket
3. 2 cycling shorts
4. 1 long cycling tights
5. 3 sleeveless cycling jerseys
6. 3 long sleeve cycling jerseys
7. 3 pairs shorts
8. 3 sleeveless tops
9. 3 T-shirts
10. 1 Sweatshirt
11. 1 Cotton skirt
12. 1 silk robe
13. 1 dressy top
14. 5 pairs socks
15. 8 sets of unmentionables
16. 1 pair flip-flops
17. 2 pairs sandals
18. 2 pairs sneakers
19. Hiking Boots

• Wendy's extras:

1. Tarot Cards
2. Journal
3. Runes, Candles. Goblet. Magick Tools
4. Dragon Tapestry
5. Babe
6. Dags
7. Crayons, Colored Pencils, Drawing Paper
8. Frisbee
9. Prayer Beads
10. Magic Stone

• Wendy's Toiletry Bag:

1. FaceWash
2. Shampoo/Bodywash
3. Moisturizer
4. Masacra, Lipstick
5. Eye Shadow
6. Sunblock
7. Razors, Shaving cream
8. Nail Clippers
9. Nail Polish
10. Nail Polish Remover
11. Q-tips
12. Deodorant