Fare thee well, Mary Land

Done laid around, done stayed around
This old town too long;
Summer's almost gone, winter's coming on.

Done laid around, done stayed around
This old town too long;
And it seems like I've got to travel on,
And it seems like I've got to travel on.*

Even in my acceptance of expecting the unexpected and in my wildest paranoid daydreams did I ever expect to spend almost a month headquartered in western Maryland. In retrospect, however, I can only describe the outcome, despite being, perhaps, suboptimal relative to my initial Astral Nomads fantasies, as delightful. In a sure sign that we have exhausted the sightseeing cornucopia of local and near-local attractions, yesterday we went to the Hagerstown Premium Outlet center. If there's something that Wendy and I both abhor, it's shopping. But Wendy had lost her Opium, we think in the 'Otis on the Rolling Austro-Hungarian Bellhop Cart' episode and I needed some aftershave. Ergo, Perfumania! We rode around on some very rural roads (yes, there were cows) first so it wasn't a total loss. But I think we're both getting ready to say good-bye (and thanks!) to western Maryland.

The amount of sites to see, most within a relatively short drive, is truly staggering (here's a little recap, including shameless self-promotional links to the writing they inspired, well only a little shameful. Ha! ):

• Gettysburg National Battlefiled
• Harper's Ferry National Historic Site

Harper's Ferry, 2010

• Cunningham State Park
• Catoctin Mountain National Forest

Wolf Rock, 2010

Hogg Rock Vista, 2010

• Antietam National Battlefield

Zouave Ghost at Antietam Creek, 2010

Snavely Ford Trail, Antietam Creek, 2010

• Chesapeake & Ohio Canal Park
• Crystal Grottoes Caverns
• Ocean City
• Assateague National Wildlife Preserve

Assateague, 2010

• Assateague State Park
• Historic Downtown Hagerstown
• Historic Downtown Frederick
• Washington DC

Brunswick Line, 2010

• Washington Monument State Park
• Appalachian Trail

It's almost seems like a lifetime ago that I pulled off of I-81 for some gas (petrol) and the Eurovan wouldn't start up again. I finally got news yesterday that the replacement engine is in and running. I could have picked it up this morning but I asked the dealership to hold it and test it for one more day. Last thing I want to do is find out as much about Roanoke VA as I now know about Hagerstown MD. No knock against Roanoke, but we want to get to Florida to cook a turkey for Wendy's dad by next Thursday. The repairs would have been done earlier but the engine sat on the parts supplier's shipping dock for almost a week due to some paperwork snafu. Insurance companies are highly competent when it comes to collecting premiums, not so much when it comes to processing claims.

So today we're just going to chill and get ready to hit the road again tomorrow morning. We're going downtown to do a last load of laundry at the Universal Laundry and catch some Afghani Kabobs at this Afghani restaurant that we've been meaning to go to but just haven't been able to squeeze in. In terms of downtown dining in Hagerstown: Rocky's Pizza (incredible sauce, these guys must be from the NYC metro area), Bulls & Bears (American bistro with good food and a chubby chef), and Schmankerl Stube (very authentic Bavarian) are all very good.

Seems almost weird to have mixed emotions about leaving Hagerstown. The place kinda grows on you. But, for the Astral Nomads, it's time to travel on....................

-Gerry

(if you're jonesing for Wendy's photos, she publishes the ones's that did not get on this blog at:

Shuttering Heights )

*Gotta Travel On (Paul Clayton) Dylan's version in on Self Portrait

Taking the Day Off

After yesterday's great leg-wearying amble through DC and, given today's cool and rainy weather at our temporary headquarters in Hagerstown, we decided to take the day off from adventuring. Even Otis has hunkered down for an afternoon doze. I'm curled up with Buddenbrooks and Wendy with Jane Eyre. The menu for tonight: Falafel, Hummus, Pita, and Salad, served Nomad style. Tomorrow, if the weather breaks, we'll probably head up to Gettysburg for some historical meandering.

-Gerry

Astral Nomads Do DC

For today's adventure, we decided to take a train from Frederick, Maryland to Washington DC. Since the MARC Brunswick line to/from Frederick is strictly a commuter line, there are only three trains in and three trains out and they only run Monday through Friday. That meant that the latest train in that we could take was 7.10am. Since Frederick is a little than 20 miles by car from Hagerstown, that meant we were up at 5.00am and on the road by 5.45am. It was cold and I had to scrape my car windows free of frost with my Borders Reward card. Frankly, it's the only moment of value that that card has ever provided me.

The train left on time and, while coursing through the darkened woods and passed frosted cornfields filled with grazing deer, the sense of being in a story by Tolstoy began to filter through my mind. At one point we passed a rocky glen filled with trees in muted autumn colors through which drifted mists from a small mountain lake. Perfect. After about an hour and a half journey, the train arrived at Washington's magnificent Union Station.

Union Station

As we were leaving the station, Wendy was stopped and interviewed by a Japanese television crew that was getting opinions off the street regarding yesterday's mid-term elections. She looked fantastic and gave a damn good account of herself. I hope to find it on youtube some day. At the very least, I expect her to become a Japanese TV icon. Wendy-San rocks!

From Union Station, we walked to the Washington Monument, which was our number priority for this short day trip because, while we have both been to Washington multiple times, neither of us has ever been in the Washington Monument. The ticketing scheme there is a little bizarre. The tickets are free and are given out, marked for a given half-hour period, at a small stone kiosk down the knoll about 200 yards from the monument. I asked the ticket agent for 2 tickets and he slide open a transfer box (like they use in banks) and just stared at me. Since the tickets were free, I was confused so I asked "Am I supposed to put something in there?" He just looked at me and said "No, you are supposed to take the tickets". I was standing so close that I did see the tickets against the back wall of the transfer box.

We waited almost an hour with our 10.30 ticket and at 10.17, they still hadn't taken all of the 10.00 ticket holders. At 10.37, they announced that the elevator had broken down and it would take at least another hour before they would know if the elevator would be running again at all that day, so we decided to bag our initial attempt at the Washington Monument. Astral Nomads, denied!

Washington Monument

We grabbed a quick bite to eat at the Museum of American History and then headed over to the National Gallery of Art. There was a couple of interesting special exhibits there: Prints of Edvard Munch and Pre-Raphaelite Painting and photography. The Munch exhibit showed how Munch would evolve a lithograph by adding color and texture until he got the effect he was after. Best Munch quote from the exhibit materials "The angels over my crib were Sickness, Insanity, and Death." Ha! Now I understand The Scream. The Pre-Raphaelite exhibit was light on painting and heavy on photography, lots of Julia Margaret Cameron and some Charles Dodgson (better known as Lewis Carroll) whose penchant for photographing children is well known.

National Gallery of Art

Since we did not want to leave Otis alone in his pet carrier for too long, we caught a 3.50 train back to Frederick. Should have left him alone longer. The little pest keeps trying to bite my power cord.

-Gerry

(Wendy's photos to follow in the next post. I know that's the main attraction but she's still uploading)

Crisp Day on the Chesapeake & Ohio Canal

It was a beautiful fall day here in western Maryland, so we drove over to Williamsport from Hagerstown and took a nice long walk on the old towpath of the former Chesapeake and Ohio canal. The canal original went from Cumberland, Maryland to Washington DC. The sun was bright but the air was crisp and the woods smelled fantastic. Wendy had the opportunity to take almost 100 pictures and here's some of my favorites:

Chesapeake & Ohio Canal

We also saw a church named the 'Holy Ghost Explosion Ministries'. I'm half-tempted to catch a service this weekend. Maybe the Rev. Les Clipp could exorcize my atheism. We took a picture of the sign but we're saving it for the next sign collage post.

We had lunch at Turtle's Subs in downtown Hagerstown. They added their own confusing twist to the American linguistic kerfuffle over what to call a long sandwich. Since we're from northern New Jersey, we call them 'subs', short for submarine sandwich, regardless of whether the filling is hot or cold. (As opposed to Hoagies in southern New Jersey, Grinders and Po'Boys elsewhere, etc.) Well, at Turtles Subs, only the hot sandwiches are called subs and the cold sandwiches are called hoagies. Confusing indeed. When we ordered, Wendy asked for Thousand Island dressing on her turkey hoagie and the proprietor said "You do realize this is a hoagie, right?". We weren't really sure what he meant so we just said "Sure". The hoagies were really good and topped with sweet pickled peppers, a first for me. As we were ready to leave, I told the proprietor that the pickled peppers were fantastic and he looked over his glassed and asked: "You know where you can get those those pickled peppers?" I said "No, where?". He said "Only right here. I make 'em ma-self". Ha!

Turtle's Sub

Tomorrow we're going to go by train from Frederick, Maryland to Washington D.C.

-Gerry (text) and Wendy (photos)

Bloodied and Bowed but Undaunted

Oh! Mama! Can this really be the end?

To be stuck inside of Mobile with the Memphis blues again*

We are back in the apparently inescapable vortex known as Hagerstown, MD. It's actually starting to feel like home. We pretty much know where everything is and there's a half-way decent chance the roadwork on the Dual Highway will be complete before we leave. I think I could drive from here to the coast and back with my eyes closed. This is all very surreal. Almost Twilight-Zonish. But, of course, I kept saying that the plan was to have no plan. Boy, did the universe take that seriously. I must have double-crossed myself by actually planning to drive to Florida. Ha!

The best-laid schemes o' mice an 'men
Gang aft agley**

Had a great week in OC, the mercury hit almost 80F a few days and there's nothing bad about watching the sun rise over the ocean every morning. Wendy even learned to play pinball. I couldn't believe she had never played before. There was a machine in every luncheonette when we were growing up, but they were usually crowded by slick-back dudes in leather jackets and silk socks so I can see why she never tried.

Pinball Wizard***

Here's the story on the Eurovan. The warranty company decided to have the dealership replace the entire engine. The new engine is used but will still carry the warranty and will be installed at no cost to us. Plus, they're gonna pony up for the rental car. The only issue is time. The engine is being shipped and then it has to be installed so we're gonna be here at least until Friday. We are already lining up the list of day trips so we can continue the full Astral Nomads adventure. There's Gettysburg for starters. I am not a huge American History buff but, since we're here, what the heck. Then there's the George Washington National Forest just over the border in West Virginia that is calling out for some hiking. The Astral Nomads are nature lovers. Next, we want to see if there is train service to Washington D.C.. That would be a cool ride. If not, we'll drive to the closest Metro Station and head in from there. Hankering for some Mall and Smithsonian action.

We're at a pet friendly Econolodge so Otis wants you to know that he's doing fine. See the photo (above) of the young rapscallion stretching for a snacky-snack.

BIG shout-out to my friend Bill Haddon who claims to read this blog religiously.

-Gerry

*Dylan (of course)

**Robert Burns

***Who else?