Category: Travel Preparation

Traveling Realities

· 2 Comments ·

“Think of what I’m saying. We can work it out and get it straight, or say good night.” We Can Work It Out – The Beatles 

This will be a quick one but it’s something I wanted to share. Not everything is perfect and I like for people to know the not so happy things as well as the happy ones. That is what keeps things real and genuine.

Traveling obviously is a big adventure and there are thrills that are beyond the norm so of course that’s why we travel. However, traveling is not without some sort of difficulty. Unless you’re traveling alone you are bound to have mishaps or unhappy moments with those who accompany you.

Let me first explain the relationships and then I will explain the living arrangement during our time here in Washington. My sister and brother, by blood, are my half siblings. We share the same mother but not the same father. However, there has never been a time where I have felt them to be a, “half” sibling. We are all a family and all I have ever known are them. My father IS their father and he is all they have ever known of a father. They were very young when he came into their lives. With that being said, my brother and sister connected with their biological father’s family around 2008. It opened up a whole new world for them and they connected with a family they never knew. They gained so much from that experience, especially my sister.

My sister moved here to Aberdeen (my mother’s hometown), and currently stays with her uncle until she can become settled. He has been kind enough to let me and my mother and father stay here during our visit. Altogether, there are 8 people who are currently living in Ken’s house. LOL that’s A LOT of people: Myself, my mom, my dad, Evy (my sister), Ken, Rayann (my niece), Hayley (my niece) and Ken’s daughter Kaycee. There are four bedrooms but the house, for the most part is quite small (I’m not sure of the square footage) and there is only one usable shower. So I hope you can kind of visualize what we’re working with.

This leads me to the “mishaps” and “unhappy moments”. I would say that it was difficult traveling with my mom and dad, but that would be a lie. I love them immensely and they really don’t do anything that would warrant too much irritation or frustration. I, on the other hand can be a “pill” (southern term for cranky or unhappy). I can’t really tell you why, but I suppose certain things pick at my nerves or have a tendency to annoy me? So I will say that some of that frustration is due on my part. However, I realize when I’m doing it so I attempt to bring my irritations to halt and commence to be easier to get along with. But this is all normal and if you’re expecting to get along with everyone you’re traveling with all the time I think you may be living in a dream world, or you’ve just been really lucky.

When we initially arrived at Ken’s house, there were many stresses that each person in the house was facing (minus us). My sister, Ken Hayley and Rayann were all finishing up the end of their school semester; Rayann with High School, Evy and Kenny with college and Hayley with 9th grade. Emotions were high and adjusting to the housing dynamic was rough! I can tell you that some words were exchanged and tempers flared. You must also take into consideration that everyone in this family is HIGHLY opinionated. No one is leaving without stating their opinions. Myself included. 😉

It definitely took about 2 weeks to REALLY become adjusted with everything: the sleeping arrangements, social dynamic of the house, friends and family coming over and meeting them, functions etc etc. By the way, my sleeping arrangement is currently with 5 early twenties-ish British boys in a slightly small room. I’m talking about this band “One Direction”. They are currently the favorite band of my 14 yr old niece Hayley, of who’s room I’m currently inhabiting. They are literally ALL OVER her walls. They look at me every night as I go to sleep and I can’t help but feel a little…intruded on? They’re starring at me constantly. It’s so creepy.

I know everyone sees all of the really great and happy wonderful things that we’re doing and they ARE happy and wonderful! We’re having a blast, don’t get me wrong, but no travel is without some sort of discomfort or frustration. So we definitely have had our trials since we’ve been here but it worked itself out and everyone is good to go. 🙂

The Perfect Little Home

· Leave a comment ·

“You could travel the world but nothing comes close to the Golden Coast.” California Gurls – Katy Perry – feat. Snoop Dogg

I am in love! And we haven’t REALLY explored everywhere. But I must say that Northern California is beautiful!

Penryn is about 30 minutes northeast of Sacramento. The population is roughly  2700 and everyone seems very friendly. Bob and Glenda (our cousins we are staying with) have lived here since the 70’s and have really made an amazing home for themselves.

Glenda has around 30 chickens and owns two goats named, “Cookie” and “Oreo”. http://youtu.be/EKkZ8vdF42o

imageimage

If she had some ducks I would be in farm heaven (I think I may love animals more than the average person). I have developed a bond with Cookie and am just falling in love with her. Check out the video here:http://youtu.be/H4xgPI1PAVc

Besides my love for animals I have a deep, deep love for music. So imagine how my heart soared when I was introduced to their 1958 Seeburg jukebox.

imageimage

As you would guess, this jukebox is not filled with modern music, it is filled with oldies music. Now, depending on your generation the term, “oldies” may mean something completly different to you than it does to me. For me, and in this jukebox, the oldies consist of: Elvis, The Carpenters, Bill Hayley and His Comets, Brenda Lee, Bobby Darren, Perry Como and so many others. For me there is something so awesome about this! Maybe it’s nostalgia for the old soul in me or maybe it’s just something so different that I find it intriguing. Either way, I was thoroughly entertained and so we sat and listened. 🙂 http://youtu.be/eXGjynmEFV0

image

Something I wasn’t particularly shocked about, but did take notice of was the gas price difference.

image

This is California’s price and our’s is around $2.54. That’s quite a difference but it’s relative.

As if the animals and jukebox weren’t cool enough, Glenda and Bob had to go ahead and have a grove filled with orange, lemon, mandarine and cherry trees! The oranges and lemons should have been picked in December but since they hadn’t, we went ahead and picked what we could yesterday.

image

You’re wondering if they’re still good? YES! They were delicious! We’re going to make some lemonade today (mine with splenda).

*yawns* I’m still exhausted. When will that stop?

LOOK OUT CALIFORNIA here we come!

· 6 Comments ·

“Goodbye to all my friends at home, goodbye to people I’ve trusted.” Jet Airliner – Steve Miller Band

imageimage

We set off for what was an EXTREMELY smooth ride! Starting from the beginning, everything came into place and even though we were very tired, we were not letting that get us down. The weather was absolutely beautiful in North Carolina so it wasn’t hard to enjoy mother nature’s gift.

imageOur friends Beth and her husband Roy drove us to the airport and we couldn’t have been more thankful. For those of you who are not aware, Raleigh is about 3.5 hours from our home so it’s a bit of a stretch. So thank you Beth and Roy 🙂

We arrived a bit early at RDU. I should mention I was a bit taken aback by the complimentary luggage check-in that was stationed directly outside of the terminal. I thought, “Oh sweet! Delta is uping their checki-in game by making it faster.” We assumed they were employed by Delta and before we could even make a decision as to whether or not we would utilize that service, a gentleman came over and started check our luggage. So we just went with the flow and before you know it the guy says, “We are not employed by Delta. We are contracted to do this work.” Which then it dawned on me that they were looking for a tip. So the thought I came away with was how much and how fast things change or I must not notice a lot through my experiences. *note to self, notice your surroundings*

Security and Cary On was a bit wild. The line moved entirely too fast and, as usual, I always feel like I never know how they want me to go about this process; which items go in what containers etc. I began sympathizing with those individuals that feel the 360 x-ray machine (not sure of the term) is a bit invasive. Still, I would rather be invaded in that way than to be a victim from lack of security. So I’m appreciative.

image

After such stress we finally settled down for a nice lunch at one of the airport pubs. Our food was decent and we got out of there in great time.

Check out a little video update from the Minneapolis Airport: http://youtu.be/UGWn406plu8

image
Dad ordering some food from this cool techy restaurant

 

We had a 2.5 hour layover in Minneapolis. Our flight ended up changing and our arrival time into Sacramento went from 7:30 p.m. to 10:00 p.m.

image
Mom and dad trying to catch a nap on the plane

 

But as you can see we were super exhausted because in California it was 10:00 p.m. but in North Carolina it was 1:00 a.m.

Imagine our relief when we finally got to California! We were so tired but so happy to be here.

image
Baggage Claim in the Sacramento airport. How cool is this?

Our cousins, Bob and Glenda picked us up from the airport in the Nissan Quest we purchased from them. The weather was really cool, around 50 degrees which is extremely abnormal for this area of California.

By the time we actually went to bed it was around 1 a.m.

*yawns*

Two More Days

· 2 Comments ·

“You’re callin’ my name, but I gotta make it clear – I can’t say, baby, where I’ll be in a year.” Sweet Emotion – Aerosmith

Screen Shot 2015-05-11 at 11.53.57 PM

AIN’T THAT THE TRUTH! Wow! We’ve come a long way and now we’re coming up on Two more days to get everything together.

Things that have been settled:

  • Talked with Advisor and registered for fall classes
  • Paid bills
  • Stocked up on prescriptions
  • Graded projects
  • Purchased travel gear

Things I still have to do:

  1. Talk with our animal caretakers (prepping them for what to do)
  2. Settle some loose ends (medical and school stuff)
  3. Enter grades
  4. Clean
  5. Wash clothes
  6. Unload images off phone to computer
  7. Charge iProducts
  8. Pack

It feels like there are so many things to do. I’m having a hard time sleeping at night! The last two nights in specific I had a hard time falling asleep. I will say that there is an element of stress, apprehension, and nervousness to what I am feeling currently. Though, the overall feeling is very much excitement! If I can steal away a few minutes tomorrow I’m going to make a, “California Bound” playlist on Spotify. I WILL need something to listen to on the plane and on the ride to the airport! I’m seriously getting excited the more I think about actually being IN the vehicle driving to RDU.

Video Clips:

Hey I want you all to know that I will be linking video footage to this blog. You can click on the links and watch the videos on YouTube. They will be short little captures of what we’re currently doing and where we are. I will have one up on Thursday, May 14th (departure day) when we’re on the way to the airport. So check those out in addition to the blog!

It REALLY IS hard to leave your belongings and animals behind while you go off on a trip for two months. I think the older we get the more the feeling settles into you. Or maybe it’s just me?

What do you think? Could you, would you or HAVE you left your animals and belongings for two or more months to travel? (It kind of sounds like a Dr. Seuss rhyme). I want to hear your stories. Let me know in the comment section below. I’d like to know what gave you comfort, or what you told yourself to feel comfortable doing this. *LOL* I may be having a hard time with it.

KEEP CALM AND PACK ON! Haha! PRAY FOR ME!

Birthday Good-eez

· 3 Comments ·

“Now I’m ready to turn the page on yesterdays and forgive them. Now I’m willing to disengage to seize the day and move on.” Boom Shanka – 311

So my birthday was yesterday–I’ve still not completely digested that–and I just keep getting older. We don’t feel any different as humans when we have a birthday, right? That day feels just like the day before and no physical or mental change took place over night. So when do we transition? When does the major change of feeling happen for us? Well, for me I have noticed that mine happens in spurts throughout the course of my life. I NEVER feel my age. Sometimes when I meditate on it, I do not feel an age at all. I would say that I feel myself to be a certain age on certain days or months. Sometimes I feel like I am a woman of around 55, then some days I feel like I’m around 27 or 28 and then moving into feeling myself to be 31. Does anyone else feel this way?

I have to say that yesterday’s birthday went smoother than I would have imagined. You know, it really just happened this way because I was determined to have a fantastic day. I’m not very big on birthday’s–whether they be mine or someone else’s–but it ended up to be wonderful. The sky was beautiful and the temperature was perfect. With weather so perfect, it’s really hard to be angry, depressed or worried.

Birthday Goodies

Yesterday after class I just sat back and cruised home. I picked up a pizza from, “Frank’s” for myself and my mom and then some fried chicken for my dad. Banana Pudding was the dessert! YES! A THOUSAND TIMES YES! As a diabetic this is something I can’t really have at all. Yesterday I made an exception and enjoyed every bite 🙂 (I should mention that my mom’s banana pudding is really awesome. It’s made entirely from scratch, so no packaged pudding.) My dad searched for miles for some honeysuckles and he found them, single and isolated. They smelled so wonderful and that just put the icing on the cake…or rather the pudding. So thanks to dad for that and thanks to mom for that amazing pudding 🙂

I REALLY tried to take yesterday and enjoy it. It’s hard to do that when I know that in just 17 days WE’RE OUTTA HERE! The itch is getting serious. There’s really nothing I can do at this point to prepare for this trip I don’t believe. This is an awkward middle point where I’m just kind of twiddling my thumbs, trying to appreciate the present but secretly containing my yearn for the future. *hehe* If I’m doing any preparation it is for UNCG in the fall and wrapping up things here for the end of the semester and saying goodbye to my students. *sad face*

This trip, in so many ways, feels like a milestone for me. It’s also pivotal in ways. I will be learning so much while on this trip; not just learning about facts and information about certain National Parks, but also learning processes, organization and direction. I anticipate that I will be driving most of the time and that will be good in several ways. I’m sure that I will gain so much more world experience from this as well. I hope to meet some super cool people and gain wisdom from their travels.

*Stops for a moment*

I can’t believe that we’re getting closer. Haha this is so rad! At this point, I think we’re just trying to, “KEEP CALM AND PACK ON”.

 

 

 

The Golden Ticket

· Leave a comment ·

“Your head will collapse but there’s nothing in it and you’ll ask yourself, ‘Where is my mind?'” Where Is My Mind – Pixies

FullSizeRender

Something I have been waiting patiently for, came in the mail today. The flat parcel, addressed by the USPS, lay there waiting for me to open it and sure enough, as I suspect it was my PASSPORT! YAY!!  I’ve been waiting for that thing for forever it feels like. This dear passport gave me the privilege to cross into countries such as Germany in 2005 and Mexico in 2006. I had not needed my passport since then. Wouldn’t luck have it that ironically I would need my passport one month AFTER it had expired. So naturally I renewed it because…guess where we’re visiting while in WA? CANADA! I didn’t mention it before because I wasn’t sure if we would be going, and we’re still not positive but it’s a possibility. The thing I hate about getting a new passport is that I was attached to my old one. I wish they would have ripped out the pages that were stamped so that I might be able to have them as keepsakes to remember my travels 😦 I’m not too upset, though it would have been nice.

The passport really kicked my brain into, “ready mode”. In the midst of presenting the new project my students will be working on for the next 3 weeks (which by the way is an 8 page newsletter), I was suddenly jolted in to the reality that I only have FOUR WEEKS to go before we sail off into the sky (I’m referring to the plane of course). I’m just standing there and all of a sudden I’m somewhat stunned for a second, I lost track of my thoughts, but picked it back up a couple of seconds later. I know my students had to have thought I was a little, “out of it”. Then again, I’m sure they probably think that all the time *hehe*. For those brief seconds, images of my packing a large dark pink roller suitcase and flying Delta to Cali flashed in my head. My vision is somewhat the same each time: I think about getting excited about packing, then checking my luggage and then we’re sitting on the plane waiting for it to take off. Now, some may wonder why my vision is so narrowed. Well, I’ve learned that, for me, it’s best if I just let everything surprise me. If I think too much or build something up too much, I find it spoils things a bit for me (in a small way), so I like to keep the visions down a notch. But MAN! I am REALLY ready to go! It’s like a bucket of water you’re trying to gently and easily pour out, careful not to let the whole thing spill because it’s so heavy that your arms might give way, and then…

WHOOSH…too late. 🙂

The Storyteller

· Leave a comment ·

“I tried to go back, as if I could, all spec house and plywood.” Copperline – James Taylor

I woke up this morning with an agenda. My mother and I planned on attending Greenville’s, “Pirate Festival” located downtown Greenville. I had thought about it for roughly a week before the event was to take place, and contemplated whether or not it would be something I would follow through with. Well, it seemed that I WAS going to go through with this today. I was about to get ready when mom said, “I really don’t feel well.” Knowing that she felt bad, I knew it probably wouldn’t be a good idea. So there wasn’t anything really lost by not attending and I wasn’t trying to put mom through something that was probably going to torture her.

So as I drank my coffee I started thinking about the conversation I had with my cousin Rick via text – by the way I feel like I should add into this that when Rick texts, he uses no commas so it takes a minute to decipher the text lol (I still love him). He lives in a very small town in Illinois called, “Cowden”. The population, last I heard, was around 400. I’m sure that number has grown since 1999. Let me check with the almighty Oracle………okay Google says it’s around 599. So there are roughly 600 people in this small town. The last time I was there, I was only aware of a post office, gas station, band stand and cemetery. Even though it was a small town, I was young and it was new so it has fond memories with me.

Rick

Rick is my mother’s first cousin. Have you ever heard someone say, “That guy is a trip!”? If you have, well, I’m most certain they were speaking of Rick. He’s hilarious. There’s no getting around that. As his reputation holds honest and true, he is funny and can tell a story that is out of this world interesting. He INSISTS he is NOT lying when he comes up with a tall tale that seems flabbergasting. No matter what tale he’s telling, you’re always entertained and it will stay with you forever. Not only are his tales outrageous, but he lives on a quiet little farm that is home to several horses and recently some baby chicks! The most recent news I became privy to was that he and his son Luke put up some fencing for his baby chickens that he purchased.

I’ve been to Illinois three times, and all of those times I stayed in Cowden at Rick’s farm. The first time I was 13 yrs old and attended a family reunion? I’m not entirely sure it was a family reunion but I’m almost positive. The second time I was 16. It was also my first plane ride! I stayed on the farm for around 2 – 3 weeks and it was really great. We rode 4-wheelers and visited people and went places. The third time I visited I was 18. That was even cooler because I was familiar with my surrounding and in a different age bracket so I enjoyed different things like hanging out with other people my age and riding around and doing silly stuff. Since 1999, I haven’t been back. Thinking about that makes it a little sad.

SO…what my parents and I have decided is that we will actually stop in and visit Rick on our way back from WA! YAY!! I’m REALLY excited about that and today I kind of sat back and day dreamed about what we will do when we visit. Will we ride horses? Yes. Will we ride 4-wheelers? Maybe. I’m not sure if he has one, but I’m pretty sure he does. Will we visit people? Yes. Will we enjoy our time with Rick? Absolutely. I’m hoping that we may even get to see Luke and Kim (Rick’s son and daughter in-law). It’s been many years since we’ve all seen each other. I would love to get ahold of those chickens. 🙂 But the one thing I’m most ready for is…

Rick’s story telling. 🙂

Bad Dream Takeover

· Leave a comment ·

“But when we wake, it’s all been erased. And so it seems, only in dreams” Only In Dreams – Weezer

WOW! Talk about “Freaky Friday”! This is the third night in a row where I’ve had some wacky dream about something completely foreign to me. The first dream, I was in prison. Yes, that’s right I said it, PRISON! It was strangely realistic (which is the scary part because normally dreams are supposed to be NON-realistic). I found myself having to do terrible things to save myself from a beating, and selling weapons to other inmates in order to buy myself protection! My parents wouldn’t visit me, (obviously whatever I did warranted this absence of their presence) and I had been put in, “The Hole” for a week. WHOA! All of this has brought me to the most clear realization that I must completely avoid any violent television or movies. It’s obvious that I’m having these dreams based off of shows and movies I’ve watched. How can I be excited in the daytime if at night I’m worried where my mind will take me next?

I’m not sure what I dreamt the second night, but on the third night I dreamt I was Marilyn Manson’s PR rep. *o* For those of you who don’t know who he is, he’s dubbed the, “King of Shock Rock” or was. Very androgynous and completely creepy/freaky, he acted very normal and sane in my dream but I was still mortified. I attribute my dream to having heard something about him throughout the day or someone must have mentioned him at some point in the passing week. I can tell you that I do not think about him at all, and to have a dream about him…well… Ugh! I was totally creeped out. I woke up feeling like maybe I needed to look at lots of pictures of puppies and butterflies. Very strange to say the least, but we all have those weird dreams we can’t quite put our finger on.

To get that feeling of creepiness away from me, I quickly helped my parents with the other side of their house. We organized some things, but mostly threw some things away. While we cleaned I was secretly hoping we would find something we could use for our trip out west; like maybe a duffel bag, or something we could camp with. Unfortunately we didn’t really find anything that was of use to us on our trip but we did run across some really old retro stuff!

IMG_9463

Some “Balsam of Myrrh”.

IMG_9461

What about “sani-white” shoe polish? So interesting how we don’t use illustrations to capture human figures anymore. We use real images in advertisements because it’s more personal and people identify with real versus illustrated images.

And, nothing would be complete without, “Watkins Petro-Carbo Salve”.

IMG_9468IMG_9469

Mom insisted it was still good, which I believe. I’m still just a little taken back by it. I mean, I grew up with this same tin of salve my whole life! This tin has been in this family for at LEAST 33 years! LOL But hey, if it’s still good, why not right?

I’m hoping that maybe our second venture to organize will be more successful in finding something useful. Haha It’s like shopping but free! I’m kind of in need of a duffel bag. I have a feeling one suitcase won’t do it for this trip. Then again we don’t have to pack more than necessary.

Maybe we should bring the salve?

Pets Pets Pets

· Leave a comment ·

“We’ll make great pets.” Pets – Porno For Pyros

So, as stated in yesterday’s post, I have some concerns about some things while I’m gone. A lot of these concerns revolve around the animals. We have 5 pets in total:

IMG_9150

Madame Mouffette (my sassy cat)

IMG_6897

Lukkah (my loving and sweet dog)

IMG_8901

Ana and Curley Sue (my dad’s two dogs aka Pee-pants Babies)

IMG_9452

and Seren (my mom’s crochety cat)

Leaving 5 animals behind is hard enough when you know you’ll miss them desparately, but what about when two of them are knocking on the proverbial death’s door?! Lukkah is 12 yrs old and Seren is 13. Just to be realistic, there is a strong possibility that one or both of them could pass away while we are gone. It’s upsetting to think that this would happen while we were gone, but really…there’s nothing we can do about it. I can’t go through life not experiencing it because my animals might die while I’m gone. It’s just a serious concern I have in the back of my mind. I just have to continue to tell myself it will be okay.

I’m also concerned for Moo Moo (Madame Mouffette). She will be alone and by herself in the house. We have a house sitter so I’m not worried about her too much. It’s just hard to be away from her for too long 😉

Ana and Curly Sue are less of a worry because they are pretty resilient with most situations. They’re staying with my Aunt and they will have plenty of good care. I’m not too worried about them.

So you can see I’m thinking a bit much on this. What do you guys think?  Is there something I can do to ease my mind about this?

-Heather