Jackson bought his first car yesterday!

Memorial Day

Before initiating my new pool membership at the Alamo Heights Pool, before Bonnie arrives bringing Nathan and Elena for a swim, I am knee-deep in unpacking memories and gifts, purchases and art supplies, clothes never worn.

                                                  A few lessons learned about traveling:

Beyond a journal and a few markers, don't even bother packing art supplies.  (I had planned to do some Gelli printing and other things while there but never found the time to haul out bags and messy paints and glues to actually do any.)

Do buy arts and crafts of regions you love--as they will be permanent reminders of the people and places they come from. Besides,  local galleries are fun places to meet people who will direct you to the best local places.

Don't take long road trips in hot weather; save them for cooler climate adventures.  (It was so hot driving back yesterday I didn't even want to walk into restaurants, didn't want to leave my electronics in the car while doing so, and wound up settling for drive-through-window burgers and drinks.)

Do join The Joint--as you can have chiropractic treatments in all large cities--which was an excellent recommendation from Kate, without which I'd be in way more pain than I am today.

Smaller and simpler (as in cameras and wardrobes) is always better on the road.

As Our Lady of Navigation Puts it: ARRIVED!

I don't recall ever being so exhausted!  The traffic was hairy through Houston, but otherwise, it was smooth sailing. I drove into my driveway around 5:00 and dragged about half the things in my car into my hot house.

Now that the house has cooled a little bit, I'm taking a Tramadol Carlene gave me and a half sleeping pill Pam gave me and hope to sleep til noon!

I took no pictures and had minimal interactions with people en route, but the VW ran well and safely and I traded adventure for getting here in a timely manner and sleeping tonight in my own little bed like Goldilocks, even though my locks are never mistaken for gold.

Today is my baby's birthday--and as I told him, he's always gonna be my baby even if he is a 41-year-old fire chief and daddy.

Here are a few snapshots of Will--though we haven't yet met him face to face in Photo #1:

Day and Will in Colorado

 

Will and Granddaddy Lloyd on the day he graduated from the Academy.

July 2018

Halfway to SA

Leaving Lawrenceville yesterday, I stopped by my daddy's grave, feeling as full of sadness as I did so many years ago. He was my template and model of what a good man is, the best father I've ever heard of.  I was so lucky to land in his life!

I had such a good visit with Carlene and Bob and Jocelyn, including going to crafts fair (didn't stay long because of the stifling heat and my leg) with Bob and Jocelyn while my car was being serviced for the final thousand miles on this my last trip solo of this length.  

I woke up yesterday morning knowing it was time to head west toward home, toward my house, and toward the end of packing and unpacking the car.  I broke my own rules and took the shortest route--and will do the final 500 today. 

At the Hammond, LA iHop this morning, I met a sweet waitress named Wanda, about my age.  "I'm great," she said when I asked how she was doing.  "Nothing to complain about, Sugar." 

"What brought you to Hammond?" I asked her. 

"I came here from Florida to raise my grandchildren twenty years ago," she said.  "Now they are all grown and moved to Florida, but I stayed."

"Their mama went off the beaten track," she said, then whispered, "Even went to prison."

"She's out now, doing good.  She calls me every day.  She calls me Mama even though I'm not really her mama."

Almost 4000 miles so far

It's been a great trip, this one, but this may be last time I drive over 5000 miles in one trip unless I have a road companion who wants to share the driving.  I developed some sciatica along the last leg of the journey and the three hour drive from Franklin, North Carolina, today seemed to take all day with my leg aching.

I arrived at Carlene's today and was too tired to go out to eat, so Carlene made us ham and biscuits and grits for dinner and I've taken a pain pill and it's working.

I stopped at a gallery in Clarksville and bought Carlene a belated Mother's Day present, a necklace she loves.

Planning to stay here a few days with Carlene and rest up before heading west, I keep thinking of the stretch from here to Texas and Frost's poem that ends this way, "But I have promises to keep, and miles to go before I sleep...."

The Blue Ridge Parkway

For the early hours of Sunday, I saw very few people or cars on the parkway, just a few motorcycles.   Then a red sports car whizzed past me on a bridge.

At the overlooks, two or three cars were parked, a silent gathering of travelers gazing into the distance and doing what I was doing--trying to capture the moments with a camera.

I saw four young women biking, wearing pink and red jackets, pumping pedals and taking on the mountain.

They were the first sitings of what I'd later learn was an annual bike event, scores of bicycles with rest stops every few miles and signs along the way saying.  "Shut up, calves!" and "You're a pumper!"  

Cars had to slow to avoid collisions on tight turns.

For old time's sake, and because I love it, I went to Floyd and the Troika Gallery, then headed south to Jonesville, North Carolina, where I am now waking up and deciding which best mountain route to take to Georgia.

Saturday

Traveling west on 64 from Richmond to Lexington at dusk, the ridges of the mountains really are blue.  I drove an extra couple of hours to position myself for a slow descent on 81 and 11 so I can enjoy the Blue Ridge Parkway tomorrow.

I drove into Lexington under a full moon to have scallops at the Southern Inn during which meal Bob and I were texting each other back and forth about places to see here.  We both love Lexington, though we've never been here at the same time.

I spent almost of the day browsing the boutiques and paper store and camera shop in Cary Town in the arts district of Richmond and traded in my DSLR Nikon for an Olympus mirrorless camera and I'm delighted with the trade.  It's way smaller than the camera I thought I wanted before, much more compact.

This was my farewell from Day and Marcus this morning--after a short but wonderful birthday visit, after the two elder men in the family had already left for the gym.

I left there planning to bite the bullet and drive 95 to Richmond, but I couldn't take it past Fredricksburg and switched to beautiful back roads, stopping in at a tiny flea market in Bowling Green where I snapped this photo:  (Never travel more than five miles on a road whose number ends with 5!)

Meanwhile, I got this photo from home--Elena's ballet recital:

Friday Night

To get far enough north to be sure not to accidentally run into that wicked 95 again, I left Lorraine's Thursday morning and drove north to Great Barrington with the idea of possibly poking around the Berkshires a bit before heading back to Virginia, then Georgia....

I was close enough to all the New England places I love to go further, but I didn't have my heart in it on that particular day, so I drove on to Hershey, Pennsylvania, then on to Day's today.

I've been concerned about Day, but a medical procedure today revealed that she is mostly okay, and she'll proceed with some dietary changes and some other changes and she'll be totally fine. When I got here tonight, she looked way less stressed and back to her perky happy self.

I debated about even coming here, wanted to let her rest, but I stopped by the wonderful Pennsylvania  Dutch Market in Hagerstown, PA, and saw cakes and pies and decided I would buy some sweets for Marcus' birthday and deliver them,.

Formerly, an old run-down mill in Hagerstown,
now a building called Murals of Unusual Sizes

So the five of us celebrated Marcus' 14th birthday on the porch, then Marcus and I walked to Verizon to get his new iPhone activated, then Tom and I went to Witch Wich to get sandwiches Marcus wanted for his birthday dinner.

It turned out to be a really good day, and the wind is back in my flagging sails.

I went to bed around nine, but woke up twice with painful cramps in my feet--probably from walking three miles in sandals?--so I've just taken a half a Unisom and hope to sleep til 8 or so, then proceed to Richmond.....

HAPPY 14th Birthday to Marcus Paul Leary!

As we were walking, Marcus would reach over and help me when the ground got rocky or hold on to my arm as we crossed the highway.

"You inherited your daddy's gentleman genes," I said.

"I try," he said.  "He's awesome.  He always drills it in my head how to act like a gentleman."

 The weather is beautiful today!  Lorraine and I went for a walk on the beach and got a look at the skyline of Manhattan.  Unfortunately, I didn't have my telephoto lens camera with me, but those little dots on the horizon?  That's New York.

The problem with an iPhone camera is that you can't see what you're snapping on a sunny day, and I didn't even set the camera, on purpose, to black and white, but we loved watching this mama and little girl playing on the beach:

Monday

Sunday was a rainy happy Mother's Day in Virginia--including presents and flowers and a delicious brunch at an Indian restaurant.  Day gave me a bag-full of art supplies, an art-making book,  and some beautiful black and white porcelain cups.  I overslept this morning and didn't get final hugs, but that's okay--we had a great five-day visit!

Celebrating Marcus' 14th birthday a few days early

The belle of the ball--to her mom and her son,
Daisy going to prom as Assistant Principal

News from home: Nathan got his first stripe on his yellow belt
 in karate!

Opening Mother's Day presents

Then brunch at American Tandoor

Today was a long rainy drive through Virginia, Maryland, Delaware, New Jersey, New York, arriving at Lorraine's Connecticut house four hours later than GPS predicted!  I chose I95--boring boring--because Our Lady of Navigation said it was a four and a half hour trip, but Our Lady of Navigation was off by four hours.

Lorraine is not here, but she left the door open,  Reese's by my bed, and yummy soup in the fridge, so I'm going to settle in for an early night, a bubble bath, and read myself to sleep.

Tomorrow and Wednesday, we shall have adventures!

Then I will head south again, then hopefully take a passenger named Carlene back with me to Texas!

Non-Prom Night

Tonight is prom night almost everywhere up here.
But the funny thing is that a very small percentage of high school students at Jackson's schools (and others, I hear) go to prom!

Instead, they are donning new suits and gowns, getting flowers for their dates, and going elsewhere.

Jackson and his friends went out to dinner in D.C. and then changed clothes and played laser tag!

First, the parents and this one grandmother gathered at the house of the girl who was hosting the dressing up and hair-doing pre-party and took loads and loads of pictures of these beautiful kids debuting their new grown-up selves, the boys in suits and ties, the girls in gowns with plunging necklines and high heels and slits in their skirts hamming it up for the camera.

Here's Jackson with his adorable girlfriend, Olivia.

While Jackson elected not to go to prom, Day went--as assistant principal--and she had a great time.  I'll post more pictures in the morning as they haven't all traveled over to my computer from the phone yet.

Out of a thousand eligible-to-buy-tickets students, only 67 bought tickets to the prom at the Weston.  Proms have gotten so expensive and are no longer held in student-decorated gyms and cafeterias, as they were in my school days.

"Anyway," Jackson asked, "What is there to DO at a prom?"

Marcus, in his newly-deep voice suggested, "Dance???"

Wednesday and Thursday

Arrived in the Happy Leary House yesterday in time to meet Jackson's girlfriend and see the lacrosse game--though my understanding of the game, like all games,  is sketchy, to say the least.

Marcus will be 14 on Friday--
the Love Bug of the Family!

Tom and Marcus

After Lacrosse

                                                     I LOVE THESE GUYS SO MUCH!

MARCUS, 14

JACKSON, 17

Today, Day took a day off and we went to Lucketts (one of our favorite antique-towns)....

Day had been wanting one of these kitchen islands for years, and today we put some of her dollars and some of mine together and brought home this gorgeous piece--unloaded and rolled into the kitchen by these big guys.

The Blue Grass Parkway, Southern Virginia

After gassing up at a Jonesville station, I asked the clerk: "Where's the closest place to enter the parkway?"

She looked at me as if I'd asked for directions to a dangerous place she'd heard of: "You don't want to go there!  You'd have to go to the mountain."

Phone coverage was spotty all day as I drove the curvy mountain roads. For a few minutes, I had phone coverage, and it got me to Galax, where a gallery owner insisted I should retrace a few miles and visit Mount Airy.  These two towns, along with Floyd and the Mabry Mill on the Parkway, are special beads in this Blue Ridge string of beautiful places.

When Day called this morning to let me know she's sick with bronchitis, I decided to delay arriving until tomorrow--I'm two hours away here in Lexington.

Mt. Airy, it turns out, is the home place of Andy Griffith and one of the female actors in his show (there's an Andy Griffith museum that includes an annex about Siamese twins because conjoined twins from Thailand lived there!), but the place I enjoyed most there was a colorful shop called Scarlet Begonias and meeting Amy, the owner.

In Galax, I popped into a couple of local galleries Betty and I had visited last October, but I waited for late lunch at Floyd's General Store where I had delicious collards and quiche.  Mike and I found Floyd a few years ago and I return there every trip.  

Pink and red poppies
North Carolina


Through-The-Windshield snapshots
on the Blue Ridge Parkway

Jonesville, North Carolia

Lawrenceville to Greenville to Gastonia on I 85, then 40 to 77--a beautiful route that landed me tonight in a great Jonesville Best Western with all the amenities I like.  Tomorrow I'll visit Galax, a town Betty and I liked, then hook it on to Day's house via Highway 81.

Another happy day of travel, blue skies, big white clouds--and now I'm going out to find some dinner.

My mama, Carlene, looking terrific!