AC needed in DC

Washington DC has had record high temperatures. It has been over 100 degrees in the heat of the afternoon, so I have pretty much stayed in the cool of my daughter's house.

This portion of my trip has been a far cry from the rest. I have spent two days behaving like a couch potato, watching TV, eating junk food, reading magazines, playing with Sammy, the cat, and generally doing nothing of consequence. I read that pleasure is not in having nothing to do, but in having lots to do and not doing it. The last two days have been very pleasurable.

But let me back up a minute, before coming here, there were a few more days on the river. We spent a night at the Kingston marina.

Kingston, Canada was one of those places where I instantly felt comfortable. I liked the place. Nice marina, good restaurants, bagpipes playing, fountains dancing, and a farmer's market. We took a little tour of city hall where a nice lady volunteer with a Scottish brogue told us about the historic building and how where there is now a lobby there was once a place for horses and carriages to pass through the middle of city hall.

We walked some side streets and mused about living in one of the old colonial brick homes with tiny yards and lots of old world character.

Our last day on the river was keeping with an eventful theme. We anchored out in a small cove under blue skies intending to relax and spend the night. We swam and ate lunch and THEN.......the sky changed, a slight wind picked up, a few drops of rain and, before you could say "Oh MY God!" we were caught in a raging wind with rain and hail enough to block out everythingin sight except the fast approaching granite rock wall on the shore. Our anchor didn't hold. There was nothing to be done but hang on and cringe when the "crunch" came. Five minutes of fright! A banged prop. Rather than stay the night, we headed home where the electric was out and a few tree limbs downed. It was not the best way to end our three day tour. However we were fine and it's nothing a bit of time and money can't fix.

Back in Clayton it was soon time to pack up, say good-bye to the friends, both human and otherwise, and head south.

I am not yet halfway home, here in DC. I will take the last two thirds of the trip back starting tomorrow morning. It has been a darn good trip.

May you all enjoy your summer as much as I have.

.

Kingstown, Canada

Hi,

I'm in Canada, docked at a marina right next to downtown Kingstown. I really like this city with it's colonial old homes, farmer's market, historic city hall and sidewalk restaurants. It is one of those places that feels good.

Last night we (Milk and I) docked in Gananoque, CA. Gan is pretty cool too. We ate dinner at a small Inn. White table cloths and all. We met up with Anne, a friend of Mike's, had lunch downtown and took a little tour of Gan. We stopped at the history museum on the waterfront and learned some stuff about this neck of the river.

I am loving the St Lawrence experience, the islands, and the many moods of the river.

Internet connections have been hit and miss. Following was written a few days ago, but couldn't be posted because there was no WiFi to connect to.

Back quite a few days:

As much as I enjoyed the family reunion, I hated the after feeling that comes shortly after leaving when I find myself alone again. I missed them all. I shed a few tears for the empty feeling, listened to sad songs, and waited for the bad feelings to be replaced with good ones which didn’t really show up till the next morning. The next morning was a gorgeous trip through the mountains, traffic was low, and the day bright. July 4th actually. Independence Day! I played happy songs and sang alone with abandon. Life is good. I crossed over the river and into Ohio.

Beverly, Ohio

Dave and Kay’s vintage farm house is a cozy little 1940’s bungalow in need of a lot of TLC. They have projects to keep them busy for many summers to come. In winter they are back in Florida where it’s warm and sunny. I liked the ambiance of the place. For the most part all we heard was the birds singing, crickets chirping, and our own voices. A gravel road leads to the house and there is a “crick” flowing out front and a small meadow, and hillsides full of maple trees. There is no TV, AC or cell phone service and water must be conserved lest the well run dry, but I was able to connect to the internet via a neighbor’s WiFi.

We took a walk in the big woods, past the pond, and followed a deer path up the hill. The heat of the day and the mosquitoes were bothersome, so we didn’t travel far, and headed back home where even without AC, the house stayed reasonably cool and comfortable. Breakfast out, a little tour of the village and conversation filled the rest of the day.

Being out in the country is a nice contrast from the mostly suburban life I lead.

I left the next morning for Chesterland, Ohio.

Chesterland, Ohio

I am visiting Cousin Stan and Cousin-in-law Pat. I arrived yesterday and immediately joined them in the pool which is tucked in the woods and turned one of the hottest days this year into a very pleasant respite. We left only to have dinner and then returned for the evening to the cool water. It was soooo nice. A hearty breakfast, a ride to somewhere, lunch out, and afternoons in the pool.

Then, Macedonia, Ohio and my high school's graduating class' 45th reunion. Last week, I was grandma, the older generation of the family, and this week I was remembering my teenage years, surrounded by my high school chums. How weird. Two nights of back to the '60s. However, it took a while to get used to everyone. I would not have recognized any one's face without a name tag, after all, it has been 45 years! Oh my God! Where did the time go?

Moving along in time.......

Today, I am staying aboard the Amethyst in slip 538 at the Gananoque Marina which is in Canada on the north side of the St. Lawrence. The cruise here was beautiful. I have fallen in love with both the large and tiny islands that make up the 1000. They are outcroppings of stone ranging from barely big enough to build on (but they do) and large enough for a community of some size.

The River is the highway connecting the islands. Boats of all kinds provide transportation to stores and unlimited entertainment. The River can change its demeanor and mood quickly, one day being smooth and peaceful and the next rough and commanding. But always, it is enticing.

It is hard to imagine this place in winter. It is July here now and people are on sabbatical. River front cottages are full of summer residents, restaurants are busy, and people are swimming and wandering the streets of their community enjoying the warm weather and time away. The marina is quite full with people simply enjoying life. Pretty cool.

I am among them, just enjoying today and really not thinking about life beyond here. This is one reason I haven’t posted in this blog. Blogging can take me back to normal and regular

Back to now.

Did I say, "Life is good?" Well it is, right now.

Clayton, NY

Life is good.

I am lost in a feeling out here on the boat on the river in the 1ooo islands in New York. I'll talk to you later.

Jan

10, Tenn, together again!

Our 2010 family reunion in Tennessee was wonderful. By Thursday we had 30 people in attendance sharing two large cabins in Gatlinburg.



This is one terrific family. Even after spending a whole week together, I never heard a cross word or saw crossed eyes. We got along together tremendously well.

We kept busy and the week went by quickly.

On Tuesday some of us went zip lining. That's where we hung out on wires in the woods and "zipped" from platform to platform. On Wednesday some of us went whitewater rafting on the Pigeon river, and on Thursday, some of us went horseback riding. There was some walking around town and gondola-ing up the mountain, and golfing (regular and mini) and Dollywood, and the aquarium, Arts and Crafts Trail, and last, and probably least, was the Salt and Pepper Shaker Museum. Oh, and water balloon fights and beer drinking, blackberry picking, card playing, and cooking and eating, and lots and lots of talking. So you see, there was no lack of stuff to do.

I happily endured sore muscles and a overstuffed stomach. And now am enduring itchy chigger bites, probably from sitting in the grass when the group picture was taken. Getting everyone to together at one time to take that pic was a pretty big challenge too.

And when it was over we hugged and planned to get together again, maybe three years from now. But it will probably be more like five as the time just keeps going faster and faster and it will probably take that long to coordinate another gathering. We are thinking a cruise or Wisconsin Dells.

Anyway, I spent the night in Wythewille, VA. I missed everyone while driving here, cried a few tears for the parting, but so happy that we had been together. Life is good and filled with love.

Jan

Right Now

At 6:30 AM I hit the road yesterday, driving north.

It takes me at least getting out of Florida and then some before my mind settles down. So the first half of yesterday was dealing with uncontrolled thoughts that changed every minute going from an irrelevant intrusion of memories to anticipation of the future and emotions that quickly go from doubt, to joy to fear, to love, to contemplative serious quiet. It amazes me how suddenly they change, in seconds. A song on the radio or nothing at all and a new mood is served up. a Whoop! a tear! a laugh!

By afternoon the thinking rush was over and I could relax and enjoy the trip. The traffic was very heavy and a rain storm slowed things a bit and my progress was not as I expected, but it really didn't matter. I was on the road over 11 hours (with stops for peaches and pecans) and was past ready to stop for the day at 6:00 PM. I had a surprisingly hard time finding a motel. There just didn't seem to be any during the last slow hour of my drive. I was no longer on the interstate. But here I am somewhere in north Georgia in a very nice Best Western.

Life is good today.

Coffee, a great shower, a soft king size many pillowed bed, AC, TV, WiFi, U! Cool!

I am really just trying to learn to enjoy Right Now, without interruption from yesterday or tomorrow. Right now is really fine.

Jan

The day after tomorrow.

The day after tomorrow I will be on the road again. I am planning to be gone about one month this time.

I'm ready. The clothes are washed, bills paid, the car's oil changed, the bushes trimmed and someone in place to collect the mail.

Reunions are on the itinerary this trip. I will tell you more about those as they occur.

At the end of my last big road trip I had been divorced exactly one year. This time it will be exactly two. It's hard to imagine that much time has past, and yet so much has happened that's makes it seem longer. I am having a hard time getting a picture of what is yet to be. In another two years, I will be 65, yikes!, and that's all I know for sure.

As I alluded to in the preceeding post, I have met someone very special. I can't begin to figure out why we, why any two, connect, but we do. We just do. Still, I guess I am a bit hesitant about how to proceed and am wondering where the relationship will take us. Right now it's wonderful to have him in my life. My mind, though, is searching for pertinent personal information and past experiences to assist me in this new relationship, so I have some basis to predict and respond, but there are no comparables. Much like the GPS I traveled with last year, my personal navigation system isn't working. I'm just moving forward letting fate and the universe lead the way. I was 22 the last time I started a serious relationship. Starting one at 63 isn't even in the same ballpark. At 22 everything was new. The future stretched out endlessly in front of us. We didn't have much in the way of baggage or preferences. I now have 40 additional years of life's events and and less time before me than behind. I don't know if that means be more careful or be more impulsive! I am trying to get comfortable with not knowing the answer to that.

One thing I do know is that someone is thinking especially of me and waiting for me and that makes being gone feel different this time around. And it gives me something to contemplate down the road. And someone to miss.

So anyway, here I am now and soon I will be someplace else.

Talk to ya when I get there!

Free Falling

I think my life has taken so many twists and turns throughout the last few years that I am getting dizzy. Occasionally I find myself climbing a mountain, and then coasting down only to find a raging river at the bottom and there is nothing I can do but fall in and keep my head above water. It's exhausting! But I have the option of seeing the adventure in it all and rising to the challenge or seeing it as a struggle and getting weary. Let's raise our glasses to the adventure!

These days, it's the Internet dating thing, but I am taking myself out of circulation after only a few months and letting myself free fall into someone's arms. Scarier than a solo trip into the big woods. The potential for personal disaster seems greater, yet...........I keep going.

Actually, I've met some cool guys, nice guys along the way. I have been pretty lucky. From the comments of others, I am thinking there are a lot of not so nice people out there. I feel protected somehow, from the game playing, weird, possessed, mean spirited, nothing like their online profile types that I hear others complain so much about. The ones who are fifty pounds heavier and twenty years older than their photo suggests. The ones who only want ONE THING. The ones who don't know at all what they want. (Well, I think I may have met one or two of those.)

Actually, ending a relationship, even a very short lived one is harder than starting one. Actually, it quickly makes starting harder, at least for me, it does.

And so it seems that my adventure movie has turned into a romantic chick flick. I can't go into details just yet, but I will try to keep you posted.

Love ya, Jan