And Yet Another Ending

We were back in New Jersey from the 17th of April until Mother's Day.  For those of you that we didn't catch up with, we're really sorry.  This was a trip with a purpose.  We will be back in September for a couple weddings and Cycle Craft's Hillier Than Thou.  We should have a lot more down time then.

The trip had brought about some amazing changes in my health.  I was able to walk farther with less assistance and had less pain, in general.  My lungs felt stronger than they had in a long time and I was sleeping better than I had in decades!  I was ready to tackle the tasks at hand.

In three and a half weeks, our house was emptied of most of the things we had accumulated over 30 years together.  We lived in this particular house for almost 18 years; a small converted summer cottage in Budd Lake.  Boy!  Did we ever have a lot of stuff jammed into that place!  Our shakedown trip showed us that there was really very little else we needed on top of what we initially brought with us.  However, there were some things we still wanted.  Even more, there was a bit of stuff that had a lot of sentimental value.  Thanks to my daughter, Teresa Christensen and Jeff's sister, Colleen O'Hara for helping us preserve those memories.  There were a lot of pictures that just digitizing wasn't enough.  Who would have thought we could fill up a 20 cubic foot dumpster?

 

Jeff and George Schaberg (Grounded Consulting, LLC) did most of the hard and heavy work.  I am really good at being bossy and following behind them doing the clean up thing.  Unfortunately, the clean up thing and the heaving of stuff into the dumpster, made me sick.  I also ran out of the herb that I take for pain management and had to try a substitute.  The substitute actually seemed to make me sick, also.  So, for the last 10 days or so that we were home, I was pretty sick, off and on.

I spent at least one day each week at the bike shop.  I love almost everything about my job; the owner (Brendan Poh), the employees (most of them are family to me) and the shop itself.  You won't find a finer shop or a more dedicated group of folks anywhere.  People think that running a bike shop would be a pretty, laid-back job to have.  Not if you want to do everything you can to inspire and support cyclists!  The amount of work it takes is incredible and the months of April and May are the most extreme.  I have worked in a number of industries from mom-and-pop grocery stores to being a mid-level AT&T manager.  In many ways, this was the most challenging.  Unfortunately, I am like an addict about the shop.  I love it so much but I cannot endure the challenges like I could when I was younger.  The stress is too much for me.  What once gave me so much joy and pleasure, now causes me pain.  That's really depressing for me.

While we were in NJ, one of our good friends, Rich Hobbie (Hobbie Heat & Power), let us set up camp in his parking lot.  His mother has an RV similar to ours so he has a full set of hook-ups for when she comes to visit.  You will not find a kinder host than the Hobbies!  Not only did they keep us supplied in fresh eggs from their chickens, Rich fabricated a bumper for us in his shop.  The front end of the RV is all fiberglass, so if we were to hit a deer or other critter, it would really mess up our front end.  Not with this bumper!  Rich is also a mountain biker and he added an arm so that Jeff can have a repair stand for his bike wherever we go.  If any of you NJ folks have heating needs, Rich is the guy to see!

All of our big stuff was either sold, taken to auction, or given to friends.  Probably the hardest thing was to see Jeff's truck go.  Yeah, yeah, yeah, it was old and rusting but we both loved it so much.  The 5-inch left that I pretty much demanded he put in 15 years ago now kept me from riding in it much.  I had a power recliner that seemed to have healing powers.  It's good I wasn't there the day that left or I might have thrown myself on it sobbing.  The house was put on the market with American Country Real Estate (once again, thank you, George Schaberg).  Jeff and I had one last pizza and beer (with our wedding champagne glasses) and said good-bye to that part of our lives.  It's kind of funny, we have been together for over 30 years, but only got married when we bought the house.

Settling up our life in NJ was so hard, even though our new life is so wonderful.  We are leaving behind a lot of wonderful friends; I know I could never list them all, but in particular the Kruse family, Brendan Poh and Cathy Brennan, Kim Hawkswell, Kevin Eng, Rich and Cheryl Hobbie, Jon and Megan Sellers, Nick Paglia,
Eric DeSanto, Adam Wolf and all of the Bulldog Mountain Bike team.  We love them all and will miss them all.  Even though you stay friends, it's never quite the same
.

One last cup of coffee with the best of friends, the Kruses.

Time for the new life to start in earnest!!!

The End of the Shakedown Trip

It has been so long since I sat down to write, that I am kind of embarrassed.  The last part of our initial trip just kind of sailed by me.  I learned how to relax, and then couldn't stop doing it.

The first trip with the RV was our shakedown; we wanted to try a variety of campgrounds and make sure we could really commit to this lifestyle.  While it is definitely not a traditional way to live, I think it will work splendidly for us.

We spent the last week of this trip at Douthat State Park in Virginia and the Happy Traveler campground in Maryland, huge contrasts.  Douthat State Park was beautiful, in a bowl of mountains.  Our campground hosts, Rich and Pat Armstrong were warm and friendly, like going home to your parents.  Amenities were not plentiful.  We had no sewer, no tv, no radio stations; but we had internet!!!

The contrasting Happy Traveler had all of the amenities; including cable tv.  It was nice to be able to do the laundry on site, but I missed the beauty of Douthat.

Our choices appear to be having modern amenities and being packed into campgrounds like sardines or the more rustic campgrounds which have space and the majesty of nature all around us.  I know the name of this blog is "This is Not Camping" but more and more, I am liking the rustic campgrounds.

It was now time to head home and prepare the house for the market!

OK, So it's Kinda Like Camping...

Before Jeff and I embarked on this adventure, we traveled by car and cheap hotel for a couple months.  One of our trips was through the mountains of Tennessee and North Carolina.  It was absolutely amazing; up and down the mountains, back and forth through the switchbacks.  At that time, Jeff said he wouldn't want to drive a big RV through that route, the switchbacks were so tight he would worry about it fitting.

Well, we came pretty darn close to that with our trip to Big South Fork in Tennessee.  There weren't quite so many switchbacks, but there were enough to make Jeff pay attention.  Once we arrived at Big South Fork, he could breath easy because we were going to stay for a full week; he didn't have to think about leaving for a few days.

The area was beautiful!!!  Completely amazing and the campground was at the top of the mountain.  A few TV channels and great internet signal.  This was all good, because I really couldn't leave the campground.  There was no way I could navigate those roads in the PT Cruiser, so even though Jeff could ride right out of the campground, I couldn't go anywhere.  Also, the nearest town was 15 miles in either direction down the mountain...and they were verrrrryyyyy small towns.

The campground did not have sewers, so we had to be especially conservative in our water use to avoid filling our tanks too quickly.

The campground showers were OK, not great (remember, I am a citified, spoiled brat).  They were clean but the walk back to the RV got a bit chilly.

There were signs warning us about bears everywhere, but we actually saw far less wildlife here than anywhere else we had been.  I did, however, have a close encounter with a bat. lol.

On the days Jeff didn't ride, he took me to town to do laundry, have a nice meal and a date.  What do you do in a teeny, tiny town for a date?  You go bowling!!!!  It was a lot of fun, just a long drive.  He also drove me to the parking lot for an amazing overlook.

One of the last nights we were there, we decided to go to dinner at a restaurant we had passed on our way to one of the small towns.  The place was named "Baraca's" and is a true jewel in the middle of nowhere.  They do no advertising and are tucked back out of the way.  The building is pretty unassuming and they have no liquor license, but are happy to pour your wine or beer for you.  This is probably the best meal I have had in years as well as a great value.  The chef should be on the Food Network.  There is soup, salad and rolls served with every entree and everything is freshly made.  Salad dressings and bread made daily.  The butter was blended with orange zest for a great citrus complement.  The soup was a cheesy potato that was so light with citrussy overtones, to complement the butter.  I had no idea potato soup could be light!!!  Jeff had cedar planked salmon with fresh Parmesan and I had the wienershnitzel with homemade spaetzle.   We were stuffed, and it was so awesome!!!!

I was kind of isolated in Tennessee, but I loved it.  It was so beautiful. I could spend the afternoons sitting outside reading, we cooked on the open fire and I got some work done.  I also spent some time playing the psaltery that I picked up in Alabama.

It was almost like camping...I might eventually be able to camp...nah, not me!

'Bama Folks are Darn Friendly Folks

OK, I admit it, I am an opinionated. citified Northern snob and I was afraid of going to Alabama and camping in a "real"campground.  We were driving up from Tallahassee to Birmingham on Saturday, March 23.  That Friday, I received an email from one of our best friends (in the whole, wide world), Tom, that he had his family were taking an impromptu trip to Birmingham to spend a couple days with his wife's sister.  I completely freaked out!  Another Jersey person coincidentally crosses our path!  Tom and his family, JoAnne, Jessi and Jake are some of the most awesome people in the world.  JoAnne's sister Laura and her husband Glenn very kindly invited us to dinner on Sunday. BTW, they are both celebrated pastry chefs, so dinner, especially dessert, was mouth-watering.   We had met Laura and Glenn previously and knew that they were great people.  It was really comforting to me to know that we would see people I felt comfortable with in this “foreign” state.

However, I was pleasantly surprised to revise my opinion within 3 minutes of arriving at our campsite. While we were looking for a site, this man came up and offered to hold our spot by the river for us while we registered.  When registering, the clerk (Stephanie) at Tannehill was warm and welcoming.  She made sure we had everything we needed and knew where everything was located.  She invited me back to chat with her later in the week.  It didn't hurt that Jeff was being particularly sweet and charming.  I think he was as in love with this place as a grown man can be with land.

After we set up camp, Jeff left to find the man who held our site for us and to go get firewood. About an hour and a half later, I started wondering where he had gone.  I looked out the window, and there he is, a few sites down, yapping up a storm and feeding his face.  I wandered down and met the friendliest bunch of people I think I have ever encountered. I warned them that since they had fed Jeff, he would keep coming back like a stray dog.  Ronnie was so funny and warm.  His wife, Dawn, would’ve fed the whole campground if you let her, I think. They had several friends there, along with their daughter, Megan.  When I thanked Ronnie, for holding our spot,his reply was, “It ain’t nothin’ darlin’. We’re all campers here.”  It sticks in my mind clearly because this is the way he treated everything in his life.

Ronnie and his family only lived half an hour away, but spent half the year camping at Tannehill. They had such love and enthusiasm for the lifestyle, it was contagious.  When we left, they all gave me a great big hug, and you all know how I love hugs!!!

Our best friends and our new friends, all in one place!!!  Amazing!

Birmingham Civil Rights Institute

While the campground had enough history to make me happy for a while, we did take a day and venture into Birmingham to the Civil Rights Museum.  I knew that Alabama was one of the last bastions of the Jim Crow laws, but I did not realize that Birmingham itself was the "last bastion".  So I am unsure if it is ironic or fitting that the Civil Rights Institute is located there.

The Institute is located directly across the street from the 16^thStreet Baptist Church and Kelly Ingram Park, both historic scenes from the1960s.  Most of the Institute is dedicated to the civil rights struggle of the US in the 1950s and 1960s.  The top floor, however, is reserved primarily for other civil rights struggles throughout the world, including gay rights,Darfur, Tianmen Square, Poland, and Guantanamo Bay.  I felt it demonstrated that no matter how far we as a society have come, there is always more work to do.

The Institute is organized in an unusual way.  The exhibits follow a spiral from the first floor up to the second in chronological order. The atmosphere also goes from quite dark to bright daylight at the top.  I am unsure if it was intentional,but it seems to be a reflection of our society with regard to American Civil Rights.
Birmingham is very straightforward about their history.  They don’t sugarcoat it, nor are they apologetic.  It simply is what it was.

I learned that one of the true heroes of the civil rights movement was Reverend Fred Shuttlesworth, Jr.  He was associated with Dr. King and suffered many of the same indignities.  He was a Birmingham minister and was significant in bringing them into a new age.

The trip to the Institute was very moving, but I was left pretty depressed by it.  To think that these atrocities occurred in my lifetime reminds me of how vicious and cruel humans are to each other.  I now believe more than ever in Random Acts of Kindness.

Camping Amid History

We spent a week near Birmingham, Alabama at the Tannehill Ironworks Historical State Park.  Jeff wanted to ride the IMBA epic at Oak Mountain State Park, but we were unable to get into the park for camping.  This was about a half hour away, but I am sooo glad we found it!

Tannehill Ironworks was the site of one of the last battles of the Civil War.  On April 8, 1865, the North took over the Ironworks, which supplied most of the forged and milled metal for the South.  General Lee surrendered at Appomatox the next day and President Lincoln was assassinated one week later, so the news of this battle dropped through the cracks.

The furnace (although run-down) is still standing in the park, along with many of the other ironworks outbuildings.  The state has also moved many other Civil War era building to the park.  The Iron and Steel Museum of Alabama is also located on the premises.

On the weekends, craft cabins open and locals share their knowledge and sell their wares.  My particular favorite was the instrument maker and yes, I now own a bowed psaltery!!!  Jeff spent a couple hours with the blacksmiths.  We saw everything from the start of their fires to the creation of some tools.  Jeff now has a sparker and tinder box for which to achieve his matchless fire!

The campground itself was gorgeous, although a little crowded.  Jeff found us a campsite right alongside the river.  So peaceful and serene.

I would urge anyone who likes history to check out the Tannehill Ironworks if you are ever in the Birmingham area.  Admission to the park is only $3 and the museum itself is $2.  One of the least expensive sight-seeing trips you can have!

And to think we almost missed this! How serendipitous!!!

Tallahassee Tales...or is it Tails?

The second day of Tallahassee sightseeing was the Tallahassee Museum.  I surprised Jeff because the museum is an outdoor museum. As we all now know, I am not an outdoorsy person.

Through the whole time at the museum, I missed my daughter,son-in-law and grandkids.  This was the kind of place to hold a family reunion.  There was a display of native Florida wildlife in as close to their natural habitat as you are going to get in today’s society.  They had animal demonstrations with experts that brought different animals out to show (geared to children, so I loved it).  The one we saw was an owl who was at the habitat because he had a broken wing…very cool to see so close.

There was also a general store that was set up as if it was part of a turpentine distillery camp. The display on the back-breaking work involved in making turpentine was fascinating.  The labor camps pretty much made indentured servants of all the laborers and their families.

What really made me miss my family were the Tree to Tree Adventures zip-line courses.  They had them for all ages and levels of ability and I could just see my son-in-law,Sean, howling through the jungle-like vegetation.  I think my grandkids would have loved the ones for the kids as well.  Derek would have been all cool and nonchalant, Dylan would have whaled all over the trees and Deanna would have completely been out of control.  I would love to go back with them someday.

Another aspect that I loved was that there was a path of dinosaur sculptures made out of auto parts. I think Jeff and I took pictures of each one.  The artist was a native to Tallahassee, Jim Gary.  He has since passed on, but left a legacy that families will enjoy for years.

Because it was spring break, there were a good number of families at the museum that day.  I heard one woman talking to her children and it reminded me of my friend, Amy.  She is one of the most amazing women and is one of the most dedicated mothers I have ever met.  This woman was turning all the fun things at the museum into teaching experiences for her children and they had no clue how much they were learning!  Amy would do that effortlessly.

As you can tell, there are lots of people I am missing.  Some friends of ours were in Tallahassee, but we didn’t manage to cross paths.  Rain was a ‘coming and it was time for us to hightail it out of there to Birmingham,Alabama.