Arriving in Tallahassee - Day 9

Leaving Birmingham around noon, the last few hundred miles seemed to speed by...even though I stayed within the speed limit... (a tip from Robert, Eleanor's husband, was stay at or under the speed limit to avoid getting a ticket). What a novel idea, and it worked.

The roads were small two lane roads, with lots of vegetation on either side – sometimes it is so much green that you literally can't see past the side of the road. It's hard to imagine unless you've been in it. You certainly develop an appreciation for the color green.

Finally, around 6 pm, I pulled into the driveway at Lisa and Andrew's house. What a relief...to have arrived!! Lisa and Andrew greeted me, along with Segui and the bunnies, and then we went out to dinner.

Ya yagaste! Yes, you have arrived here.

Eleanor's garden

Eleanor has a green thumb. Her yard is full of color, and full or surprises.

It has been a been treat for both of us to have the time to visit and to catch on with each other.

Eleanor says that my moving to Florida would definitely make visiting easier, and more likely to happen. She has always been one to put her thoughts out there very directly. Go Eleanor.

From Memphis to Eleanor in Birmingham, Alabama

After a BBQ lunch for Jewell and Martha, and vegies, beans and coleslaw for me, we dropped Martha off at the airport. After a quick goodbye to Jewell and Junianne I got back on the road.

Half way to Birmingham, I stopped off at Stillman College in Tuscaloosa, Alabama to see a friend of mine who teaches there. Her name is Linda Beito. We just had time for a short, but very wonderful reunion. Time to catch up with each other, to laugh and cry together, and to commit to staying in touch better this time. I hope it works.

Leaving Tuscalossa, I headed east again toward Birmingham, Alabama. There, I was able to stay with my friend Eleanor Melton Warner (photo above). She is so terriffic!! She has patience, is really fun and is full of stories and information about many things. When I got there, it was just like old times again. She loves to garden and enjoys her veggis.

The Lorraine Motel in Memphis

The Lorraine Motel in Memphis Tennessee, where Rev. Martin Luther King was assassinated is now the site of the National Civil Rights Museum. King was standing on the motel's balcony at the place near the wreath. He was only 39 years old when he was killed.

It is still shocking to be at this place, and to sense the incredible loss that affected every American.

Mississippi mud

Martha and I were thrilled to have the chance to actually put our feet in the Mississippi mud. We grew up hearing about the Mississippi River, but it is another thing to see if and to put our feet in it. Jewell took us to a place along the river where there are parks, walking paths, and riverboats.

Made it to Memphis

Arriving at the home of a friend was a welcome relief. This was our longest driving day... 600 miles...

My friend Jewell Reed and his wife Junianne, had dinner ready for the two tired cross-country travelers when we arrived.

After sharing an enjoyable meal, we visited a while, and then Jewell offered to take us down to Beale Street, to check out the historic venues of blues musicians.

Pig Out Palace, Henryetta, OK

We were looking for a place to pull off so we could change drivers, and Henryetta, OK looked like the next "big" place on the map.

As we approached the town, there were signs along the road, announcing "all you can eat" at Huckleberry's Pig Out Palace.

This was too good to miss, so we pulled over and enjoyed the scenery. The sign says "Huck the pig says, 'If you leave here hungry, it ain't my fault." There were some cute metal pigs decorating the front yard too.

Oklahoma ......O K L A H O M A .....OK

Martha did the drive, straight through Texas, across the whole state. (at least across the whole part of the top part of the state.) When we got to Oklahoma, we were looking for a good "Welcome to Oklahoma" sign so we could get a photo, but we passed them before we knew it.

We settled on stopping on the side of an exit, got out of the car and called my sister Laura. When she answered, we burst into song...."Okkkk..lahoma, where the wind comes sweeping down the plains, where the waving wheat can sure smell sweet when the wind comes right behind the rain....."

This was an irresistible opportunity to share a "memories of my dad" moment. My dad loved to burst into songs that were related to something in the present environment, and this moment was too perfect to not share it with Laura. Martha also remembers our dad doing this as well as her own dad...so it was a sweet remembrance.

Sunday heading East....

Going through Texas, we came across Groom.

This cross is the main attraction.



The perspective is not clear from my photo (top), but you can get the idea from the aerial photo (lower right).

Made it to Albuquerque ... and visited old friends

Both Martha and I have friends in Albuquerque, so we made a stop here to visit and enjoy their company. We had time to relax, eat some good food, and take the time to catch up with old friends. What could get better than this?

I went with my friend Sylvia...to the 50th birthday party of one of her neices...and I got to meet and photograph her with her siblings...and to enjoy her family and the festive celebration.

Kayenta, Arizona sunrise & Monument Valley, Utah

We pulled into Kayenta just after sunset, and there was even enough time to get dinner before hitting the sack. After a good hike and a long drive, we were ready to rest.

In the morning, I was up at the crack of dawn, and the desert openness and the morning sunrise was a real treat.

We were heading to Albuquerque to visit and stay with friends, but we were so close to Monument Valley, we just had to head north before heading south.

From top to bottom

From up at the top


and then back down to the river.....it was HOT coming down.....and were we glad to get in the cold water at the bottom of the hike!!!!

Where to from here??? ...back in the car and head east.....not sure how far we'll get...what we will see along the way...or where we will stop. This is the wonder of the journey.

From the top looking back

The perspective isn't obvious from this photo, or the incredible colors.

You just have to be there, or here as the case may be.

View at the top of Angel's Landing

It was around 10:30 am or so when we started up the trail...and even though it was getting hot, we had lots of shade around to comfort and cool us.

The last part of the hike, is going up some steep and narrow edges of the mountain, so the park has some permanent chain fences that can be used to hold onto. I loved the walk, (and didn't use the chains) and it was just fun to see this new terrain and enjoy the redness of the rock and the shape of the sides of the mountains.

This is so different from our Sierra granite mountains.

Angel's landing in Zion National Park

Hi friends,
Martha and I are having such a fun trip...we are just going along and stopping when and where we want..This is really a perfect way for us to travel...and we are having good fortune along the way.......we are finding really good places to eat and meeting very good people on this journey...

Yesterday we stayed in Zion Nat. Park with a woman that Laura, Amey and I met on the top of Clouds Rest. Katrin and her husband run a program called Zion Adventures, and she had said to come see her if we ever came that way...so we did..She have us a good tip for a wonderful hike ..up to Angels Landing...what a view!!!

The afternoon was just driving through beautiful red, white, yellow plateaus....just truly magical.

All is well and good. Sara

The road

The road stretched out in front of us...

we would estimate the miles ahead for as far as we could see...

and we drove on and on into Utah

arriving just in time for a delicious dinner at the Whiptail Grill in Sprindale, Utah..then to a good night's sleep.

Tonopah, Nevada

We had a chance to stop at another town called Tonopah. The town is an old mining town and they still let you go out to mine for yourself.

We got a tour of a store called Otteson's World Famous Turquoise, and Dean Otteson showed us around. Martha got some beautiful turquoise rocks, and we thought of how much both of her parents loved all kinds of rocks too.

It is so interesting to hear the stories of why people live where they do, and how they got there. So many people feel like they are exactly in the right place for them, and I was quite fascinated by these stories.

Benton Hot Springs

This place is in the middle of nowhere.

We stopped to stretch and then got back in the car and kept going.

What would be next?

Mobil Station in Lee Vining

It's always good to start the day with some good food, and a sense of the plan for the day...and then we were off again....heading east.

the trail

...just meandering along the trail is so perfect.

Tuolumne River

Morning over at the Lyle fork of the Tuolumne River.. just the right place to be.

John Muir shared his insights...

"Climb the mountains and get their good tidings.

Nature's grace will flow into you as sunshine flows into trees.

The winds will blow their own freshness into you and the storms their energy, while cares will drop off like autumn leaves."

— John Muir

Miller Cascades at sunset

We arrived at Tuolumne Lodge by 5 pm, and after settling in, we walked over to Miller Cascasdes and enjoyed the setting sun on this beautiful rippling stream. Many an hour has been spent by our families, enjoying this area. Another day was coming to an end...tomorrow lay ahead of us.

Tenaya Lake...always beautiful

Taking our time leaving the bay area, meant going through Yosemite, and Tuolumne Meadows in the late afternoon, so we thought we might as well try our luck and see if we could get a room in the High Sierra camp in the Meadows. Luck was with us and by 3pm, the front desk called us to say there had been a cancellation and we had a room.

Relaxed with the knowledge that we had a familiar place to stay that night, we drove into the Park, and stopped at Olmstead Point and at Tenaya Lake. This country is so much a place where I feel at home, and Martha loves it too, so we were truly "happy campers."

Missing anything?

We hadn't driven too far, when Martha realized she didn't have a camera, so we stopped at one of the shopping malls along the 580 freeway in the central valley, and she got just the camera she wanted.

We wanted to support local businesses along the whole trip, so we began close to home. We both agreed to just take our time.

Meet my friend Martha...

This is my friend Martha Chase. Our parents were good friends while we were growing up and the Smiths would often go camping with the Chase family. A few weeks ago, Martha heard that I was taking the car to Lisa and Andrew, and she said, "I'll go with you....I've always wanted to drive across the country." She understands completely, the idea of "let's go exploring"....so on Wednesday August 19th...off we go.

First stop - visit a friend

The first stop of my trip was to visit my friend Ed Huber in Mt. View. (The photo is at Glacier Point, from a trip we took to Yosemite earlier this year.)

Taking time to be with friends seemed like just the right thing...so why hurry out of the bay area?
Dinner with a friend? and breakfast too?

Good time to relax and practice not being in a hurry. There is plenty of time to drive to Florida.

Getting on the road

Ready or not, here we go!!

Part of the idea of this trip is to take time slowly.... not to rush to Florida....but to enjoy the journey.

So after packing the car, with my neighbor Susan jesting from across the street, "I thought you were leaving yesterday"... I actually did drive down the street, and felt like I actually was starting this trip.

Part of what is strange about this trip, is that neither of my parents are around to know about it, to give me a traditional "waving dish cloth send-off", or to be available to call and let them know what's happening. So this really is, a new beginning for me...a special journey.

Let's go exploring

The last Calvin and Hobbes cartoon shows the two of them in a snowy field.

Calvin says "Wow, it really snowed last night! Isn't it wonderful?"

Hobbes says, "Everything familiar has disappeared! the world looks brand-new!"

Calvin says "A new year...a fresh, clean start."

Hobbes says, "It's like having a white sheet of paper to draw on!"

Calvin adds, "A day full of possibilities!"...then continues, " It's a magical world, Hobbes ol' buddy... Let's go exploring!"

Trying to keep this quote in mind, as I take off on this adventure. The spirit of being open to the things that are unknown and unpredictable seems like an important part of this trip.

Let's go exploring!

Exploring the familiar - a good place to start

Well, since today seems to be the day I will start my adventure, Laura and I decided to start the day with a hot drink at our local Peet's coffee shop on Pacific Avenue.

Familiar? Yes! People know how we like our drinks, and that we often will get a vegan scone.

We have places where we like to sit, and when it's crowded, we even have a back up plan to make a simple seating area off to the side.

Being able to start the trip with something this familiar, made facing the unknown much easier.
Thank you Laura for the good send off and the imaginary waving dish towel.

Let's go exploring.