Just spent a couple of really nice days zigzagging through the civil war historical center of Virginia, West Virginia and Pennsylavania. ("The Hallowed Trail", as one visitor center person called it.) Had no real direction so went north, south, east and west as the mood would take me.  Drove up the Syline Drive from Harrisonburg, VA and ended up in Front Royal, Virginia.  Drove south through beautiful vineyard and horse country, into Culpeper, up to Winchester, over to Harpers Ferry into Frederick, VA, up and over to Gettysburg.  Harpers Ferry was really well presented by the National Park Service.  In fact, I'd like to compliment the service on what a great job it has done in preserving and presenting the natural and human histories of the places I have been.  Pretty much followed the Appalachian Trail from the Great Smokies, into the Cherokee National Forest,  Blue Ridge Parkway, Shenandoah Valley, Skyline Drive on into Harpers Ferry. All along the way there are wonderful spaces with educational presentations using a variety of media. I am impressed.  And, most every town and city along the way has a terrific visitor center with knowledgeable people there who are wanting to tell you their history and have you explore their community.  I have made it a habit recently to go directly to the visitor center, tell them that I have no idea what I want to do or where I want to go and invariably I am treated to all kinds of literature, directions and ideas for what to do and where to go next.  Great experience. (I had a great time in Harpers Ferry and don't usually buy souvenirs, but, feeling good, I bought Ozzy a National Bark Ranger bandanna.  He seems to like it alright...looks very handsome.)

The only real objective in mind is to find Ozzy a fenced in dog park and when I first get to a visitor center that's what I ask for.  Always gets smiles from the people behind the counter.  Most every community has one.  Okay Plymouth, NH...I still love you with all my heart, but, why no dog park is beyond me.  Every town of Plymouth's size has one. And, watching how Ozzy has blossomed and become more sociable and playful, I wonder how much better he would have been had he had one in Plymouth to go to.  They are just wonderful places for dogs to socialize and figure out how to be a dog. And, I think sometimes, good place for people to socialize and figure out how to be more like human beings.

It is not just early "season" down here, but, more like "pre-season."  So, most of the campground and visitor centers in the parks are still closed for the winter.  It has made it difficult to find places to sleep for the night (slept the past four nights in interstate rest areas and a Flying J truck stop), but on the other hand I have pretty much had the most beautiful places all to myself.  No traffic, crowds, etc.  Imagine having a 33 mile stretch of the Shenandoah Valley all to yourself, except for the many deer I saw.  I could have, and at times did, drive on either side of the road to get the best view without fear of other cars to disturb me.  It was terrific.  I have posted a couple of photos on my Facebook page which you might like to check out.

I have made it back to Lancaster, PA where I plan to spend 3 or 4 days.

Also bought a book about Rin Tin Tin which is great.  The dog was more famous and was paid more money than most of the human actors of the time.  Hmmm, the dog more popular than the human?

   

With reference to my last post...I drove the Blue Ridge Parkway into the Cherokee National Forest looking for a campsite. The Backbone camping area, Shady Valley?  Nothing is open, it turns out, in any national sites north of the Great Smokies...too early in the season.  So, I found myself in Damascus, TN and found a shop that caters to Appalachian Trail hikers.  The guy inside said that I could just go up Route 58 and park beside the road on any pull-off.  So, I drove the Jefferson Forest for a while until I found a suitable spot. Got there around three in the afternoon and napped on and off until almost 8:00PM when I had the realization that I was headed toward being a part of a headline that you read about people camping in Deliverance territory.  You know, "Retired University Professor found eviscerated floating in the Jefferson Forest River. When questioned, the two toothless meth-addled suspects said that they were just out lookin' for a good tahm."  So, I drove back to Damascus and found the Hikers Inn.  A really nice hostel, the details of which are noted in my previous post.

So, I have taken care of all of my business except for completing my Passport Renewal Application.  I wrote the Letter of Recommendation, did my laundry, made calls to and updated needed business with Travelers Insurance, Verizon Wireless, Overlook Condo Association, Mid-State Medical, UPS Store and got my oil ["all"] changed.  Today the plan is to hang out in Harrisonburg, VA at the library, just across the street form the really nice Visitor Center in which I am writing this post, and will complete my passport information.

After, Ozzy and I will go to a great dog park we found yesterday on the outskirts of Harrisonburg...very nice park, dogs and people.  And nice little city.  Home of James Madison University.  Had a nice, reasonably priced lunch at The Artful Dodger.  A funky, hip place.

I have a project which has been bugging me for a while.  Ozzy's feeding station in the van is just not as efficient or accessible as I would like it to be, so, I think there will be a trip to PetSmart and Lowe's in my future today as well. 

After Harrisonburg?  Not sure.  Maybe head into W. VA for a day or two.  Think I will go over to the Skyline Drive and just kinda feel my way to the next stop in the journey.

I'm usually much better at making a short story long, but, allow me to try a long story short...staying tonight in Hikers Inn, Damascus, TN.  Just off the Appalachian Trail.  Ozzy and me $25.00 for the night.  The hot shower was worth that alone!  Safe in a warm room, clean and secure.  What a nice place this is...my hat off to Paul and Lee, Proprietors.  Will sleep soundly tonight.

I did not go to Johnson City, TN on Thursday.  I went to Asheville, NC instead.  But, I am now in Johnson City having left Asheville earlier this morning.  I spent a couple of good days in Asheville and West Asheville. Visited my friend Bethany at her wonderful store, Rhetorical Factory, on Haywood St. in W. Asheville. On Thursday when I left the Smoky Mountain Park, Rob and Dani the people I met from Bloomington, IN also left the park.  Amazingly, as I was sitting talking to Bethany, they walked into the store.  Small world!! Busked in front of the store on Saturday.  Stayed the nights behind Phil's studio next to the emerge-n-see-art ambulance.  Spent lots of time at the French Broad Dog Park with Ozzy and walked downtown in Asheville around Pack Square and Pritchard Park.  Very nice city.  Expensive, too expensive for me to eat out, but it does have a Whole Foods, Trader Joe's and Harris Tweeter, from which stores I can make a pretty good cuisine. Lots of buskers on the streets, just one group which I thought was pretty good, and I scoped out the downtown area to find the best places to set up and play.  Didn't play downtown this trip, but am ready for the next time in Asheville.

I will spend a short time in Johnson City today and then head to the Cherokee National Park, not too far away, where I understand campsites are $10/night.  Want to spend a couple of days in the woods again. Feeling a bit road weary and trying to figure out just what it is I am trying to do.

I have been trying to make believe that I have no responsibilities, but, in fact I do...

Today:

Write a recommendation for Ali who is applying for a job as a Montessori teacher.

Do my laundry.

Tomorrow:

Call Mid-State Medical and make an appointment for a check-up when I am in Plymouth in May.

Call Conor at Verizon and figure out what's going on with my Verizon account.

Get an oil change.

Fill out my passport renewal application.

Call Mark at UPS to see about getting a mailbox.

Call Travelers Insurance to check on status of my homeowner's insurance.

Okay, a recommendation letter for Ali...

Before I get to current events, I would like to just comment on my time in Athens, GA.  Went there after deciding to head north again out of Jacksonville, FL.  I liked the place and would have liked to have explored some more.  Had dinner in a place called Clocked...nothing real memorable, but, good and cheap.  Earlier in the day I talked to a University of Georgia police officer who told me I could probably get away with parking and sleeping overnight in the parking garage downtown.  I was rousted out of there by a garage security guy who told me I couldn't stay there. But, I made it to 4:00AM and parked there the night before and got 8 good hours of sleep.[Georgia became more and more difficult to find safe and risk free overnight parking.  Wal-Marts are not camper friendly, for the most part, and post scary looking signs about towing at owner's expense for unauthorized vehicles. Georgia turned out to be my least favorite of places, so far.) 

And, oh yes, let me rant a bit about people and their dogs in Georgia.  I have never seen so many unneutered male dogs in my life.  Their owners bring them to the dog parks and practice very little control over them.  Ozzy was mounted and attacked by a few of these dogs.  He suffered no physical injuries, but lost a bit of his confidence and developed some kind of skin problem which I'm not sure what it was, but, am sure that it was from these encounters.  I have kept my eye on it and all seems to be healing well.  Thought for a while we would need to visit a vet, but, all is okay.  Eddie at Cafe Monte Alto has a sign that no pets are allowed in the coffee shop.  I have always said, and am now even more convinced, that his sign should read, "No stupid pet owners allowed inside."  

So, at 4:00AM, Athens, GA, awakened by security guard, headed to Smoky Mountain National Park which brings me to current events. I spent an incredibly wonderful week in the Elkmont Campground beside the Little River. (See my video on FaceBook.)  Met some really nice thirty-something people from Bloomington, IN who encouraged me to visit, and, I will when I head toward Madison, WI.  Rob is a sound engineer for concerts and a musician, and Dani is a drummer who plays in a Motown band called The Vallures.  I love it.  She also works at a music store in Bloomington.

Last night I went to the Sugarland Moonshine Distillery in Gatlinburg, TN.  Those who know me know that I really don't drink much alcohol at all.  But at Sugarland they have these booths where a server gives samples of their eight "shines" and I could not resist.  Rye, Corn, Peach, Apple...Free samples of all eight kinds.  So, after I partook in that process there was a band, Buffalo Wabs and the Price Hill Hustlers at the distillery.  Free "shine" and free music.  A great night out and way to end my time in the Smokies.

It's Thursday and raining hard today.  I decided to leave the park today.  Was gonna stay one more day, but, just time to go.  It was a great week.  Read a good book by Bill Bryson, practiced guitar and mandolin, walked with Ozzy through the woods, gazed into the campfire and river and made believe that I have no responsibilities.  I am writing from Starbucks in Pigeon Forge, TN, home of Dollywood. (Doesn't open for the season until Saturday.)

Headed today, I think, to Johnson City, TN...rock me mama...

A couple of links for you: First is Buffalo Wabs and the Price Hill Hustle, second is The Sugarland Distilling Company.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R2pMhTqxM6Q
http://www.sugarlandsdistilling.com/

Very brief post...
I am staying in the Elkmont Campground in Great Smoky Mountain National Park. Great campsite.  See video I posted on Facebook. No phone/internet service at all.  Writing this from Gatlinburg, TN where my observation, without meaning disparagement to any of my Christian friends, is that there are a lot of Christians, declaring themselves so by the lines and verses, and churches' and schools' names on their t-shirts, who have gone to frolic in Gomorrah.  If you've been to Gatlinburg you know what I mean.
So, the long and short is there will not be a Sunday update as Ozzy and I now plan to remain in the woods for a couple of days.

Executive decision time...
I am just north of Jacksonville, FL without any desire to go further south into Florida.  Ozzy, especially, and I spent a very uncomfortable night in the humidity and heat.  So, I am going to abandon my plans to go to Daytona Beach and instead will return in a northerly direction back into Georgia.  I'm going to go to Athens, GA today, home of the University of Georgia and more moderate temperatures.
I am not unhappy about not continuing to Daytona Beach. On this journey I have tried to eliminate generalizations about myself...I am this way or I am that way.  But, honestly, I am not a hot weather or beach person.  {Can't remember the last time I wore shorts: maybe forty years ago? maybe fifty?}  The only real reason I would have gone to the beach would have been to look at young women in very little clothing.  (Not a bad thing, but not worth the gas, time and heat.)  So, I am turning around and headed north.
I had a mixed time in Savannah.  What a beautiful city with so much to offer in art, landscape/architecture and culture.  However, I really never felt safe there.  After leaving I read several articles on the internet about the crime in Savannah. It appears I was not wrong in feeling the way I did.  Too bad, lovely city. I did try to apply for a Busker's License, but the approval time could be two to three weeks...too long for me to stay.
So, Ozzy and I are off to Athens.  Don't know yet how this effects my plans to go to New Orleans, or the rest of any of my plans, for that matter.  I have been trying to play it all without any real set agenda. However, I am thinking seriously about returning to Plymouth in May for graduation at Plymouth State. There are still quite a few students who will be graduating who were students of mine.  I would like to see them "walk."  So, there you have it...for now...

I had a great visit with Kathleen and Paul in Charleston, SC.  Watched Shark Tank, Antique Road Show, Survivor, two NASCAR 500 races, and the movie Across the Universe which I have seen several times and love.  Terrific movie.

Last Sunday I went to the UU Church with Kathleen for a sitting meditation.  She and I met 40 years ago when I was a member of a spiritual organization which practiced a sitting meditation.  I was a "premie", a devotee of Guru Maraji, a thirteen year-old guru.  It was a great stop on the path to enlightenment, upon which path I have made several other great stops and hope to make many more.  Enlightenment is always a becoming.  People ask me if I'm a Buddhist and my response is that I am, when I am practicing Buddhism. And, I can just tell that enlightenment, for me, will not be achieved in this lifetime. I have been on retreat with Thich Nhat Hanh on three or four occasions and today consider him my teacher.

Ozzy and I have been on the road now for a little over six months.  It really has been a great experience and I am looking forward to more.  Vehicle is running great, finances are good, we have visited many interesting places, done lots of interesting things. Ozzy has bloomed with this experience.  He is such a happy dog. Every new place we go to we find a dog park and he has become less and less of a loner, walking the fringes of the parks.  He has begun to run and play with other dogs, by himself run back and forth and in circles. Tail is always up and wagging. A smile on his face.  It brings tears to my eyes to watch him play.  How many of you remember what he was like when he first came into my life?

I saw some great music in Charleston.  Went to the Gogol Bordello concert I was thinking about and had the best time.  So much fun!  I had wanted to see them for the past couple of years but it was never really the right time or place.  The stars aligned for the show in Charleston, in the Music Farm, a great venue for the band and the band was even better than I had hoped.  Their videos don't do them justice.

I performed a house concert for Kathleen, Paul and Katie, a very nice teacher friend of Kathleen's, which was fun.

I left Charleston Thursday morning and spent the next day quietly in Hilton Head, SC.  Let me talk about food, a bit...A couple of years ago I began a new diet, eliminating meat, sugar, white flour and dairy, especially cheese, milk and ice cream from my diet.  I eat mostly whole grains, fruit and vegetables.  I have discovered over time that I just can't digest cheese and meat. But, I had cravings for emmenthaler cheese which I love and could never find in Plymouth, but found in Charleston and other places.  To make a long story short, I binged on it and suffered the consequences with a discomfitted gut.  This, as much as any other reason, forced me into a low-key day in Hilton Head.  I am now back on track with eating and foreseeing more pleasant feelings.

In Savannah today.  Would like to spend a couple of days here exploring.  Spent the night in Walmart parking lot.  Weather was not nice yesterday and went to see the movie, Still Alice.  Very moving!

So, where next after Savannah?  I always thought that New Orleans would be my next destination, but, looking at the map, it is a long way from Savannah to New Orleans with not a lot in between.  Thinking about going to Florida, maybe Daytona Beach, it's spring break time, and then maybe across to Tallahassee, Mobile and into New Orleans.  Never been to Daytona Beach for Spring Break.  I will, of course, keep you updated.

*********

I wrote all of the above yesterday, Saturday before a wonderful day of exploring Savannah.  Happened upon a Farmers' Market in Forsyth Park.  Waited in line 20 minutes for a cup of coffee at The Sentient Bean, happily waited, not so much for the coffee as for the ambience.  Spent most of the day in the park in the most dog friendly place I have ever been.  Zillions of dogs being walked.  I am told downtown businesses put out water bowls on the streets.  Walked Ozzy in the park on a leash which he usually doesn't like, but, he was very, very well behaved and got lots of compliments from others on his good behavior. Found out busking in the city requires a license which can only be gotten here on Wednesdays.  Don't know if I'll be here that long.  Though, maybe falling in love with Savannah?  Today off to the center market and maybe the River Street District.  Feeling great, good night sleep last night in Walmart parking lot next to a nice clean wooded mulched area.  All systems go...

Okay, Ozzy's visit to the vet went very well.  He was a good boy and the vet says that he is in perfect shape.

I have spent the past couple of days just walking around downtown Charleston.  I have been here many times and have always loved it here.  Would like to busk but the weather continues to frustrate my efforts to do so.  Went to see a couple of bands at the Palmetto Brewery with Kathleen and Paul.

Will go this morning to church with Kathleen.  We will be going to the Unitarian Universalist church in downtown Charleston.  It is the oldest UU church in the south originally built revolutionary war era.  Has a graveyard surrounding which is really interesting.  Hope I don't draw lightning bolts to the site.

Don't know how much longer I will be here.  Weather continues to be dismal.  Gogol Bordello is playing in town Tuesday night and I would really like to catch the show.  Don't know.  So, I will be here through Monday and maybe through Wednesday, then off to Savannah, Georgia.

That's all for today's post. (I did post mid-week, you may want to check out.)  I can smell the coffee...