Emeritus on hiatus...

Briefly, went to Newport, RI...got kicked off of King's Beach at about 10PM...no overnight parking.  Drove to Everett Street where Amie lives and parked on the street for the night.  Saw Amie the next day at her place of work, Pour judgment. (Getting through Providence, RI was a joke...the worst roads and signage imaginable.)   Hit the road and made it to Newmarket, NH where I parked in the parking lot over night.  So, now I am in Plymouth.  I'm gonna be here through graduation, May 16 and then on to Quebec City and west across Canada to Madison, WI.  

 

I am looking forward to a few weeks off the road and spending time with friends/students.  Have already been to Juried Student Art Show and PSU's Got Talent. Will be staying on Tish's property for the duration. 

 

Today, looks to be a nice day, a good one for some spring cleaning.  The van needs some dusting and sprucing.  Until next time...

I took a couple of days to go from Harpers Ferry to Lancaster, PA.  Again, thanks to Judy Watson's kindness I spent the past week crashing on her sofa at night.  Day times were spent at the Buchanan Park Dog Park where Ozzy continued to exhibit the characteristics of a happy dog, occasionally running and chasing other dogs in play.  Went there a couple of times with my friend Dewie and her dog, Mollie. Many people comment on what a happy dog he seems to be.  Time this past week was also spent at Longs Park in Lancaster where I would just park and read the book on Rin Tin Tin which I have been enjoying quite a bit. Had brunch one late morning with Jill and Jim Yescalis, two friends from the sixties.  It was a great visit.  Got some business taken care of: set up a new mailing address (if you would like it, please message me off record) and got my passport photos taken, and submitted my renewal application for my passport which I am hoping to receive in four to six weeks in my new mailbox. Took two!! showers and did my laundry. Friday morning went to Central Market. Also, continued to have conversations with customer service at Verizon Wireless for a problem I have been experiencing with them.  Don't want to get into it here and now, too nice a morning to spoil with that story. It was really nice to take the time off the road for the week. I had become a bit road weary and needed some time to stop, take care of business and just "chill" for a bit.

Yesterday, the plan was to meet Dewie and Merry at the Philadelphia Museum of Art.  Dewie called in the morning to say she was having plumbing problems and wouldn't make it.   So Merry and I decided to go to the Brandywine River Museum instead.  The Brandywine is the homestead property and museum of the Wyeth Family, N.C., Andrew and Jamie.  There was a special exhibit of Jamie's work and we took a guided tour of N.C.'s home and studio.  It was a whole lot of fun.  Extraordinary techniques and narratives by all three generations.  I think that it was a better choice than going to the Philly Museum.  From Brandywine I dropped right onto Route 202 North, then onto 611 North, through some really beautiful rolling farm and horse country, through the Alleghanys and Poconos, through the beautiful picaresque Delaware Water Gap and River Canal, and ended up last night in Middletown, NY at a rest area on I-84, which fortuitously put me about 2 miles away from the Starbucks in which I am writing this blog.

And, Ozzy was a very good dog last night.  At Judy's in Lancaster on the sofa, he bed hogged every night. Last night I told him to go to his bed and he actually stayed there all night long without hogging me at all. Maybe he was as tired of me kicking him in the middle of the night as I was being scrunched by him.

On the road today to I know not where...

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...