Be Here Now

I have not caught up with these blogs. I have also not given up hope of doing so, and neither should you. But I do want to give all you people who I love an honest update of time and place, in REAL time.

I'm in Tucson, AZ. Currently using the internet connection at Alex and Linda's. This afternoon I have also taken advantage of their patio, for the sunshine; their washer and dryer, for clean clothes; and their hot tub, for an utterly relaxing hour of water massage.

The last couple days have been a whirlwind of activity and new people and "old friends" and rediscovering what it means to be on a roadtrip and why I'm on one. I'd gotten a bit staid in Tucson and flying the coop to Tempe last Thursday was the best decision I could have made. I met Neil and Dan for the first time, surrogate uncles that I've only ever heard stories of. I entertained myself and felt glorious about my power to do what I wished when I wished. I reconnected with friends I'd met the previous weekend. I met new people and marveled at my ability to be social and engaging (but boy it's exhausting).

I started the day in Flagstaff, a city that startles me in it's similarity to Portland. I went there on a lark with Ashley Burrell who I met in Mexico this time last year. We groggily and grudgingly got going this morning. Had to get Ashley back to her Law School Duties (yeah, I said duty). Mother Nature dumped 4 feet of snow on Flagstaff last week, in 2 DAYS! So there was still plenty of snow to go around up in Flagstaff's staggering (and headache provoking) 7,000' elevation. An hour drive south and the snow was completely gone. Two and a half hours down the road, dropping Ashley off in Tempe and I was going barefoot. Incredible!

Rob left for the rafting trip 10 days ago, the night of the 21st; it was a heart wrenching parting. We decided to split up, not because of any disagreement or any hardship uncovered by traveling together. On the contrary, we had a ball. The split is for "practical" reasons of a forced 2 month separation with exciting adventures to be had by both of us. And then, Rob doesn't know where he'll land when he's back in Maine, but he knows he doesn't want to live in Portland. And my heart is in Portland. I'm dreaming and scheming to build my business there. That alone is a pretty sizable wedge. But it doesn't make the split suck any less. To be sooooooo in love with someone and to have successfully traveled with them (no small feat, as my parents can attest), then to break-up for "logical" reasons? Well, I suppose that follows the scientist rules that govern Rob's world and have rubbed off a bit on me. It feels very sane to have the logic behind the decision but quite insane when my heart says "NO, You're crazy, what are you doing?" so clearly. So needless to say the last week + have been tumultuous. I've had the blessing of my aunt Kathie's casita here in Tucson to hole up in and cry when I need to. It feels amazing to have a space that I can claim as my own, a very rare treasure when you're on the road. But I've been pushing myself pretty hard to get out of the house and meet people and go on adventures. I've met at least 15 new people in the last 10 days who have enriched my life (wow!), I went to Dillinger Days, I hosted some other roadtrippers, I met more family, I have fallen further in love
with everything that couchsurfing.org is and stands for, I crossed the border into Nogales, Mexico (seeing missions on the way and discovering a love for Hornito's tequila); I went to the Desert Museum, I hiked thru Sabino canyon and forded the freezing river many times, I've shared meals with people who wow me with their generosity of spirit and openness of heart, and listened to bad flamenco guitar music. (Not bad for being heartbroken in a town where I started only knowing 4 people, huh?)

Early last week I got a 3 day "stagehand" gig helping Wolfe with his  new show. This starts tomorrow (which is why I'm back in Tucson now) and SO VERY Excited to get to be a part of the process of production "ironing".

So begins my new style of blogging and my resolution to catch up on previous adventures with lots of pretty pictures while at the same time keeping all ya'll more up to date on current events in my life.

"Make voyages. Attempt them. There's nothing else."

— Tennessee Williams

The Black Forest Fancies

Coincidence is one of the most beautiful things about traveling. Here I was at this magical purple home in New Orleans, hosted thru couchsurfing by random people who I was already thinking of as friends and overhearing conversations of puppets. I jump into the conversation, engaging Rhe in puppet talk. She proceeded to detail some gorgeous puppet events she’d seen and taken part in. Then she mentioned that tomorrow she’d be moving the puppets and set pieces to a new warehouse location where the Black Forest Fancies would be remounting one of their shows: The Pomology of Sweetness and Light.

I offered my services as an excellent mover of all things and went to meet the U-haul and the other puppeteers at their homebase.

Please check out their website, because they describe the essence of their show better than I could ever hope to.

Meeting these inspirational characters of both the human variety and the puppet variety was a highlight of New Orleans and my trip thus far.

New Orleans Adventures

New Orleans was amazing. I was prepared to like it, I was not expecting to now count it among places that I would live. I spent three nights in this battered phoenix city; it is truly rising from the ashes (or river sludge, as it were).

We arrived to a very purple house

in the By-Water district wedged between the infamous Frenchman’s St and the 9th Ward where Hurricane Katrina took the largest toll.

Heather opened the door and let us into more than just her home. The house has the kind of community of roommates and friends that come and linger often. It is a very welcoming place to be.

And best of all Rob and I got to sleep in the recently built loft, looking out over the living room, with the tall Christmas tree still glowing, and the kitchen.

The house was a great refuge affording us a couple friendly nights of domicile. The first filled with conversation, shared food and The Avengers (classic TV show).

The second night filled with a game night beginning with Boggle and the Big Lebowski, continuing with “Nouns in a Bag” introduced to the fray by Rob and potentially ill-advised “White Russians” thanks to “the Dude”.

Rob and I went to a delicious breakfast at Surrey’s Juice Bar, I sat in the same seat Matthew McConaughey sat in when he ate there. Really, here’s the picture to prove it… you might need a magnifying glass.




Going for a drive through the Garden District to check out the architecture, I drove though an intersection, looked to my right and saw a couple walking. Of that couple I recognized the woman as Mikey Glasser, a girl I went to Tanglewood 4-H camp with for 8 years. There was no question in my mind that it was her. I stopped the car (thank god for light traffic), opened my door and yelled her name. Sure enough, she looked around. After much amazement at the coincidence of it all I invited Mikey and her boyfriend Steven over for game night.

Rob and I also met up with them the next day for a late afternoon coffee and what a brilliant chance to catch up it was. Learning what people do and how they relate to the world and the realm they live in is very engaging.

The action packed, last full day we were to spend in New Orleans was FULL indeed. Starting with breakfast of homemade huevos rancheros a’la Zach was amazing (Lizzy you’ll have to go a stretch to beat it, I bet you’re up to the challenge though, and I look forward to it).

Continuing with a drive through the Lower 9th Ward to survey the damage and reclamation that has taken place because of Katrina. On to the Art House, Tree House;

in Rob’s words it looks like a McDonald’s jungle gym and a junkyard got dropped on this lot and half of it got stuck in a tree. This was a mesh walkway between the two trees in the backyard. Scary and Exhilarating!

It was amazing! I climbed all over, holding my breath at times because most of the pieces were held there by knotted ropes and prayers. Did I mention that one of the slides is a water slide into a pool and another is hanging 10 feet over a tarp covered pile of cushions? Right, I didn't try those, it was a little cold that day.

Then checking into India House Hostel where we would spend the night (another hostel for Seren to ogle).

Next, on to the massive expanses of cemetery.

The rusty version of a masoleum.

Rob's full name is Robert Larzelere Stenger III. He was startled to find a crypt with his middle name on it and is convinced that he is related to the bones encased within.

Then coffee with Mikey and Steven in the dark. Such a storm blew up outside that the power went out for the hour we sat in the café. Then we sped over to the N. Robertson warehouse where the The Black Forest Fancies’ puppet rehearsal was due to be starting any moment.

We watched the 2 hour rehearsal as they manipulated their charges brilliantly and ironed out the kinks of working in a new space.

Then back to the Hostel to whip up some dinner

before a brief nap and out on the town to get a taste of the New Orleans nightlife/music scene which we had thus far missed. Took the trolley down to the French Quarter, meandered along Bourbon St. without stopping, just people watching was enough, walked the mile or so over to Frenchman’s St in search of good music and beer.

‘Good’ is a relative term, being rather sleepy and lack luster we didn’t feel like getting up the $10 cover to get into see the brass band we had been aiming for. Instead, we settled in a huge scarcely populated bar at the end of the strip with a ragamuffin brass band.

What they lacked in talent they made up for with enthusiasm. We tried a NOLA ale to wash down the tunes and both ended up to be pleasant though not earth shaking.

After the brass band we tried the blues club and a reggae club before calling it a night and trekking back to Canal St. to catch the trolley home.

Rolling into bed with Rob at 3am, I was very grateful to be there but I wouldn’t have traded that day of adventuring for anything.

The 'Bama

As I drove to across the Florida peninsula from Nana and Grampa Stenger’s to Ariel and Aaron’s I caught up on some correspondence. Talked to my parents at length, getting the blow by blow of Lole’s (our much beloved family cat) last days. I had to pull the car over for that conversation, driving and crying don’t mix. I also caught up with Graham. One of our topics was Alabama, a state where he just recently received his masters. He told me Mobile was worth checking out. As I had no clear impression of where we were headed next and it would shave 2-3 hours off the days drive if we stopped in Mobile rather than beelining it for New Orleans I took it under advisement.

The night before we left Florida (after Avatar in 3-D) Rob got on couchsurfing.org and contacted some Mobilians. By morning two had responded with “come ahead”. Unbelievable! That’s the best and quickest response we’ve gotten from any CSers anywhere.

Off we went driving across the amazingly long Florida panhandle. I didn’t really have a grasp on how big a strip that is but it went on most of the day.

As we were setting out for Alabama, Monday morning, January 11th we realized that we did not possess a recording of “Sweet Home Alabama”. This travesty was solved in Rob’s world by resolving that we could simply sing the song as we crossed into the state. At that threat I instructed him on how to download it on the iPhone, so we could have more lines to sing along to than just the chorus. WIN.

Crossed into Alabama just as the sun was setting, maybe it was twilight that was to blame but driving though picturesque farmlands felt a little mystical,

 
a word I would not have previously associated with Alabama.


We found our couchsurfing host’s, Josh McMinn, home without incident and enjoyed a quite night of trading travel stories. As I had just been feeling the need to slow down and since Josh was so welcoming and trusting we decided to stay a second night and catch up on chores and breathing. I’ve been feeling like the country is moving by me very fast and I’m missing the simple pleasures of reading a book or pausing daily for a yoga practice and time for journal reflections. Heck, I’m still way behind in posting on this blog.

I’ve been doing so many good things. Whether it’s enjoying Jim Dale reading me Harry Potter (again, and getting Rob addicted too), or exploring Bon Secour National Wildlife Refuge,

(All of the houses are on stilts. I heard that the flood insurance is astromically expensive round these parts.)

cooking simple dinners in kitchens that are only mine for a night or two and getting good at finding what I need without asking, watching days come and go, observing the lengthening of the days. Enjoying sunsets (even if it does mean that I have to put down my knitting in the car). I’m knitting Rob a pair of socks, I won’t get them done before we part ways… He requested ninja turtle toes so he can wear them with ease inside his Chacos. I laughed at the request, but I’m enjoying the challenge of making them look uniform (and perfect) with this abnormal toe. It is slowing me down somewhat as I have to rip it and try again and again

The second night we all went on an escapade to pick up a papasan chair which just BARELY fit in Josh’s car, before heading to The Garage for a couple brews, card games, more couchsurfers and fun conversations. Favorite event of the evening: southern girls telling me they liked my hair  :) 

Wednesday we were slated to head to New Orleans but before we got going we met up with Kenneth, another Mobile couchsurf host, and got a little guided tour around Mobile.

Imagine if my roadtrip was taken in this horse drawn carriage instead of my little Falkor. I think it might set me back timewise a bit, but it would be kick-ass!

Lunch was had and enjoyed by all at this Mobile classic.

Graham was right. It is worth seeing. Once on the road we were sidetracked by Dauphin Island and Fort Gaines.

There are sooooooooo many oil rigs out in the Gulf, holy moly. I counted over twenty and that’s just what I could see from the beach. (All the little specks on the horizon are oil rigs).

 

Florida

Rob did the driving from Brunswick, Georgia to his grandparents' condo in Cocoa Beach, Florida. On the way there was an exciting view:

Nana and Grampa Stenger have a spacious condo overlooking the open ocean. 

Unfortunately, it never got above 40 degrees while I was there but that didn't stop Rob and I from going for a run on the beach.

We ran down to the pier and dodged the raindrops for a couple minutes. 

Rob's cousin Amanda, her husband Jeff, Rob and I went bowling the next day. We had a ball! (Or many of them). Then on the way out we played many rounds of air-hockey. It was a marvelously fun way to spend an afternoon!

That evening I after a lovely dinner with Rob's family at a tasty restuarant with a ridiculous name, Fish Lips, I drove the hour west to spend the night with Ariel and Aaron.

The next day (Sunday, January 10) Ariel took me to work with her at a local greeting card gift shop. The customers came and went and we chatted away the the hours catching up on a couple years of life story. It was blissful.

That evening a posse gathered at the Regal Cinemas in Winter Park, Florida. We all went to see the 3-D version of Avatar.

For all the hype, I really enjoyed the movie.  It was long, and Cameron quoted himself and other movies over and again, but still it was captivating.

If I find myself within 30 miles of a state capitol on my way thru, I'm making it a point to stop and see it. We passed real close to Tallahassee. This is the historic capitol building. It is now a museum, with the working capitol in a massive skyscraper behind.

We took the elevator up to the 22nd floor. We could look out on 360 degrees of Tallahassee. We couldn't see the ocean but the view was still spectacular.

Hostel in the Forest, Brunswick, Georgia

I've epitomized this hostel as one of my only known roadtrip destinations for a couple months now. Ya know how when a movie gets tons of hype and everyone thinks it's great, your expectations are so high when you finally see the movie that you're always a little let down, and then you realize that it was a pretty good movie, you just had unrealistic expectations? That was my mood swing at the Hostel in the Forest. 

We arrived at 7pm, just in time for 1/2 a tour of the premises, "circle of thanks" and communal dinner.  My spirits were SOOOOOOOOO high.  The people were amazing, the food was amazing, the premises were amazing.

My evening ended by dancing by myself in the kitchen:

The next day (Thursday, January 7) we hiked the trail around the 131 acres owned by the land trust/hostel that is the Hostel in the Forest.

We found a lake,

jungle palmetto groves,

a huge tree,

a hut with a hammock

The walk thru the jungle was warm and sunny, quite a change from the frigid Asheville temps.   Sayings are posted all over the grounds: "Loosen Up"

or "You're Gorgeous" on the mirrors:

After our morning explorations the hostel volunteer staff hooked us up with a workt rade task: making "curtain walls" for the screen hut.  We got all the tools we need, but the given materials were a little questionable: three really ratty blankets. What style do we choose? Rob and I brainstormed and settled on a rolling panel design with bamboo rods sewn into the bottom, both as weight and  for ease of rolling. The project followed a similar trajectory to my mood at the hostel:  I was really excited to have a project, excitingly challenged by the task, annoyed by the hiccups in said project, dismayed to be creating something that looked like it would have very little merit and finally surprisingly pleased with the outcome. The blankets were so holey they could have been blessed by the pope. Patching was the idea but it takes forever and there was no way we were going to complete the project in the 4 hours of daylight we had to work on it.  We began it; the project is started in a way that works well.

The Hostel in the Forest has been going strong for 33 years. It has morphed over that time from an international hostel (jumping on the Hostelling International bandwagon for a short while early on) to what it is now which is much more an experiment in communal living and back-to-the-earth cooperation. It is staffed by a crew of volunteers who are have daily responsibilities like tending to the composting toilets, cooking the evening meal, cleaning the common spaces or caring for the gardens. Then there is the rotating task of manning the phones, taking reservations and being the greeter. Whitney Husz is the present manager. She receives a modest stipend and the final say. She is the arbiter as well as the designator of tasks. All staff contribute to the list-making of jobs to accomplish around the compound and Whitney assigns said jobs to work-trade hostellers. There's plenty to do, but I imagine there's also a delicate balance of necessary guests vs. work-traders staying without paying.

There is a price paid by the staff in such a seemingly idyllic jungle palace: their home is constantly "invaded" by strangers (hostel guests).

Imagine waking in your own hut and walking the boardwalk to the main dome where the kitchen is to get your first cup of morning coffee,

but before you get to the pot you have questions tossed your way by hostellers trying to follow the rules of recycling or looking for the spatula to cook themselves breakfast. Makes the "be here now" taped over the clock on the coffee pot that much more ironic. Staff and Managers last 3-4 months on average. The art of living communally might be a meditation in and of itself.

If you need a place to clear your head and get away for a time, the "Glass House" is the perfect retreat:
 

 
 

The community found at Hostel in the Forest will not soon be forgotten: