The Return

Whew! Annnnnnd we are back. Sorry for the gaping chasm of non posting there. Between saying goodbye to family and friends, driving 2500 miles and dealing with the laptop switcheroo I just dropped the bloggie ball there for awhile.

We had a nice farewell dinner with my parents and Gram. Here is the requisite family in front of the fireplace photo. You know you all have a series of these yourselves....



I am unsure why I forcibly shoved my Mother's head off to the side with my own huge head but she dealt with it very gracefully. I also have to share this one with you because I love the way my Mom is cupping Rudy's butt. You know somebody loves you when they cup you butt as seen here.... and also, you may enjoy seeing me looking toothier than a barracuda.




We let Rudy have one last romp in the frozen back yard. There's a cornfield out back and it was always full of Canada Geese. I am glad we made it through our stay without incident between dog and goose. I think we owe that to the fact that there was a polar ice shelf separating us from the field.




Our drive back west was without incident beside the fact that we had a dead battery when we went to pull out of my parents driveway to leave. That was funny timing. We had a tearful embrace with my Mom... did the wild waving goodbye from the driveway and climbed in, I then turned the key to the sound of a stone cold dead truck. We sat there stunned for a minute thinking that maybe our starter had gone out or that something major was wrong then we gradually realized it was just a dead battery. We charged it up and were on our way.

Let me tell ya... it is a long drive from Northern Illinois to the bay area of California via the southern route. You don't get any instant gratification anywhere along the route. Every state feels enormous. Well, maybe not Oklahoma.... but the rest are so wide open and vast that it really blows your mind. One highlight (funny word) of the drive was staying at The Big Texan Motel in Amarillo, Texas. You may have heard of the place on The Food Network or in a roadside attractions guide. They are famed for their 72 oz steak challenge. If you can finish the 4 pound slab of dead cow along with all the side items (baked potato etc) in under an hour you get the meal free and a cheesy certificate that commemorates your pinnacle moment as a pig. We were not interested in their steak dinners but more so the kitchy motel accommodations. Our room was made of rough wood paneling with not much to spruce it up besides a picture of a steer here and there and there was a Texas flag shower curtain in the weird little bathroom. We scored an old Bogart flick (Key Largo) on the TV and watched it until we konked out.



Just outside of Amarillo to the west you can pull off on the service road and walk out to see The Cadillac Ranch... or Car Henge. I have always wanted to stop and this time we did. We walked out and grabbed a few shots of the spray painted caddy's against the big old blue Texas sky.



We detoured up to Santa Fe for one day so we could visit with Michelle. We stayed right on our old street at Casa del Toro which is a bed and breakfast right down town. They have great rates and the rooms feel like you are staying in someones house. I highly recommend it for anyone traveling to Santa Fe. You can rent a small room on a frugal budget or a fancy decked out house from them and they are great people to deal with. It felt really funny to suddenly be back in the neighborhood we left behind seven months ago to hit the road in the Airstream again. We walked around downtown and ate at a few of our favorite old haunts. I do have to express my disappointment in the Plaza Diner for changing their cherry pie. It was formally on my list of favorite things in the whole wide world to eat and this time it sucked eggs. The food overall was not great.... what gives Plaza Diner? Anyway... we had a fun visit with Chelle. We got to see her new house and stop in at her husband's coffee shop and soak up some rays. I soaked up enough to burn the living crap out of my face.



At Downtown Subscription... two mean customers.



After Santa Fe we had to just haul ass back to Cali. We made it all the way to Needles, CA on the next day of driving and then all the way up Hwy 5 (boring, boring, boring drive) to Fairfield where the trailer was waiting for us yesterday. We arrived after dark and were totally fried from driving. We had to open the trailer door with our fingers and toes crossed that it was not going to be a mold festival inside. It wasn't. Our anti mold set up worked. I can now fully endorse those little humidity soaker upper things they sell at Walmart. We had about six of them in here along with baking soda in the fridge and freezer and it did the trick. Just to be on the safe side we cleaned everything again yesterday.... all the areas that had been a problem before. Billy even climbed up top and cleaned the fan hoods.



We are going to order a dehumidifier and run it at night in Mendocino just to be sure we keep on top of things. I am hoping that once we get up above the mid forties at night condensation will be less of a problem.

So we are glad to be back in California where spring is in full swing. We saw some fabulous displays of wildflowers along the highway yesterday....


Rudy is happy to be back in warmer temps (he did not love the cold in Illinois.) Although he did love eating popcorn and cheese with my Mom. One thing balances out the other.



I am so looking forward to Mendocino. We head up there this Thursday. We are unsure if we will be able to get online from our campsite but I will be posting pics as soon as I can! I am hoping the flowers are in bloom there just like this gorgeous rosemary bush here at the ranch.

Killer Bees? NO! Fleas? MAYBE! Mold? ABSOLUTELY!!!!

So. It has been a long rough day. Let me start the story in the wee hours of the night saayyyy, 4 a.m. Some people may call that early morning for for me it is smack dab in the middle of the night. Anyway.... I woke up at around 4 a.m. and I was absolutely positive that a hive of killer bees was living in the wall of the Airstream right above my head. I could even HEAR them. I was awake.... and I could HEAR them. Or so I thought at that moment. In reality I heard nothing because there are no bees in the wall. I guess I dreamed it. Or maybe I am for real crazy.... but there are no bees. So I eventually went back to sleep. When I next woke it was 8 a.m. and Billy was already up which means that Rudy should have been let out of his crate and should have jumped up in the bed with me. He was nowhere to be seen. So I asked "Where is Rudy?" Well, Rudy was down on the floor writhing in agony nibbling at his haunches and scratching like mad. Fleas. I immediately assumed it was fleas. It had to be fleas right? So I jumped up and looked him over and sure enough he has little red bumps all over his belly and feet. Great.

I went to the ranch supply in Vacaville and grabbed flea shampoo and a new box of Frontline. I HATE putting that crap on my dog but sometimes you have to just give in and do it. When I got home we went to pull all the sheets off the bed because we were going to wash the living shit out of all our stuff to make sure if it IS fleas we get rid of the little bastards right quick. In the process of peeling the bed we discovered an even worse surprise. Mold. The wooden platform our mattress rests on was covered in mold. Fabulous. WTF? It was suddenly like a scene from one of those ebola movies where people in huge white hazmat suits were wandering in and out like space men. Or... I wished that those guys were here. In their absence WE were going to have to deal with this increasingly sucky mess ourselves. Yuck.

I spent the entire day wallowing in bleach and flea products. Today probably shaved a few years off my life. We have a clean dog who is no longer itching. We never did see a single flea on him or in the bath water so who knows.... maybe he got in to a nest of fire ants again or something and there never even were any fleas. But at any rate if any fleas try to get up in here now they will not pass GO and collect $500, they will go straight to broke ass flea heaven.

On to the issue of the mold. We freaked out and cleaned the entire area with undiluted bleach. I have no idea of this is actually the right course of action but it is what we did. I called an Airstream dealership about two hours from here and made an appointment for tomorrow to bring the trailer in and have the wooden platform and hopefully the mattress replaced. We will probably have to wait for the mattress to be shipped but I think they can probably replace the platform pretty easily. The whole mess is stemming from a leak we had in the wall a few weeks ago (during a rainstorm of course) which has since been fixed but apparently enough water got in to cause this kind of damage. And it is also stemming from the fact that three nights ago after reading another Airstreamers blog who was talking about a bunch of repair work they had to have done I went ahead and boasted OUT LOUD about how lucky we have been in not having too many problems with this thing. DING DING DING! We have a winner! One heavy dose of green fuzzyness comin' right at ya! Yeah.... me and my big mouth.

So, tomorrow we drive out mid state to this dealership, drop off the trailer then immediately leave to drive back out to Carmel where we have an appointment to look at a spot on private land where we could potentially live for awhile. We will stay in a hotel in Carmel tomorrow night then drive back up to see what progress has been made with fixing the bed platform. We literally have like three weeks left on our original factory warranty so everyone cross your fingers, toes and eyes for us that they go ahead and fix all this on warranty. It could get ugly. They may have to tear open the wall to see if any mold damage has been done on the interior. If that happens care packages of Valium, wine and cash would be greatly appreciated.

I will let ya know what happens.....

News from the Silver Tube Dwellers

Sometimes I lay awake at night considering the fact that Billy, Rudy and I live inside of a smallish aluminum tube on wheels. This tube has a fridge, microwave, gas stovetop and oven, shower, sink, toilet etc. And then there is the fact that we have lots of stuff in here with us. Random stuff. We have a sock monkey, loads of yarn (for crocheting), books, magazines, a coffee maker, various other kitchen gadgetry, everything Billy needs to create oil paintings, dog toys, I have about 42 pairs of shoes, tons of clothing, etc., etc., etc. It's incredible. This tube is jammed full. And then we live in here too. We drag this thing all over the country. Again... amazing. It is weird how a space like this can become so comfortable. I mean obviously we have become intimately aquainted with every nook and cranny in here. But the weirdest thing which is hard to convey is that this space has become a sanctuary that is mobile. Even if it is parked in a noisy parking lot where we have pulled off the highway to rest and grab a bite to eat it is protection and sanctuary from the bizarro world outside. Thin aluminum walls is all it takes. Billy has suggested that the next step would be to see if we could find comfort and sanctuary living in a cardboard box. I am only game for that if the box is in Tahiti andcomes equippedwith a servant that brings me exotic food, umbrella drinks and reads me to sleep at night while birds of paradise fan me with their tail feathers. Until such a thing can be arranged I will stick with tube livin'.

I thought I would take a portrait today of what we are currently looking like to the world at large. Us with our tube on wheels. I find that we look oddly threatening. Like tiny circus clowns in a hyper realistic nightmare. Well, Billy does not look like a clown... but I most certainly do. I come by it naturally.



We decided to stay home today and rest. I have not been feeling my best for the past few days so it seemed a good idea. I have spent the day reading, working with photos and wasting enormous amounts of time creating my own radio stations on Pandora.

Here are a few more pics from the past few days out here at Point Reyes. We went for a drive yesterday as far north as the town of Tomales and walked the beach there. It was freezing cold and windy but beautiful. We also walked the beach out on Point Reyes and caught a sunset from up on one of the hilltops as we were on our way out of the park.



Rudy and I had a very serious discussion about life and death on the beach when we discovered the skeletal remains of a coyote. He cried a little in disbelief and I assured it him would eventually happen to us all. He said... "Fuck that." Rudy still has a lot of growing up to do.



He then immediately went back to chasing tennis balls and having vast amounts of fun.



Billy observed that my head is many times larger and more powerful than the moon. And so are my sunglasses and teeth.



And finally a couple of views of sunset from the ridge line...




We discovered an area of massive amounts of rolling hills and ranch land covered with thousands of sheep and lambs. It was like cuteoverload come to life before my very eyes. The lambs were doing what lambs do best which is to run, jump and cry in their bleaty little voices. They are the goofiest, sweetest little creatures I can imagine. Besides kittens. Anyway... here are some lambs. These pics were taken just past sundown so they are a bit dark...




If I had my tripod I could have taken a few more but it was getting too dark. And lambs have a very strict bedtime. I did not want to get anyone in trouble.

I am already in a panic that we are leaving this area on Sunday. I wish we could stay for a month or so. I really love this place.

Big Changes Ahead

Time for an update on our plans. As many of you know we have been here in Texas for going on three months now and had planned on spending the next month and a half or so traveling westward through the state to Big Bend, Marfa, etc. And as many of you know... our plans are usually about as reliable as 1980 Yugo with water in it's gas tank.

I have been nosing around on craigslist and in the Santa Fe newspapers for a month or so watching for upcoming rentals that we may be able to make work for us. Ultimately I wanted to find something starting around March 1st that was just outside of town, on acreage which would allow us to park the Airstream on site and continue to use it as a studio and that had a fenced in yard for our grubby little d.o.g. We want to spend 8 months or so in Santa Fe and figured we may as well rent a place to make the stay more comfortable. We have been in the Airstream full time for almost a year now and I thrill at the idea of a whole, real bathroom of my very own for a little while.

We were scheduled to leave this part of Texas at the end of this month to head west to Big Bend. In short... I found a guest house rental in town (Santa Fe) which is a few blocks off the plaza and we rented it. For January 23rd. Oops. There goes Big Bend. Which actually really stinks because we were supposed to meet up with my cousin Chelsea who is working there this winter. This is like the third time a change of plans has kept us from hooking up with her in one national park or another. She will probably never believe me again if I tell her we are coming to see her. She does not have much reason to believe me at this point. I am openly making a public apology... I am a bad cousin and I am sorry Chelsea!

One exciting development and another reason for our extended stay in Santa Fe is that my best friend Michelle is moving there at the end of January. She currently lives in Roanoke, Virginia and is peeling out of that state to relocate to The Land of Enchantment on the very same day we arrive in Santa Fe. It's going to be big fun.

We are getting ready to start packing up for our drive north. We don't even have winter coats on board with us so arriving in northern NM where it is currently pretty danged cold is going to be interesting. Rudy will experience snow for the first time. I will be laid up for a week with mild altitude sickness (almost always gets me upon arriving there) and we will once again be living with a bath tub and a full sized refrigerator. At least for awhile. Not that I am gunning to get out of the trailer... it will just be like a mini vacation from it. Fun.

Today I have a big assed pot of homemade soup cooking on the stove and we are just hanging out soaking up these last few days of warm Texas weather. Rudy is stationed outside guarding the homestead with his ferocious, tough guy appearance. Guarding it against squirrels and blackbirds that is.



And I am stationed at the door guarding the bean soup with my ferocious clown like appearance. As far as who comes off as being more frightening... I think I may be winning that contest hands down.



I think it's safe to say I am the only gal in Texas sporting rainbow striped knit pants and a polka dot balloon shirt. It keeps the banditos away.

Dreary Day

We woke up this morning to the coldest day we have had yet here in Texas. It's in the upper 30's and really foggy and rainy. I know this is nothing to complain about considering what most of the rest of you are dealing with right now for weather.

We had planned to drive to Lost Maples State Park today but decided (obviously) to wait until a nicer day to go. Instead I bundled up and set out with the camera to see if I could find a few bright spots in an otherwise dreary day.

I did find some lovely bright orange feet...




My own yellow rubber clad feet...




And of course Christmas adds a nice splash of color to the scene.



Who knew Texas was so wet? We have pretty much stayed inside reading and chatting on the phone with friends and family for the better part of the day. I may have to take a drive up the street to get a chai tea in a few minutes. It's a perfect day for one.

We Tried.

Well...we made an attempt at hanging out in the trailer today and had big plans to move some stuff into it and see how everything will fit and all that. Yah. For the record, 9 degrees is still not quite where it needs to be for leisurely trailer set up. We were in there just long enough to slop the new quilt on the bed and snap a pic or two before we peeled out. The inside of an aluminum tube is very cold in 9 degree weather. It has now officially been confirmed in case there was ever any question there.
It is looking more and more like set up will have to wait until we can reach greener, warmer pastures...or until we stop being big pussies about the cold. I think the green and warm will come much sooner than the cessation of pussy-ness.

I am off to purchase a much needed chicken rug for the wee bit of kitchen floor area we have from fabulous wrapables.com. I still have not decided between the black chicken or the orange one. I really, truly feel I need BOTH chickens...but I must control and resist the urge to go down that road. There are not enough funds in the poultry rug kitty to maintain such a rich style of living.

I swear on my mittens and chapstick... the first day we hit 30 degrees I am in there for some serious set up. Until then, we remain somewhat defeated in the brutal grip of February 2007.