Lighthouse keepers in training

We are training to be lighthouse keepers this fall at Big Sable Point Lighthouse just north of Ludington, Michigan.

We met other volunteers and got our first tour of the keepers' quarters where we will be staying.

 This will be our room... with the double windows directly below the chimney in the following photo.

the library

When I move to a new town, the first place I like to visit is the library.

Wait a minute; I haven't really ever moved before, have I?

But if I did, I would want to visit the library first thing. It is a romantic little piece of fantasy that I have had in my head about what it would be like to move to a new place.

It has been such a sweet picture in my mind that I guess I've practiced it whenever I've done pretend moves. Like those times when hubby was building a huge log house (meaning a big house from HUGE logs!) on Torch Lake. Yah, that time. I liked to go with him some weeks. Sometimes I would cook dinner for the crew. But mostly I pretended to be a writer or a researcher or a student or something. I found the local library and spent time hanging out there. Sometimes it was for a very practical reason - like internet access. Sometimes it was to skim books that I might want to read - much like I might do during a day at Barnes and Noble. And sometimes I was a writer.

Then when we lived in Southern California last winter, sure enough I headed to the library and spent time there - sometimes for the books, sometimes for the free WiFi, and sometimes to write.

And now we have actually moved away from my hometown and to a new one. So I guess we've actually moved. For real.

And sure enough, yesterday when we started to explore our new town, I headed straight for the library. By the way, we walked there; having it within walking distance most certainly adds to its appeal. I went inside and roamed the perimeter of the main room and wandered through the stacks. I noticed the easy chairs and tables and nooks spying out good writing spots. I asked about practices and procedures.

And now I can't wait to find time to go there to write. AND to take advantage of free WiFi. I'm telling myself that I'm going to spend at least one day a week there.

By the way, it is a most lovely library. Because of my fascination with libraries, I've spent time in many, many of them - among them the wonderful one at Notre Dame University, some in California, and even one in another country. I've reveled in historic old libraries as well as those in refurbished rambling houses. I've found myself sympathetic about small struggling libraries and have thoroughly enjoyed pretty much all of them. 

My new library is housed in a beautiful and wonderfully designed building. It has several cozy corners and sunny alcoves. And did I mention it is within walking distance?!? I can hardly wait to spend a day there. And then another...

I have worked in several different libraries in my lifetime. I loved being a librarian. I'm incredibly grateful that I can just go there to hang out whenever I want.

Libraries and parks are things of wonder. I am impressed to think about the people who many years ago had the foresight to make provision for parks and libraries for future generations. I want to be the kind of person who makes decisions and investments that will make the world a better place.

Busy days, transition days

It has been a week. Or two. A busy week - or so it seems. Each day brought its own brand of busyness. It seems like forever since I've written about our life on the road. So many back-to-back days of activity and so few writing days. Let's see if I can highlight some of the tidbits...

Monday

• Break camp; hitch up and head out from Emerald Isle.
• Drive north into Virginia - checking off another state
• Set up camp at Aquia Pines near Stafford.
• Found bacon-wrapped pizza - YUM!!!

Tuesday

• Drove to Washington D.C.
• Took the double-decker bus tour from Arlington Cemetery all around the city
• Planned to stay on for the entire tour but had to switch buses a couple times - at Union Station and  again at the Lincoln Memorial
• Conclusion: It was a great overview and introduction to the city and I do want to come back for at least a week. I am now making a list of cities that I want to live in - at least for a week or a month.

Wednesday

• Two new states: Maryland and Delaware
• Drove to Delaware for lunch, but ended up coming back across the border and ate at the Market Street Public House in Denton, Maryland.
• Took a risk and ordered soft-shell clam. Probably won't again. Good flavor, but I don't like having that soft shell in there. Nope.
• Found an alternate route back to camp avoiding much of the D.C. traffic congestion

Thursday

• Friends from long ago came for lunch. Yay! So fun to catch up.
• Had made plans for dinner with foster son, Richie, but he had to cancel. Disappointment.

Friday

• Head north again.
• West Virginia - my eleventh new state on this trip
• Finally found Sheetz after seeing them advertised for weeks. We simply had to try their deep-fried macaroni and cheese bites. And given the chance we will most definitely get them again!!!
• Drove through Maryland again (maybe 5 miles or so) and into Pennsylvania.
• Find a Walmart parking lot near Cleveland to boondock for the night.

Saturday

• Drove a couple hours to arrive at Jimmy G's BBQ when they opened at 11 a.m. Dear friend Jimmy was crazy busy as the cook of the day, but took a few minutes to visit with us while we ate his yummy cooking. Getting off the toll road to drop down to Fremont for some Jimmy G's BBQ is most certainly worth the drive.
• Back in Michigan!
• Pulled into Waterford in time to hang out with the grandkids for awhile before bedtime.

Sunday to Tuesday

• Spent the next three days camping in the back yard and catching up on hugs and kisses. On hide and seek. And silly songs. AND laundry.

Wednesday

• Hitched up once again to move to our new spot for the summer, just thirteen miles from the kids. Yay!!!
• Tax Day! Drove to and around the Thumb for a bunch of business stops here and there. Interestingly enough, our route took us all around Kingston and Hidden Hollows, but not quite to them.

Thursday

• Unpacked and set up kitchen cabinets for the summer
• Explored our new town. Walked around our lake and then to the library a couple miles away. Drove a little farther into town and then out to one recreation area.
• We have discovered so many things that we like about the area. Some of them may be topics for other posts.
• Conclusion: I think we're gonna' like it here!!!

 

One page and then another

John Steinbeck said:

I pulled Rocinante into a small picnic area… and got out my book of maps. And suddenly the United States became huge beyond belief and impossible ever to cross. … It was like starting to write a novel. When I face the desolate impossibility of writing five hundred pages a sick sense of failure falls on me and I know I can never do it. This happens every time. Then gradually I write one page and then another. One day’s work is all I can permit myslf to contemplate… So it was now, as I looked at the bright-colored projection of monster America.

Travel days mess with the travel writing

This life on the road has been an adventure. A good adventure mostly. We often speak about how grateful we are for how well it is going. Before we started, we really had no clue if we would even like the vagabond life - which is why we chose to think about this as a time of exploration. It is also why we searched for an older relatively inexpensive RV. It seemed wise to try out the life before investing lots of money in travel equipment.

...

Of course, there were lots of factors to consider...


The small space
Would we be able to survive living in such small quarters? We seem to have adjusted quite well. Probably the most difficult thing is changing the sheets in such cramped quarters


A new place each month
What would it be like having a different address every month or so? Many aspects of that are rather enjoyable. We have discovered that a month is long enough to get a feel for a place and a sense of whether it could ever seem like home. But it is also short enough to not feel like a prison sentence if we really don't connect with the place. It has worked well to try out different areas. That experience can now inform our brainstorming and decision-making about future plans.


Our day-to-day schedule
There was some question about what hubby would do all day long - without a house to maintain, a farm to run or wood-working tools to build things. But his camera and his "photo lab" have facilitated many hours of photographic work. By the way, some of his photos have been published by BBC Travel in an article about the Dominican Republic. He also brought his piano and "recording studio" on this trip, so music has occupied many of his days. (His lab and studio are both contained within his computer.)

Finding something for me to do was of little concern because that never seems to be a problem. More often I have the opposite dilemma - not being able to keep up with all of the projects I want to do. As long as I have a writing notebook, a few books to read, my computer and decent internet access, I can carry on with most of my normal work. My relationship connections around the world and my writing all work fairly well from the road - as long as the internet can keep me connected. What we suspected has turned out to be true; I have no problem finding things to do. And sure enough, I am usually working on more projects that I can possibly keep up with.


Writing projects
For example, I have grand ideas of writing awesome riveting stories about the people and places and cultures we encounter in our travels that will grab an audience of people who can't wait to read the next piece. Of course I planned to post them with consistent regularity. Yah, right. Instead I seem to write mildly interesting posts with sporadic frequency. I'm pleased with much of what I write, but I get discouraged about all that I don't get written. I often feel like these places are slipping by my window and I just can't capture them all. Certainly the best time to write about a place is while I'm living there, but I just can't seem to get 'er done. So then I fear that I will lose it. Lose the memory, lose the moment, lose the beauty of the setting or the fun of the story. And then I feel sad.

At those moments of sadness or discouragement, I sometimes remind myself that John Steinbeck didn't write a single word of his classic Travels with Charley while on the road. Nope. He traveled the country on that epic journey without even beginning to write the story. It was all written after the fact. After the trip had ended. Well, that's a relief! If Steinbeck can do it, maybe I can do it. Of course, I am now already a couple epic journeys behind.


Travel days set me back
I feel pretty good about my writing schedule - WHEN we are in camp. But on travel days... Oh, those travel days and travel weeks - like this past week. They really sabotage my schedule. Funny how travel days mess with the travel writing.


Another journey behind us
And so here we are. Back in Michigan after another epic journey through eighteen states. Places that I want to write about, but have only begun. It seems that I am destined to be behind schedule. All the time. Nothing new about that.

Sure enough; life on the road is pretty much like life anywhere I've ever lived - in that I always bite off more than I can chew. And I am always trying to keep up.

So I keep writing. I keep trying to recall and capture at least some of those moments and some of those glorious scenes. Like scary mountain roads. Like wandering through the stacks at Bart's Books, the world-famous outdoor bookstore in Ojai, California. Like breath-taking moments along the Alaska Highway. Like the interesting people we meet along the way. Like the beach that hosted both sunrise and sunset. Oh, so much to write about. I have barely scratched the surface.

And, on those travel days... Well, I just shouldn't expect to do much writing on travel days. That's just the way it goes. And I guess that's okay.