Just to keep y'all posted: Wednesday, 01 July, I actually WILL be vacating my lovely room here in Vegas to continue on with this trek of mine. In this concerted effort of mine to pay attention to what life & love wish to show me, I am listening. Thus far, I have neither regretted my decision to do this trip, nor have I looked back. I am doing my best to not force anything.
After having spoken with another new friend who actually lived in the San Diego area, I'll continue heading west to the Pacific Ocean and the PCH (Pacific Coast Highway). From there I'll head to the Great Redwood Forest & mebbe a little into Oregon before turning around toward my cousins in Wyoming and Montana.
Observation(s): 1. This is the best I've felt in ages.
2. Odd how we have notions of how we want our lives to turn out and just what kind of people we feel we really are. But little by little we can relinquish these ideas to others opinions of how we should be/act. ALLOWING someone to dictate how we feel, think, function & speak... is as awful as the person wishing to manipulate us!!! It is perfectly dreadful to wake up and realize you don't know who you are anymore... especially when someone has made you feel ashamed of just who you WERE. That by your being "you', this was somehow not good enough. That you are inadequate, that you miss the mark... a sure way to loose your identity, is to believe this.
Please know that I feel that each of you is a unique and wonderful person... and it's been fun getting to know you, whether we've grown up together or just met this week. : )
Tuesday, June 30, 2009
Friday, June 26, 2009
old strip...3
last of the old strip...ok jilly that should be enuff to keep ya busy for a few minutes!!! lollol ; )
Old Vegas Strip!!!
Thursday, my friend's daughter took me on a tour of the casinos and the old vegas strip as well as the Astrotower. We were in search of an infamous (possibly now extinct) set of cards on the sidewalk/street. Then, in the evening I went to see the "Phantom of the Opera" at the Venetian Casino. Wow, nice atmosphere and great performance!
Grand Canyon!!!!
I have a picture of my grandmother, somewhere in the '30's, on a mule standing in queue on a rim of the Grand Canyon. Would loooove to have done this... can't wait for the next time I come here. So, I did the next best thing: I took a helicopter ride into the Grand Canyon. The ride was amazing, but the views were phenomenal. As we were approaching the rim of the canyon, the helicopter music played a Journey song, "Midnight Train"... and right at the perfect moment in sync with the tune, we crested the rim and the world fell away!!! The pilot took us to the bottom of the canyon and then to the top where we were greeted by the Halupai People doing a welcome dance. While there, most of us bought a separate ticket to go out onto the see-thru walkway out into the canyon!!! (Yuss...it was a lil skeery to cross over it!) We then took a bus to the south face for lunch and a short hike to a 360' view of the canyon. Mere words cannot express... how humbling that really is.
Hoover Dam
I was so excited to cross the Hoover Dam!!! Having seen it in several movies ("Fools Rush In" was one), I was just tickeled to finally SEE it for myself!!! Now, fair warning: there is no line painted down the middle signifying the division between New Mexico & Arizona. Would a been cool! Crossed over during twilight... my favorite time of day. (Think "Twilight Time" by the Moody Blues.)
On the way to the Hoover Dam, I happened upon The Meteor Crater Museum... very nice place centered around a meteor collision with earth. Very quiet.
Saturday, June 20, 2009
21 June 2009 Vegas
Huloooo... from Las Vegas, Nevada.
As to the San Antonio, Texas experience: Glad it's over. :| The best part of it was having spent time getting to know some people on SL... a certain young kitten with whom I will be co-ruling the universe; a crazy Cali photographer; a very nice Idahoan or Jilly alt... time will tell!; & especially one flirty, fluffy fatmouthed Caledonian.
Carlsbad Caverns has two main attractions: the bats & the caverns. The evening I arrived, I watched as thousands of bats flew out into the evening air to feed for the night, only to return in the morning to perpetuate the ritual. Twas pretty amazing to watch. The next morning I rode the elevator down 750 feet & walked through the caverns on a self-guided tour. Among the deep dark beauty of the treasures of middle earth, I trudged along with others including a grandfather walking with his grands: a girl of about 10 and her brother of about 9. As you may know, caves are chock full of stalagmites and stalactites, formed by the constant dripping off the walls. Therefore there's a myriad of columns throughout. Half way through the tour, we wound up rather bottle-necked at a lighted bend in the trail. As we approached, we could overhear the group in front of us talking about the lighted formation, all I know was I heard the word "booby". All of a sudden I hear this squeal of delight. Next I see the little boy elbowing his sister saying, "Hey, did you see the booby?!?!?", "hyuk, hyuk", "That was a booby rock!!!", and so on ad nauseum, much to his grand dad's chagrin. [two thoughts: 1. that fixation starts earlier than I'd imagined. & 2. it was amusing to note that we'd passed by a host of phallic columns with no comment, but put one boob in the mix... hahaha!!!]
I skipped the Petrified Forest for lack of rain gear and ark, but I did manage to get out to the Meteor Crater Museum, in Flagstaff, Arizona. Then I crossed over the Hoover Dam: IMPRESSIVE! I am hoping to get pictures loaded up this week.
My college friend, Kathy, met me at this swanky hotel & casino, Aliante Station. Just by the name, I knew it'd be good luck. On trying to check in I was informed I was at the wrong hotel. UGH! The reservation guy had gotten it wrong. However, the other sister hotel did NOT accept pets. I simply asked how they were going to make this right by me, and wound up with several amenities: bumped up into a suite (with omg 3 phones!!!); a discounted rate; and a lesser fee in case the dawgz eat the sofa or flat screen tv.
HAPPY FATHER'S DAY!!!!! hugs to dad's all round!
Had a girls' afternoon out with my friend Kathy and her daughter. The name of the store was "Hottest Dam Boutique" in Boulder City. Fun! We ended the evening with dinner at TGIF, pecan crusted chicken salad (yummy!)... too much sangria (is there REALLY such a thing?!?!)... & after they left, I tried a tumbler of Glenlivet 12 year old Scotch... I now see why this could be a favorite! Tough on the 1st swig, then smooth as silk with a nice after taste.
Am off to discover las Vegas... lol!!! Hey, girls... they REALLY do have a Chippendales Show!!!!!! woot woot!!! hahahaa... skips off in search... roflmbo!!!!
Wednesday, June 10, 2009
10 June 2009
My life long friend, Bill, has recommended a fav book of his: "Blue Highways", by William Least Heat-Moon. In it, Moon writes, "Since leaving home, I felt for the first time at rest. Sitting full in the moment, I practiced the god-awful difficulty of just paying attention. ...[a man's] observations and curiosity, they make and remake him." As I wait for the restful feeling to come, I keep soaking things in.
Saturday nights have always had their very own energy. My sister and her family had gone to a Quinceañera, a big 15th birthday bash for a relative of her husband's Tex-Mex family. I wasn't up to a crowd, no matter how welcoming they were, so I stayed behind. After dark, I took the dogs on a long walk enjoying the summer breeze and the gorgeous full moon. It gets incredibly hot here in Texas during the day, and I could feel the heat still radiating from the road and sidewalks, releasing as it went the recognizably pungent scent of tar from the pavement. The other aromas of this early summer evening included dinners cooking; laundry being dried in a dryer; the clean odor of freshly mown grass; and the ever present smokey odor of barbecue grills being stoked up. The sounds of were plentiful as well. The crazy birds (mockingbirds?) they have here were chirping and flying around even after the sun set. Voices wafted on the air in those gentle tones neighbor's reserve for quiet summer evenings when things are calm. Tunes and television shows could be heard from different houses along the way.
Then, as I rounded a corner, I started feeling the beat. The beat of someone's car stereo system at max bass, volume and power. Someone's date had arrived to pick her up. His car looked like something off Second Life (SL) or "Who Framed Roger Rabbit"! The shiny, special order hubcaps kept spinning and sparkling in the light of the street lamps as well as the neon blue lights the young man had mounted on the bottom of the four sides of his car. Serving to illuminate the path to the vehicle as well as announce to the free world that "This is MY car!!". The license tag was trimmed in blue lights as well, only these circled around the tag in a never ending swirl. My dogs were suspicious of this sight. I can only imagine that it must have seemed like an alien spaceship to them. I smiled all the way back to my sister's house in spite of it all.
Next Monday can almost not come soon enough! That is the day I have picked to begin the next leg of this walk about of mine (from "Crocodile Dundee".) Family is great, the nephews and nieces (phews) have all grown tremendously in this past year. Yet my frustration mounts daily. We are so very different, my sisters and I. I believe children need schedules, routines and an idea of what their day will be like. My sister practices another way of living: always keep them guessing! You can tell my upbringing was influenced more by our regimented grandmother than our bohemian mother. Nuff said.
Friday, June 5, 2009
Friday 05 JUNE 09 Texas
Greetings from Buffalo, Texas!! & yes every store and ranch seems to be named after the mighty American bison. :)
I wanted to share with y'all about the last few days of what I'll call processing time. I do try to get to the essence of the things I describe... but I'm tellin' y'all now if I could do Haiku & get my point across...? I soooo would!!!!
Monday night I almost didn't leave New Jersey. I had this overwhelming sense of fear and started looking for a place to turn the car around. Then a greater sensation took over: The fear that if I went back I'd probably never be able to leave again. I screwed up whatever I had of courage & actually "borrowed" some from each of you. The only lyrics I could recall were a verse from Long Nights "Have no fear for when Im alone I'll be better off than I was before..."
IDK if any of you believe in looking for "signs" of confirmation as you go through your days, but I am dusting off the skills box I packed them up in ages ago. As far as that goes, I will be trying my best to let Love lead the way on this trip. Each of you and a handful more are part and parcel of the signs department. Meaning, if I hear a song that we've listened to or see a sign with your name on it, I consider those as good indications. Imma dork... what can I say? :)
The things I want to remember from the past few days are:
The way the sky looked over the peach groves as the sun set. The giant clouds were blanketed with multi colored jewel tones from the rays that sparkled and shimmered in the slowly dying remains of the early summer sunlight.
At the very first rest stop, I felt the cool evening breeze as it touched my face & went through my hair like the fingertips of a close friend or lover.
The way James Taylor tunes sound better in the mountains.
The bright half moon shining over my left shoulder like a grinning friend, both beautiful and comforting.
The double bridges crossing over the Mississippi river.
The hamburger I had in Rayville, Louisiana. ^^
The longhorn & Brahma cows in the fields of Texas. Ranches with crazy looking entrance ways.
Ruby Falls, Tennessee where I had hiked ages ago... had lunch there on Tuesday and then walked my dogs. What a view!!!!
The way the road curved to give the best view of the small lighted city of Chattanooga, Tennessee.
Passing through the Appalachian mountains, the night air creates a fog which permeates through the forests and roadways.
The song which now reminds me of hanging out with Jilly in the Blarney Stone chatting guys up in SL: "Boots On", by Randy Houser. ROFL... you just KNOW it's true!!!
Off I-495, near the Chevy Chase, MD exit, this surreal looking castle appeared in the night sky in Maryland. I thought I was seeing things! Out of nowhere, just as the road curved, straight ahead was a white "castle" made up of three square buildings of graduating sizes. The center one was the tallest and had a tall, thin, needlelike spire with what looked like a crescent moon on the tip top and a star a few feet under. There were lights attached to the bottom third of the outer walls, pointing upwards. This allowed the bottom portion to remain in the dark, thus creating the "floating" look. If anyone knows what this building is please enlighten me.
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