The Microwave Picnic

Lately I've been thinking about  a trip I took with my mom to North Carolina. We were heading out to Charlotte for my Step-Sister's wedding and I'd decided, if I was going to be that close to the Atlantic ocean I wanted to go all the way to it and see the ocean. I'd been to see the Pacific on numerous occasions but never to the Atlantic. When I was planning the trip I had several people laugh at me and say "One ocean looks just like the rest." Now that I've traveled a bit, I can tell them that is just not true.

In southern California, the ocean meats up with sandy sunny beaches with various shades of aqua and blue. Heading north in California, the landscape grows bluer and cloudy. In Galveston, Texas, the boardwalk and beach borders a browner churning water of the Gulf of Mexico. Ireland, the air is crisper, bright green borders the smooth sandy beaches with deep blue water. The Atlantic off of Bald Head Island is rich and relaxed. Some might argue that the differences lay in the beaches and surrounding communities rather than the ocean, but to me, those differences are what makes the ocean in that part of the world.

Anyhow, we spent the day driving from Charlotte down to Bald Head Island and Southport, North Carolina. We'd explored the island, seeing an old lighthouse (Old Baldy) and having a great time. When we finally made our way back to Southport we searched out the hotel we'd reserved with only to find no one was on site and no one was answering the phone. We were stuck in Southport, suddenly with no hotel and the prospect of a four hour drive back to Charlotte that night did not sound appetizing. So I hopped on my trusty blackberry phone and searched out a nearby Comfort Suites hotel, we were in luck, they had a room available. So we drove over and checked in and were treated so well. The drawback now was most of the restaurants in this small community had already closed down for the night, and neither of us had eaten since lunch, we were HUNGRY.

Luckily, next door to the hotel there was a grocery store and our room, had a little wet bar with microwave. I knew we were set for food. I told mom to grab her purse we were going to go get dinner. It was fun running through the Lowe's Food looking for dinner supplies. With my knowledge of prepared food we ended up with a three course dinner of prepacked salad, macaroni and cheese, cooked chicken, a steam in bag microwave veggies, and individual ice creams for dessert. I don't think mom ever realized you could pretty much get a fully prepared and yummy dinner from a grocery store. With my experience of having zero time to cook from hours of school work, I'd become well acquainted with this part of grocery stores. It wasn't a fantastic five star meal by any means but I still think back with fond memories of that night when I showed my mom the ropes of getting a good meal while only having a microwave to cook with. Best part, no leftovers so no food wasted.

It was fun, that little twist of fate in our plans, a lesson learned and one that's proven to be true over and over in my journeys since then. Sometimes the unplanned adventures are the best adventures.

Good Plans, bad hotel!

In my travels, I've gotten pretty good at figuring out what hotels to choose and which hotels to skip. I've learned about hotels that are in good locations and one's that might be a little questionable. I've learned how to navigate through reviews and know which reviews to ignore as they are biased toward the good or the bad and which reviews are reliable with information I should trust.

For the most part, this skill I've developed has served me well...except last Friday. I'd planned a weekend trip to hang out in Williams, explore the area relax in a nice hotel, spend some time with both locals and visitors, and getting a feel for the town. That didn't go as planned.

The hotel was terrible. The reviews had mentioned that the place was under renovations so construction materials were everywhere. Okay, that happens. Glad to know the hotel will be getting nicer, as long as it's clean. Other reviews commented on the dated and ugly rooms, I guess that's why the renovations right? Again, as long as it's clean none of this bothers me. Renovations usually happen during the day and I'm usually out and about exploring all day anyhow so no big deal. Oh was I wrong!!

I arrived to the hotel, yes it looked a little run down on the outside, the place needed a good sand and paint job but otherwise not too bad. There were construction materials stacked around the hotel so it did me good to know that they were working to make this little place nicer. The pool and the parking lot both were in good condition so my initial impression was this won't be too bad. I pull into the check-in area and thus begins the experience.

Check in was easy enough, usually is when they want to take your money. Then I was directed to my room, he started out showing me the room location on a property map on the counter, when I easily deduced the room was visible out the window from where I stood, things began to degrade. The concierge talked to me like I was a child when I pointed to the physical building that I could see out the window instead of looking down at the property map he had on the counter. Then immediately told me the free breakfast that I'd been offered through the website booking I'd done wasn't being offered during construction. No apology, no voucher for a local restaurant, no discount...oh and no communication from anyone prior to my reservation to inform me of this booking change. I brushed this annoying little interaction off as just the end of a long stressful day at work and was eager to get to my room and get some dinner, I was exhausted and hungry.

As I drove to my room, all eyes were on me. Every hotel guest standing outside their rooms (and there were several) stood, staring me down as I drove my car around to a closer space. I felt extremely uncomfortable. I brushed it off and headed up to my room. OH.....GEEZ! This place wasn't just under construction, this place wasn't just old, it was DISGUSTING!! The floors were dirty, I don't think the carpets have been vacuumed in a long time. Only one lamp of five was even plugged in, I had to hunt for plugs for the other lamps just so I could have a little light in the room. The toilet was disgusting, there was no towel rod despite the brackets being in place and anchored. The shower curtain was stained and filthy. The only word that could describe the bed...SAG.  I wanted to cry, in fact, I did. I wasn't going to stay in this place, so out went the bag and back into the car. Out went me, being stared down the entire time by the same guests. Off I went for the hour and a half drive back home.

I find it ironic that I'm writing a book set in Williams about the owner of a crappy hotel that is working to fix it up and that is exactly what I got. I am fine with old, I'm fine with renovations, I've stayed in both types of hotels but they had one thing in common. They were clean!

Music on the Road

Today as I work on final preparations for my 2nd epic road trip I pulled together my Road Trip 2017 play list. This meant a day of downloading songs I purchased or owned already into my media player to create the ultimate mixed CD playlist.

On past journeys I've done similar things so I would have all my favorite songs right at my fingertips and avoiding taking my massive CD collection with me. (Yes I still do CD's and love them!) I've driven through Yosemite to the tunes of a unique guitarist. I've flown down the freeway to California motivated by Rascal Flats' Life is a Highway. I've climbed the freeways to Northern Arizona to the strains of Sheryl Crow and weaved my way through a vineyard listening to Under the Tuscan Sun.

The emotion I felt as we emerged from the red rocks into Page still sings through me as I listen to Lenka's The Bright Side and Celtic Women sing with me as I relive driving down the roads of Ireland. All have tied those lovely songs to wonderful memories of the trips I've taken.

There are so many memories tied to the music I listen to, so many trips that stay with me through that music. As I prepared my CD playlist for the next journey, I organized the songs, figured which I indeed wanted to take with me on this trip and then spent the next couple hours burning those CD's. Now as I've just completed the task and have the small stack next to me waiting until I tuck them into my travel CD case. I look forward to the memories I will get to make with that music. I just hope my rental car has a CD player.

Visiting Inishmore dun Aengus

It sounded like distant thunder. I kept looking around, the day had been threatening rain but nothing that looked capable of producing the booms I heard every couple minutes. As we climbed the mildly steep trail I looked at mom and asked if she new what it was, she didn't either. We continued our way up the trail from the visitors center, today we were going to be seeing Dun Aengus on  Inishmore. you may not be familiar with the name, but I'm positive if you've seen cliff pictures of Ireland, you've seen the cliffs by this historical fort. It was a beautiful walk up from the visitor center. Rock walls, sturdy in construction but appearing haphazardly constructed lined the pathway. Most followed the path but some rule breakers climbed over the wall and headed toward the cliff face. 

To the left I could see where the land ended in a sharp drop off and knew the sea would be far below. To the right was a gentle slope downhill to the ocean. Both sides though I could see the sea stretching far out ahead. Ahead up the hill was the stone fort, a massive structure surrounded by a wall. A single entrance, large enough for one person. Despite the number of people, there wasn't a wait to get through the opening. We just went inside the fort. I was surprised to see how open and large the space was surrounded on three sides by rock walls. The fourth side, there is was, the view I'd been waiting to see. The view that had been on my bucket list for ages. The famous cliffs of Inishmore, I was finally here. 

As I neared the edge of the cliff, it occurred to me the booming noise I'd been hearing wasn't thunder, it wasn't a canon shooting in the distance. It was the ocean hitting the bottom of the cliffs. It was amazing to stand at the top and see the wonder of the landscape and feel the power of the ocean. Far below the water had carved a hollow at the bottom of the cliffs, when the water slapped the rock, a loud boom could be heard. It was beautiful, majestic, breathtaking there, a view I will never forget.

After a time we finally had to peel ourselves away from the cliffs, we had a guide waiting for us at the bottom. As we traversed down the trail back to the visitor center I knew that this was an event that would never leave my mind. I knew that for years to come I'd remember that feeling of standing at the top of the cliffs, feeling the breeze on my skin, smelling the salty ocean, seeing the dizzying height, and hearing the thunder of the sea against rock.

Salad and Soda in Ireland

One thing I learned in my three weeks in Ireland was that communication wasn't always as easy as I thought it would be, even when visiting an English speaking country. I knew of the commonly used differences in language like "lift" instead of "elevator" and "boot" instead of "trunk" but there were so many others that I'd never heard of until I was there. I learned quickly to ask for directions to a "petrol" station instead of a "gas" station if I needed to fuel the rental car. Asking for a gas station just led to directions to getting propane. If you ordered food and wanted it "to go" you asked for "take away." Those differences were easy. There were two things though that I never did quite master in the three weeks, one I still haven't figured out how to do.

First, salad. In the states, salad is often in references to a group of ingredients tossed together. Fruit salad is several types of fruit cut up and tossed together in a bowl. Tuna, potato, and egg salad have the main ingredient by name plus mayo and other staples that often end up in the bowl, mixed up and served. In Ireland, salad was lettuce and tomato unless otherwise noted. If the sandwich you ordered was advertised as having salad it didn't mean a salad on the side, it meant there was lettuce and tomato on the sandwich. An egg salad sandwich wasn't what I thought it would be. Instead it was a fried egg (the yolk cooked through) on bread topped with lettuce, tomato, and mayo. Not bad but a little weird when your expecting the states version of egg salad. By the end of my time in Ireland, I'd pretty much sorted out that bit of information and had mastered many of the other differences in language. (although I will admit I never did figure out what the street sign "traffic calming" meant.)

There was one thing though I never did figure out. That was ordering a soda. I understand that throughout the states alone there are different ways to order that fizzy drink you want. In some parts you might order a pop, in some a soda (like we do here in Arizona), still others you order a coke regardless of what type of soda you want. In Ireland, I tried ordering a pop and got a confused look. I tried ordering a soda, they thought I meant a soda water. I tried ordering a fizzy drink, no luck. I tried all the different ways that I could think of and each time I resorted to describing drink brands, Dr. Pepper, Coke, Pepsi, Sprite, etc and the server would then understand what I was requesting. Never once did they correct me, and I really wish they had because I still don't know to order a soda. One day when I go back I hope that I'll be able to figure out exactly how to master this particular challenge. One can only drink so much water and tea before wanting a little variety in the sweet icy coldness of a soft drink.

A Vineyard Tour!

We rolled along a gently rising road, music played softly in the background, the soundtrack to Under the Tuscan Sun. This music was fitting as we drove up toward Firestone Vineyard with rows of grape vines stretching out in both directions.

The day had been perfect and we were finally doing something I'd wanted to do for a long time. Visit and tour an honest-to-goodness vineyard. It was gorgeous! We made our way into the parking lot, mom, who has been my companion on many of my journeys was in the passenger seat of her car snapping pictures as quickly as she could.

 The main building which housed the tasting room, a small gift area, and where you purchased tour tickets was huge! Inside was beautiful, large glass windows filled one wall giving way to an amazing view of the hills surrounding the area. The bar tops and walls were beautiful with rich wood polished to gleam. Two words could describe the place, elegant and beautiful!

On the tour we were able to see where the grapes were crushed, learned about the differences in wines, and saw where the fermenting process took place. We saw the vineyards up close, standing right next to a row where the tour guide showed how the vines were protected and harvested. The entire experience was like stepping out of reality and onto the set of a Hollywood movie, it was all so perfect. The beautiful buildings, the breathtaking vineyards, the well-kept but more rustic rooms where the grapes were harvested and turned into wine. As the tour drew to a close, we stopped at an odd looking tree, we learned this tree was a cork tree. The bark of this tree is harvested to make corks for wine bottles (which doesn't hurt the tree). It was interesting to feel this tree and the spongy texture one might expect from a natural cork.

I was sorry to leave the beauty of the vineyard but loved the experience. The elegance, the beauty, and yet the knowledge that hours of hard work went into making the place what it was at that moment.

Oh the Jellies!

I watch as the waves roll onto the stone steps and black rocks. The scenery is beautiful at the tip of St. John's Point in County Donegal, Ireland. Mom and I have just finished walking about a mile from the car to this point. Behind me is the road I'd just walked away from and the lighthouse we'd walked out to see. The lighthouse itself was alright but nothing spectacular. A simple white tower with a little trim of red but completely inaccessible as it was surrounded by a wall and signage that made it clear that entry was not permitted. For the entire walk to St. John's Point we'd seen no one, it was just us, the grass, the waves, the lighthouse, and a few cows off in the distance. It was beautiful.

As I walked away from the lighthouse toward the water, I noticed a small concrete walkway with steps that led down to the ocean. I supposed people used this point to enter the water or possibly, tie a boat up to the shore. I neared the walkway and immediately came to a stop, perplexed I noticed little blueish-purple blobs dotting the cement all the way down to the water. Curious, I continued down the steps toward the water, careful to avoid the blobs, but it was quite impossible since there were so many of them. I studied them wondering what they were but then noticed the same little blobs were floating in the water. Only those little blobs had shape, some were pulsing in the water even. Then it hit me, Jellyfish. Thousands of Jellyfish were floating in the ocean, caught in the gentle waves that buffered them against the rocks and cement. These little creatures had no hope of surviving where they were. I wondered as I watched them swirl in the water, how had they ended up in this little cove?

I longed to help the Jellyfish but knew that it was impossible. I felt a bit sad for the little guys, my sadness was short lived though. Mom, not noticing the little blobs on the sidewalk had zipped past me to the lowest steps she could get to without being hit by the water. Her camera was focused on the water, she was fascinated by the little blobbies and was taking as many pictures as she could, trying to get the perfect image. At this point she asks what they are so I tell her Jellyfish and mention they must be caught in the current to be getting washed up on the sidewalk.

She paused in her picture taking to look up at me, then realization dawns on her as she looks back down at her feet and sees the Jellyfish dotting the cement. "Oh my God!" She cries and immediately tip toes her way back up the steps and off the cement walkway doing her very best to keep from stepping on any of the little blobs. This doesn't stop the fascination though, before long, she's back to the walkway and takes several close up photos of the walkway blobs before zooming into the ocean again to capture images of the ones in the water.

As sad as it was to see all these Jellyfish, there was a beauty to it all. The experience of life and death at the hands of nature, and the knowledge that this circle of life continues regardless of anyone's presence or knowledge of these occurrences. In this circumstance, it seemed that life just is.