Spider Update

I'm pretty sure this is the kind of spider we encountered, en masse. It's a wolf spider with an egg sac. Disgusting, Frightening.

Hey Mom, Thanks for the hiking boots

This is a rock I was recently stuck on top of. The picture was taken from across a small ravine-y thing on top of a mountain. It's about 15 or twenty feet high.



When I was home before coming to Switzerland, my parents and I had a discussion about our fears and we decided that I was not afraid of anything. This is not true. I am afraid heights, and I am afraid of spiders.

The mountains here are fairly deceptive. They seem friendly and inviting. Just about every road I walk down is marked with that familiar yellow diamond with the little walking-guy on it. Every road is a hiking trail. So, Laura and I decided to hike up to an old castle on a hill. My first castle ascent! We headed up the road and ducked under a fence and through a cow pasture. The path was sweet and narrow and uphill, lined with ferns and pokey-brambley like plants. The flora around here is very similar to western Washington's assemblage. Ferny things, deciduous trees and evergreens, ivy, mossy things...There are more cliffs here though.

We got to the end of the path, and there was the castle. I think it's called Chateux Vorburg. There was a railing to keep people from falling over the cliff and a splendid view of the valley below and the mountain beyond. Unfortunately we weren't close enough to actually touch the castle. I've decided that if I can't touch the ruins, it doesn't count for my collection. We passed a very steep trail on our way up, so we decided to double back and take that.

The trail started out steep but manageable. Off to our left I spied a tiny gap in the trees. I decided this was clearly the right trail because it was nearly vertical and if we were going to hike to the castle the way would be straight up. We scrambled up the hill. We were near the top when I stopped to catch my breath on a fallen log. I saw something move near my hand which was in the leaf litter and so I leaned in...and saw HUNDREDS OF SPIDERS. Not just one big spider, not two big spiders but many, many spiders all scurrying around. Because we were in a precarious area there was no safe way to get out of there fast. I was surrounded by spiders, basically on a thinly wooded cliff. I looked around, saw a rock that looked sturdy and scurried up to the top.

On the top, we noticed that we weren't any where near the castle. In fact, we were on a narrow rocky ridge and the castle was at the bottom of the 15 foot rock we were on top of. Luckily all we had to do was climb up about 6 feet of rock and then we were able to cross through a narrow gap and swing down the other side.

When we were up on that ridge, I was pretty sure we'd never get down, because it would probably involve more spiders or cliffs hidden by brushy things. We were pretty lucky to find the little gap in the rocks that we did and I've definitely learned my lesson about trails that aren't.

This is Laura on top of the ridge, after we survived the encounter with the nest of spiders. She's very happy because we didn't fall off the cliff on the way up. She's smiling because we hadn't yet realized that there was another large drop separating us from the castle.















That white pillar thing is the castle, viewed from where we first came to the top of the ridge. It looks small because we were actually fairly far away from it still at that point. The castle was about 40 feet high.










After we survived the castle ascent, we hiked the other direction along the ridge, and came to another cliff. We were looking for a large painting--the canton's flag is painted on a cliff above town. When we got down from there (safely, on well marked, wide trails) we realized that we were sitting right above the painting. I wish I had been able to get a good picture of where we were sitting. We could have hung our legs over the edge of the cliff--it was a drop off, a rock ledge..I've never seen anything like it. We ate chocolate up there and were very nervous.

Cow Update

These are the Chalet cows, and that is the farmer who brought them up. In the foreground, you can see my barbeque...The cows can come within about 20 feet of my kitchen's back door and the smell and flies have been awful all week. And my fly zapper is broken. Ben is fixing it I think.

The bells the cows wear signify their productivity. The bigger the bell, the more valuable and productive the cows are. Some of the bells can be baskeball sized and I'm not sure why PETA isn't all over that one. Those poor cows can't be very happy with that much brass hanging from their necks. The bells are also very expensive--the large bells can cost up to 15 thousand francs.

Soon there will be a big cow-marching-up-the-mountain festival. The cows get all decked out in bows and their owners in something equally fancy I'm sure and they all walk up the hill. Woooo.

These are the neighbors' cows. Thankfully, they do not wear bells. They also have lots of baby cows, how cute. There are many other chalets very close to Our Chalet. I was surprised by how many farms there are in our area. This particular neighbor has the traditional house/barn arrangement. The chalet is divided into two halves--one one side is the barn where they do all the milking and store hay and bring their cows in and the other half is the house. Guess you try to keep your bed off the shared wall...

Most boring post ever

Ahh, I left the mountain last night. I took the 9PM bus out of Adelboden and made it to Delemont by 12:18. Not terribly bad. It feels pretty good to be out in the real world. It's also nice to be in a place where the hills aren't nearly vertical.

During the two days I spent in Delemont right after my arrival, I was sure that I would die from all the hill walking I did. Then I got off the bus in Adelboden, looked up the mountain and said "Are you Kidding me? Seriously? I have to walk up that?" I definitely appreciate lower grade hills more now.

This morning we walked down to town. Delemont is not a really exciting place, but they're setting up a large carnival in the Old Town area. There's a house of horrors I'm dying to check out. It's called New York and has lots of bad interpretations of American things painted on it. My favorite is the baseball player wearing a football helmet. I will give a full report on that delightful amusement tomorrow.

We went to the grocery and bought some very swiss items like unsliced bread and chocolate. You can count on everything being at least twice as expensive here as it is in the States. For example, contact solution here costs 15 francs for the store brand. The good news is that everything is also twice as delicious--though I haven't tried the contact solution yet.

Here's a quick roundup of other things Swiss:

Light switches are buttons. I can't understand the road signs (I saw one today that said "Analog taping prohibited" near as I could tell). Trains are on time. There's no cheddar cheese. And postcards all cost at least one franc.

Cows

They brought the cows up this morning! In the mountains (here) they march the cows up the mountain in the spring following the snow line. We've got a few cows staying here at the chalet for the next two weeks until they march them even higher. Ben has been eyeing one for his supper, but I told him there just isn't room in the freezer.

The cows wear bells, I've been told that we won't get much sleep 'til they move on again.

Kitchen Disasters

There is a learning curve involved with quantity cooking. So far, I've made just about every mistake possible, but not the same one twice--though I haven't been here long enough to say that with much certainty. Yeah, it's been rough. I've made: salty chicken, runny shephards pie, and not enough rice to go around. Tonight is Lasagnae night, hopefully that'll go a bit easier.

I've also learned that the curry paste I use makes awful stains. I brought my dirty shirt in this morning, and I was going to scrub the stains out in the sink. The second I got the shirt wet--the stains turned from sort of a plesant yellow color to bright red. Blood red and spattery. Not a good way to make friends. Woah, luckily I found some bleach and all is well.

That's about how exciting my life is. I cook and then I hang out--last night I sat on the trampoline with some of the other staff 'till nearly 11. They told me they think Americans are stupid and lazy. Humm...hopefully I can show them other wise. I feel like an ambassador--I'm the only American on Senior Staff here at the Chalet.

Hamburg Iowa Update

Apparently I upset the Hamburg Iowa Public relations manger with my irreverent attitude. They left this comment:

Hamburg Iowa really does have more than a gentelman's club. And I hear that the
club is going to be shut down. The owner is up on charges for letting several
underage girls drink and dance there. But remember that your always innocent
until proven guilty. On mothers day on of the old buildings in town fell down.
Just a big hole there now. A new antique mall opening in July of 2008. Popcorn
day has parade, flee market. free popcorn, and sometimes rain.

I am grateful to learn what popcorn day is all about and definitely sorry to hear about the dramatic changes to the Hamburg skyline. I'm so lucky that I got to see the town in its original state.

I've done a bit of research on the Burg myself and have come up with these fun facts, hopefully the Hamburg Representitive will find them more suitable.

It seems that in Hamburg the population is experiencing slightly negative growth, how unfortunate. The census population in 2000 was around 1,200. A cozy little town I'm sure.

Also, the most common industry for males is Food service while health care is the most common industry for females. A town of cooks and nurses. At least that small community can feed and care for themselves.

51% of the population over the age of 15 is currently married, and 9.3% of them have at least a bachelors degree. 79% of them have graduated high school.

Hamburg is home to the Vogel Popcorn factory, which should explain the connection between all these facts, and Popcorn Day, if it is the major employer in town--well, now that the gentleman's club is closing anyway.

Well, that was fun. Hope everyone learned something.

And then the fog cleared.

The Chalet has been blanketed by very thick fog for the past few days. Until yesterday, when around sunset the clouds finally lifted and I saw the mountains for the first time. It's amazing that I was here for three days before I really got to see where I was. And it's Amazing. Take a look.

The Chalet has several buildings. This is the Staff Lodge. I don't live there yet, because there are still spring volunteers taking up space there, but as soon as they hit the road I'll move in there.

This is the Guest Lodge/Reception/Admin building. This is where I'm currently staying. My room is the one in the right hand corner on the 2nd floor. All the summer volunteers are staying in the attic. Like a big slumber party...every night.

I've been having lots of fun with the summer volunteers. After dinner is all cleaned up we usually spend a few hours playing. My second night we played sardines in the mist for several hours, and the next night was Chalet Rules Twister (which is a cut-throat game). I suspect this will change when the visitors show up and everyone is tired from touring around with kiddies all day.

This is the Main Chalet, where my kitchen is. It was built in 1932 and is pretty neat inside. All old wood and doors with iron latches, stuff like that. I've got a little office nook in the kitchen with my own window that I like to lean out of every once in a while. There is also a dorm type room in the attic. I imagine it's a happening place to be in the summer (if you're 12 years old and on the best trip Ever).

These are some of the Summer Volunteers. Working, or something. I don't know, it's my day off. And, because it's my day off, they're running the kitchen today. That's super nice because there's about 5 of them that are writing up my whole kitchen inventory. They're like an army of worker bees. Very efficient and friendly.

This is Kate. She's one of those Spring Volunteers and she's running the kitchen today. She's real neat and I'm sad that we don't overlap here more. I'm not sure why she needs a knife to make cookies though. Perhaps a spatula would be more appropriate for scraping a bowl?

Because it was my day off, I hiked into town. Here's the top of the hill near the Chalet. To get to Adelboden, you have to walk down into Oey, which is in a valley, and then back up the mountain into Adelboden. The vertical rise is about 1000 m on each side. The hike takes me about 35 minutes each way.

Down the hill...into the valley.

Cows with bells. In a few weeks they'll bring all the cows up the road to their summer pastures. It's a big festival. The cows get all dressed up in bows and impossibly big bells (like the size of basketballs). That should be exciting.

The river in the valley, and then up the next mountain to Adelboden.

Adelboden is impossibley cute and every building looks like the

Chalet. This is the visitors center.

I think nearly every town in Switzerland has a clock tower. This is Adelboden's church (I think). The bells are loud here.

And then I walked back to the Chalet. Hope you enjoyed my photo tour of Our Chalet and Adelboden...............

High up on the mountaintop

Hi friends!

Greetings from my little "office" nook in the Chalet Kitchen (to the right of the fridges).

I haven't had a chance to connect my computer to the 'net yet so all those posts I've been saving are forthcoming. It may take nearly a week. Be patient.

In the meantime: The Chalet is amazing. I just finished playing Sardines and Twister with the summer volunteers. My fingers are frozen and life is good.

World Center, Baby!

I made it to Our Chalet. It's cloudy, cold and rainy. In other words...delightful.
The summer volunteers are currently climbing down every fire escape they can find.
On our way to the train station this morning, Laura and I stopped at the Migros for lunch. We met some Very Friendly Swiss there. An old man named John, aged 84 years, was chatty immediately. He can speak nearly five languages, thinks Chicago is overrun with gangsters like Al Capone, and thinks we're "Very Nice Girls". Then came Nelson who's father is Kenyan and so he hopes Obama wins the election. He's some sort of acquaintance with some sort of Obama's family.
Then I got on the train (upright thankfully). I did manage to make as many connections as was possible on my way to Adelboden. Just trying to get my money's worth. The trains here aren't so hard, but I still need to figure out the difference between the fast trains and the slow trains. Between Bielle and Bern we stopped at every village. There are a lot of villages here. Switzerland is a small but compact country. Sprawl is definitely not a problem here. Towns are discrete entities.
I start my training tomorrow, and after having the turkey roll for dinner tonight, I feel confidant that I can at least cook up to the current standards.

Basel, with a long A sound Bay-sill...but Swiss call it: Bahhh-sull.

I decided that I needed to conquer my fear of the train right away. Show that train who's boss and who can't be defeated by a little bit of humiliation. We meant to buy tickets to Bern but were given tickets to Basel. This was probably a good thing. Bern is much further away and I was pretty tired. The train ride went much better this time and I'm nearly over my fear of trains--though tomorrow I'll have to pack up some things and take another long trip down to Adelboden and this time it will involve a bus as well.

We walked around Basel and went to the Natural History Museum. The museum was interesting but was essentially a building full of stuffed animals. Usually I like to take my time in museums and wander around and really get my money's worth. However, all the placards were in German and that significantly speeded up our visit. After the hall of taxidermy we stopped at a small park outside a cathedral and watched people playing bocce ball. If anyone could explain the rules of that game to me I'd be much olbiged. Near as I could tell they were taking as many turns as they felt like, some people took three turns while others only took one. When all the balls were thrown they'd pick them up immediately. I thought they should have counted score, or argued about placement or something. But not in Europe. Everything is so much classier here.

I am very sore, my legs ache and my arms are tender from all my luggage slinging yesterday. I've been doing surprisingly well with the Jet-Lag and am enjoying all the delicious Swiss Chocolate.

Trains, WorstDayEver

The Joys of Swiss Trains

I've heard many good things about Swiss trains. They're speedy, they're quiet, they're clean, they're Easy. This last one is the one I had a little problem with upon my arrival to Switzerland.

I'd been told that "Oh, the trains are easy, you'll figure it out, don't worry about it". So, in the Zuirch airport I had the upmost confidence in my ability to navigate the trains. Oh, words can barely explain how wrong I was.

I in line at the ticket window, hoping that the window clerk could help explain where I should catch the train and at what time. Unfortunately I was spirited away by a man in a bright yellow reflective jacket. He took me over to an automatic ticket machine, punched in my destination, took my money, handed me a few coins, an inexplicable square of paper then said something in German and walked away.

The ticket the man gave me said "Delemont, Olten-Basel" and below that was a string if incomprehensible numbers. No platform, no time, nothing. If I'd known then what I know now: I would have walked up to the large time schedule and found the track number and arrival time for the Olten-Basel train and had a straight connection. But no, I didn't realize what that big blue board with the rotating words and numbers meant so I went for the first escalator I saw (which also meant conquering my fear of riding the escalator with the luggage trolly--it's true, you CAN do it, and they WON'T fall on you or your neighbor. But it only works in Switzerland, don't try that elsewhere). I took the escalator down and started wandering around on the platforms.

By dumb luck, I stumbled upon a train that said "Biel-Bern". That sounded right to me--I remembered Laura saying she needed to catch a train to Biel. So I got on it. With my three bags, I was an embarrassing American. I was much to tired to care though. I was in a big rush to throw all my luggage on the train--up the 18 flights of stairs (okay, three small stairs but it might as well have been the steps to the top of the Washington Monument)-- because I've been conditioned to irregular American trains that will leave with your leg stuck in the door if you happen to be so unfortunate. Once I'd thrown my bags aboard and fallen into a seat I must have arranged my facial features just right to display my pathetic disorientation and a nice older couple offered to help me. I told them I was trying to get to Delemont and asked if I was on the right train. In not so many words and lots of hand-waving they said "oooh, I don't think so: but you can get off at the next stop". At least I was headed in the right direction.

At the next stop, Olten, the couple helped me to my next platform and were gone. When the next train came I was feeling a bit more like I may survive the journey--until I saw the stairs I had to summit. These were steeper and more narrow than before. I was still afraid of being left behind with one of my suitcases out the door so I hurried to get my things on the train. I had about 120 pounds of luggage (lotion! bike stuff! Laura's Stuff, I blame her) to hoist. I strapped my backpack on, flung myself and my small suitcase up the steps and then thought that it would be easy to swing my large bag up while standing on the second-to-top step. The bag was about half-way there when I lost my balance and toppled over. Yes. that's right, my backpack strapped on my feet flailing out the train door and my large bag smashing to the ground. I scrambled to unbuckle my backpack and stand. I put my head out the door and looked down, the people on the platform had horrified expressions and then began laughing. Worst. Day. Ever.

A nice passerby helped me get my large bag on to the train and I kicked my backpack along the floor until I found a seat to hide in. The Swiss are so nice and polite--not many of them stared at me for longer than a few seconds. I decided that if the train at my next stop (Basel) also had stairs that I would just quit and wait for someone to collect me.

Basel's train had no stairs and thus I live to tell this tale.

Hello Europe!

I'm in Frankfurt. I was hoping to spend very little time here, but thanks to Lufthansa's lateness, the two (TWO!) security check points, and a connection gate in hell-and-gone, I've missed my flight to Zurich. Great. And I had such a good first impression of the Lufthansa. They had real pillows, real blankets and real food. They fed us two meals.

They also delivered us late and couldn't be bothered to hold the flight for all the customers on the Portland - Frankfurt flight who needed that connection to Zurich. Not just me. Humph!

Frankfurt has a building that looks just like the space needle. Unfortunately I didn't get to see much of the city because a gaggle of old-folks-on-tour were all in the window seats saying annoying things. One of them also felt the need to latch on to the back of my chair and brace himself for a good portion of the flight. The effect was that I was nearly launched every time he released his old-man weight from it to totter about the cabin. Blood clots are serious business, but I get cranky when I don't get enough sleep.

It's 9:22 local time and I don't know which way is up. Do I count that flight as "last night" and right now "this morning"? Where am I? I don't speak the language, I hold no currency, I'm soft in the middle.

I hope Zurich is a more friendly airport. It is HOT in here.

Peace Out, America

Here's to my final hour on American soil for at least a year. I'm more nervous than I thought I would be. I have no idea what to expect on the other side. It will be an adventure for sure, and I hope a mostly uneventuful one.

My week in Idaho was nice, though it was weird to be in Moscow without Laura around. I saw a few friends, but spent most of my time in Genesee with my Mom. I watched a lot of the BBC cleaning ladies on TV. You know the ones? Kim and Aggie. They certainly would have had a great time haranguing me about my house in Miami. My mother threatens to "turn me in" to them or What Not to Wear on a regular basis. Love.

I said goodbye to my dog and my mother yesterday. My mom cried when I left which was awfully sad especially because I know how she feels. When Laura left for Switzerland, I was pretty sure I was going to die. I didn't get out of bed for two days and couldn't hardly function. Turns out I had a kidney infection, but still, pretty miserable. I'm sure my dog isn't faring much better. He's a pretty timid and sensitive guy, I hope he doesn't develop any new neuroses while I'm away.

My dad and I drove to Portland last night in Laura's little Escort. We didn't get into the hotel until nearly 2 am. About an hour out it started to get kinda scary, we were both very tired, but we survived. Quick hotel review: Ramada by the PDX--NO.

So, I guess I'll be flying over the north pole or something like that in a few hours, and I'll be waking up in Frankfurt in the morning. I've got an Ambien with my name on it. Here's to uneventuful travel!

TV Dust

I just learned two things from the Lewiston Morning Tribune. Well, three things.

First: It's not as exciting as the Miami Herald.

Second: Those old fashioned gas pumps only go up to $3.99, so around the country nearly 17,000 gas pumps will have to be retrofitted with higher numbers. Fascinating.

Third: TV dust is the biggest source of chemical flame retardants in your home. That's right, PBDEs are vaporized when your TV heats up and then they end up as dust on the screen and nearby bookshelves and appliances. Besides the fact that they make your brain go stupid it's one more reason to NOT have a TV.

Home again Home again Lickety Split

Back in Genesee. I was awfully tired of driving by the time I got back here. And the weather here is cold and the company can be stressful. We're having hamburgers for dinner, Again.

I took the dog for a walk around town today. I was trying to be very incognito in my black hoodie and hat I wanted to take pictures of my hometown and I didn't want anyone to recognize me being a tourist. Conversations would have been awkward.

"What are you doing home? How's Ph.D School in the Big City"
"oooh, I dropped out of school and I'm running away to work at Girl Scout Camp in Switzerland"
"oh, well aren't you fancy? Jessi is still in Law School and so and so got married, and so and so died and so and so embezelled $40 K from the fire department and bought a horse trailer with air conditioning"

And I was wearing my gecko shoes, how embarrassing.

I did run into a few children who wanted to pet my dog. I asked them about life in Genesee--they have mostly new teachers at the school, but the cranky old 4th grade teacher is still around. The children seemed frightened of her. Rightfully so in my recollection.

Genesee doesn't even cover a square mile but we have all the important things. Fire department, school, store, and football/baseball field. There's a gas station that you can't get gas at unless you're a member of the Union. If you're hard up and on fumes, you can try to find a local with a charitable heart to start the pump for you. While I was walking by a guy in a jeep with Ada county plates (That's southern Idaho...).
He looked at the old fashioned pumps, couldn't find a credit card reader and got back in his car looking annoyed. Once John Lithgow stopped through town for gas. That was the big story of the summer.


This is "Down town" It covers two small blocks and is mostly defunct. The only operational businesses are the bank, the post office, two bars, and one hair-cutting place.

Our post office still has the old fashioned boxes in them--the kinds you normally just see in museums anymore. They have two postal windows, but I've never seen the right hand side one in operation. To the left of the post master window, they post birth announcements. My arrival was announced there...

This is the house I grew up in. It was built in the 1880's and was one of the first houses built in town. While I was taking this picture, a little girl came out on the porch to ask me what I was doing. We ended up having a long, repetitive conversation about who has what bedroom now. It was blue when I lived there.

This is the way you find my parents' new house. Follow the signs to Genesee Sausage...

Here's the neighbors out on a little pony ride.

Montana

I'm in Livingston Montana, in the shittiest hotel room I've EVER been in. Or, it may be that I'm in a relatively shitty hotel room and I'm more exhausted than I've been in a LONG time. The room smells like pee. The pets are very interested in one of the corners. This place is so awful, they don't even provide little bars of soap--just a dispenser of hand soap. The kind you find in elementary schools, rest stops and fast food restaurants. I'm paying $60 a night for this. The reason I'm here (besides the fact that I would have ended up as road kill if I'd stayed on the interstate any longer) Is because my trusty stand by--the Econolodge--is full up. No room at the Inn. Lucky me, I'm driving through po-dunk America during the height of Graduation Season.

I nearly died on the drive here. I've forgotten how Dark it gets once night falls out on the open range. I'm not a good night driver in the best of circumstances, and tonight it was extra dark and rainy. I thought I would have been able to make it to Butte (haha Butte) But. I. Couldn't.

In addition to being tired and miserable, it's COLD here. There's a light dusting of snow on the ground here in Montana. While driving through western South Dakota and Wyoming, I saw thick crusty remnants of snow drifts in the lee of every small hill. I had completely forgotten that winter often lasts into June around here. It's been an especially hard winter this year. I thought Scott would have to wait a while to experience snow. Guess Not.

So, in conclusion: HUMPH.

I say out here in Wyoming, any speed is too slow

It was bound to happen. I'd resigned myself to the fact that I would probably get at least one speeding ticket on my drive. I am a pusher of luck. And I was pushing my luck when I crossed the border into Wyoming. I was not even a mile over the line when I got pulled over. I must say though, the police-man who caught me was very efficient and didn't give me a hard time about not having my registration handy. I was down and out again in less than 10 minutes. Good Job Wyoming.

Hamburg, Iowa and Can you Identify this?

I stopped at the first town in Iowa. Turns out: Genesee, Idaho exists with another name, in a different state. I'm curious about what Popcorn day entails. Perhaps I can drive back down there before I head to Idaho. I'm sure my mom would understand why I need one more day on the road.

That sign says "Welcome to Hamburg, Cornerstone of Iowa. Business District"

I think the business district was composed of a Gentleman's club and a gun store. Ahhhh just like home!

I stopped at the Hamburg Market to use the restroom but they directed me across the street to the City Hall. Displayed prominently in the hallway was a collection of old pop bottles. Relics I'm sure. I almost wanted to stay there it was so homey.






























And though it's unrelated, I don't have enough to say about this next picture to require a separate post. Can any one identify the sort of machine that these tires go on? I saw three different trucks carrying these giant tires. I'm almost scared to imagine the machines these belong to.

A Stop on the Way

I'm currently located in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. I got in around 5PM last night. The pets and I had an easy day on the road and I took advantage of the short drive to stop at some really fabulous places in Missouri and Iowa. I will post pictures as soon as I can find my camera cable. (it's somewhere in the car)

I'm staying with Laura's family for the day. Her mother and I are going to do a bit of shopping today. I'm going along to try on clothes for Laura so that her mom can be sure to buy her the right size. At least I can be useful. Also on the list of things to do today: get the car aligned, wash the dog, and get a haircut. My poor mohawk has been neglected for nearly a month and there is nothing so horrendous as a grown out mohawk. I can just tell my mom that I cut it of for Her. But, in my heart I know it's not true.

The dog smells like death. He must have found something extra delicious to roll around in. The dog is also terrified of Laura's step-father and barks and cowers every time he comes within six feet. Scott is a great house guest...

The closer I get to home, the more relaxed I feel. Leaving the palm trees and swamp behind has really done amazing things for my mental health. I've passed through the rolling mountains of Kentucky and Tennessee and am now out on the expansive prairie. Next comes the badlands and finally, home--the Rocky Mountains.

While I'm driving I try to turn my thoughts to the history of the place. I thought about the Civil War while I was in Georgia, Tennessee and Kentucky. When I hit St. Louis I began meditating on Lewis and Clark. I think I may even be approximating their route. They came over Lolo pass into Idaho and I don't think I'll be taking the Lolo motorway home, but up 90 is about the same. My goodness things have changed in the past 200 years--thanks a lot Will and Meriwether! Couldn'ta done it without ya.

I promised Laura that I would edit another one of those plant-host-insect-parasatoid papers that she loves so very very much. This one is difficult though, and you lovely readers can thank this most boring blog-post ever to my reluctance to do any real work. The children will be up soon so then I'll have an even better reason to not work....

Travels With Scotty

QUICK STATUS:I'm currently located in Columbia, Missouri at the Lucky 7’s Motel. In the past 35 hours I've covered approximately 1300 miles. (That includes sleeping. If only I had a traveling companion who could help drive, I'd not have to report such lame statistics). Last night I was in Macon, Georgia. Tomorrow I'll be in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. I've passed through six states. I've tried five different types of energy drinks. Unfortunately for my mental health, most of those were consumed today. Rockstar is my favorite so far. Redbull is better, of course, but is much more expensive. I am cheap. The cats are still alive.
This trip is my first solo cross-country journey. I've been enjoying the drive very much, though I know I could make better time if only I had less cats in the car. Does anyone know how long I can keep a cat in a carrier before it becomes cruel? The dog is easier to deal with.














John Steinbeck is one of my favorite writers and Travels with Charley is one of my favorite books. It's the story of Steinbeck's trip across America in the fall of his own life. He wanted to experience the America he had been writing about for so many years. He traveled in a large truck outfitted with a camper and a standard poodle named Charley. He washed his clothes in a bucket that bounced along on a bungee cord and he ate pie at lunch counters while lamenting the loss of regional accents.

I read Travels with Charley during my self-proclaimed neo-beat phase, back in the late 90's. I think I remember the main points pretty well. Steinbeck was disappointed with inter-state highways because he felt that they removed the possibility of any sort of personal experience with the country you would get traveling on the smaller roads. Unfortunately, I'm on a budget and in a hurry. Otherwise, this could be my chance to experience America, real America, like I once longed to. For now though, the interstate will just have to do. I saw some interesting things. I mostly saw a lot of the same things though. Interstates are basically green tunnels. When the topography is flat, there's no seeing over the trees that surround the road. But when there are any sorts of rises, the views are breathtaking when the road first opens up.

Georgia started with palm trees and traffic cones and ended with rolling hills.

Tennessee had a surprising amount of elevation. Of the five states I drove through today, it was my favorite state, particularly the area between Chattanooga and Nashville (okay, that's like the whole north/south swath of the state). When I was young, we moved to Indiana. One of my main concerns about the move was the lack of any sort of 'hills' in our new home. Now, as I drive back through the Mid-west for the first time in over ten years, I'm appreciating the smallest hills. My two years in Miami has made me appreciate any sort of geography that isn't swamp land.

Kentucky was anonymous. I didn't even KNOW I had crossed into a different state for about 50 miles, when I saw the Kentucky State Penitentiary exit.

Illinois is where I finally stopped around 4:30 PM to eat some food. I was already too far gone on Rockstar, Full Throttles and Red Bull to think straight much longer. I nearly had a full out temper tantrum in Quiznos in Marion because I couldn't figure out the wireless password. Luckily a calmer voice in my head prevailed and instructed me to "drink some water, just sip it, you're fine you like it". That helped and I soldiered on. Illinois faded into Missouri.

Missouri is very nice, though very similar to northern Georgia, Tennessee, Kentucky and Illinois. Missouri was especially nice because of the time of day I experienced it. I drove across the state-line around 7PM. I think any landscape is more beautiful around sundown. My dad used to call that the Magic Hour, when the sun is low enough on the horizon to bring out the richest colors in anything. Grey highway, green vegetation and dark blue sky may be the most aesthetically pleasing color combination I've ever seen. Someday I'll have a house painted those colors.

Like Steinbeck, I’ve been doing laundry in the back of my car. Because my friends Katie and Rob packed my car for me, I don’t know where anything is. That includes my clothes. I could find them, but that would involve unpacking and re-packing. So, I’m resigned to traveling with one shirt, one pair of pants, two pairs of underwear and two undershirts. Fortunately, I can wash my underthings in the sink and allow them to dry in the sun while I drive. I’m sure that all the truckers I pass are enjoying the view of my unds sunning themselves in the back window.

Hopefully Steinbeck's ghost will forgive me for choosing interstates, traveling with a wimpy dog and drinking too many horrible energy drinks.

Open Letter to the State of Georgia

Dear Georgia,

The 150 miles of construction cones were not necessary. I understand that keeping highway workers safe is a priority, but as far as I could tell, the 80 miles of large shiny orange barrels blocking off two whole lanes of traffic were serving no purpose but to slow me down. I did see about a work zone, about a quarter mile long. My flagging spirits were somewhat lifted, I thought perhaps the nonsense with the restricted lanes would be over. It was not, those orange barrels persisted.

I wonder, how much does one of those shiny, distracting, headache inducing barrels cost? I suppose they must cost a few hundred dollars apiece, probably more because there's got to be some government supply to jack up the price. I think that it would be more cost effective to mark off only the areas of highway you're actually working on, with a reasonable buffer--say a few miles? Then, Georgia, when you finish what you're doing in one area, you can clean up your mess and move on. Didn't your mother teach you this?

If you were worried that I would have a hard time finding the edges of the road in the dark, you shouldn't have. I've been doing this for years, go ahead and put those things away next time. Seriously, they slowed me down. I was making good time, I was going to make it all the way to Atlanta. But here I am in Macon, and I blame your cone-nonsense.

Sincerely,
Kat

Agitated Driver

Last day at work

11:00

I cleaned out the junk-drawer in my desk.  I cancelled my home internet service (45 minutes on the phone, Thanks ATT.)  I have completed my Clearance form (with the exception of turning in my gate card as I'll need that to do laundry on Sunday), and my Leave of Absence form.  And now, I'm studying, clearly.  

I was worried that my lab-mates would ask me a thousand questions about where I'm going, and what I'm doing.  But they haven't.  What a relief!   Doug broke the news to  Cinda by crossing my name off the summer package pick up schedule.  So, when I told Meredith right after that, she took the news so nonchalantly that I could have been asking her to hand me a pen.

Cinda hasn't said a word to me since yesterday morning--which were the first words we'd exchanged since the big Telephone Use and Don't-Force-Me-to-Go-Out-With-YOU-People debacle of mid-March.  So, she must be furious that I didn't tell her first and privately of my plans to leave Miami.

Of course she's upset, I should ask her advice, I should go to her with all my personal questions... because she knows Everything.  Last week I offended her by NOT asking her for quarters.  I didn't know she had them.  One of my personal failings is that I cannot read minds.  Alas, it is a handicap in this world but somehow I soldier on...

1:45 PM

I was walking to the commons to buy myself a turkey sandwich. (Non-vegetarian living sure seems easy) and I ran into Katie.  Luckily she had some extra food and fed me chicken with delicious peanut sauce and rice.  Just a note about the peanut sauce: it contained tomatoes. Tomatoes and peanuts are delicious together, thus, tomato-peanut butter loaf is an acceptable meal. QED.  

I've been trying to study but it's not working out:  it's hard to care about a grade that won't matter for anything.  Even if I was enrolled for fall classes, and not leaving, I still wouldn't care. Grad School Grades count for naught.  And I hear that credits don't transfer.  I could be wrong, but ... it's database systems management--not exactly what I want to do with my life, not even close.

Lucky for me it's a Matinee day for baseball. The Dodgers and the Marlins are tied at 3 in the top of the 7th and the Orioles and the Rays are tied at the bottom of the fifth.  Upton just threw out his shoulder and is out.  Ahh, MLB TV may be the greatest internet service ever.  The calming nature of that tiny screen showing live games and line-scores is unbelievable.  It's therapeutic.  Not as therapeutic as sitting along the third baseline in the upper deck while the sun sets and a gentle breeze brings the smell of freshly cut grass up from the outfield, but pretty close.  

4:52 PM

The Marlins lost, they're now 15  and 13, which puts them 1/2 game behind the Mets! Drat!  Glad I wasn't there at least.  If I didn't have to wait 6 more hours to pick Anna up at the airport I'd just go home and call it a night.  Problem is that there's tons of work to do at home, and I'd rather not do it.  I'm just not sure how much longer I can take it Here though.  Actually, I think I'm done.  I don't care much about my database test.  Certainly not enough to study through all the nervousness in my over-excited state.  

So, goodbye palm trees.  And here's a Scott-The-Dog chaser.  Isn't he pretty?