A slice of the Appalachian Trail
Current mood: tired
Today, my last full day in Maine as I fly out of Boston tomorrow late afternoon, I decided to venture further from my cottage than a bike could take me and drove 100 miles north on Route 26 to Grafton Notch State Park, between Newry and Grafton. The drive up was absolutely beautiful and I even got a chance to try the new rental Rav out a bit on a couple of old roads. Not to the degree I abuse my own in the desert - the roads are gentler here, but still, it was fairly rough terrain and fun but brief.
I found lots of pretty spots on the way up, including a really nice lake park in Bethel.
My first stop in Grafton Notch was at Screw Auger Falls. I'm not sure who wanted to screw Auger, but the trail was beautiful and looked like nature's water park. There were falls and pools everywhere and a few families were out frolicking in them.
Next came the main event, Old Speck Mountain trial, which is part of the Appalachian Trail. I have wanted to hike at least part of the Appalachian Trail ever since I read "A Walk in the Wood" by Bill Bryson - a book that Teece's dad gave me years back about a guy who hiked the Appalachian Trail and had a life changing (and funny) experience. My experience today I'm not sure was life changing (though it had its funny moments only because I'm very good at amusing myself) but man was it a challenging hike. Not only was it mostly rocks at a very steep grade, but it was the kind of grade and terrain that made going down even more challenging than up, though less cardiovascularly so. It was very beautiful though and I got some amazing views for my efforts. I ran into a few other hikers (all coming down while I was going up which always seems to be the way with me...silly morning hikers!) and enjoyed the brief exchanges, but also really enjoyed the solitude and the physical challenge.
After enjoying the very scenic drive back to Kennebunkport, I stopped by the town's one Thai restaurant for take out and was impressed. I was craving Thai food but wasn't expecting much in Maine. As I expected, the only person I had contact with was as unThai as I am. However, whoever was in the kitchen knew that they were doing. It was outstanding. I enjoyed it with more of the bottle of wine I bought yesterday. I am sad that I have still only finished half the bottle. My only gripe with the meal was that my fortune cookie was stale. I did like the "fortune" though. You ever notice they are always statements nowadays and not fortunes? Anyway, it said "You are one of those people who 'goes places' in life. I'm assuming they mean Maine.
After 3 very roller coastery, exhausting, yet rewarding and growing weeks on the road with Adam (see www.adammarsland.com for tour blog) I took an extra three days off before flying back to Los Angeles to visit Maine. I had no special reason for picking Maine, really. I wanted to spend a few days somewhere on the East Coast where I had never been that would be a good place to have some alone decompression time before I went back to work. Plus, because Maine is such a seasonal vacation spot, arriving after Labor Day (off-season) made for a very affordable stay. I got here late last night and so far so good with the down time.
I spent a big chunk of today on a bike tooling around Kennebunkport and surrounding areas. Yes, that is the home of Dubuyah...but it's still very pretty anyway. I was reminded of this by the very quaffed churchy looking woman who stopped me on the street while I was biking to ask me where President Bush's home was. I politely told her I didn't know but that she was going in the right direction for Kennebunkport. I suppressed shouting "go Obama!" as she was pulling away. I did briefly wish for a bike sized sticker stating such though.
After my afternoon of biking, I came back to my cottage for a wine, cracker, and goat cheese lunch that I had bought at one of the local shops and a nap. Later, I went out for a lobster dinner (full dinner $13.99...gotta love Maine) where I tried the local microbrew...blueberry beer! It even had blueberries floating in it. I know it sounds weird but it was really good and oddly not very blueberry-y. I had to also have blueberry pie for dessert to go with the whole theme. Good stuff. I am now chalk full of antioxidants to counteract all the sugar and calories I just consumed. Yes.
Here are a few photos from my biking adventure to Goose Rock Beach...
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Tomorrow I am going to drive North about 100 miles to do some hiking. That should be sufficient distance from people asking me how to get to GW's house. The rental car place in Boston was silly enough to give me a new Rav 4 for the price of the compact I had reserved (they didn't have any compacts left) so I am hoping to find some 4 wheel action tomorrow! Stay tuned.
Here are a few photos from the Eastern Sierras this weekend - near Lone Pine and Big Pine. It was very beautiful and relaxing, but fairly uneventful except for getting the car stuck in a tree and being thwarted by a giant bee.
Mountains, Lakes and Go Go Boots
Current mood: grateful
Today was the last full day of my little trip. I still have to drive back to Albuquerque tomorrow to catch my flight back to LA, but that will probably just be a mad dash with no photos.
After coffee, toast, and learning a song by The Girls of the Golden West, complete with harmonized yodeling, Amy and I headed out to a ranch to visit her 3 year old Arabian gelding, Go Go Boots. Amy and another trainer are still working with him on his manners, so to speak but what a cute and sweet horse...and yes, all his legs are white like go go boots.
Then we headed back to the house for a big brunch then off for a beautiful hike on a trail near Vallecito Lake. The weather was perfect and the hike was just challenging enough to be really enjoyable. It's the first time I've gotten to hike in this area of Colorado and it was totally gorgeous.
After about a 2 1/2 hour hike, it was back for Ed's BBQ chicken and mango margaritas, and a movie. Very chill, relaxing last night of vacation. I wish I could stay longer but at the same time I am missing my life at home...well, not the office working part but some of the other parts. Hopefully I'll get to come back later this summer to do some recording with the band. We shall see.
Last of the pix...
Blurry Amy and Go Go Boots
Go Go Boots being told the what for by snarling little dog
I bid my folks a fond farewell this morning around 7:30 a.m. to head up the 550 N to Durango to see my old bandmate, Amy, and her husband Ed. Well, actually Bayfield, not Durango, but who's ever heard of Bayfield? Plus it doesn't rhyme with mango.
Within about 1/2 an hour of my arriving at Chateau Stasium, we were already down in the basement/studio setting up a PA for our 2/3 Dragsterbarbie reunion jam. It was supposed to be a reunion gig, but our outdoor skate park festival gig was canceled due to the weather. So, instead, after the arrival of Amy and Ed's drummer friend, Steve, (and his girlfriend Heather, who he brought along so we'd have an audience) we proceeded to do our basement rendition of Sad Beach, Daredevil and He's A Vegetarian. It sounded pretty darn good if I must say so myself. Steve was an awesome drummer and fun to play with...though I do admit I missed Kelly's vibe back there. It was a blast though and it did make me a bit nostalgic for my girlband days.
After our "gig" we headed to Durango to do some grocery shopping. When you live 20 miles outside of the nearest town and the nearest town is Durango, grocery shopping is kind of a big deal. After hitting a couple of different stores (where they knew everyone) we stored our groceries in the trunk (which was almost as good as a fridge in this weather) and headed to Tamarron ski lodge about 20 minutes north of Durango for dinner.
It was a very lovely afternoon and evening. So great to see Amy and Ed after 3 years. Very good, fun people, they are.
Here are a few photos from the drive up from Albuquerque, the "gig" and the drive up to Tamarron.
Up Through the Badlands of New Mexico
Current mood: loved
Full day 2 (and the final one) with my parents in New Mexico took us Northeast this time. We started with a scenic "High Road to Toas" drive along the beautiful twisty mountain roads 520 and 76 through the badlands (though apparently not the SAME badlands as the Marty Robbins song), through the highest peaks of the New Mexican Rockies and in and out of some very quirky interesting towns such as Truchas, Las Trampas and Cordova.
We next drove through the funky, artsy town of Toas (which I quite liked despite the congestion caused by some sort of biker's convention and holiday weekend traffic). We took a detour northwest along the 64 to see the Rio Grande Gorge bridge, the 2nd largest suspension bridge in the US (also known as "the bridge to nowhere" because funding didn't exist when it was built in the mid-60s to continue the road on the other side). The bridge and gorge were breathtaking but so windy we could barely walk on it. Then it was back to Taos for lunch and then east along US 64 to Eagle's Nest, a cute little place that reminded me of Lone Pine except it had a big lake (where it actually snowed briefly) and Cimarron Canyon, a huge state park.
We then headed back down the 25 towards Albuquerque for the evening where my mother (who I now know is a casino junkie) wanted to try this casino 15 miles west of Albuquerque off I-40. I was pleasantly surprised when I found out the casino was just past a section of old Route 66 that still had a bridge in tact (though closed off) on it.
Unfortunately it was even colder and rainier than yesterday so not only did we not get to get out of the car much, but my very limited photo taking didn't turn out so great. The weather is supposed to be very nice tomorrow. However, my parents are flying back to Florida tomorrow and I'm leaving to meet up with my old bandmate in Durango, CO (where she informed me today it was snowing, which might cancel the little outdoor gig we were going to play) so we won't be here to enjoy it. It was great to see them though and we had a wonderful couple of days exploring New Mexico. Here are a few of the better photos from today.
The Yearly Convergence New Mexico Style
Current mood: good
As has been a tradition with my parents and I since I fled Florida about 12 years ago, we always try to meet someplace different in the middle of the year for a little partial family vacation. If we meet somewhere driving distance from Florida (because my sister has never flown in her life and feels that her offspring shouldn't either for some strange reason), they bring one of my various nieces or nephews along. Last year was Atlanta and my niece, Grace. This year we opted for New Mexico, where neither of them have been before and where I have only driven through once when I moved out here, and no kiddos.
Here are some highlights from today's travels...
It was raining most of the first part of the day, but here are a couple of sites along the drive on the Corrales Byway from Albuquerque to Santa Fe
Next was a stop at the Coranado National Monument right on the Rio Grande where there are remains of an Indian pueblo, Kau'a, who settled there in the late 1200s.
After a quick drive though Santa Fe, which I kind of found to be "eh", we headed to Bandelier, which had a cool hike through ruins of cliff dwellings on one side and a forest on the other.
The deafening screech of tires on pavement rips through the air. A silver BMW goes careening over the median into a tree where it lands with a roaring thud and crack as it folds itself around the tree and one of the branches crashes down onto the street. The engine erupts into flames as a girl around 10 years old gets out of the car and runs around to the other side to help the woman behind the wheel who is screaming and cannot get the door open. A teenage girl lays unconscious and bleeding on the ground, wedged between the tree and a concrete light poll as the flames continue to engulf the front of the BMW and black smoke billows into the air.
Sounds like a scene from a movie, but it was actually a scene from Victory Boulevard around 6:30 p.m. last night. I had just parked on Adam's street and gotten out of my car when the sound of the screeching tires made me turn and face Victory. I saw the whole thing go down about 10 yards in front of me, though my brain didn't process what caused the woman to lose control of her car. One witness said someone cut her off. Another said someone was chasing her. A third said he thought he had seen the car she was driving racing around the neighborhood before. I have no clue what the real cause was, only the devastating result.
The whole thing was very surreal and difficult to process. I got on the phone with 911 as I was running over to the car (to their credit that is how fast they answered). While I was talking to the operator, I saw the little girl, the woman in the driver's seat and the people trying to get her out. What I didn't see for the first at least 30 seconds, maybe longer, was the very still teenager on the ground. When I finally did see her and started trying to report her condition to the operator, at first I didn't even know whether or not she was alive. Her eyes were closed and she was not moving. Steve, Adam's roommate, who had heard the crash and came out, was at her side trying to get her to respond. She finally did stir but couldn't move. The flames were getting bigger and the car was making all kinds of angry gonna blow up soon noises. The 911 operator was saying not to move the girl, who seemed wedged and unable to move on her own, but after one of the bystanders pointed out there were propane tanks in the trunk of the car, we decided moving her was the only option.
A bunch of guys picked the girl up and moved her to a safe distance. The odd part was that the woman I am assuming was her mother and the little girl who was definitely her sister were so in shock that they were not speaking or tending to the teenage girl at all. No one else seemed to want to get near her either. Steve and I ended up being the ones trying to access how badly she was injured, holding her hands, covering her with a blanket from my car and telling her she was going to be OK.
To add an even more weird, apocalyptic, this can not possibly be happening element to the whole scene, as we're sitting there trying to calm the girl, who is crying and gasping for breath, a motorcycle suddenly wipes out on Victory Blvd right in front of us. The worst part was there was a small boy (probably 4 or 5) on the back of it. Luckily traffic was so slowed that the man and boy both got up and walked away from the bike without getting hit by a car. However the noise of it made the injured girl even more freaked out than she already was and she tried to get up. That did not go well.
The fire engines finally arrived what seemed like an eternity after the 911 call, but was probably realistically about 10 minutes. They started working on putting the fire out but there didn't seem to be any paramedics with them. Finally paramedics did arrive and start tending to the injured girl. She seemed like she was going to be ok. I really hope she's ok.
Oh and just to add one more freaky element to the whole thing, Adam had just run to Office Depot for supplies for the CD mailing we were meeting up for a few minutes before the accident occurred. Before he left his car had been parked in the exact spot where the hood of the flaming car and the large tree branch ended up. Sometimes timing really is everything.
Adam is always taking me to really cool hiking spots I've never been to and this Sunday for once I did the same for him. I was very proud. It was a trail in Malibu Canyon about 5 miles off the PCH on Corral Canyon Road. I had discovered it around 5 years ago when a band I was playing in at the time shot a music video there. I liked the spot a lot (despite having to hike up part of it several times carrying heavy film related crap) and have gone back a couple of times over the years. Of course, leave it to Adam to immediately find an old road running below the trail that I never noticed the previous times I had been there. We followed it down and found some ruins of some sort of settlement or ranch or something that had been down there. The only clue to what it may have been was a hand written marker that said "Julian English 1976 - 2003" (though I probably have the numbers wrong, that was the ball park). I googled the name later but all that really came up was a character in a book. Finding the old road and ruins was very cool, but it was all burnt out and not very photogenic so here are photos from the trail above instead...
Following the hike we made a mad dash to the east side for Tracy's birthday party at El Chavo. It was a wonderful time with wonderful people and the birthday girl was very surprised by the camera we had all pitched in to get her. I can't wait to see the photos she takes with it. Speaking of photos, here are some table cam shots by Adam...
Birthday girl, Tracy, looking adorable Laura, looking annoyed by the constant camera flashing
Alan pondering something important while Jenn looks homicidal at the constant camera flashing
Arielle happily drinking a margarita as Pablo possibly burbs on.
Me looking like I've been drinking margaritas to the point of surliness while Mark contemplates his glass of water and wishes he'd ordered a margarita
Adam being very pleased with his camera handiwork as Alan asks the waiter to please remove Adam from the building.
My best friend since 4th grade shaved her head yesterday.
No, she doesn't have cancer.No, she didn't join the armed forces or a monastery. No, she's not a lesbian…well, not any more than anyone else is these days.She identified and eliminated the one thing in her life and on her body that she could shed and completely start over fresh with.It was very symbolic to her in a way.I get that. I applaud that.She is rad.
There are not many things in this life that we can truly do that with - start over completely fresh.It seems that everything we do, say, put into our bodies and brains, and experience from day one has a certain build up to it.Once something has entered your life it's really difficult and nearly impossible to ever completely shed it, no matter how much you may want to because you feel it's holding you back.
I'm thinking about this a lot recently as it becomes increasingly clearer to me that there are things in my life - both physical, and mental, that I would really like to shed.Or if not shed, at least control to the point that they are not affecting the outcomes of my interactions as much as they do.I'm slowly starting to structure my life in a way that I think is more conducive to this kind of clearing out of crap, but there are still things I hold on to that waylay my progress.
Some of these things I have identified, some I have not.None of them are easy things to let go of and maybe I never completely will.Maybe I never completely should because I wouldn't want to not be me.I like me. However, I would like to be a me who can better use my past crap as a tool for moving ahead rather than an excuse for getting stuck.
Don't worry, I'm not going to shave my head.I'm too lumpy.
tired
chill
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grateful
sleepy
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loved
good
numb
cheerful
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