Wolcott, NY

First of all, thanks for your private emails and comments to the board, as well as those of you who are "Following" me. Normally, I don't think I'd like being "Followed," but under these circumstances I LIKE it!

Yesterday was my second day in the camper on Vicki's plot of 17 acres - I had earlier guessed 15. The camper is working out even better than I expected, and is a really cozy and more than adequate. Good storage space, comfy sleeping, and doesn't have to be disconnected from the truck to set up. That's a big plus, and it turns out it's even easier to set up than I thought. Even with my strained back, it went up in 4 minutes!! Yay!!

Yesterday Vicki, her son, Scott, and I went to have dinner on Lake Ontario at Skipper's Landing. There was an epic sunset with a blood red sun. Ya know catching sunset is one of my favorite things to do! This afternoon we're going Great Lake sight seeing, and tonite we're going to the Cayuga Indian Res/casino. Earlier today we had brunch at the village restaurant (1,400 residents here) where my bacon was cooked from raw - not re-heated, I had real HOME fired taters and home made bread, which featured two pieces of different shape. Surely homemade!

We just got back from the waterfront tour of Sodus and the surrounding area. From Wiki: the region was first settled by outsiders around 1794, who discovered the bay called by the natives, "Assorodus," "Silvery Waters." This settlement became modern Sodus Point. During the War of 1812 the community was mostly burned during an attack by the British. A community of Shakers lived near here until about 1836, when they felt the development of the area was becoming too worldly. A lighthouse was erected on the western point of the bay in 1870, replacing an earlier lighthouse constructed in 1824.The bay was considered an important port. A rail line extending into Pennsylvania allowed coal to be place on board lake shipping.

Tonite was a warm summer night with just a hint of September in the air, and we stopped on "the strip" at a geedunk and bought the dogs doggie sundaes, and food for us. They have a very cool square light house at the end of a very long pier with no railing - imagine trusting people to stay on the pier without rails? My outlook on our nanny state improved until I had to fork over my drivers license in order to scan it to complete a transaction for a pack of smokes,  Sheesh. I took some photos which I'll post tomorrow as my firewire's location is currently in question. Sunset was beautiful again -- nice night for enjoying the end of summer here. For my part, I am going to make the endless summer a goal. Christmas will be the next time I need a coat. See you then, Emma! Love you lots!!

And So It Begins!!

On Sunday, August 29th, I checked out of Dave's house in Milford and hit the road for NY state. Hanging out with Dave and Colin was really fun and relaxing after the business of compressing my life into miniature, which was a strength-sapping experience. Special thanks to Dave, Karen and Colin for all you did! When I talked with Dave last night, he exclaimed, "Dougie, I'm afraid you HAVE to come back!" I thought to myself, "Wow! What did I forget?" In the time he lived in Connecticut and especially the last couple weeks we spent together, we got real used to hanging out together, smoking cigars, sailing, eating out and doing what we do. I miss you, too, my brother!

Yesterday I rolled down the windows and set out for Wolcott, NY, as the first leg of the trip, and drove the whole way without stopping or rolling up the windows. Aside from making it almost impossible to talk on the phone (I had four phone calls), it was kind of liberating. No AC, just a 70 mph wind blasting into the truck. What a beautiful ride it was! I took route 8 from Bridgeport all the way to the Mass Pike, then to the NY State Throughway - a stunningly scenic ride. The majesty and enormity of the panorama was breathtaking from beginning to end. Aside from a bit of a glitch with the camper at the outset, it was a perfect ride. Dave saved my bacon when my camper jumped the hitch in Bridgeport to see if my safety chains worked, and he got me hooked up properly after I strained my back try to pick up the camper by the hitch. Thankfully, I feel better today and will be fine in a few days. Despite being sore, I got the camper set up in about five minutes after landing in Wolcott.

Vicki has been a wonderful hostess, and her little doggie is SO cute! He's a very sweet bichon friese named Monkey, and he IS a monkey! I'm guessing that Vicki has 15 acres, or so, and my camper is parked out back. We had drinks, dinner, talked about TB2K topics and people, and watched Journey and Ted Nugent concert videos on her six foot screen TV until 1:30 before I crawled out to the camper.

This morning Vicki brought breakfast to the porch on a tray that looked so good I wanted to take a picture of it, but I couldn't put my hands on the camera! Delmonico steak, bacon, eggs over, toast and a bowl of sliced plums she grew, and, of course, coffee!. Awesome! We ate on the back porch with Duppy and Monkey, which is kinda like Dave's screened in room without the screen, and talked about the pressures of her being a business owner and single parent.We decided that today will likely find us fishing later. Niagara Falls tomorrow? We'll see!

                                             So long for now from Doug and Duppy!!
                                    

Text Message From Emma - I'm a lucky Dad!!!

I wrote in an earlier entry how reflective minimizing 58 years of stuff has led me to counting my blessings, but all that was marginalized by a note I got from Emma today. I'm so very proud of her, I just wanted to share my good fortune with you!


Destiny has a way of uniting two paths. When fate forks the road it can't erase all the laughs. When we go down by love, family cannot be killed. It hurts to be here without you by my side, but change is inevitable and our lives will collide. When you have a loving parent, you're never alone. Part of you lives in my heart - and that's set in stone. The words that you've said and lessons you've taught are engraved in my memory - don't think that they're not. You've touched hundreds of lives being the way that you are. Many share my opinion - you're a shining star. I know that I'll miss you every single day you're gone, but since you're my father I know how to be strong. I'm so fortunate to know you, and every day I'm glad that you made me who I am by being my Dad. Written for you by your daughter. I love you <3




I love you, Em, more than anything else I've ever experienced in my life - You are the very best thing that ever happened to me. Being your Dad is both an honor and privilege. Just because I'm not there in body doesn't mean I'm not there with you in spirit. I am.

                                                   Sketch by Em given as a Christmas gift last year


Yes, I am truly blessed, see? She sketched the picture from a favorite photo I have. It brought a tear to my eyes, well, maybe a couple, but they were tears of joy for such good fortune to fall into my life. Thank you, Sweetie!


By the way, blog followers, Em hasn't even seen my blog because she is currently internet challenged. On Wednesday that will be remedied.


Today is my last day in Connecticut. I will head to Wolcott, NY, tomorrow after sailing with brother, Dave and nephew, Colin, today in what was a spectacular day on the high seas of Long Island Sound on a 27' S-2 sailboat. Pics to come later, but it was really a great way to close shop in CT for the time being.

Yes, a VERY lucky guy, I am! Pics below from today's sail -

                                                                       Tiller in hand

                                                                    Pretty cool, right?

Leaving is Harder than Expected

Tonite I had dinner with my daughter before I leave - granted I'm coming back for Christmas, but the thought of not seeing her for three-ish months is almost incomprehensible. Today she thanked/complimented me for raising her to be the kind of person that would jump off a sixty-foot ledge into a quarry! That she has the kind of astounding fortitude and strength and sense of adventure is just awesome. I grew up playing in the woods, and didn't know whether I was Tarzan or Daniel Boone until I was twelve when I discovered motorcycles. She loved rides on the bike, too, and was disappointed when I couldn't take her for rides anymore in good conscience. I didn't recognize why at the time, but lately it's obvious why. The first time I rode her on the big, rumbly bike she said, "It's like flying, Daddy!" We share a love of waterfalls, walks in the woods, beaches and the simple pleasures of nature. Emma now has her own apartment, and starts school at Paul Mitchell Hair Academy in September - a goal she set long ago. Em put her fifth grade school picture miniature into the frame of my rear view mirror in 2005 road trip we took, and it's still there. Love you, Sweetie!

                                                        Meeting Grampy for breakfast ride

So as I set up to leave CT, I see there are several things I may not get to do - people I wanted to see before I left (Don G., Rosemary, Delores, all the wonderful ladies that staff the office at school). Seeing them will likely have to wait until December. The time to hit the road is upon me, and after sailing with brother, Dave, tomorrow I'll almost certainly drive outta Dodge on Sunday - Monday at the very latest. Brothers Dave and Donny and nephew, Tyler, and I went sailing in Newport a couple weeks ago - under the bridge and around the entire harbor. - We anchored for an hour, smoked cigars and drank a couple beers while Ty swam off the boat before heading back to the marina, packing sails and dinner at Flo's on Atlantic Beach in Newport. Yum!! Tomorrow will likely close the Connecticut door for me for a while.

                                                This is the very first digital picture I ever took!

This afternoon when Duppy and I went to Em's apartment, Dup and Em's kitty, Dolly, kinda circled each other a little before Duppy walked up and gave Dolly a kiss. It melted my heart because I love her, too. Kitty love is very special coming from Dolly, who always seems to know when it's a good time to convey her affections for us. Her idea of fun was to hide behind a door, leap out, and tackle Duppy to the ground. It scared the heck out of him at first, but I think he kinda got used to it. I'm really glad Emma has such a sweet kitty to keep her company, and maybe just a little jealous. I have never set out to own a cat, but they sure find me somehow. When I take cats in, it's only until I find a home for them where they'll be loved til the end, which I've seen too many times and don't want to go through again. When I got married, the cats my wife had instantly picked me to be their guy. Duppy will be my last animal buddy, as I hate loving them as much as I do only to find myself digging a hole a handful of years later. I'm lucky that Dup loves sibs Dave and Karen, and if something ever happened to me he would have a family home with one of them. I think everybody oughta have a Duppy! He's such a chick magnet, when girls fawn on him Dave jumps in the way and lays claim to him. It's really funny!

To Do List:
Clean camper
Re-pack truck
Re-pack suitcases after finishing laundry
Call Mom
Put lobster sauce and white clam sauce in truck, and buy pasta
Check pots and pans for what I need, and fuel new Coleman stove
Buy a boom box
Get power strip out of Dave's car


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Our First Ghost Town Adventure!!

                                                              A Pleasure Beach cottage

Saturday was a kind of unofficial beginning to our trip as my bluegrass bandmates and other friends threw a goodbye party to send me off. My brother, Dave, knows I want to see as many ghost towns as possible, and wanted to see for himself what kind of experience I'm going to be in for - he suggested we go to Pleasure Beach, a ghost town right here in CT, and we were off.


I won't tell the story here because all the info is at the links, especially the Wiki link:
http://www.ghosttowns.com/states/ct/pleasurebeach.html Many pics and video here!
Much more info here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pleasure_Beach
It was an incredible experience. Empty. Nobody. 30ish vacant residential properties right on the Connecticut shoreline and several commercial properties, including a go-kart track!.

 Still, there was a sense of what had been there. The lazy summer days at the beach, families coming to visit and spend time together and happiness despite the ruination that stands today. A community of people that obviously enjoyed each others' company as the houses were all on one street, and closer together than the norm here, all sharing the same beach. I guess I should explain here that I'm an unrepentant beach bum - always have been, so this adventure held a particular allure for me, and we were not disappointed. Pleasure Beach... a name that has become an oxymoron. It brought to mind how finely balanced today's society really is, and that just a little tip can result in community upheaval like Pleasure Beach.

What a way to start our explorations!

Our Tentative Itinerary

I've driven across country and the entire eastern coastline many times. Some of the more memorable trips were CT to California with brother Donny in 1991 when the navy transfered him to San Diego, CT to California when we moved there for the Summer of Love in 1967, San Diego to Key West in 1969 - that was a trip with Dad at the helm as Mom flew with sister, Cyndi, and the cat. Pop was always such fun, especially on the road. Kellie and I did a coast-to-coast romp in just over thirty hours in the Z car! California to CT in 1989 with my dear friend DeWayne Sigfried was a really fun trip. He'd never been east of the Mississippi, and enjoyed watching people race with the ambulances in New York City. We gleefully out ran a Texas state trooper in a dash for the Kansas border in my Z car after he clocked me at about 110 mph. Em and I didn't have any kind of excitement like that in my truck on our road trip to Disneyworld, Mom's and Cyn's in Florida. I also drove my Corvette to Florida where I met Donny at Mom's in Venice.

I've been thinking that this venture needs an epic starting point, and have decided that we're going to start by driving from CT to Niagra Falls. I have been to the Falls before, and have always yearned to return so that my daughter, Emelie, could see them, too. I'll post pictures for you, Sweetie!  I have a friend and my brother-in-law in that neck of the woods so I would not only establish an epic beginning to our journey, but also meet up with Mike and take TB2K friend, Vicki, to dinner. She also enjoys fishing and has a bass/perch outing in mind.

From NY I plan to head to Dayton, OH, to meet up with Bruce, a fellow Timebomb2000 member. In the early days of the late 1990's when everyone was worried about what would happen during the rollover into the year 2000 (Y2K - remember that?) I discovered Timebomb, and have been a member at the site ever since. If you're interested the link is here:   http://www.timebomb2000.com/vb/forumdisplay.php?s=&daysprune=2&f=9. It's a great site for news and views.

From Dayton we'll head to Charlottesville, VA, to visit with a good friend I'd fallen out of touch with, Steve. We were disc golf buddies when I lived in Virginia and loved to camp together. The wonders of Facebook have reconnected us. As I was deconstructing the possessions of my life I found a four-page letter he'd written to me in the days before email. I don't think I've had such comprehensive written correspondence since I received that letter, although Linda Camba (Earl) did write a very nice letter after I sent her flowers when she was laid off. After Charlottesville, I'm heading to Leesberg, VA, to see my sister, Karen and nephew, Eric. This leg of our journey will include a ride and camping on the Blueridge Parkway and Skyline Drive - one of the most scenic rides in America. My youngest brother, Donny, and I have camped there and in Shenendoah Valley in the early 90's.

From Leesberg we're going to the North Carolina coast - specifically to visit Fred, and go to the outer banks. Donny and I have camped there, too, but were evacuated by park rangers three times in one weekend because of hurricane Bob. The mosquitoes had their way with us despite the Deet. Ever since then I've had netting and better repellent to ward skeeters off! (Note to self: always make new mistakes!)  From NC we plan to head to South Carolina, but without a specific destination in mind. Emma and I went to Myrtle Beach in 2005, but that's all I know about SC beaches. I'm hoping I can find a place to put the camper on the beach for a few days, or so. From SC I'd like to experience Savannah, GA, meet people and play some music.

From GA, we are going to head to Pensacola, FL, to visit with my sister, Cyndi. Going to Pensacola is like stepping back in time. I first went to Pensacola in 1986 for Christmas with Cyn's family on a cross country pedal-to-the-metal ride with Kellie Rucker from San Diego, California. Including a very short hotel stay, we made the trip in 32 hours. I think I still remember correctly that I-10 is 847 miles through Texas. BTW, Kellie is still writing and performing. You can hear and buy her music on MySpace. I may actually go to MS and AL on the way to Pensacola. How quickly time evaporates is the mitigating factor in our wanderings, but I'm looking forward to meeting up with Timebombers, Doc and his lady in MS, and Firedance in AL.

From Pensacola, I'll be heading back to Connecticut for Christmas with Emma and her kitty, Dolly. Dave has a family Christmas with Mom in Venice, FL, in mind, but it's too hard to make all the agendas align with the stars to make that happen for Em and me. New Year's Eve should find me back in Pensacola, and shortly thereafter on my way to Key West via Mom's house. Dad's twin brother and his wife are in Taquesta, FL, and I hope to see them on the way to Key West, too. I haven't been to Key West since 1975, and expect it's substantially different these days. When I got out of the army, fellow 2nd Cav soldier, Denny Chamblee and I converted his Dodge van and went to the Keys  expecting to stay about three weeks. Three MONTHS later I bid Denny and his van "adieu" and headed for CT to start college. I'm also hoping to reconnect with Denny on this trip. That would be nice!

After Key West, we plan to head for friends in Alabama, Misssissippi, Texas, Arizona and then to California. All for now. Thanks for your comments on my blog and your nice email messages!!

Doug and Duppy's Traveling Circus

I've never done anything even remotely similar to creating a blog, but this is going to be a sort of documentary and story of our travels and experiences as we wind our way around America. The story doesn't really begin with getting in the truck and turning the key. It really began when I decided my life had to be small enough to fit in either the camper, or a sailboat. Actually DOING it was an experience I'll never forget. Taking fifty-eight years of memories, and stuff, and then deciding what to do with it made me a little weepy at times, but more often made me laugh. Through it all I realized what a really blessed life I've had.


My first "apartment" was a berth on the Ringling Brother's, Barnum and Bailey Circus train where my uncle showed me the ropes of life when I was fifteen years old. Prior to that I was the new kid in school every year as my Dad was career navy and we moved a lot. I was born in Massachusetts, moved to Bainbridge, Maryland (Dad's submarine school), then to Groton, CT. From CT we moved to San Diego, which I still feel is partly a permanent home - I also lived in Southern California as an adult for a handful of years during which I worked in hospital administration. The family then treked to Key West, Florida, for Dad's next duty assignment - my brothers and sisters (two of each) thought we'd died and gone to heaven. Key West High School was one of the few schools I returned to for consecutive years. There are several intra-city moves not detailed here, but I was the new kid almost every year.


After Key West Dad received orders back to Groton. He wrote me a letter telling how much it would mean to him if I left the circus, and did my senior year of high school at "home;" it didn't work out and I dropped out of high school, but followed Dad's advice and joined the U.S. Army. I was very fortunate to have orders to Vietnam recinded when I was a third of the way there, and instead the army cut orders for me to join the 2nd Cavalry Regiment in Nurnberg, Germany. I loved the unit and the soldiers I served with, and they loved me back. I became a seventeen-year-old corporal, and by the time I was almost nineteen, I had three stripes as an acting platoon leader. Because I didn't re-enlist I couldn't keep them, but it didn't matter. 2nd Cav NCO's and officers made me a man - Dad was right. I was the first in my family to graduate from college. Dad retired from the navy as I was getting out of the army, and we went to college together. THAT was the experience of a lifetime, and sowed the seeds of friendship that lasted Dad's whole life. We shared friends, school work, commuting, and classes together. Writing poetry with my father, both of us writing together, gave us a glimpse into each other's souls. A beautiful thing when you have as great a Pop as my brothers, sisters and I did.


Originally I wanted to be a veterinarian, but by the time I graduated from college I was playing guitar for a local band, Matrix, and having a good time. My girlfriend was the lead singer and harmonica player - really much more professional than the rest of us. I got an offer to help a friend set up a medical practice in Los Angeles after a year and a half of being a guitar player, and turned my eye to health care administration. After five years I decided it wasn't for me, and became certified to teach science and English to grades 7 - 12. I taught for twenty-two years before I realized that education has become a federally-mandated industry, and further, that I didn't want to perform in the PC game any more. I LOVED being a teacher, but... Not so much anymore.


That brings me to the point of this blog. I have been shopping for travel trailers and sailboats with my brother, Dave, for two years. I saw a camper on ebay that I thought I wanted to track, and ended up winning the darn thing by accident about the same time I knew I didn't want to work in the current school system. I don't believe in coincidence, and decided that Duppy and I need to hit the road. The hardest part of such a major life-shift is not having my daughter, family and friends around - they are such an important part of me - Since my daughter, Em, was born, my life totally settled down to the business of being "Dad." I have a circle of friends that I value more then just words can tell. And until now I played bluegrass with the Breezy Corner Basement Boys instead of rock music with Matrix - gonna miss the boyz especially. To all of the wonderful educators I worked with for so long, I thank you for many happy years together!

Since I'm semi-retired (I'd really like to be a teacher's aide somewhere down the road!) it seems like a really good time to get back out and around America. Duppy is my ten-year-old papillion who goes everywhere with me, and loves having it be summer permanently - meaning he has me all to himself. He used to get so bummed out when I had to go back to school in September. Join us on our ride down the road!! This is kind of a long introduction, but this is how we got to where we are. Some pics of my previous life -

                                                   1976 - recently discharged Sgt.Pascoe

                                                    1971 - 17 year-old Pvt. Pascoe

My Family