The Vagarities of Life.....

What would we do without them? But sometimes life would be so much simpler and run so much soother without them popping up and into our lives!

I thought my summer road trip was all set. I had laid out my daily travel schedule, lined-up over 50 fabric shop stops along my route, and was actually to the point of envisioning what and how I should pack the back of the Jeep for my long, long journey and WHOP! Along came a damn vagary (n) an unexpected and inexplicable change in a situation or in someone's behavior to upset all of my wonderful plans.

In other words, the sponsor I had lined up and I have parted ways. I won't go into all the of the details (I don't want to get sued for liable), suffice it to say I was fortunate enough to learn before I hit the road they they were not the type of business I would want to do business with.

But life does go on and I will still hit the road the first week in August and head West. The first month of my trip will not change. I still plan to meander slowly across the country, stopping here and there, visiting family and friends and sharing all that I see along the way. I will drive as far as San Diego where I will spend the Labor Day weekend with my oldest son before turning around and returning home...via Yosemite and Lake Tahoe...and then across the entire country till I get back to the other side.

I am going to especially miss the drive up the West coast, from San Diego to Seattle, visiting friends in Idaho, Minnesota and Wisconsin and a side-trip into Canada, but there is always next year!

So 'adventure time' has been shortened, but the 'need to roam' has not. And I am once more back to envisioning how to pack the back of the Jeep!

Until next time....

Charles Kuaralt was quoted .....

...saying that “thanks to the Interstate Highway System, it is now possible to travel across the country from coast to coast without seeing anything.” How true that statement is, and it's the main reason I have chosen to travel as much of my 10K mile trip off the Interstates as possible, driving only the small highways and scenic byways, while meandering my way literally around the edges of the U.S. at my own pace.

And while I am enjoying the every-changing landscape, I will also be working (if you can call what I have been asked to do 'working.') I have been hired to conduct interviews, blog, write articles, take pictures and explore this great country at my pace for a great sponsor - 365 Days of Sewing. My assignment is to find and stop at every fabric store along my route, interview the owner and customers and learn who and what it is America sewing today! It's a terrible job, but someone has to do it. And that someone just happens to be lucky me - a person with a lifetime passion for fabrics and sewing, and who will no doubt return home with her little Jeep overflowing with new fabrics & notions.

The 365 Days folks will be setting up a separate blog just for me where I will post my thoughts, interviews and pictures of the fabric store owners and customers that I meet with. This blog will remain my place to ruminate and share with you all the other experiences and people I encounter and the photos I take of the fun and unusual sites and places I find along the way. I'm predicting that the entire trip will take a total of 3-months.

I can't wait to get started and I hope you all will visit my blog now and again. I will try and make sure you 'enjoy the ride!'

Until next time.......

Let's Get Started..

The first portion of my route is set, so I thought I would share with you where I'm headed when I 'wheels-up' on August 8th. From Wilmington, I will travel up into the mountains to Asheville, NC.

From Asheville, I turn a wee bit northeast and drive to Burnsville, NC - a total drive-time of about 6 /12 hours. Burnsville is near where my first NC house was located and where the fabulous The Penland School of Craft can be found. I plan to spend a few days with good friend and sewing buddy Karen and her darling hubby in their fabulous guest house.

Karen and I will 'play in her fabric stash and wander around my ol' stomping grounds' for a few days before I head off into the West.

My next stop will be to visit with my cousin Mary who lives in Marysville, TN, near Gatlinburg. This is now the 'my relatives' portion' of the trip as when I leave Marysville I will travel to Paducah, KY and Metropolis, IL to spend time with other cousins, Robbie, Max and Rex, and see how they faired after being flooded out of their homes when the Mississippi rose and they opened the levees in Cairo to keep that city from being underwater.

From Paducah, my next short drive is to Marshville, MO to stop and visit with Ralph and his wife Gretchen. Ralph and I grew up next door to each other in Danville, IL. I can't remember a day in my life as a young girl when Ralph wasn't a part of it. Normally he and the other neighborhood boys were either hitting me, chasing me, yelling at me and never letting me play with them...but he grew up okay:)

Then the next couple of days will be spent crossing that great, big, flat state of Kansas. I'm going to check out what there is to see in Wichita and Dodge City. After some sightseeing in the flatlands of KS, southern CO sounds cool and lovely. My sister-in-law Stephanie has for years been telling me I really need to see Creede, CO where her sister Cindy lives. Creede has a huge artist colony and a very well-known repertory theater company. Sister Cindy was nice enough to volunteer to be my tour guide and let me bunk in her guest bedroom for a couple of nights. The photo ops looks fantastic and I'm looking forward to attending a play while there.

Next - Santa Fe and the fabulous Indian Market.

After a week shopping, sightseeing and white water rafting (I actually agreed to do this!) and spending quality time with my best friend Ellen, its a short drive to Bernalillio, NM where my good friend Jami lives. This is now the "Danville High School" portion of the trip. Jami and I had such a good time catching up the last time I was in New Mexico that she invited me stop by again.

Plan to try to talk Jami into hoping in the Jeep with me for a day's drive, because from her house its onto Prescott, AZ. There our mutual, good friend Carol, also a DHS alum, recently retired and decided to invite all the female alums living in and around the Phoenix area to her new house for a mini-reunion weekend. She has found 6 others who are planning to attend and we have one who is considering flying in from WI! So if you hear reports about a wild & crazy group of women doing weird things in Sedona the end of August, you'll know I was one of the instigators!

So by now I have driven 2597 miles since leaving home!. The big question is where to do I go from here? I am still trying to find work-along-the-road and have a few possibilities that might work. Since the price of gas is not going down, I sure hope I can find something that will put fuel in the tank and keep me going. Of course, if any of you know of anything, be sure and give me a shout!

Until next time.....

The Jeep now has it's Summer Look!

The hard top came off last weekend, thanks to the strong backs of my young neighbors (it takes 3 people to remove and put the hard top back on!) My oldest son contributed to the new 'summer look' by presenting mom with the new back cover for my birthday. This cover keeps the dust and rain off everything I take with me, plus keeps stuff out-of-sight when parked. I am still thinking about how to secure my belongings under the duster. Though the back gate locks, and I do think it would be noticeable if someone was seen slicing through the duster with a large knife or trying to rip it off, I'm thinking my bicycle lock and coil chain wrapped around my suitcase would be the perfect added security.

The front seats are covered by a 'sunlight bikini top.' This top has 1000s of little light holes which lets some light in but keeps the heat and rain out - sorta. As it only covers to the door frame, if it does rain, the driver's left, and passenger's right side will get wet. I always keep my golfing rain suit in the car for just these occasions! With the widows rolled up, you'd be amazed how well the air conditioner/heater works - even though there is no 'back window.'

Parts of my route have been determined by where my friends and family live. Of course, they were all so thrilled when I announced I was coming to visit! No, seriously, they were. Then just this week my best friend Ellen invited me to join her in Santa Fe August 19-24 for the annual Indian Market, an event I have always wanted to attend. She's rented a condo and I just have to 'cook and provide wheels for the week to pay for my room'! I've also been invited to stop and visit with friends from Kure Beach who have a home near Taos. I am so lucky to have friends who live in some of the most beautiful parts of the country.

I've also been working hard contacting prospective sponsors for the trip and things are looking up. Ideally I would like to work one or two days each week while I'm on the road, writing articles, interviewing people, moderating focus groups and taking photos of everything I see to share with you.

Until next time......enjoy the official start of summer!

ReAnn

My Summer Road Trip Route

This gives you an general idea of the route I have laid out this summer for my road trip. It will certainly change and this map does not show the specific highways I will be driving, only the areas I plan to cover.

I welcome the names of places I should visit and ideas of things I should see. At dinner last night my good friend Beth said I must not miss The National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum in Oklahoma City. It's places like this that I want to take the time to see - maybe something I normally might pass by, but because you've been there and enjoyed your visit, think that I should add it to my list of 'must see and do's."

Until next time.....

ReAnn

Getting People Interested...

in my upcoming 'little road trip' is what I have been working on for the past month. When I realized exactly how many miles I was planning to drive, how much gas that would take, and in turn, how many $$ each tank will cost to fill, I had a brilliant thought....why not see if several publications, organizations and websites might not be interested in 'sponsoring' a portion of my trip.

So far I have contacted Jeep (Why not go Big! It is one of their great little Wranglers I will be seeing the USA in.) I started with my local dealer, Neuwerth Motors, who not only volunteered to give me a total and complete check-up and oil & filter change - for free - before I leave, but also have the contact to pass along my proposal to at Jeep headquarters.)

Next I have sent article proposals to both AARP and AAA. AARP to do articles on 'a woman traveling solo across, up and around the US @ 65' and AAA to do articles on all the wonderful places I visit and stay (using their fabulous Tour Books and Tripix) It was their Gas Mileage Estimater that helped me realize how many tanks of gas I will need.

My friend, Heather Claus, founder and publisher of 365 Days of Sewing works closely with both BurdaStyle and Nancy Zieman, came up with the suggestion that I should involve my passion for sewing and fabrics as part of my trip. Her idea - stop and visit every single fabric store I find along my route - to see and write about who...and what...America is sewing today.

That idea in turn lead to me contacting The American Sewing Guild , a national organization made of up sewists that I have been a member of since the early 1990's. With Chapter's located in all 50 states, I thought I could easily stop in for a visit with those located along my route. Not only would it make for a interesting article or two in their member-publication, Notions, but perhaps a live 'webinar' broadcast during my visits on their website would be interesting and fun.

So right now I am just waiting to hear back from all the people I have contacted. I received a huge box from AAA with all of the state maps and tour guide books I had requested. I will spend the time I will be laid-up after my knee surgery on Thursday, surrounded by great reading materials and colorful, magic markers to highlight my various route choices.

(Isn't this fabric great? Found it at my all-time favorite fabric store - Vogue Fabrics, Evanston, Illinois


Until next time.....

ReAnn

Here we go again!!

Yes - this is the same blog, with the same title, I wrote during the year I was on-the-road, driving my 29' Minnie Winnie cross-country. (Check out a few of the previous posts - some great photos of all the places I visited!)

I would love to still be living that lifestyle - deciding from day-to-day where I will call home for the next night, or day, or the next week, always excited to see what lies around the next bend in the road. I promised everyone who was kind enough to 'ride along with me' during that year that if I ever went back on-the-road that I would start writing this blog again. Well... here we go again.

From previous posts, you know I had to come home and toss out the renters I had living in my house. Then the market crashed and gas prices started going through the ceiling and I unexpectedly got a great offer for my Minnie - so I moved back into my little house by the sea.

Now don't get me wrong, Wilmington, NC is a nice place to call home and my home is quite nice. I have this big river outside my window and an even bigger ocean just 3 miles from my door. Wilmington has a nice, medium-sized college that guarantees we get a good selection of continuing-ed classes; we are home to the longest-lasting community theater in the US, Thalian Hall; I have met and made a number of great friends whose company I truly enjoy. BUT.....knew that was coming, didn't you?

Everyday is the same. The weather is basically always good, the golf courses are all flat, the community is mostly retirees from somewhere other than here, every Spring we worry about the upcoming hurricane season, every day the tide comes in and then goes out....and I am SO BORED!

I shouldn't be. I lead an ever-growing group of women who's passion for fine fabrics and sewing is the same as mine called The Sewing Fashionistas; I volunteer for several groups, I am on the Board of several organizations that take me to 'the big city' of Raleigh fairly often, I belong to a interesting book club, I free-lance write for several publications, I've learned to kayak, I even came out of retirement, organized and lead a tour of sewists to a big fiber show in Seattle in March. I try to interfere in my son's lives but they've learned long ago to ignore my advice (neither are married, so no grandkids to spoil or baby-sit). I love to read, hike, kayak, and attend the theater, meet friends for drinks and dinner...so why you ask, are you bored? I blame it on being bitten by the wanderlust bug when I was very young.

My dad was a railroad man. Every vacation that we took of any distance was via the train. I loved traveling this way. I remember the first time I got to sleep all alone in the upper berth; the shining silver and freshly starched tablescloths in the dining cars; the white-coated porters. But best of all was the ever-changing scenery passing by outside my window. I wanted to hop off the train and explore and live, for just a little while, in every town we passed through.

When I got older and traveling to locations all over the world was part of my business, I continued to want to stay and live in the city I was visiting - at least for a little while. London, Dublin, Rome, Berlin, Brussels, Dubrovnik, Paris - anywhere and everywhere. But those pesky little things like responsibilities and family always got in the way. I actually did try and talk my dear, late husband into quitting his job, packing up the house and kids and moving....somewhere unique and wonderful and different....just for a little while. Unfortunately, that never happened.

So here I am, a ' semi-retired, soon-to-be-65-year-old widow who for the past year has been living what most would call a very good, normal life which I just can't stand any longer. I've got to get out of here and once again hit the road.

The older I grow, especially as I reach the milestone Medicare-age, I need to see, do, travel, teach, learn, understand, grow, meet, touch and interact with the lives of people I have yet to meet and places I have yet to see. I just heard how the increase in gas prices are changing how we live our daily lives. I may sound crazy, but I would rather spend all my savings on multiple tanks of gas just so I can live the rest of my life driving along an open road.

I decided to lay out my 'dream' road-trip route for this summer. I went to a trip-planning website and clicked all the places I wanted to see. WOW - but guess I shouldn't have been surprised when my route turned out to be 12,000 miles - which will basically take me in a complete circle along the edges of the U.S. and southern Canada.

My plan is to stay completely off any and all Interstates for the entire trip. I want to see our country and meet the people that live along the smaller highways and byways, not just get from one side to the other as fast as I can, with only man-made rest stops and off-ramp gas stations and restaurants to keep me going. I want to breathe fresh air and take all the time I want to stop and enjoy each minute of every day.

I have received 2 boxes filled with Tour Books and maps from AAA (I also renewed my Roadside Assistance insurance). I plan to take the hard-top off my 2001 Jeep Wrangler, put on the new KoolBreeze Bikini Top, and have requested as my birthday present from my boys the back Duster cover and the new Cab Cover to throw on when it decides to pour. Using a Gas Estimator App, I have calculated that I will need 48-50 tanks of gas to cover the miles I plan to drive. (Did I mention that on the northern loop I plan to go all the way to Prince Edward Island and Nova Scotia before turning back south into Maine?)

I have approached several publications about writing a series of articles and will be keeping a daily blog as well. Thought I could cover subjects such as "Cross-Country Travel Tips," " Older Woman Travelin' Solo," "The Best Mom & Pop Diners, Restaurants, Motels, etc. (fill-in-the-blank) to be Found in the U.S. of A." I even had someone suggest that I seek-out all the fabric stores along the way, stop in for a visit and see what America is sewing. It would be great to find a sponsor for my trip or a way to make a little money to help pay for those 48 tanks of gas! I'm open to any ideas and suggestions and also invitations for dinner along the way.

Right now I am preparing for getting my knee scoped next month (the result of getting off my bicycle at an odd angle) then recovering quickly so I can 'shift' the gears of my Jeep for those 12,000 miles.

Drop me a line and share with me all the places you think I need to see or eat and interesting people I should meet and interview along my route. In turn, I'll take you along with me on this great adventure!

Until next time......

ReAnn