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

JUST HOW BAD IS OUR ECONOMY?

Yesterday I took the test to be a 2010 Census worker. Not an 'enumerator,' one of those that knock on your door. I'm not willing to work evenings in areas I just wouldn't feel safe walking through. So I applied to be an office worker. The pay is pretty good, $11.50 an hour, part-time hours and a job that lasts only until December.

Well, let me tell you, talking the test was not easy! As a matter of fact, it was damn hard. The questions were confusing as they were asked, the math you had to do without the help of a calculator (math has never been my strong suit) and they only allowed you 30 minutes to complete the 40-question test. An additional 15 minutes would have been perfect.

But what I found most interesting were the people taking the test. Only one young lady was in her early 20's, the rest were up into their 70's, with the majority being men in their late 40's to mid 50's.

As we had some time before the test began, the men starting talking - and I started listening. Every single one of them had lost their 'real' jobs. All had been in the corporate world - some for 20 years. What was so disheartening was when they started talking about the job opportunities here in Wilmington. None. They compared notes on how they had applied everywhere, and been turned down, for being over-qualified. They all had been turned down for jobs at Chic-fil A, McDonald's, Dillard's department store, CVS drug stores, and on and on and on. They talked quietly about how demeaned they felt and how basically useless their years of education, experience and knowledge were to them in today's economic market.

Being in New Hanover County, we were told that a high score was needed to even be considered for a census. Several people yesterday were re-taking the test to try and improve their scores from a previous testing. I thought I had done fairly well by scoring a 90% but have no idea if I will get a call. That's the next step - you wait now for 3-4 weeks waiting for 'the call' to say you've been approved for the next step in the process, paid training!

I'm not going to worry about it, but I bet those men will. They need something to hang their hopes on and it's so sad that right now a job with the Census is the only hope they have. What has happened to our country? How have we managed to get at this point? I certainly don't have answers.

I did think it was interesting watching Sunday Morning today, learning of the woman who in the 1950's unknowingly donated her cancer cells while being treated at John Hopkins, which became the breakthrough cells used in all disease research throughout the world, even today, at great profit (HeLa cells) and her son's and their families cannot afford basic health insurance. How can the richest country in the world be at this point in time? I just don't know, but I do think taking this test and just hearing how it would effect this small group of people's lives is an eye-opener.

Until next time....take care of each other.

ReAnn

CAN YOU EVER REALLY COME HOME AGAIN?

Even though it's wonderful to be 'back at the beach, what I've been wondering about since my furniture was delivered last Tuesday is is this home? With over 300 boxes of 'stuff' to unpack and put back in place, it's been an exhausting week, as you can well imagine, but I'm getting there and it's starting to at least 'looks' like my home.

I made a fast trip to Raleigh to take some household items to son #2 and visit my with good friend who had just returned from 2 months in Mexico. I learned of a dear friend's passing and was booted out of the Book Club I helped found. (They replaced me when I left for the Peace Corps and won't let me back in as they want to keep their membership at 10). Boy, was that a kick in the teeth - people you think are your friends and would be pleased that you're back, have moved on with their lives and really don't care about you or yours.

So I got to thinking about what is so different about me and my lifestyle that makes me 'not acceptable' to the norm. I think the thing that stands out first is I'm single. That does set you apart at this age, whether you are divorced or widowed or just never married. Your married women friends see you as a threat. And second, and probably most of all is 'options.' I have them, most really don't. I'm not stuck in one place, in one house, in one city. I can 'wheels-up' and take off to wherever I choose, whenever I chose, and I think that makes people, should I say, envious?

If my dear husband were still living, I am sure I would 'one of those who was stuck' behind the gates of a golf community, just living day-to-day without much change or adventure in my life. But I was dealt a different hand and how I chose to play it has always been my choice.

You read quotes like 'don't worry or care what others think about you, go forth and live the best life you can.' Maybe that's true, for the most part. But we all know that we care what others think about us - it's hard not to.

So what will tomorrow or next week or next month bring? I haven't a clue! The options are many, the road is long and inviting, my house is warm, safe and cozy. I've even started dating - I know, said I wouldn't - but when someone really nice comes along - well....? Sharing is fun, talking about life and experiences and just going to dinner or a movie with someone other than yourself can be really nice.

Tomorrow I start getting my sewing studio back together and look forward to taking out all my fabrics to 'pet', fondle and imagine what I could make out of each piece. I'm going through my closets and giving away lots and lots. I learned from a year in Winnie that I really don't need all those clothes. Goodwill will be happy to see me.

I just wanted to share my thoughts this cloudy Saturday afternoon with those of you who have traveled along with me for the past 12 months.
Take care of each other....until next time.

ReAnn

I CAME HOME TO SNOW!

I moved to The South to avoid the grueling winters that I had endured in Minnesota and Chicago and what do I get when I arrived in Raleigh - 6" of snow and then sleet on top of that! And of course, the city does not begin to have to removal equipment to handle such a Big Storm. They closed the airport and schools have been closed for 3 days and the side roads are still a mess. It's really funny looking at it as a Midwesterner. Six inches would be nothing 'up North.'

Oh well....here I sit in the living room of my son's home waiting to move back to Wilmington on the 16th of the month. Winnie is in storage and I still haven't decided what I will do this coming summer.

With job offers in Oregon and Michigan, both 5-month stints, I do have options. But maybe I'll stay put and wait and head further South in October. We'll just have to wait and see.

Right now I am so BORED! Watching way too much TV and reading an average of 3 books a week. It would have been great if my best friend, who lives in Durham, was home. But she's off exploring Mexico for 2 months. Oh well - just 2 more weeks. Have already gotten the basics set up - trash, electric, water, cable - ready to turn or install when I arrive. Had my property manager do a 'walk-thru' of the house last week to make sure the renters, who were not happy, were not destroying the place. But she says it looks really nice and well-cared for - so that's certainly a 'good thing.'

I miss the road. Imiss working. I miss meeting the new folks who come into a RV park on a daily basis. I miss getting out and seeing parts of this country I have never seen. I guess that sounds like I won't be 'home' for long. Will keep you posted.

Until next time...take care of each other.

ReAnn