Dialogue, cont.

Awhile back I made note of having read Jared Diamond's Collapse and also Guns Germs and Steel. I can see, as someone who once considered Anthropology, how many would see Diamond's arguments as simplifications of complex and variable histories. I wonder how much the author weighed this counter-argument, given the obvious evidence at the present moment. Even a robust and hopeful mind bows at the sobering signs in climate, energy and warmongering.
And I think that we are not so old a species, despite the (deer in the headlights) moments that have repeated themselves around the globe and through our short time here on the planet. One that lifts another cup to youth and fecundity as mountains and temples crumble around them.
Old and new in the Times

But Seriously

Disney and DieHard are great. Great myths. Now that Western culture has hoovered the world up and is 'spreadin' democracy' one oil-bearing nation at a time, perhaps we might remember a warning (9\11, Katrina, the Ross shelf, extinctions) in the not- so- distant past. The real one.

More than the rest of the Entire World combined?!?!?!

How could the world hate the U.S.?!?

BuffaloBeasts 50 Most Loathsome

Hee hee!

A Merry Christmas For Us

WORK VISAS WORK VISAS WORK VISAS WORK VISAS WORK VISAS WORK VISAS WORK VISAS WORK VISAS WORK VISAS WORK VISAS WORK VISAS WORK VISAS WORK VISAS WORK VISAS WORK VISAS WORK VISAS WORK VISAS WORK VISAS WORK VISAS WORK VISAS WORK VISAS WORK VISAS WORK VISAS WORK VISAS WORK VISAS WORK VISAS WORK VISAS WORK VISAS WORK VISAS WORK VISAS!

Yesterday morning, Jesse was given his work visa and permit, which will allow him to work in any profession in New Zealand through January 31 of 2009. We didn't let ourselves do anything more than hope it would all work out, and here we are now, sitting on the other side of our efforts, knowing that we can work here legally, living in our own apartment, proud owners of a couch, refrigerator, and some cookware, Wellington library card-holders, and any number of opportunities awaiting us in 2008. Mind you, it's cost us almost our entire savings of the past 5 years, but I feel like we're finally on our way to the futures we have wanted for ourselves. With jobs in sight, we can start saving once again, making our way toward a more progressive life in the place where we hope to live it out.

That said, we've been reminded of Peak Oil, and are getting on with thoughts on our 5-year plan once again. Or, I should say that I am finally in line for getting on with the 5-year plan. Or even further, we've taken our first step in this 5-year plan and are ready for whatever may be next. I see a primary next step being the acquiring of life skills that would be useful in this future we envision, and saving money from our jobs so that we can someday soon purchase land, build our house, all that good stuff. Jesse's seen the necessity of life changes as a result of Peak Oil in mind for several years now, but I've held off on getting too involved until this big first hurdle, this move, was conquered. It was a question whether it ever would take the first step, and now that we have, i feel ready for anything. Bring on the cobbling!

Read more about Peak Oil here.
(Survey says if that's not for you, try this)

Work!!!

Beth got her work permit and visa! We're promised Jesse's on Monday. All our deliveries and fixes and installations came through by Friday, and we dare say we have a working household now. It's only today, then, that I'm starting to let myself believe that we are set up for a year of life in Wellington, New Zealand, with income,with an interesting place to live, and with each other, mended many times over but still hanging on and a little giddy.

There was a big earthquake just north of us last night. We'll hope for some lasting power in this land of volcanoes and fault lines.

Very December

Well, it's sure not winter here. Not exactly summer either. But that's beside the point.

Dance let us down, Auckland was not quite It either.....

In a few days we'll have been a month in 'Welly' and (as I hear someone blaring CCR's House of the Rising Sun), and it's high time the dam broke. It's been tough-really tough. Tough of course in ways unforseen. Windy, lonely, and windier.

But now it seems a cusp is afoot. We're undergoing medical exams. Armed with x-rays. Undergone the roughly six weeks of cellular recombination and Kiwi roughage that makes a new person. We have contacts, a bank account, a coffee press and even friends. This is weird!

After weeks of walls, walls, walls. It appears that things may evolve. Bets has her choice in IT. Suitors are clamoring. In the next few days, she can make a choice on her career here in NZ, and we should land an apartment. This would automatically award her a work visa, begin Jesse's work visa award from Immigration, and preclude our address! Cowabunga!

There are alot of good reasons why this should take place. The fact that everyone takes off for the summer here, especially before Xmas, but likes to get something done beforehand. The fact that IT is in demand. The fact that we have worked so hard, for weeks, against a steep learning curve. The fact that we've had help and advice from really good people since here. And the fact that we had so much support from friends and family in the States.

In the interest of avoiding a jinx, I'll stop short of predicting success. But for the first moment in quite awhile, it looks rather dandy.

Regards,
J

When not otherwise involved, there's beer

This is Mata (maori: "raw") Manuka Honey Ale, a gold medal winner in 2007. Easy summer drinking.
Bennetts has been shortlisted as Betsy's favorite, which is also good because they brew in the Welly suburb of Island Bay. Not unrelated to the fact that they make a kicking Honey brew.
Emersons is perhaps the most celebrated Kiwi brewery, out of the southland of Dunedin. They import the hops from USA ("stonefruit, pine, citrus and geranium"and "sweet bisquity"). Their American Pale Ale brought a tear to my eye, I'm not ashamed to say.
This is James Cook Spruce Beer. Suprisingly clean, yummy and (newly) Xmas-y brew. Refreshing!!! And historical.

Bets and I've been touring Kiwi beers. This is Moa Noir. The Moa is a extinct flightless bird, and Noir is a mild, balanced and yummy (coffee and chocolate) beer that is pretty fine.

Of course there are clunkers here in Eden, which explains the month it took till I mentioned beer. All is forgiven. Cheers!

The streets of Wellington, signs

Pics, of late

On the rails, the Overlander (and Mt. Tongariro) into Wellington

Random as radon

Jesse and Lettuce

The cluttered apartment (Aitken at Mulgrave), Wellington

What better reminder than fires in California, diesel soot in Polynesia, and “bugger another” rain in Auckland to enjoy the days while you can?!?

Polynesians in Fiji (especially women) know how to laugh. But that require oxygen. They just need that container of catalytic converters, pronto please.

Indo-Fijians are apparently able businessman, but the lack of clean water can’t be helping the dismal beer and rum they’re turning out.

$2 in Kiwi Lettuce!

I've been reminded that experiencing a place as a tourist, a traveller, and a immigrant will give entirely different perspectives. I think we've had all of the above recently, and variations of each--middle class dodo, hobo, and unwanted unwashed everyone. Yet mostly since entering New Zealand it's been as potential emigres; the hat we've donned. And that has been a newfound profound and confounding new tangle.

Today appears to be the beginning of a stretch of 'fair' weather, the first in over two weeks since we've been here. And being as we are in such a city as Wellington, I aim to takes pictures of this lovely place. Earlier in the week, Beth and I took an afternoon away from the jobsearch and climbed Mt. Victoria(where apparently they filmed many scenes from Lord of the Rings) which is right in the city. We were greeted not by Orcs, per se, but by winds steady around 50+ miles an hour. And a view of the harbor, the straits, etc. It was great!

Now that fair weather has dawned, one of us has been made lame by muscle spasms. In a twist (sorry), it's not J but Beth who has been in bed now for over 15 hours, as well as uncomfortable pain. So our grandiose plans for enjoying ourselves all over town will have to be scaled back. Luckily we remain in a cozy quiet room near the 'beehive' (Parliament, etc) with a kitchenette and all we may want. I am grateful.

Beth will have all the care and sympathy that similar circumstances a dozen or so times a year would bring forth from her hubby. We'll live to bungee another day.

The Wonders of the Tea Hour(s)

Ah, tea time.

I thought it was a quaint, dainty, and annoying thing; an English custom taken on by many of its colonies with excess preciousness. But in fact, I have come to love tea time, and have an understanding of why it has caught on in so many places. Tea occurs twice daily, and most people seem to take both, at 10am and 4pm. Tea consists of three main items: tea or coffee, an indulgent pastry, and sitting. And why the hell not take a break with a big old piece of cake twice a day? I've found that I happen to meander into bakeries most often around these hours anyways, and now find myself among company. These people have built a tradition, basically a twice-a-day party, around what I've thus considered my daily hours of biggest weakness. Faaaantastic.

Consequently, there are coffee shops everywhere, literally stocked full with home-baked, luscious pastries. Even the delis have gorgeous bars, muffins, and cakes. It seems everyone is competing for the best pastries in town, and I am loving it. Nowhere else have I been with so many delicious options everywhere. My favorites so far are a vegan/organic coffeehouse called Cuba 178 (or something like that) on Cuba Street, with amazing cakes towering three layers high, including a great vegan chocolate cake, cheesecakes, and some kind of mystery coconut/passionfruit cake today, and mocha coffee milkshakes (thick shakes hereabouts). I think a milkshake qualifies as tea, don't you? Also, a cozy basement place downtown off Lambton Quay with melt-in-your mouth lemon muffins served with cream and yogurt on the side. It helps that the cafe mochas here taste like hot chocolate with a little coffee drizzled in, so I can actually order some kind of hot drink that I like, rather than just pretend that I'm participating in tea hour by taking the opportunity to wolf down yummy sweets.

New Zealand, At Long Last, 1.11.07

Flying in to New Zealand, Beth got all tearful finally seeing the land below. At last we were here. Conversely, Jesse elected to be concerned. Months and years of plans, hopes and expectations were to be put to the test. Little were we prepared for the struggles that awaited us. After one week in Auckland, we are quite discouraged and wondering how much longer we want to do this. Luckily(?) we take turns being bummed and\or resilient. Auckland is terribly expensive (think NYC or Frisco and then some on some items--gas is near $6 a gallon). Apparently it will be cheaper outside this city--even in Wellington, the capitol. We’ve been applying for jobs, searching for apartments, trying to decide which town to put ourselves in, all while dealing with really pricey edibles; rainy, cool weather; the inability to do any work or trade without a work visa; and an approaching high season.

Uncle Mike’s friend, Warren (a Kiwi) who is here with his family from Mexico, has given us hope in his and his family’s kindness and optimism, and hosted us for a warm dinner one evening.

Yet it's plain we’re simply on our own without anyone to really help and spending, spending our savings on what feels very futile. Dep't of Immigration is close to impregnable; you can’t talk to them by phone because they don’t answer. As yet no one will entertain giving us a job because we don’t have a work permit.

Political and economic news from the States is a worry, as well.

We’re taking the Overlander on the 12 hour voyage across the north island to Wellington over the weekend. Blown by the wind as we are, we hope for things to become clearer, and soon.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Things we miss: Family and Friends, good beer, exercise, free WIFI, cheap goods, and entertainments

Things that are better here: Air, courtesy, variety of vehicles, korean pancake snacks, tea time, pastries, cafe mochas

Things that are just plain weird: kebabs, pronounced like "babs", not "bobs", everywhere; slightly off takes on sports that we know: netball is women's basketball played in little skirts with a basketball net without a backboard, lower than the usual height we recognize, and cricket; hundreds of varieties of yogurt in the grocery, and not one box or bulk box of granola; palm trees with snowy mountains at 5000 feet; a nation healthier than most parts of the world, that is based on meat and dairy (but the women here don't seem to be as afraid as the thighs as others), magazine covers (think 80's mode "I'm Excited!").

Oakland to San Fran to Temecula to San Diego to LA to Fiji, 10.23.07

We really loved Oakland. Housesitting for Jesse's brother, Sean, was such a relief after months on the road, deciding between a tent and the futon in the van (down by the river), dealing with sketchy bathroom situations, and always driving and driving to the next place. Shower and kitchen at our disposal all the time, plus the wonders of San Francisco and Berkeley just a hop away, friends and new babies to visit (hola, Tharp and Amy L!). We got to spend a good few evenings with Sean after he returned from NYC, eating wonderful food and drinking lovely wines, and it was priceless to get to know him better. We really liked Berkeley - a farmer's market that was all organic, beautiful stuff; the best bubble tea I've had yet on the roadtrip, chicago-style deep-dish pizza, and free WIFI a-plenty, just not in any bars or restaurants that we could find. There's a true gap there for anyone willing to take it up, enterprisers... We hiked miles and miles up and down San Francisco, and I got back in touch with a friend I hadn’t seen for more than 10 years, who was as anything-goes as ever. San Fran is a great town, but we both seemed to prefer the sleepy streets of Oakland for living, despite its crime statistics (I think we were told 100 shooting deaths YTD, and counting). There's lots more to say about that area, including our first listing of the travel van for sale, but maybe Jesse will fill in the gaps.

Leaving San Fran, we camped one night at a beautiful beachside campground down the coast, and then spent the following night in Temecula, where we parked ourselves in a motel and wearily headed out to the wineries. Jess had some trepidation about the region that I either didn't listen to or simply wasn't told, but when I found that each winery charged like $12 for 5 samples, I had no choice but to sniff and walk away. Really, I don't know how wineries stay in business, giving away so much wine, but it's what we've gotten used to, and it was hard to accept paying for what we generally have gotten free. So Temecula was just a place to stop and relax. And not recommend to others. San Diego, on the other hand, was just fabulous, as always.

Our first stop was the fabulous Pizza Port, home of craft brews and lovely fat pizzas, where we marked time while Rommie worked late. We’d been told when originally making plans for San Diego that Mike wouldn't be in town that week, and we continue to hope that maybe with Mike's love of New Zealand, we can all finally commune there someday, where J & I can hopefully return the favor for all the time spent in their guest room! When we met up with Rommie at her and Mike’s apartment in Del Mar, she was eager to share some of their wedding beer with us after hearing about our brewery tours, and even tried to take us to one of the best breweries in the country called Artisan Brewery, which was closed. But Rommie saved the day by driving far out to this amazing brewery/taphouse, where we were able to taste a wide range of California beers, and find that Artisan brews were awesome. We sat around a fancy fire pit, chatting into the night. Good times. On Thursday morning, we got a call that my grandfather had passed away during the night, and that services would be held for him in Chicago on the following two days. Rommie had plans to be in Chicago anyhow over the weekend, but we had a hard time deciding what to do next. We’d been trying to sell the van since San Francisco through Craigslist, and our tickets had us leaving out of LA the upcoming Tuesday for overseas. The bites that had come in for the van had all fallen through so far, even one so far as the mechanic of a rather crazy, albeit enthusiastic, buyer, and we were looking at taking a great last-minute loss on the car by having to pawn it off on a dealer if we didn’t knuckle down over the weekend. Still, we considered that the events might be an omen to drive back to the Midwest, allowing Uncle Randy to sell the van and extending our date out because of bereavement, if the airline would allow it. But by the time we thought of this, there was truly no way that we could make it by road in time for any of the memorials, being held so soon. And even flying round trip would leave us with a van to sell with even less time and more complications. So we missed it, and were forced to swallow the sadness of missing both funerals for both of my grandparents in a matter of months (grandma passed away during a DICP performance in June). And then the van sold on Friday. It was ridiculous, like the buyers were sent directly by Poppa. They pulled up in a Prius, said they needed a beater to go down to Baja and kayak, lived less than a mile from Mike and Rommie, and payed our asking price (granted, it had been reduced at least three times). It was like they were us, extended. The sale took all day, what with the emissions tests and DMV requirements California requires of a sale, but it was done. And we were left with all our stuff.We met up with my dad over the weekend closer to LA and ate well some more, this time with cocktails more along the tropical lines, to celebrate the release of the car and moving forward with the adventure. The van sale was the next big milemarker since Setsugi, and things were feeling a little surreal again. Not to mention that we had way too much stuff that still needed to be dealt with. We’d sold a few things to the crazy woman who originally wanted to buy the van, a young guy took the bike and accessories (we actually ran into him again, riding the bike on the Mission Beach boardwalk in the city), handed off a ton of food to Dad, and gave just about everything else away with the van, but we still had to send three huge boxes back before we could get things down to a manageable carriage, or two huge bags each, which had to be further rearranged at the airport to meet weight standards.

Finally, we boarded the airplane to Fiji and there was no turning back. It brought a grins to our faces.

We landed at Nadi at 5am, a small airport on the western coast of Viti Levu, one of the two larger islands that make up Fiji. After some machinations with logistics, and after checking two of our heavier bags with the airport luggage service, we grabbed a taxi to take a look at a hotel we were considering for the last half of our stay on the island, closer to the airport and a sports bar where Jesse could see a game or two of the World Series with his beloved Rockies, the great underdogs. We were warned by the guidebooks that we wouldn't be impressed with the Nadi area, and the books were pretty much correct. The area is rather ghetto Polynesia, with everyone clambering to survive and (frequently to) make a buck off the tourists. Hopping a public bus to a bustling and squalid downtown Nadi Town, Jesse negotiated for a commuter van ride to our first residence, the Beachouse, about 2 hours down the south coast. We had decided to camp while at the Beachouse to save money, but it was pretty wet and puddley when we arrived, and also we were told we’d prepaid for one night in a private room via our online reservation. So we took the room for the night, to consider the camping idea for the following days. Of course, after a day of sitting in 90-degree sun, wading in the clear, warm waters beach that lined the lodging, kayaking at high tide (a complementary activity of the beachouse), eating free homemade scones and tea at 4pm, and falling asleep with nursed sunburns around 7pm, we woke up the next morning unwilling to give up our comfy digs, and renewed the small bure (standalone thatched hut-type room) for another two nights. We agreed to move on to another lodging after that, to keep costs down and be closer to where Jesse could potentially see some baseball. There's not a lot of TV channels in Fiji, but maybe we'd have some luck when we got back to Nadi.

So we spent the rest of the time at the Beachouse laying around in hammocks, doing a lot of reading and swimming, and even snorkeling nearby. The cocktails were outrageously priced, and only came in a can or bottle (2 kinds of Fjij beer, both gross), but the Beachouse hosted a free tea every afternoon with homemade scones and good coffee (according to J), and on top of the free breakfast of fruit, “muesli” (there is no granola in the south pacific) and white toast, along with our freeze-dried camping meals, we kept ourselves rather well-fed. I even started running again, with the help of over-the-counter arthritis medicines. Fiji is a very poor place, and that is reflected in the supplies available at the stores, in both their cost and variety. White bread is the standard, jam comes from a can, and orange juice is a tang-like powder. Anything "real" will cost you, and even the fruit, which is plentiful and affordable in the markets, was poorly represented at both places we stayed, with only bananas at the beachouse and seemingly canned at the high-end place we got a deal for during the last part of the week. That place was run by the Indo-Fijian crowd, and we were paying about ¼ of what the hotel normally charged. It was close to Nadi Town (maybe 3 miles or so), and even closer to the airport. It had a little gym in an open-air room, where we ran and Jesse lifted weights while we were chewed on by the Nadi brand mosquitos, little reddish guys that could hardly be seen. The hotel room was lavish and large, but the place itself was pretty isolated. We were able to get the local bus to town and walk to the supermarkets along the main stretch, where things were much more affordable, but still very expensive, than downtown Nadi. While there was pay email, overpriced amenities, and pretty bad food with the exception of a really good penne arrabiatta from the only night we attempted to eat at the restaurant buffet; we did some nice things while there, including getting caught in a rainstorm and finding Ed’s, a wonderful little decently priced bar halfway to town, Jesse getting a $5 almost-bald haircut, and my wandering around solo to watch airplanes taking off and landing at the local flight school and finding a good Australian liquor store, a relief from the crap liquors and beers we’d been ingesting so far. We also took a day trip to South Sea Island, the closest island of the Yasawas, and did a ton of independent snorkeling on the tiny place, seeing really neat underwater lands and all sorts of fish. That was wonderful. But Fiji was an exercise in patience, and we were ready to leave when November 1 came around. We even missed Halloween altogether (it's not celebrated in Fiji).

Our Itinerary

For anyone interested:

LAX to Nadi, Fiji (NAN)
Air Pacific #0811
Leave 11/23 11:30p, arrive 11/25 5:10am

Nadi, Fiji to Auckland, NZ
Air Pacific #0411
Leave 11/1 8:45a, arrive 11/1 12:50pm

Auckland, NZ to Sydney, AUS
Aerolineas #1182
Leave 1/29/08 7:10a, arrive 1/29 9am

Brisbane, AUS to Bangkok, Thailand
Thai Airways #0992
Leave 3/2/08 11:59p, arrive 3/3/08 6:10am

Bangkok, Thailand to Athens, Greece
Thai Airways #0946
Leave 4/3/08 12:35a, arrive 4/3 7:05a

London Heathrow to NYC JFK
Air India #0111
Leave 5/30/08 1:15p, arrive 5/29/08 (I think?) 4:55p

I Love the West Coast

ok, I know this is cheating - this pic was taken in San Diego when we were here in March 07. But we just got here today and I have to express love for this town. It's sleepy, beautiful, wide, balmy. Today, a little chilly, but generally, balmy. Really, I can't say enough great stuff about the west coast. From Vancouver through Portland, down to San Francisco and finally into San Diego (forget that LA ever existed here), I am in heaven. The people are odd, the food is amazing, the trees, water, and architecture are gorgeous. There are farmer's markets, rocky cliffs, and priuses and bicyclists by the thousands. I can't decide which town I most prefer, but will be debating those points herein, maybe. Today, we are in our final US destination, San Diego, before we head back to that cestpool, LA, for our flight next week, with a camping trip along the way with my dad.

shore, shattered

Well, we've found out once more that the gap between plans and reality (necessarily?) can be as breathtaking as the rims of the Grand Canyon. Comme Ci, comme Ca. Did I get that right?

Something was missing as we passed down the West Coast, and though Bets and I try valiantly with beer, gelato, and cold dips in clean water (no particular order) tumbling, tumbling provided the form of our sight seeing. The stars seem upside down as the Broncos implode and the Rockies ascend (Don't get me wrong, I'm right there with ya, m'boys). Fall trickled too; did not--fall as we've passed down the spine of the Pacific Rim.

Ah, well. Fate has had fortunate turns again, too. My brother Sean allowed us to house-sit his place in Oakland, a 'god-send' for we weary travellers, now flirting with 8000 elapsed. Always wanted to put those to verbs together---maybe I can do better.....
So anyway, we've lain in one spot for going on a week (Egad!) enjoying the sweet winds out here in the Bay area. Saw the peep shops and the qwazy hill streets, and the Blue Angels, and the Berkeley parks. Dunno what we'd have done without it.

Setsugi

'Beloved' , in Japanese. Or so I've thought for 9 years.
Been absent in blogging here, and other things because we lost a member of the family. For every time I had to explain what was a Cattahoula, I have a dozen memories about this fine dog. Holding onto the wheel, I've been remembering every one as we passed down many roads. She came with us for thousands of miles, back and forth across the land to visit family and friends, to hike down to the waterlines and scale cliffs, anywhere to be together. Always ready, she was our best goer.
6087 in digital read the odometer when we reached the Pacific, and where both happiness and sadness tipped the scales. We left her behind in the Olympics, after a few days digging in our heels and breathing in all that we had been.
I'm still picking up the pieces. (Talk about a life on the fly).
-Jesse

Vancouver, 9.24.07

Well, we've made it to Vancouver. It's amazing here, with 10,000 foot peaks jutting out of the oceans and coves and bays. Really reminds of New Zealand, actually.

So we hung out in towns in Montana for a few days: Livingston, where we found a fantastic In-n-Out burger stand with cheap veggie burgers and Wilkinson's Montana ice cream (graham cracker and huckleberry for me, a coffee shake for the hubbie), as well as a belgian-style microbrewery. Stuck around there for 2 nights, recovering from the threat of bears in an overpriced Econo Lodge* and catching up on our eating. A beautiful white horse seemed to have been abandoned in a dirt corral just next door to the hotel for our entire Livingston stay. I fed it carrots, and called the humane society when we left to see if someone could check in on its well-being. Next, we stopped in Bozeman, where we hoped to meet up with an old college acquaintance and dear friend of Claire's, but just couldn't work it out. After just one night there, which almost didn't happen because of the meager and expensive camper accomodations of the town, we had visited the town's huge local brewery, sampled all of its pastries, found that the dance school had moved well outside of the center of town, spent a number of hours using its amazing library and free internet, and successfully slept in the van streetside in the rain without having to pay anyone a cent. The next day, we tried to stay longer to make it to the evening when Nikki and Adam were free, but the road was calling. We made it as far as the Montana-Idaho border at Lolo Springs, where we were able to soak our dirty bones in some hot hot water and exercise in a pretty frigid outdoor pool in the middle of the mountains. Jesse powered on all the following day and night to the Washington-Canada border. We stayed at a national parks campground in our tent, on a very temperate evening while the wind blew harshly through the trees, sounding everything like rain, but it never was.

The campsite at the border:
Now, about this Washington-Canada border: I knew it was apple season, and didn't anticipate how excited I would get once the apple trees began showing themselves through the Okanagan valley in Washington. Deep red apples were dotting trees everywhere along the roadside, like cherries, but 5 times the size. Farmstand followed farmstand, and the orchards were harvesting apples into huge boxes, some piled 10 high, 20 wide, on the sides of the road. We stopped at a stand that allowed me to pick both a green and a red one from some trees behind its shed, with only a little bullying from my end, and J and I wolfed them down as we crossed the Canada border. I had to put the remnants into a cooler past the border, as the guard said a simple garbage can would not do. Past the border, the apple trees continued as we entered Osoyoos, and further into British Columbian wine and farm country. Here's what I have to say about all that:

First, do you all know that the U.S. dollar is now worth less than the Canadian dollar? Last time I was here, it was about $1.50 to each $1 canadian, but now it's about 92 U.S. cents to $1 canadian. Pretty ugly. Things were also kind of expensive outside of Vancouver, so we had to watch it a bit. Although the area of British Columbia that we traveled through is wine country, the wines were really nothing to speak of, except for a certain berry winery, which we discovered after visiting a few other wineries, a hot springs town, and a herbal farm. (We passed the cheese farms, because how much can we really commit to eating more cheese on the road?) The woman at said berry winery told us that they harvest all their berries from the wild, and that berries grow wild everywhere along the roadside. We had a great extended conversation while she got us drunk on samples, and now we have an option to work with them next spring and summer, if we are in the area again. Also, at this very same winery, Sugi got terribly attacked by another dog, the ward of the woman in the testing room. She survived with some minor flesh wounds, but it was a pretty vicious attack to her neck, and I got a little bit up trying to wrench that stupid dog off of her. Funny enough, she seemed rather roused emotionally by the attack, though she did take a couple days to get back to her old self, recovering from the excitement of it all. We spent that night in an amazing spot up North Vancouver, on the water, a cove, where the beach was littered with HUGE petrified trees, and the campground was full of very loud people. We had a huge hike the day after, where I found some of the berries along the trails, blackberry-types, and they were TASTY. And today, we are doing the rounds of Vancouver, eating very well and staying at a decent little motor hotel right downtown. Vancouver is pretty awesome, but I'm sure we'll have more to say in the upcoming posts.

*Note: all the hotels seem overpriced these days. When did the median nightly price go up to $100? ??

Pool Days, 9.19.07

We've been finding swimming pools wherever we go: at campgrounds, at hotels, motels, hot springs pools, YMCAs. The pools act for me as a sort of elixir, a reset button, taking us on to the next set of days and nights spent out in the world. I've taken to doing ballet exercises in the pool, and Jesse seems also to have found his way to some sort of anachronistic aerobic exercises in the pool. I think the water is serving as salvation from hours spent sitting in the car.

Tonight, we are at Lolo Hot Springs, on the border of Montana and Idaho, where we are camping right across the road from the pools. It's cold outside, but the indoor springs pool, a sort of wooden room with vaulted roof, was lovely and hot. Jesse saw that the springs had a 30% nitrous oxide content, and we're good and dizzy after a long soak. WiFi seems to be everywhere, so tuning in before we head deep into further woods through Washington and Canada. Look for us again around Vancouver, around Sunday. Oh, I am looking forward to Vancouver!

Expressing our Feeling

A belated yet toothy shout --to all those who opened their hearts and homes to these n'er -do-wells in the great Middle-west
Here's to you! Jacqui, Sandy, Tracy, Kara, Claire, Sam and Andy, Jim and Betty, Amie and Spencer, and Meg. LOVE!!!!!!!!!!