Midweek vacation

I got to see my family this week! Josh and Krista rode the train up to Bloomington and from there it was a great two days of family. Wednesday we met up with Miah, Jessie and the kids and enjoyed the afternoon together. I let Ben run about with my camera, and these first shots are his point of view. :)



Josh shared with us the video of the show he and Krista are working on right now. Micky's Talent Show has a huge variety of characters, of which Tigger and Buzz Lightyear are two. The blue shirt Ben is wearing - it's a Buzz shirt, if that tell you anything.






Cecilia is walking all over the place and was very interested in the salad dressings from the fridge. It took her a while to participate as she, like her aunt, does not like to get up after a nap.

We all had dinner together and then Josh, Krista and I went back to Bloomington for the night. We explored some thrift stores and book shops before making the trek to St. Louis, then I drove solo back to Carbondale. Lots of driving but totally worth it. It's so rare that we all get to see each other. In fact, this time last year was the last time Josh made almost the exact trip.

Josh and Krista showed me the inside of the tour bus they live in between cities, and I was impressed with how they were able to convert a 45 ft. coach into a home for 12 people. Sleeping nooks, two lounges, and satellite tv and internet. Not like any bus I've driven!

Miles for the trip - 5900! Now, lets go drive in circles.

Before I get too far into my life in Juneau, I'd like to pat myself on the back. I did the calculations, and my trip from Bloomington to Juneau, via visits to Dan, Sarah, Ciara and Adam, and the Spokane clan puts my mileage over 5,900 miles! There where hundreds of miles where I thought I heard little noises that made me rigid for hours, fearing I would be stuck in the middle of the ________ (you choose: Oklahoma/California/Oregon/B.C.) wilderness, but I made it. There were support phone calls, books on tape, and many cups of coffee. So, thanks to everyone, and nice job me.

Now, on to the more recent past.

I met with Ron and saw the house today. To say the least, it is in a sad shape. The good news is Ron has agreed to not charge me rent while it is getting into the agreed upon condition. This gives me the time I need to 1) help get my areas into livable condition, or 2) look for a new place to live. Either way, I'll be ok. It's just the newest challenge I've been given.

I went to the bus yard to meet the people I've been talking with for months, fill out paperwork, and get an idea of what my next weeks will look like. I'm doing my refresher training tomorrow if my drug test results come back. The training will be reacquainting myself with the bus via pre-trip test and four hours of driving around a 25 mile loop of roads. The pre-trip will be me and my re-trainer, Mikey, walking around a coach while I point, feel, and visualize 308 points of inspection. I don't know how many I need to pass, but an 80% is 246 items. I would beat myself up if I got anything less.

That means I've been cramming. All the things I learned between February and May of 2004 need to be taken out of my cranial storage. Phrases like "the blower boxes are mounted and secure" and "The emergency engine shut off switch is in the off position" will be used again. I'll get intimate with u-bolts, push rods, brake drums, valves, and steering linkages. I'll be trying to remember the proper pressures and timing for the break test and emergency procedures. Radio checks. Fast idle. Various sight glasses containing various viscus materials used to keep the coach running. Lights! Camera! Action! And after all that I'll be ready to go back on my 53 foot stage to entertain tourists on those 25 miles of looped road.

Let's hope I didn't come all of those 5,900 miles just to fail now.

In Juneau

I made it. I'm here.

I got off the ferry tonight just before 9pm and called Ron, the dude I'm supposed to be staying with. I asked for directions and he said he had a really busy day, and could we talk tomorrow? I said I was taken by surprise, as I was under the impression that he would call me before getting on the ferry to make arrangements if there was a problem. I couldn't get a straight answer out of him. I hung up to call hotels, hopefully finding one that would be cat friendly, but instead I called Dan and fell apart. I just wanted to get to town and sleep in a place I wouldn't be moving from in 12 hours. I was already worried about the cats, who have been in the car for 46 hours. I didn't want to pay for a hotel room when I was expecting to be moving into my summer home. Ron was telling me things about his daughter's pipes freezing, needing to file an extension on his taxes, and feeling tonight wouldn't be good for him. I don't feel this is the right foot to be starting on in a professional relationship. Now I have second thoughts of staying there at all.

I tried to make plans to meet him tomorrow, as he suggested, then he didn't want to do that. I insisted and set the place, letting him set the time. He said "late morning." I said 10 or 10:30? "How about 11." he says. Dan was skeptical that he would show at all. I'm not going to hold my breath. I'll let you know how it goes.

How about some good news? The ferry ride was beautiful! Here are pictures from that, and the last leg of my drive. There were caribou! Mountains! Snow!








Skagway! It's a little town. Three serious blocks by about 13 blocks. Put an airstrip on one side, Mountains on two sides, and the harbor on the end, and that's it. Cute town, beautiful surrounding, and friendly folks. And a coffee shop!


This is the coffee shop. If you look at the counter, they are using half of a canoe for display space. Kitchy and fun.
This was all I saw of Baxter and Kodak near the end. That little white bit is Baxter's paw. The boys just couldn't take all of the new sounds, smells, and sights. They are in self preservation mode.
A backwards glance of Skagway's port.
More on my living situation when I know. For now I'm at a hotel in the heart of downtown. This week there is a folk music festival going on. I can hear it wafting up. Banjos, guitars, harmonicas, and maybe a wash board or two. I'm excited to check it out.

Day two in Canada

I left Spokane early Saturday, and made it to Bellingham by noon. Had a moment at the Bagelry and drove about to see the old spots. I was planning on staying for a few hours then moving on, but once I got there, I really wasn't interested in stopping anywhere. I pulled into a few places, but I felt too guilty about leaving the cats penned up to do more than buy a bagel and a cup of coffee. So I drove.

I stopped the first night at Williams Lake. Parked in a church parking lot and snoozed for the night. My headlight blew out in the morning after getting coffee from the most unpleasant man I've met in awhile. I had an extra in the trunk (in an easily accessible spot) and changed it under a street light.

Tonight I'm in Dease Lake, as the only guest in a huge hotel. They don't get many travelers this far north this time of year. If I keep up my pace I'll be in Skagway tomorrow, quite a bit a head of schedule. I'm just glad the passes are open and the weather looks clear.

Here are pictures from the car. Who knows where they were taken, specifically.

Also, I can recommend Anansi Boys and The Moment I First Believed. The miles are melting

Spokane!

Not only will I, my car, and my cats embark on an epic journey, but so will my coffee cup. Thanks to Linda Swift, Dan's absolutely wonderful mother, I have been reunited with my mug, an item which brings me much happiness, and selflessly transports my drug of choice.

I left my mug in Chicago while visiting on Dan's spring break. After remembering and telling Dan how unfortunate it was that my travel mug would be absent on this, my big road adventure, a box arrived at my dad's house with it and homemade tasty treats inside. Thanks Linda!



Besides coffee, the other love my father gave me was a love of Samoa Girl Scout cookies. My dad doesn't mess around when cookie time comes. He doesn't buy them by the box. He buys them by the case!

This is my dad, Glen, looking at my maps of British Colombia, making sure all of the sage advice he gave me was indeed what he should have said. Dad has traveled to Alaska and back three times, and flown another handful. He is excited that I'll be sharing that with him, even if he doesn't get to come along.

Kodak and Baxter have made themselves at home at dad's. Dad and I spent the day together, going through some shops, and trying to track down the last needs before I leave on Saturday. We visited a great antique shop in Downtown Spokane called Finders Keepers. I had never been in the basement, as I am usually overwhelmed by the jewelry and clothing upstairs, but I was happy to finally find it today. There was great stuff!

Wednesday was the first day of Passover, and it so happens that mom took the day off work to prepare for it. She, my step dad Martin, and I went to breakfast, got the needed groceries, then came back to the house. Below is me with my mom, Renee.

Mom and Martin!

Mom and Martin, happy (yet exhausted) to have the preparations done.

My mom used to make pottery. The candle stick holder in the front, shaped like a pomegranate, was one of her creations. Beside it is the cup they used for Elijah.

Mom and I made an army's worth of haroset, an apple and nut dish that represents mortar. It is very simple, but tasty. Apples, walnuts, cinnamon, lemon juice, all spice, and wine.

Like I said, we made a lot of it!

My mom likes cats too. Her glasses case is presented here as evidence.

And this is Delilah. My sister, Ciara, gave her to me on December 18th, 1998 after my childhood cat, Licorice (better known as Pudder) was never to return to the farm. I went to college and kept moving about, and it was better for her to stay with mom, and mom to stay with her. They are a good fit for each other.

Frank's Diner is iconic in Spokane. Its being a train car automatically gives it flare, but it doesn't disappoint once you get inside. It has quirky wait staff, fast grill cooks, and soul food. Their coffee isn't half bad either. Still diner coffee, but good diner coffee.

I've also seen the Dormaiers and my friend Rena, but when ever I get around them, we talk and talk and talk, and I never seem to remember to take out my camera. I don't see them very often (I think we decided it had been 4 years for the Dormaiers!) so there was even more to share.

One more day in town! I have a drug test tomorrow, which should expedite the process once I get to Juneau, and another thing or two to track down.