calling to me

The following post was written yesterday after hastily pulling over to the side of the road. Very little editing has been done, so please bear with me. Some things just need to be recorded.

“I keep calling to you my baby blue, my baby blue.” --John Hiatt*

The sense of my father being with me this week is near overwhelming. Daddy died more than 30 years ago and while I still hold him dearly in my heart, he does not often enter into my daily thoughts—at least to the extent I am now experiencing. Driving down Hwy 101 near the Umpqua Lighthouse, I have had to pull over as there are tears streaming down my face for no apparent reason. The flow started while listening to John Hiatt’s song, “Baby Blue” which just showed up on my I-Pod song shuffle. None of this makes any sense right now, but the connection to my long-deceased father is undeniable for me.

The recent ‘sense of my father’ began three days ago when my friend in Tiburon reminded me that he had promised to look up some Naval records for my dad. I quickly e-mailed my sister who is the current keeper of the family records and asked for the submarine information of Daddy. She put her fingers on the info immediately and responded to me quickly. Lo and behold that very day was our father’s birthday. Coincidence? I think not.

Today as I drove along the highway, I came across the Oregon Dunes that I did not realize even existed. There upon the sand were several dune buggies and I was immediately transported back to the days when I learned to drive and I used to go to the river bottom with Daddy and play in our dune buggy. I found myself wanting to rent an ATV and tool across the sands like I did a zillion years ago. My father was clearly present with me.

As I continued my route, I began to think about my last few days of driving. I am driving in a little VW convertible which is a newer version of the car I drove when I was 16 (a car I 'shared' with my dad.) I again am reminded of my father and that his final occupation in life was as a long distance truck driver. His blood runs through my veins. Yesterday I came to the conclusion that I really don’t like to make little stops here and there. I like to get in the car and GO. Yesterday I drove for several miles with my jacket on because I was not at a place where I wanted to stop and pull over. It reminds me of the years we drove back and forth between Oklahoma City and San Diego where my father’s family lived. Very few stops along that route!

Ah, San Diego. I realize now that the calling from my father began before his birth date on August 20. This road trip was originally conceived as a time to visit with my brother. Looking at a map, I found that San Diego is equidistance between Seattle and Bellville Texas where my brother lives. Curious that this place where my family lived before I was born (when my father was in the Navy) would be the place where I ‘coincidentally’ hoped to reconnect with my brother. Alas, he was unable to accept the invitation and thus the baby road trip was born.

Needless to say (for me at least), my father has been speaking to my subconscious for quite some time. I wonder what he is trying to say? I wonder what I shall learn from this? The sea calls to me. My father was a sailor. The road calls to me. He was a truck driver. “Baby Blue” calls to me. I was his “baby.” I am a grown woman now, but I am still his little girl. He died nearly 33 years ago on September 12, 1975. He would have been 89 years old last Wednesday.

*just a little aside…when I went to research these lyrics this morning, the first thing that popped up was john hiatt’s birthdate. August 20. btw—my father’s name is John. ☺

heading north...east...north...west

• Sunrise in Tiburon
• Coffee & good-byes with friends
• Hit the road 12:00 noon. 73 degrees.
• Convertible down. Cruised North to Redding.
• Temperature peaks at 106 degrees at 4:06 p.m.
• 3 hours driving 132 miles northeast through Shasta-Trinity National Forest.
• First view of ocean just after 7:00 p.m. Spectacular!!!
• I am a water girl!!!
• Surprise I-pod shuffle song of the day. “Joy Unspeakable” by the Gaithers ☺
• Favorite snack of the day? Pluot or kettle corn? A tough call!
• Sunset at Trinidad Beach
• Read the “Elk Crossing” sign near Elk Prairie just before two elk almost walked into my car. Glorious.
• Pavarotti joined me along the foggy coast while searching for the right hotel. (Not too creepy. Not too luxurious.)
• Prayers answered when the Motel Trees appeared through the fog. (Klamath, OR)
• Nine hours of driving. Whew!!
• 50-degree temperature change. (56 degrees when I pulled in for the night.)
• Grilled Cheese & Fries for dinner.
• Hot shower to wash off the road.
• Night Night.
• The best night sleep maybe ever ☺!

"baby" road trip

adventure - daring and exciting activity calling for enterprise and enthusiasm

Well, here I am on my latest adventure. The great thing about adventures is that you never know what is going to be around the next turn. Isn’t that the description of life when you really get down to it? I mean we never really know what’s going to be around the next corner no matter how hard we try, how many plans we make or what our imagination conjures up for us.

So, let me begin by saying that a great many parts of yesterday looked nothing like I had imagined. First of all, it was rainy and cold. Not exactly how you want to start an end of summer road trip in a convertible, huh? But, hey, I’m a good sport and the rain wasn’t too bad. It eliminated sun glare and took away the decision of whether or not I wanted to drive down the highway with the top down ☺.

My drive to Salem was great and I had a wonderful albeit brief visit with my friend Tia and her charming little guy, Grayson. Gray just turned 4 months old and has entered that wonderful stage of finding his own voice. (Now isn’t that a great life metaphor? His "conversation" was like an unfettered song and he found great delight in all of the new sounds he is learning to make.) He also cooperated quite nicely and took a little nap so his mom and I could have some grown up girl talk like we did in the ‘old days’.

Following this visit, I hopped back into my car and headed East toward Breitenbush Hot Springs where I had a reservation for the night. When I mentioned here that I was making a "brief stop", I had no idea how brief indeed it would be. Pulling into the gate, I was surprised to find the “welcome booth” empty and the parking lot devoid of any person or car that remotely resembled me. “O.k. This is an adventure”, I told myself. Onward--following the signs to the office.

In the woods I passed many shacks…oops…I think those were the cabins. There were the tents with assorted laundries hanging here and there. I passed the occasional person with no one really making eye contact. Maybe they were meditating? There was a lone man doing some form of martial arts. A couple of holes in the ground with steam escaping and “danger” signs posted. I walked past “The Sacred Path” and came upon the Lodge that definitely looked like it had seen better days. By this time, I was hearing those little “niggles” that said, “Get the heck out of here,” but my stubborn self was saying, “Don’t be a baby. This will be fun. After all, you’ve paid your money. Don’t be so close-minded.” And then I saw them--two naked sagging bodies rising out of the steam and I remembered the literature that said in fine print “clothing at bathing areas is optional at all times.” It suddenly felt like I was surrounded by ‘bathing areas’ and I’m sorry to say, but it was too much adventure for me. I would have turned and run right then but I really had to go to the bathroom…and so, I continued toward the office.

Walking in, there was a striking silver-haired woman with turquoise pipe cleaners wrapped in her hair. I smiled and she gave me “the look”. You know the one. It’s the one that says, “What the heck do you think you’re doing? You don’t belong here.” And she was right, but it still ticked me off that she gave me “the look.” The young man next to her finally said, “Checking in?” He then gave me a map and instructions with the lay of the land. I graciously thanked him, took my parking pass, found the nearest bathroom, walked back to my car, got in and drove away. It was a quick trip indeed ☺.

Nine miles down the road, I stopped at the little corner store; purchased an Oregon map, a liter of Diet Dr. Pepper and some Corn Nuts—knowing that in an hour my prepaid Vegan Meal would be served up in the Lodge after the double gong had been rung to summon me to dinner. Well, not this time. No vegan meal for me. No nighttime Shamanic-healing ceremony. No meditation in the Lodge at 7:00 a.m. Nope not for me. I would be back to Salem by dinnertime.

So, maybe I am not as adventuresome as I like to think I am. Maybe I am a snob. Or maybe this was one of those times to listen to the “niggles.” I was reminded of my yoga teacher who says that sometimes the more courageous thing to do is stop an activity rather than continuing on and injuring yourself. While I did not feel like I was in any danger at Breitenbush…certainly not…I did feel like the effort that would need to be expended to try and enjoy myself was not worth it this time. So here I sit in the Medford Motel 6; five hours closer to my destination of Tiburon and baby Connor. My McDonald’s milkshake made a great dinner last night and you can gain a lot of energy and mileage from 32 ounces of Dr. Pepper and a rockin' play list on I-tunes!

I slept well. I had a little adventure (even though it looked radically different than I planned) and this morning the sun is shining . So, we’ll see what’s down the road today.

I hope you will ponder your life’s adventure today. Are there places you need or desire the courage to step out of a rut that holds you back? Where are the places that staying put or saying no might be the most courageous thing to do?

I’ll see you down the road ☺ !!!

hitting the road, baby!

Finding myself with a bit of open time before the Fall schedule kicks into high gear, I have decided (with the blessings of my family) to take a little road trip this week. I am calling it "the baby road trip." Not because it is going to be small in nature (although it might be), but because the intention of this trip is to visit two little guys who came into my life in the last few months that I have not had the chance to meet yet.

One lives in Salem, Oregon and belongs to my dear friend, Tia, who I went to graduate school with. His name is Grayson. Don't you just love that name? The other could be considered my great nephew or even my sort of grandson, since he belongs to my honorary daughter. Her mother happens to be one of my absolute dearest and longest standing friends. 'Mom' and Connor (another great name, don't ya think?) are visiting their "real" grandmother in San Francisco, so I thought I would just pop on down ☺.

I will be making a brief stop at Breitenbush Hot Springs to check out the facilities, but for now that is the only officially scheduled stop...other than the babies ☺. So I am loading up my i-pod with books, podcasts and tunes; filling the convertible with gas and packing my bag with the necessary gear. Who knows what the week will hold?

Don't know when I'll be back here to check in. Those little guys can take up your time, you know?

Wishing you grand adventures of your own this week!

baby connor photo

fantabulous weekend ☺

What a glorious, wonderful, fantabulous weekend it has been here in Seattle! For me, it started Thursday afternoon with the arrival of two of my favorite people, Sunrise Sister and Country Parson. The weather cooperated brilliantly as they arrived for the warmest weekend of the summer which was still a good 10 to 20 degrees cooler than their side of the mountains. We opted to eat in on Thursday and had a sampler of salads from my favorite cookbook, Simply Classic. (This book is near and dear to my heart as I was an instrumental part of its design and development. Plus, it's a darn good cookbook!!!) With the French doors open to the deck outside, we sipped a little wine and enjoyed catching up face to face.

Friday morning brought another glorious day and the three of us took off for downtown Seattle and a perfect ferry boat ride to nearby Bainbridge Island. The city shone in the sunlight and we had the rare treat of standing on the sun deck in shirt sleeves without freezing to death! Bainbridge Island provided a little travel shopping where SS & CP both acquired new hats and water bottles while contributing to the economic survival of the island ☺. A lovely lunch at Cafe Nola and a stroll around town (which turned into a bit of a trek when we took a wrong turn--oops) completed our afternoon before the return trip to Seattle.

We arrived home in plenty of time for a little R&R before meeting up with another favorite of mine, H3Images. Our party was now four and we went back downtown for a lovely dinner at The Dahlia Lounge. A notable first for me as I enjoyed my first martini--shaken not stirred--followed by a delicious meal which included lots of seafood and a surprise order of Peking Duck. Our designated driver, H3, proved to be a wonderful tour guide and offered us an amazing sunset off the cliffs of Magnolia Bluff with a full moon rising in the east. A perfect ending to a perfect day!

Saturday started with leisurely breakfast (serve yourself) at home and then a visit to the Patricia Rovzar gallery where we got to visit the backroom as well as look at the wonderful exhibits on display. Our next stop was in the Georgetown area where our artist friend, Melinda Hannigan, was preparing for an open house in her gallery. Being unable to attend during the designated time, she invited us to stop by in the afternoon. We met another delightful artist in the meantime who shared her sweet dogs, Sammy & Kitty, with us. (Keep an eye posted at Riley's site for more descriptions of these two cuties!) My biggest treat of the day came when Melinda and H3 agreed to make a trade of art and I ended up with a lovely series of three beautiful paintings called "Anthropogenesis" (i.e. the study of the beginning of man). Lucky me!!!

A stop for lunch at the famed F.X. McCrory's (sneaking in before the Seahawk crowd arrived--whew!!) and then inspired by the gallery touring, we had to make a stop at Daniel Smith art supply and pick up a few of our own tools ☺. Back home then for a brief regroup and then it was time for the sporting event of the day--my daughter's evening game in the soccer tournament. A drive to Snohomish found us watching soccer in the beautiful evening glow while skydivers and hot air balloons floated above and we munched on hot fresh kettle corn. The icing on the cake was a win for the team. Snacking on lunch leftovers at home and viewing some photos of the day (and more) ended another amazing day.

This morning, SS & CP said goodbye as they headed back east. Shortly, thereafter, H3 & I went to the semi-finals of the soccer tourney where the girls gave a valiant effort. The game finished with a 1 to 1 tie and ended when the other team scored the winning goal in the sudden death shoot out. I hate to admit it, but I was pretty happy to not have another game today, so I could come home and recoup before my next adventure ☺. Tomorrow morning I will be hitting the road for what I call my "baby road trip". More details to follow...

I hope you all had a wonderful weekend, too!!! Life is good!!!

reflection by h3 images; magnolia sunset by lucy