Whidby, Island, Washington, Wheel Mecca of the World

In early October, Paulie and I took a wonderful adventure to the most beautiful area in the world. Seattle, Washington, in case you didn't know! I visited here briefly several years ago and fell in love with the city, the weather, and the lifestyle. I promptly changed allegiances from the East Coast of Maine, my adopted homeland since 1954, and declared Seattle my retirement destination.

Wouldn't you know, Paulie had lived here for many years and also loved the area. It was instant karma.

Even more unbelievable is that the spinning wheels lusted after by hundreds of discerning spinners are handmade on Whidby, Island, just off the coast of Seattle. Only a handful are made each year by Jon McCoy. Called Pocket Wheels, there is a year long waiting list and each wheel is custom  made with wood choices galore. Additionally, if that isn't enough, one of the best yarn shops in the country is located on Bainbridge Island, Churchhouse Yarns and Teas. Bonnie Rose, our Wise Woman, introduced us to the pocket wheel several years ago and we each HAD TO HAVE ONE, TOO.

 Churchhouse has great displays, even fully embracing the rainy weather!

 This is the companion needlepoint piece to the one I made last year! Isn't it sweet!

Paulette ordered her wheel last year, IN PERSON!!! and decided it would be great to pick it up IN PERSON. And, lucky, lucky, me, I went along for the adventure!

 This madcap adventure started on Wednesday and we headed straight from the airport to the ferry, planning to stay on  Bainbridge Island for our first night, and, of course, a visit to the yarn shop was first and last on our list.

 Staying with friends, we then headed on to the Whidby Island ferry, leaving from Port Townsend. We rented a sweet VW Passat Wagon, and fell in love with it as well.

 We missed the 4:30 ferry (too much shopping)  and had 90 minutes to wait for the last ferry of the evening. Into town we walked, and, what do you know, we came upon Women's Night Out. Each shop offered complimentary wine  and we barely made it back into the ferry line in time!!!!

 I love this photo of Paulie, enjoying the view at sunset, on our way to her beloved wheel.

 Again, staying with friends, (see Hobbs below, and Pat above) we enjoyed the beauty of the island.

 Below is Jon, the guru of spinning wheels. Formerly a Microsoft brainchild, working of the first XBOX software, he now lives the good life with his wife (Mrs. Pocket Wheel) on their 5 acres of farmland.

Jon gave my wheel a deluxe tuneup and then instructed Paulie and me on how to break it down, put it back together, make tuneups, and in general, get to know our wheels! After three hours with Jon ( we felt guilty that we were delaying wheel production for hundreds of eager spinners) we headed back to Seattle via Devils Pass. Paulie patiently pulled over for me to take photos-it was hard to progress at all!

In fact, we tried, at the last minute, to delay our flight home by several days in order to enjoy the stunning vistas. We did, however, get to spend extra hours at the airport due to "mechanical difficulties" and we volunteered to be left behind, but, alas, we were homeward bound as planned.  Our next trip will be on board our twin RV motorhomes….with pocket wheels in tow.

Hiking "Brooks" style

After a late start (around 1:30) Ron and I headed to Indiana University to hike around the hilly campus. Turns out Kate is a graduate--she didn't even tell us! What a modest pup! The campus is vast and filled with forested walkways that thread among massive limestone classrooms and dorms. Students walked purposely down the paths, every one of them looking down at their cellphones as they marched along. Quite a few were on bikes, however, and they were generally hooked up via headphones, listening to class lectures no doubt.

 We love to meander around campus settings, of course, Kent State University is our favorite haunt and we try not to focus on the fact that we are long past the time of belonging to a collegiate group! At one point, we got a bit lost and Ariel, a college freshman, cheerfully led us to our desired stop. What a sweetie. She wants to be a dentist and take over her dad's practice someday. I asked her how many students were on campus and she thought maybe 20,000, then decided that might be the number of freshmen! Actually, there are about 40,000 total students at IU.

This had been the home of the university president for many years. It is now used for special occasions and it is situated in the center of the campus. Come to think of it, that might be why it is no longer used by the person in charge. ha.

I had a great time taking photos of the campus, then discovered after 2 hours of walking around that I had forgotten to put the SD disk back in the camera! Ron was game to walk around all over again so that I could recapture the photos. You could say that we were walking around in circles.  Speaking of which, it was a beautiful drive between Nashville and Bloomington. We plan to visit the T.C. Steele home and art studio tomorrow which is located between the two towns.

You are looking at the largest and oldest covered bridge in Indiana and the only one of 4 in the country that is a two lane covered bridge! Built in 1835, it was moved to the Brown County State Park entrance.

One of the many barns of the area captured my attention on Old 46, on the way to the T.C. Steele enclave.

At the old age of 60, renown artist, T. C. Steele, started an art colony in Brown County. First a successful portrait painter, he discovered Brown County and painted landscapes with his artist wife and encouraged painters to visit and live the artist colony.

We enjoyed the tour and history of the enclave. I am inspired to try watercolor painting again, maybe try oils for the first time. Fiber arts has been my focus for many years, but, I started out with watercolors in high school and again years later. I'm eager to give it a try!

Our last evening in Brown County was a bit chilly. Let's just say it was a three dog night! Little did we know that you need your LP tank (liquid propane) full in order to run the furnace in the RV.  We had emptied the tank (who knew you had to monitor such a thing) and when we got up , I was sure the furnace was BROKEN. Our generous camp owner, Frank, informed us that, yes, you need propane to create heat. I say, I was willing to learn to fill the tank and he tactfully mentioned that you need to be licensed for the task and he would do it as long as I agreed not to touch any of the valves. No problem! Ron and stood clear of the process and voila! We had filled the tank and had heat again.

Heading home to Sandusky in record time and only one near death experience, we "docked" Nina back at our home campground. We quickly decamped and are preparing for our first duo camping with Bob and Paulette. Yes, they have a similar camper and we anticipate many many happy camping adventures ahead with them. Anna, their camper, and Nina, will get acquainted this weekend at East Harbor State Park. Wish us god speed!

Nashville ,Indiana

Ron and I got our first cup of coffee of the day at the Daily Grind at 1:30 pm. We'd had quite a busy morning first. Let me just say that camping has yet to be restful! We woke early (for us) at 8am and while I walked each dog separately, Ron spruced up the campsite a bit. We decided to preview our next campground before making our move. This turned out to be a really smart idea. The Brown County State Park campgrounds were just as crowded as could be , with the added challenges of trees everywhere. We wondered if we were qualified for backing into some of the spaces we saw! Next, I asked Ron to check out the showers-umm, pretty "basic"he reported. Lastly, we discovered that the Park provides electric only. No water. Well, we haven't learned how to fill our fresh water as of yet, and we don't really know how much water we go through in a typical day. We'd have to leave the campsite and drive to the water station during the course of our 4 day stay. With that, we headed back to the Last Resort Campground and asked if we could stay on there! Ah, home sweet home. GREAT showers, FULL hookups, and, best of all, the pick of the sites! We settled on a private site at the back of the campground and started to pack up for the one block move.

This was when I discovered that Ron had tossed one of my running shoes away. Not that I run, but, it is a nice walking/gym shoe.  I admit, I did have each one in a recycled grocery plastic bag that we use for dog , um, well, you know.... And, having stepped in poop earlier, I put the offending shoe in a bag to deal with later!  Ron  had tossed our kitchen garbage, "doggie" bags and my shoe in one larger bag and tossed it all in the giant dumpster that all campers were actively using. You guessed it. We went dumpster diving, explaining our plight to other campers as they came up to contribute their trash.  You might think that that was the extent of our misadventures, but, no, there's more!  As Ron was disconnecting the sewer, he stripped the threads and couldn't extract the hose,  and had, well, a bit of overflow...ahem. We hailed the owner of the campground, Frank, who came to our rescue, and, conveniently had a new connector he could sell us. By now, it was 1:30 and we headed for the coffee shop below to recover from our move from lot 35 to lot 50!

Fantastic coffee, first opened in 1977, and a place that Janet had introduced me to in many years ago. I was glad it was still there!

We happened to arrive just as a parade of VWs drove through the town-we didn't see any Carmen Ghia's, tho, we did see several VW busses and lots of bugs, a few Things, and one Passat!

Ok, this is shocking news. I actually enjoyed going through an art gallery. Oh my gosh. I enjoyed it so much that I bought a dvd on the artists of Brown County and tomorrow we're going to the estate of T.C. Steele to view his house and studio on 200 acres.  We've also got a tour of the University campus in Bloomington on tap for tomorrow. I bet the three dogs will be a hit! We've seen more dogs this week, then at the IX Christmas Classic Dog Show. Well, maybe not that many (3,000) but a lot. Lots of labs and goldens and a few standard poodles. Several Great Danes, Irish Wolfhounds, many tiny dogs, too. Apparently, tourist/shoppers bring their dogs to Nashville!

Below is a brand new Airstream that was an anniversary edition of the first Airstream. Sweet! We enjoyed chatting with the owners.  As we've discovered, campers are proud of their rigs, big and small, old and brand new. We are on a fast and vast learning curve and have found that others are very generous with their tips and forgiving of our newbie status. I'm not sure how long we can claim that as an excuse for our travails, but, we figure we get a least two years!

Last resort campground

Ok, for our second ever camping on the road with Nina, we decided to head to Brown County, Indiana. I've been here twice before with Janet Ford, and so, I knew it was in the beautiful rolling hills of southern Indiana, near Bloomington, the home of the Indiana University, and that Nashville was a sweet little town of artists shops. As this was a rather last minute decision to scrap a trip to Newport, Rhode Island (with a free one week stay at an inn, and airline tickets already purchased, we didn't really have the time to reserve a campsite with much advance notice. This, it turns out, is not a good idea.  Ron was up for the driving challenge (6 hours) of mostly 4 lane (his request) and, at the suggestion of Cathy Steffenhagen, we decided to look at the weather map and select an area with the best weather for a week of camping. Check. It is 67 degrees, the fall leaves are fabulous and the scenery is sweet.

I selected the Brown County State Park Campground, having seen the area before. However, the campground was full until Sunday evening, so, we found a temporary campground. See photo above. Let me say this, it reminded me of scary stories told around the campfire of a deserted woods with a man with a hatchet hunted unsuspecting lonely campers......Boo! In addition to making a BIG MISTAKE in camp grounds, we backed up into our space and put a big hole in the back of the spare tire cover of Nina. Ouch. After a very uncomfortable, and disturbingly quiet night, we hunted for another campground.

This is it. Wall to wall huge rv units. I mean HUGE. We have the smallest rig on the site. The campers are all pros, and for some strange reason, none of them seem to mind that we are closer than Harlem apartments! Now these rigs cost upwards of $150,000 to $200,0000 each and I can imagine that they each have very nice, spacious homes, with nice grounds. So, what, in heaven's name, are they doing in such tight quarters and having a blast? Clearly, I have much to learn about the rv lifestyle.

The photo above, is of the scary campground in which I felt like we were on the property of an abandoned outdoor drive in movie.

I will say that the view was spectacular.

Imagine this, the big rig campers are starting their gas grills, music is softly playing, and, as I sit under our awning, the rig next door is starting their cooking, two toy fox terriers, outside in pens. This is a really unfamiliar subculture of campers to me. Everyone is very friendly, very happy to be here, often the campers are traveling in groups of 3 or 4 rigs and I have the urge to interview everyone to get their story!  I am proud to stay that we are holding our own thus far. All three dogs are sedate, and, quite a hit, I must say. The standard poodles are quite a great ice breaker!Marilyn is quietly lying by my side, outside near the fire rig. Kate and Jack are lounging in the rig. Ron is preparing a dinner of rice and chicken with squash and a salad. Earlier, I arranged for a car rental from Enterprise in Columbus, Indiana and tomorrow we'll explore the area! All is well and I am one happy camper. The only thing that would make me happier would be to have Bob and Paulie as our next door neighbors for the adventure!  The purchased their Class C 31 foot rig last week and we plan to accompany them on their first adventure next week! 

Mending fences

It has been quite awhile between posts. I'm writing from Nina's first camp site away from home base. You could say it has taken us some time to leave the nest and Columbus might be disappointed in our lack of adventure thus far. But, finally, we've launched our ship and headed out. We're in Lisbon, Ohio this weekend, at Lock 30 Woodlands, a private campground at the southeast corner of Ohio. And, we have all three pups with us!

We left the comforts of Gotta Getaway, asking Paul to give us his cell phone in case we needed his help, as we have so many times thus far! With trepidation and some hesitant excitement, we headed east on the turnpike. Ron asked if we would soon be in Wyoming, and I replied to my beloved geographically challenged husband that we'd have to circle the world before we'd find Wyoming by heading east from Ohio!

Jack wisely helped navigate. Marilyn, ever the calmest of the pack, settled in for a 3 hour nap.

Kate slept in her cage and so all went well as we drove down  Interstate 80. We stopped for gas along the way, slipping into a space between two huge semi trucks. Then we narrowly missed being smashed by one of them as we pulled out without looking carefully as one of them moved out, gaining speed as he went forward. oops, bad big rig protocol.

We set up camp in a rain shower, then managed to make a chicken and rice dish with the dutch oven. In the morning, I used pie molds with peanut butter and jelly between bread, toasted over a fire and Ron made scrambled eggs and bacon!

Ron rolls his eyes at my camping anxiety.  I sit by the fire, and start asking if the sparks are too high and if the awning or overhang of pine trees might be in danger.  I notice a chicken wire fence along the cliff and see that there is a gap that Kate might discover....so, I bend the fence and remold it around a tree log to make it escape proof...Ron comments that I am mending fences.  We walk through the forest and I ask whether we might be walking through poison ivy. I fret about the dog's security, and, I admit, I oh so casually cast the shadow of the lantern near the chicken to be sure it was cooked enough before I had my first bite. 

 I can't help it. I even was true to my "alter my environment" mode, as Ron calls it, when we first arrived.  I noticed that our "slide" was in the way of the green electric box. So, I marched back down to the check in cabin and asked if we could relocate to the space beside us....sure, enough, we could even move over another one....so, we did. Ron just shakes his head. I noticed a movement in his neck muscles, perhaps gripping his teeth, as I make my adjustments.

 Oh, yes, camping doesn't come easy to one as careful as I.   But, I did fix the louver blind, finds a band aid, take apart the DVD player, finding two extra discs that had blocked the player from working,  located the  ideal campground after hours of google searches, bring enough blankets and towels, and carefully refrains from rolling my eyes when "we" discover that we should have brought the extra levelers.  

We are, actually, having a blast. The air is cold and clear, the silence is staggering, and Nina is a joy. 

I don't think it can change my personality, and I think that's ok.  She's not going to improve Ron's lack of direction either. We are, however, both happy learning the nuances of camping and can't wait for our next adventure.

Road warrior

This is going to be a composite camping blog. Actually, nothing much happens when we're camping, so, it takes a few weeks to gather up some photos and stories before posting! I'm not complaining, perhaps even bragging!  Last weekend, Paulie and I decided to try our first overnight together at the campsite. I should have known that it would be as fun as any other adventure with my BFF.

We headed out on Saturday around 4pm, stopping first at the grocery store to stock up on dinner, breakfast and lunch fixings. Not having even left the parking lot, we remembered that we had no dog food for the pups! Back to home base we went and head forth again toward Nina. Feeling quite adventurous, we were quickly upstaged by Nick. (see photo above).  Nick camped in a tiny, tiny tent next to us. Curious, we asked where he was going and where he had been, and what on earth was he doing in Bellevue, Ohio? Alone, on a bike? (you can't see the tent, but, trust me, it was packed on the bike somewhere).

Turns out Nick worked for Lucas Films in San Francisco and was unhappy being cooped up inside on nice days, so he decided to hit the road on June 12 and go to NYC. So, we met him at mile 2,400! Taking our trusty iPhone calculator, we estimated he has averaged 40 miles per day thus far. He estimated he had 10 days to go until NYC. He was going to detour to Cedar Point to ride a few coasters with a woman he met in Yellowstone and who lives in Cleveland.

This is our first ever fire. I don't think we could have been more proud! We toasted s'mores and ended up with more mosquito bites than anyone should ever have to endure. We also conquered the Weber and made veggie hotdogs! Wow. What a night!!!!

This weekend, Ron and I headed back to Nina with all three pups.   "Our" pond had geese tooling around and Kate forgot she wasn't a bird dog! She headed for the water as if she were one of the poodles!

The campground is surprisingly quiet. Even though there are quite a few tents, campers, and so forth, it is quiet enough to sleep in until 9am! The sound of trains are in the distance, and there is a slight hum of trucks. No boom box thumping from cars, no sirens, no helicopters and no barking dogs as is the norm in our city neighborhood. Oh, we can hear Flick (below) making goat noises....actually, he sounds like a sheep to me! Baaaaaaa. ?????

This is our favorite view from Nina. I know most people think of camping scenery as being in the woods, but, frankly, both of us are totally enamoured with the view of farms. The soybean fields in the foreground have grown from ankle height to waist height thus far. And to think, we haven't ventured further than 15 miles from our house in Sandusky. It seems like a million....just what the change of scenery and pace is meant to be! Stay tuned, we just might venture beyond Gotta GettaWay one of these days.

Garden delights

 Mr. Rabbit sits patiently in our garden next to a flower he knows isn't real. He's enjoying the view just the same, however, and so am I. Our garden received seventeen days of rain in July, then 8 days of intense heat, and, then, last night, another huge thunderstorm.

This is why the phrase, fresh as a daisy, makes sense. The purple flowers are a nice accent, don't you think?

Our garden gate is on the north side yard and on the other side of the arborvitae is our neighbor's house, now effectively screened out..not an easy feat on the small city lots in town.

 The wind chimes are under an arbor of climbing roses in the backyard. I have at least 4 wind chime sets and love to hear them out my bedroom window at night. That is one of the consolations of no air conditioning.

 The rain is  responsible for our garden looking so nice this year. That, and our landscaper, Jim Palinkas of Gardenport in Huron. My talent is letting Jim plant whatever he wants, wherever he wants, and whenever he wants. He has turned our small city lot into a garden of paradise.

I add the garden art and then nature does the rest!  Every day something new is in bloom. I haven't used any annuals except for a few begonias this year. I am not a gardener. I am one that admires gardens and that is a huge difference! It took me years to understand this and stop trying to make a garden when I dislike working in dirt, heat, etc. Paulette loves to garden and she can't quite understand why I am willing to pay someone else to do my gardening for me. Hmmm. I tell her they call it yard WORK for a reason. I actually love books on gardening, gardeners and so forth. In fact I have a large collection.

 

The first gardening book I read was May Sarton's Journal of Solitude. It isn't really about gardening, but, she was a passionate gardener living in Maine, and I noted that she had a gardener that carried out her master plan gardens.

I loved Onward and Upward in the Garden by Katharine S. White (E.B.'s wife) and also loved The 3,000 Mile Garden by Leslie Land (great name, huh.) The Lavender Lover's Handbook by Sarah Baden gives me ideas on adding to my collection of lavender plants.

 

Good friends, Bonnie and Scott Rose are master gardeners and Scott makes his living as a horticulturist. I look forward to seeing their new garden in Michigan. I enjoy walking through Paulette's small city garden...it suits her personality and I think that is why I love it so.

 

Ron put fairy lights in our trees and along our fences and the view at night is just as enchanting as the daytime. Come join us anytime for a walk about-it really only takes a few minutes, that is, unless you stop to smell the roses!