Ease on down the road, don't you carry nuthin' that might be a load--The Wiz

April 21:

My anger the next morning was quite real still, and my notes feature the word "perthetic" quite a bit. BUT you have to go onward and find the beauty in life, don�t we all? There�s so many storms we must rise above. I did a sniff test on some clothing, decided I could wear it one more day, especially as I had no social engagements. I passed a very cute Jewish nerd (with clubs and horned rimmed glasses) in the elevator, listened to lovely birdies chirping outside on the green as I loaded my car, repacking for organization, hung my wet laundry to blow-dry in the back seat. I had a long way to go, and tried not to linger, but it really was a nice grounds around this hotel, especially by dawn�s early light. I bad farewell to my friends the koi, and leapt into the saddle once more to hit the trail.

My dirty laundry was really accumulating, too. And my notebook got more and more scribbled with wild thoughts.

There are very short on-ramps in South Carolina, like the old freeways in Los Angeles, GRRR. I zigged through South Carolina on various roads, and wound up going north on Hwy 81 up through the Appalachians. (the Moodies were smart to travel by night through all this, if you ask me, traffic is HORRIBLE!) This was another spot on my list, to just see the Blue Ridges, and the Great Smokies. "On the trail of the lonesome pine" I kept humming to myself, settling my sun hat in over my head. JoAnne sent me this book about hiking the Appalachian Trail some years ago, it was very good, and I enjoyed the scenery all up the road. ALL across the country, I would see both Canadian geese and wild grey geese in ponds, in wheat stubble, quite a few, and sometimes calling at night as they flew by moonlight.

Once I ran over a little bird in the road, and I thought he was a goner! (He didn�t fly away like they usually do when you are speeding down the road). This little bird, when I looked back in the mirror was hilarious! He had just crouched down as my wheels went by on either side, and he was fine! Got up and kept walking.

Hwy 81 is analogous to Hwy 101 on the West Coast, and unfortunately is haunted by the same bad truck drivers, they try to run you off the road unless you are going at least 20 over the speed limit (I was very good, no speeding tickets this time). THEN it began to rain, in tropical amounts. It was like that nightmare going to Santa Barbara all those years ago, no visibility, mad truckers�� and I couldn�t get the air con going, muggy and sticky. I drove through the area with Roanoke, just south of there, another branch of the family allegedly came from Reed Island, VA in colonial times, but it was just one more spot I couldn�t nail down.

I finally saw a deep smoky blue/brown to the mountains. A merlin flew overhead. Let Merlin cast his spell. Some very beautiful country in America. Wild turkeys everywhere, around Roanoke in Virginia. It was nice to see the species so recovered, when I was a kid, they weren�t very numerous at all. Roadkill armadillo, Indian paintbrushes, it was calving season! So much Nature showing off this trip.

The Shenandoah River Valley is a place that has always held magical connotations for me personally, ever since I wrote my first story in 8th grade, and christened the main character Shanna (short for Shenandoah, isn�t that a pretty name? If I had had a daughter, that might have been her name). The name means "Daughter of the Stars" in an old Indian tongue. I actually bought my Martin guitar not knowing it is ALSO a "Shenandoah", so again, the magic works for me in mysterious ways.

There is a Koonce Road, just south of Harper�s Ferry (Koonce being another Germanic name in my genealogies). Once I passed into PA, the roads got MUCH better, so I have to give them points there.

Eventually I turned East some more, and went through a place called Harper�s Ferry. What with all the poor sleep I�d been getting, I had considered staying here, but the Comfort Inn looked pretty nasty, luckily I had no reservation, and kept on traveling. Thomas Jefferson said that Harper�s Ferry was the most lovely place in our country, and I would have to agree with him. It is a spectacular gorge, where two rivers meet (the Potomac and the Shenandoah) and while the surrounding buildings were a bit seedy, I really enjoyed driving through, especially right after the driving rain, then the Sun coming out. I eventually stopped just short of Gettysburg and got a pretty good room for the night. The desk clerk was Gay, and had this sign on the door "Wipe mud off your feet". I walking in on the edges of my Nikes, proclaiming loudly "no mud on my feet!" and there isn�t either, metaphorically or for real. I slept well that night, and caught up on my notes. I needed it, after only three hours of sleep the night before.

Gettysburg is the site of the largest American war casualties in our history. You have to think of what a stupid thing it is to fight, and keep reminding yourself of this when you have your own thoughts of anger, and you have to try and find another solution. The Moodies help out with this, in their lyrics. How could they have been so wise when they were so young? Thank you out there Moodies. I just hope more of your fans listen and get the message finally too. Fighting takes us back down to the level of wolves, and animals in the forest. It�s not good.

April 22: Every day should be Earth Day!!!!!!

It was beautiful the next morning again. Wiping my feet, I headed out for JoAnne�s house. She lives in a place called Landenberg (or close anyway, out in the country). I began to see Hex�s on barns, and WOW then I cross the Mason-Dixon line! (It�s for real! Not just a name in a history book!) It was Primary day for Democrats in PA and I saw tons of Hillary signs, sadly not many Obama�s (JoAnne told me Obama was not going to win in her state, and she was right). They also love Ron Paul there! I have to chuckle, it�s a pretty conservative area.

I passed the Harley Davidson plant! I found out too that "pike" is an old name for a street, so that lends new meaning to the Pike in California, which was our version of Coney Island.

I went through the town of Intercourse, which is Amish central. This was my first looky loo peep at Amish; in some sense, I rather envy them. They have simple lives by choice. And all the quilts they can make (I love quilting). I did an obligatory stop and bought two little Amish dolls (chuckle, made in China!) for my collection, and took photos of some quilts in a store. It wasn�t until I came back through following JoAnne that I got to see my first buggy. I almost ran into another Amish buggy on a main road in Tippecanoe, Indiana!!!!! And without fail, the Amish buggies always have very beautiful horses pulling them (and well maintained rigs!) so some of that "pride" the Amish eschew is actually sneaking out if you ask me. Nice, healthy looking folks. There were a couple of Amish on the train with me too, and they got off in Wisconsin somewhere, so Amish don�t just live in Pennsylvania, they are spreading out.

This is really the buggy in Tippecanoe, but it goes here better

I felt a little whiny about having to drive over to JoAnne�s (a pen pal I had never met! tho we have corresponded for 15 years or so, we met through the Moody fan base. I think she wrote me because she likes rebels). But I�m super glad I did now, because we saw even more stuff after we took off for Hershey. A neat state, PA. I noticed differences from my Western home, there were places in New England (PA) that had the houses right on the road, in long rows, more like England itself, not what I am used to in city planning. It was fascinating to see how things differ. Driving to Jo�s house was simply glorious, all the tidy country farms and homes, surrounded by Spring green fields and forests. A little bit of Heaven indeed.