Quote of the week

It's not that some people have willpower and some don't. It's that some people are ready to change and others are not.
James Gordon, M.D.

8.29.2007

Rock Hill to Savannah





I'm out here in South Carolina with Jan and Alan. I've been having a great time visiting them. Jan has been taking me around so I have seen quite a bit of the area. Jan took me to her master gardener course so I learned a few things about bugs - it was interesting. I am going to take that course so I can answer some of the questions that people are always asking me about their plant issues. Feebee, their little dog who is super cute, has been helping me knit and work on the computer. She's a cuddle bug. Last night we went Front Porch Home Cook'in and I had fried green tomatoes. They were good - tasted just like the typical food in the fried food category. Today Jan and I went to Savannah, GA because I wanted to check out the historic district. The city was designed around squares, which is a bit different than most cities so I wanted to see how it worked and walk around and get a feel for it. I was so thrilled that Jan voluntered to walk around w/o a plan and just see what we could find. What a sport! Thanks Jan!!!

8.26.2007

Trunk Monkey Compilation

what can I say, I'm easily entertained

Asheville drum circle

a typical Friday evening in downtown Asheville

Asheville vs. Ashland

I am a few short weeks away from being back in Denver (hard to believe!) and now it's time to start really weighing the pros and cons of everything that I have seen and experienced over the past couple of months. I have narrowed it down to two options based on what I enjoyed most, weather, employment as well as career advancement opportunity, outdoor and cultural activities. Ashland, OR and Asheville, NC. Both are wonderful, for some very similar reasons and some very different reasons. I spent the majority of the week either interviewing at firms in Asheville or on the phone with firms setting things up with people in Ashland so right now my head is spinning, I am exhausted from being "on" all week, but I am so excited to have so many options.

Elvis impersonator

This is a few weeks old, but it still makes me giggle and shake my head in disbelief.

8.24.2007

Biltmore Estate




Yesterday I went to the Biltmore Estate and was very impressed! I really enjoyed the day - touring the house and the grounds both. I would highly recommend checking it out while in the area. I am really pooped after this week though. I have been interviewed and talked to people every single day this week. It takes a lot of energy, but hopefully it will pay off. Not suprisingly, I liked the firm that I spoke with today the most and they were the ones I came here to interview with in the first place.
On another note - I have been so well behaved this summer about yarn stores, etc...until yesterday. Sharon told me about this wonderful yarn store and then her Mom told me about it too so I had to go check it out. I borrowed some needles and book from Sharon's mom, Tamsin, and she is teaching me a new cast on technique and loop pattern. I'm so excited! Not to mention it is the most beautiful yarn - I can't wait to get further into this project so I'm signing off for now to do some knitting before we head out to Asheville to explore. Tamsin is taking me to a drum circle and showing off the community. I love it!

8.20.2007

Mountain biking in Asheville



I went on a mountain ride right from camp this evening. It was a fun adventure through the experimental forest which is pretty close to town. I can't figure out how I would ride to it if I lived here though so I am going to take the road bike out tomorrow and see what routes I can find. Look at the views - I can see why they call them the Blue Ridge Moutains - they're blue.

8.19.2007

butterfly action

I just drove today so there's not a lot to report except that I am finally in Asheville! I am so excited about it. I will be here for almost a week while I interview, ride and check out the area. So far I like it because it's nice and cool - only about 75 so I am not sitting here dripping with sweat. It's wonderful. There is a ton of mountain biking right down the road from where I am camping so I plan to head out there in the am and see what that's all about. I am also close to the Blue Ridge Parkway so I plan to get a couple of long road rides in as well. Bikes - oh how I've missed you and I plan to make up for a whole week of neglecting you in the next few days.
Since I don't have any new pics to post today I decided to share one from several days ago. There were hundreds of these butterflys where I was camping in Mississippi. I think the last one that was trapped in my car finally escaped today. My new camera rocks on the close ups!

8.18.2007




Today has been a very diverse day in TN. I started out in Memphis and I pretty much think that town in a dump. What wasn't a getto was a strip mall, i.e. a getto in the making.
So I headed out there and decided to take the scenic route. I went on out 57 and it was pretty, but not only in the town of Pocahontas, but again in the town of Ramer a cop actually flipped a u-ee and tailgated me to the edge of town. I saw the cop in Ramer actually radio in while he was tailing me. Do I look like a criminal?!? That J-Z song came into my head - "son do you know what I'm stoppin ya for...you were doin 55 in a 54..." Then there was this trucker who was driving like the biggest a-hole ever. I'm suprised he didn't have a confederate flag on his grill. I was happy to see the turn off for Natchez Trace Parkway. I saw fellow cyclists today! I was so excited and so sorry for them at the same time. It was 102 when I saw them and they looked miserable. I decided that I want to ride this entire road on my bike.
Then I went to the Belle Meade Plantation. It was a very interesting and informative tour. I was glad we got to see more of the house than we did of Graceland. By the way - if you ever go to Graceland don't expect to see much of it. The tour doesn't include the upstairs so you get to see the living room, dining room, kitchen, jungle room, pool room and then the basement. The jungle room had green shag carpet on the ceiling! It helped with the acoustincs...yeah likely excuse. Then why was it on the walls in the stairway to the basement...well, the stairway that wasn't ALL mirrored that is. Anyway, I digress. The Plantation was very educational and got into another era of American history - the mid 1800's through the turn of the century. The Belle Meade Plantation is known for it's famous thoroughbred horses and many of the recent Kentucky Derby winners lineage can be traced back to these horses. I didn't know that until today.
Now I am at Cedars of Lebanon State Park and I must say it is very enjoyable. It is a comfortable temp. and I didn't have to retreat to the tent to try to avoid the bugs the second the sun went down. In fact, I am sitting here at the picnic table with my head lamp on and everything and no problem. What a relief. Yesterday I got stung by anotehr bee - right on top of my foot! it hurt. but it goes along with what look to be chigger bites all over both my feet. Flip flops aren't the best in this part of the county.
oh my god - there is this couple camped down the way that have been yelling at each other for about an hour now. shut up already! I am so glad I don't have to deal with that shit any more.

8.17.2007

Graceland




Today I spent the day at Graceland. What a trip! Come to find out it is the 30th anniversary of Elvis' death so there are thousands (literally) of people here mourning his death. yeah - needless to say I had no idea that this crazy event was happening this week or I might have planned to be here a different week. Although - I must say, it is pretty interesting to be witness and be involved in such an event. I was talking to a lady in line today and she said she made her reservations a year ago! I kind of felt bad because I just rolled into town on a whim and didn't even know this was happening. She looked at me with horror and discust when I told her that. oops - accidental insult. Check out the memorials though. These are just a few that lined the drive and walk. I did laugh out loud when a lady in line told her friend that they remove the ugly ones. hmm, well then.

8.15.2007

cast your vote



I have seen some interesting billboards along the way. I would have say the most disturbing ones would be the meth ads (WARNING - don't click that link if you are as easily grossed out as I am. Just imagine that shit at billboard size!).
I did see these, back to back and for some reason they just made be laugh out loud. That is a very large picture of some really bad fake hair.
And then Kenneth - well that smile says it all. I was just glad an ambulance didn't come by when I was in the area - he probably would have run me off the road.

8.13.2007

Don't mess with Texas

I am heading across Texas and it'a HOT! holy cow. It's in the high 90's well after dark. I can't upload any pics this evening because my connection isn't strong enough. Yesterday I checked out Ruidoso, NM. It was a neat little town - kind of Estes Park like but smaller and the mountains weren't nearly as impressive. I went out to ride the race course and it's on BLM land. You know what that means - not a tree over 15' to be found. It was great because I camped out there and last night was the peak of a meteor shower that has been going on for the past few days. It was a clear night so I enjoyed the show. There were a lot of coyotes out there too -they were talking up a storm last night. The riding was pretty good. It reminded me of the book cliffs out in Fruita.

8.09.2007

Yosemite through Death Valley





It was quite the drive from San Fran to Flagstaff. I decided to take the scenic drive through Yosemite since I haven't been there in several yeas. It was even better than I remembered. Ironically I followed a Tioga RV up Tioga Pass - I got a giggle out of that. The guy was driving like a mad man too - he was probably from CO. Anyway, Yosemite was beautiful, but my fear of bears and getting eaten by one drove me down the road. I planned to camp in Death Valley. Yeah - not sure what I was thinking there! I saw this sign that said "Caution - Blowing Dust". I'm no geologist, but I'm sure those blowing particulates were not "dust" - more like sand and rock. Sand was blowing across the highway and it was a cool and refreshing 102 degrees at 7:30 pm. Motel 6 - here I come!

After checking out the Hoover Dam and Lost Wages, I decided to head straight for the hills. Flagstaff is a wonderful place! I've been enjoying the low 80's and great mtn biking. I just realized that the camera is in the car so I'll have to post pics of that later.

Hover Dam


Hover Dam
Hover Dam was quite impressive. It was so big that I couldn't even get a picture of it in its entirety. I learned some interesting facts though - there are 7 gererators and each one can supply enough electricity for approx. 65K homes. In order to cool and cure the concrete during construction, steel pipe was laid throughout and cold water was pumped through the system so construction didn't have to stop. It took 5 years, working 7 days a week, round the clock to complete the dam and it was completed 2 yrs ahead of schedule. It was also known as one of the greatest engineering feats since the pyramids. Well, well, well - very interesting! The tour wasn't as cool as the one at Flaming Gorge, but only because there were 60+ of us instead of 5 and we didn't get to go out at the base of the dam and look up. Now - THAT would have been something!

8.04.2007

Santa Cruz





Peter, Melissa and I went to Santa Cruz today. It was a strange town. It was on the list of places that I wanted to check out, even though it is expensive. It's off the list. It's the one place that has been asigned a hard and fast no. The riding was great, even though the traffic was a bit much and rather aggressive..., but the scene in town was more like a circus than a community. The boardwalk was just about everything that I hate - crowds, traffic, circus scene craziness. There was even a cart that sold fried twinkies! - as if those things are gross enough - just add some more fat to them. I can feel my artories hardening as I type. Down town was a lot nicer, but still very crowded.

more from the beyond...



I went to the Golden Gate bridge too -the top was in the fog, but it probably made it seem even taller. I wanted to ride down Lombard St - yeah - whatever to that. It's only a block long (not sure why I had it in my mind that is was much longer) and the line to drive down it was annoying long. It was a beautiful road - more like a garden that you could drive through than a street.

Alcatraz and beyond





















Alcatraz was a very interetsing tour. The NPS has put together some very nice displays and an audio tour. After the penitentiary was ordered closed, Native Americans occupied the island. Apparently that is when the wardens house was burned. The light house was interesting - vedry concrete and militant in nature. The view from the island of San Fran was great though. The view of Coit Tower was impressive from the bay as well so I had to walk up the hill to get a closer view. It was along day of hanging out with lots of other tourists.