Recycling for profit

As I walked into the grocery store carrying 7 empty beer and soda cans for recycling, oh excuse me Michiganians I mean beer and pop cans, I experienced a twinge of self consciousness. Not the least bit of it due to my smelling faintly like the horse pastures we've been passing nor the vision of my outlandish biking costume that I wear with pride into every store and restaurant. No, this uneasy feeling came from carrying a rainbow of Bud light, Miller light, and Busch light cans...in a town where locally brewed Bell's beer is the standard of high society. Welcome to Kalamazoo! I felt the shame rise within me as eyes diverted and I feebly carried my lesser quality (road kill) cans to the reverse vending machines. As other people fed their cans into the machines with ease...put the cans in, get the deposit money out...my machine had to get its final taunt in. The machine, obviously accustomed to Bell's beer, could not even stomach the Busch beer can and in front of everyone repeatedly spit it back at me. The humiliation of it all! I chuckled to myself as I heard the two quarters and a dime jingle to the bottom of my pocket and the Busch beer can clank in the recycling bucket.
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Us!

We are startlingly amazing in our physical strength and stamina!!
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YOGA!!

I love yoga! I am so glad that Pat loves yoga too. We spent the last 3
days at a yoga seminar in Lansing and we also dropped in on 2 classes
taught by the yoga teacher I studied with for many years when I lived
there. It was wonderful to be in that yoga studio again and to
practice with classmates that I studied with for many years. I missed
my sangha. I will be moving to San Jose CA in the fall to start a new
job and I know I must find a new yoga class there. I also know how
difficult that will be since the bar is so high now. Many thanks to KO
for her continuing support and to Mary Lynn and James for their very
generous hospitality. It felt good to be on a bike again today riding
past farms and small towns once more. This really is a fantastic life
I am leading!! "Can repeat over to men and women you have done such
good to me, I would do the same to you."

Visiting with Former Coworkers

Last September I wrote on the Appalachian Trail blog that you don't relaize how much you are a part of a community until you leave it. We have spent the last five days in Lansing, MI and it has emphasized this point for me.

Last night my former coworkers from the job I left 15 months ago held a gathering for me. Lots of people and food and chit chat. It was lovely. Familiar people that I spent so much time with during my years here. Time that I enjoyed a lot. I don't miss the work, but I do miss the people.

Thank you Karen for hosting the event. Thank you Kathryn for housing us for two nights. Thank you to all the people who came last night to see me again and listen to my stories and catch up on our lives. Since leaving Lansing, I have been moving around and living in temporary quarters. Visiting the people with whom I spent so many years was comfortable and familiar and reassuring. I don't miss the place, but again, I do miss the people.

So what pulls the tractor?

This was Jess' response when I told her she needed to go to a tractor pull. Ha! Well, for those of you less sophisticated folks that have never had the pleasure of witnessing a real-life tractor pull...ask Jess. She had an opportunity to see her first one today; an antique tractor pull at that. Perhaps a bit less fan fare than she expected...

Our Westerly progress has been temporarily shelved as we visit Jess' longtime friends in MI. This includes visiting her former yoga studio and attending classes with her previous instructor. Nicely done!

Strange that although every day is completely different, unique and unplanned they each seem common, genuinely habitual and play to the tune of human nature. I can't say enough about the unsolicited help we have been offered, the extra courtesy we have received as a result of people hearing of our journey or just nice common folk that are as sweet to us as they are to everyone they encounter. Such moments and exchanges speak volumes to me and reassure me of state of the world. The patterns of the people and their routines are starting to come through. All seems beautiful to me!!!
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Summer Solstice

In observance of the summer solstice we did 108 sun salutations! They
werent all pretty but they were done with good intentions and good
focus. And a lot of sweat! And where did we do these sun salutations?
I am so glad you asked. Tonight we are camped in the garage of an
abandoned house for sale. We were going to stay out in the shed and
had set up the tent there already. But the door to the garage was
unlocked and the space was irresistable. In order to get here we
meandered north and south and east and west and then all those
directions again.....we even went thru Hell literally, Hell MI that
is. Crazy day but it just felt so good to be back on the bike and
pedaling again.

Friends and Baseball

We reached the Ypsilanti/Ann Arbor area on Wed and spent 4 lovely
nights sleeping indoors at the same place. Many thanks to Jenn and
Kathryn for their generous hospitality!! I gave Pat a lengthy tour of
the Univ of Michigan campus and downtown Ann Arbor. She was very
patient as I told old stories about my yrs there. I got a new camera
since I got the other one wet - third summer with a camera purchase. I
seem to be hard on them so I got one that is water/shock/dust/freeze
proof. J & K took us to Greenfield Village and a historic baseball
game on Sat and a Detroit Tigers game today. We also visited two
nights with Becky and Lori and Chris and Ken. It was lovely to sit and
chat with friends that I had not seen since leaving MI over a yr ago.
Dropped in for a few yoga classes too. Back in the tent tonight out on
the road. Heading up towards Lansing over the next few days. More
friends yet to see and crash with!!

Tattoo!!

I got a tattoo today! Perhaps is was the high of a great trip or, more likely, the bad influence of friends who already have tattoos, but I was in the mood to finally get that Appalachian Trail symbol on my left foot. I went to the studio frequented by Kathryn and Jenn, friends who are graciously hosting us for a couple of nights. Pat came along. Very appropriate to get this particular tattoo with her present since she is my AT buddy and fellow survivor. This is my first tattoo and it did not hurt very much actually. That is not an operating room in the pic but the artist bent over my foot. Let this one heal before we talk about more.....but it looks really damn cool! I will post an up close pic when it heals.
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Fire alarms

It's hard to believe that I have lived my whole life without ever stepping into a fire station. Had I realized how much fun it is I would have gone a long time ago. Woohoo, did someone sign me up for fantasy camp? I got to put on the whole outfit including oxygen mask, gloves, boots and helmet thanks to Jenn at the Dearborn fire station. She is one of 4 female firefighters there. I felt like I was four years old when I was told I could climb on the truck. Oooh and then I got an ax and a really cool thermal thingy that finds people inside buildings by registering their body temperature on a screen! Let's not even talk about the jaws of life! Strong little toy - that one is.
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Even more pics

Great view from the road!

My bike taking a break

The tunnel of willow trees

Another great camp site!

Resting by the water

More pics

At Cedar Point in our "town" clothes

Lake Erie

Stopped for the Lake

A good camp site and sharp bike tan lines

One of the best camp sites ever!

A few pics

Crossing the border in Canada

By Niagara Falls


Loaded and ready!

Not such a big girl after all

By the mulch at the hardware store

What we have...

Today brought with it a firm reminder to be thankful for what we have; our homes, family and lives. We started the day by exiting a metropark in Ohio (our hidden campsite) where unbeknownst to us a tornado had touched down recently. It was obvious that branches were strewn about but a lot of clean up had already taken place. As we made our way to the main road we saw the true destructive force of the tornado. House after house with missing pieces and trees topped or felled by the wind.

In an odd twist (pun intended) of events we ended our day in Michigan. From our campsite we are overlooking yet another recent tornado touchdown alley. The tornado painted almost the same picture...debris strewn fields, houses lifted and dropped, cars totaled, and entire buildings destroyed. To bear witness to two such natural disaster sites in one day speaks volumes. My heart goes out to all those that experienced loss from the tornadoes.

On a happier note Jess and I have one of the coziest campsites yet! We are staying in an abandoned barn! No chickens in here. This lifestyle may just change me forever!
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A Day at the Park

Yesterday we ate cotton candy and funnel cake and cheese fries and ice
cream and donuts and pretzels. Cuz we were at Cedar Point!! We spent
the day at the amusement park in northern Ohio. Lots of big roller
coasters and water rides and food that will rot our teeth.
Wonderful!......Now we are huddled in our tent as a thunderstorm rages
above. Made it in just in time! ............The down side of amusement
parks is that you have to leave the cheerful country roads in order to
get there. This afternoon we accidently found a bike path made from a
rails to trails program. Riding past the farms in peace and quiet was
a nice change from the busy roads we have been on lately. Hard to
believe it has been three weeks already. Bodies are holding up well
and bikes are looking loved.

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Anyone can post comments now!

We have finally figured out the important user setting option for our pblog and managed to make the proper adjustments to let anyone leave comments. We realize a lot of you were getting messages saying you were not registered users (I would have thought not being a Registered User was a good thing). Still, I hope this helps. Now you can comment to your little hearts content!
We are in the town of Cuyahoga, OH today; passed through their National Park - home of the Ohio and Erie canals. Pretty gorge there! Just pedaling hard to get passed the congestion of Cleveland!

Breaking News!!

Pat and I had just woken up this morning and were eating our oatmeal
when it started raining. WE WENT BACK TO SLEEP!! We did not go out in
the rain and we did not even get out of our sleeping bags. Just now
getting up and starting our day. Glorious!!

Keep it local

If I didn't know better I would have sworn I was still in my 'local' city of Chattanooga. Seemed almost like any other day back home - with a few twists. We made a quick stop at the 'local' post office in West Springfield, OH for Jess to mail some of her unnecessary/luxury items home. Then it was off to the 'local' library in Conneaut, OH to catch up on internet business. A few miles of casual lake front bike riding along 'local' Lake Erie worked up our appetites up for lunch at a small 'local' diner in Ashtabula, OH. And just to round out the day we took in a movie at the local theatre! (Sex in the City 2) Now we are tucked away and hidden on a 'local' property for sale in Saybrook, OH!

It's wonderful to be able to experience the hometown flare in each small burg we pass through. And although we know they are all unique in their own right the people in each little community are not unlike the people back home. They are going about their daily routine; working, earning a living, raising a family, baking bread, pumping gas, waiting tables, selling movie tickets, and all the other tasks that individuals do everyday. We have the great honor of glimpsing their spirits and lives; though ever so momentarily. As we continue on our path we hope that the interactions we have impact their lives as much as it does ours.
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Headwinds and Ribbon Candy

The last four nights have given us rain and wind and thunderstorms.
For the most part only the wind has stuck around during the day.
However today there were 50 mph winds and rain for most of the day.
Holy headwinds Batman!! Going up those hills is tough enough. The
headwinds make even first gear seem too hard!........ Ribbon candy is
our new term for those rolling hills with the yellow road stripe down
the middle. Seems cheery to refer to tough hills as candy......Made it
to PA today! We have set up camp to the west of Erie PA. Of course it
is sunny now and we only had to do the tough biking part of the day in
wind and rain and cold. Ha! We should reach Ohio tomorrow. Feels good
to say Check! for more states!

Niagara Pictures

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NIAGARA FALLS!!!

We made it to Niagara Falls today! We rode around the park and
observation areas on the US side admiring the rush of water, the
sudden dropoff, and the pounding surf below. And since we had the
foresight to bring our passports "just in case" we biked across the
Rainbow Bridge to Canada. FYI - the toll for bikes is 50 cents each.
When the Canadian customs officials asked how long we planned to be
there we answered "about an hour. Just a stroll along the view and
back." It was tempting to continue the trip in Canada but then would
not be biking across America. Tonight we are camped in an empty lot
right in town but hidden by trees. This will be our second night in a
row with thunderstorms, but we are experienced enough at this that we
got the tent up just 15 minutes before the rain started. . . . It took
us 2 weeks to go from Boston to Niagara Falls. It feels like the first
section of this trip is complete. Tomorrow we start the section that
will go along the south shore of Lake Erie and then up into Michigan.

Showered and ready for sleep

SHOWERS!!! Are we turning over a new leaf? Maybe - thanks to the hospitalty of Michelle at the YMCA in Botavia. She was so taken by our story (or maybe we just smelled that bad) that she gave us free day passes...took showers both before and after a short Tai Chi and yoga class.

Strange how there are some things that seem justifiable and then others, well you just can't quiet wrap your head around. For instance, we didn't feel terribly uncomfortable sleeping next to the posted signs in the farmers field but the thought of sleeping on Tonawanda Indian Reservation land was not even up for discussion. Or, we seem to have convinced ourselves that cemeteries are the campers equivalent of a Sheraton; mowed grass, garbage cans and sometimes running water. Very luxurious! But we don't consider staying on the actual church property...something disrespectful there.?.?

We are in Akron, NY tonight with our sights set on Niagra Falls tomorrow! Woohoo!!!
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