In Georgia, and Safe

It was a wonderful summer in New England, with so many visits with friends and family, as planned. But now we are back in the south, our new home. We hurried back to Georgia in September with the promise that the closing on our home would be Oct. 1. Surprise! Or I guess I should say, no surprise, the builder revised the predicted completion date and the closing won't be until mid-November.  We have been hanging out at Coastal Georgia RV Resort, just 15 minutes from Jekyll Island, and 20 minutes from The Cottages at Jekyll Island where we hope to be living very soon. 

Right now however we are about 160 miles inland, in Ashburn Georgia, at Carroll's Sausage and Country Store (and Georgia Peanut RV park), sitting out Hurricane Matthew in safety.  There was a voluntary evacuation of Jekyll Island and the surrounding area, but we had already decided to leave for a few days just to be safe. (Living in an RV makes it incredibly easy to get out of the way of hurricanes, which is an argument for holding on to the RV after we move into our seaside sticks and bricks home.) The storm is expected to hit Jekyll today, with the worst winds and water levels being at high tide, around 1:30 pm. The predictions I just read are not too dire, with swells at around 15' max and winds at about 30 mph max.  It doesn't look like that will cause too much damage, but we are vigilantly keeping the best outcomes for everyone in our hearts and minds.

While we're sitting out the storm, I'm in my pajamas and in blogging mode, which never seems to happen anymore, so I'd better share a few photos of some of the high points of our summer.  Let me say though, that the greatest moments of our summer, with dear friends and family, will remain undocumented here. It is by no means a statement of their relative importance. 

MASSACHUSETTS

Our first stop was in Massachusetts where we stayed at the Country Aire Campground in Charlemont, near Shelburne Falls and the scenic Bridge of Flowers.

Bridge of Flowers, Shelburne Falls, MA

MAINE

Next we spent about a month in Maine. One of our first stops was on the coast, where our friend Mike showed us around the quaint historical town of Castine. We enjoyed a sailboat cruise around the islands off of Castine, where Rick was in his blue mood. 

Aboard the 56' vintage yacht Guildive, out of Castine, ME

Then we met our friends Steve & Wendy at Acadia National Park for a week of sightseeing, hiking and lobster.

Bass Harbor, ME

Bernard, ME

Northeast Harbor. ME

Bernard, ME

View from Park Loop Rd., Acadia NP, ME

While in Maine we also had lovely visits with the Foggs at Mousam Lake, and the Thomas's at Cold Stream Pond, and got rides on both of their pontoon boats! Lucky us. 

NEW HAMPSHIRE

We stopped briefly in New Hampshire, on the north side of the White Mountains, where Honey and I visited this beautiful mountain stream and swimming hole every day to beat the heat.

VERMONT

Now for a great find in Vermont!  While staying at the Moose River Campground in St. Johnsbury, VT, I discovered Dog Mountain, the quintessential dog-devoted experience created by artist Steve Huneck and his wife Gwen Huneck. 

Roadside sign marking Dog Mountain and Chapel

The Dog Chapel was built by Steve Huneck and is designed to give people and dogs a place to remember and honor dogs they have loved. The walls are covered with notes and photographs that people have left about their dogs.

Inside Dog Chapel

Dog Mountain is an immense piece of property with fields, ponds and woods, interlaced with walking (and running!) paths for people and happy dogs. Always open, always free, and always well cared for.

Honey at Dog Mountain

At the Steve Huneck Gallery (also dog friendly) you can purchase the artist's well known work. All proceeds go to the Friends of Dog Mountain Foundation and the upkeep of the property and chapel. Please visit their website.

Inside the Steve Huneck Gallery at Dog Mountain

 While in Vermont we continued our new found enjoyment of visiting state capitols. I believe this one at Montpelier is one of the smallest and is just as special as all the others we've visited. Each one is so unique, yet formed around the same functional government theme. Ethan Allen and the Green Mountain Boys have a strong presence here.

VT state capitol at Montepelier, VT

While staying in Brattleboro VT we got to a few great contradances in Greenfield MA, and heard some new "high energy dance music with horns" from a band called Elixir.  It feels so good to see the contradance music and dance community that we love, vibrant with young dancers and musicians keeping the tradition alive and making it their own.

THE ROAD SOUTH

After a fast and furious (for us) two week drive back to Georgia through upstate New York, Pennsylvania, Virginia, North Carolina and South Carolina, here we are still waiting out the completion of our condo and waiting out the storm, watching the weather channel, me still in my pajamas.

I sure hope to create another post as we continue our transition from full-time RVing to life off the road, and I hope it doesn't take another hurricane to make me do it.

Oklahoma City is Booming!

We are not city friendly folks, but after an overnight in Oklahoma City (OKC) we were impressed. Before we even knew the stats, we could tell it was thriving. So we looked it up while we were driving back to Grove. Here's what some of the numbers say:

OKC has grown 5% since the 2010 census according to a CNN Money article about the 10 fastest growing cities in the USA. According to Forbes, the unemployment rate was 3.1% in 2015.  The OKC Chamber of Commerce lists many accolades, including Entrepreneur's #1 for starting a new business. Its growth has traditionally been based in livestock and petroleum products, but new tech development has been recognized in the current and forecasted boom.

We loaded up Honey in the car and treated ourselves to a break from the RV so we could check out OKC.  We stayed at the La Quinta Inn, which always allows dogs without an additional charge and is usually a nice place. It was Honey's first visit to a hotel, and she was excited (of course she's always pretty excited), but she handled it well. We were able to leave her in the motel while we went out for dinner and to see the Capitol building the next day. But first we all went downtown to the Myriad Botanical Gardens, which has a dog park! It also allows pets throughout the gardens. Happy Honey!

She wasn't the only happy one. The temperature was delightful, the air was clean and crisp, and the garden was full of fun things to photograph. The landscaping was in Fall mode - end of season grasses, year round shrubs, evergreens and trees with a bit of Fall color. The park is very strong architecturally, with an emphasis on geometric forms rather than flowers, at least at this time of year.   

The primary focal point from almost every location is the Devon Energy Building. Everything else seems to play off that building. 

Down the center of the park is a ravine with a pond/river running through it. Pictured below is a foot bridge, many-leveled paths along the river and an amphitheater.

The river is fed and complemented by various other water features. Here Rick is taking a video  capturing the changing beauty of this wave pool.

The wave pool/waterfall is right next to a band shell...

...that was a lot of fun to photograph. Here it is in relation to the Devon Energy Building...

...and the sun.

A major feature of the park is the Crystal Bridge Tropical Conservatory...

...which houses, yes, tropical plants. We missed going in, as it closes at 5pm.

There is a restaurant, also closed when we were there.

We finished with another visit to the dog park. It's a small park with astro turf and gravel, but it has fresh drinking water for the dogs, bags, shade, and seating for the people. Honey got a little play time with another visiting dog, so she was all set for a quiet evening. 

Next day we left Honey in the hotel room again and went to the Oklahoma State Capitol.  It has an immediately noticeable unique feature: an oil well right in front. 

Also in front was this statue by Allan Houser, well known Native American sculptor, entitled "As Long as Water Flows." I guess the oil rig says "As Long as Oil Flows."  The economy in Oklahoma is certainly dependent on that flowing too.

The Capitol has what we now recognize as the traditional Capitol architectural plan modeled after the US Capitol: two major wings, and front and back entrance foyers with staircases, all extending away from a multi-storied central rotunda. 

Each state varies the design with unique murals, artwork, architectural detail, and color schemes that reflect the character of their state.  

There seemed to be less intrinsic symbolism in this building than the last four we've seen. There were however many references to Native American culture and history. 

There is a striking collection of portraits throughout the building, including this one of Sequoyah, an illiterate (couldn't read or write any language) Cherokee man who single handedly invented and then taught the Cherokee alphabet and written language. He was also committed to the unification of the Cherokee Nation. 

One of the newest works of art in the Capitol is "Beyond the Centinnial" by Carlos Tello (2010).  The Iron Man-like figure in the center represents every Oklahoman, holding the future of the state in his hands. We thought it was a little bizarre.

Through the circle of lights below you can see one of the most beloved works of art in the building,  "Flight of Spirit" by Mike Larsen (1991). In the foreground it depicts five Native American ballerinas, with other Native dancers and artists behind them. One of the ballerinas is Maria Tallchief, whom I idolized as a little girl. 

This replica of the 22' statue called The Guardian, that tops the Capitol Dome, stands at the top of the front grand staircase.

On the first floor there are several additional galleries that hold temporary displays; at this time they are wonderful contemporary collections. We thought the quality and selection of the art throughout the Capitol was remarkable and would recommend a visit to the building for any art lover. 

I'll close with this portrait of Woody Guthrie, one of my heroes. He was a singer/songwriter of the American people, from my parents' generation. I grew up singing his songs and didn't even know it.  I can't help but think how I learned of his worldview through music, a powerful medium, and how it influenced who I am and what I'm doing today.

This Land Is Your Land
Words and Music by Woody Guthrie

This land is your land, this land is my land
From California to the New York island;
From the red wood forest to the Gulf Stream waters
This land was made for you and me.

As I was walking that ribbon of highway,
I saw above me that endless skyway:
I saw below me that golden valley:
This land was made for you and me.

I've roamed and rambled and I followed my footsteps
To the sparkling sands of her diamond deserts;
And all around me a voice was sounding:
This land was made for you and me.

When the sun came shining, and I was strolling,
And the wheat fields waving and the dust clouds rolling,
As the fog was lifting a voice was chanting:
This land was made for you and me...