Apr20
Posted on Apr 20 by Ruth Davis
We’re in our last traveling days before pulling into Phoenix for the month of April. We’ve been mostly hop-skipping our way west, with shorter one and two night stop overs every two hundred miles between Galveston and southern Arizona, where we’re relaxing for this last week. We spent a long weekend outside of Austin near the lower Colorado River, in the same park system where we were camp hosts last March. This time we stayed on the North Shore, with open grass areas and a lovely view of Lake Bastrop. We chose to return to the area so we could get together with friends who live in Austin, and also to eat at a really delicious Chinese restaurant. We were so disappointed to find out that the restaurant had closed the day we got there. We stayed in Kerrville for three nights, in a private campground along the Guadalupe River. We celebrated my 60th birthday there with a drive into the small town, got a free cone from Dairy Queen, and scored some fun shirts at the thrift store. Marika...
Feb28
Posted on Feb 28 by Ruth Davis
It’s our very last day in Georgia, after a great, three-month volunteering gig at Fort Pulaski National Monument between Savannah and Tybee Island. We’ve learned all kinds of things about the Civil War, fortifications, and cannon (which is the plural of cannon). We know more about the low country Gullah Geechee culture that is being wiped out by development. And we’re bringing home the most amazing souvenir: A marriage certificate! Yes! After thirty years together, Marika and I got married! In Georgia!! We got the license last Thursday at the county courthouse in Savannah, and then last Saturday morning, we had the official ceremony On the BEACH on Tybee Island!!! A friend and her partner came down from Atlanta to perform the very small, very simple ceremony. Two other friends came too, to be witness. Another friend sent a beautiful, delicious, coconut cake, that we all enjoyed back at the RV, after lunch at a local restaurant. Because neither one of us had ever dreamed of having a wedding, the whole thing was spontaneous and organic and perfect for...
Dec20
Posted on Dec 20 by Ruth Davis
It has been a very full two weeks. We’ve been shadowing the park rangers on their daily tours of the fort, learning different tidbits from each presenter. We had training for ringing up sales on the computer register, and this past weekend, we participated in the Fort’s annual Candle Lantern event, a re-enactment of the Christmas Nog party held at the fort in December, 1861. We dressed in period clothing and greeted visitors who were then escorted to the fort, lit only by candles and oil lanterns, for music, storytelling, egg nog, and, of course, the firing of the cannon.And now, after three weeks of an erratic work schedule, we’re excited that this is our first week of our regular schedule: four days working, and three days off. We’re ready for those three days off in a row!I’m looking forward to some relaxing, a walk on the beach, and also a visit to the Prohibition Museum in downtown Savannah. And I’m setting aside some time to think about this past year. We spent time in 20 states, traveling and touristing and volunteering. We worked as camp hosts, and...
Dec19
Posted on Dec 19 by Ruth Davis
Every year I choose a single word as a compass, a guide, a tangible reminder of what I want to manifest for myself. The word serves as a touchstone for me as I make choices through the year. I post the word in my bathroom and acknowledge it daily, asking myself “how can I be that?” The first year I chose the word BE. Because I was always planning, dreaming and imagining the future, I was rarely present where I was. BE-ing was very uncomfortable. It made me slow down and experience where I was, not where I wanted to be NEXT. It made me sit still and feel my emotions. I began a yoga practice and discovered that the simple act of breathing can calm me and bring me back to the here and now. The next year my word was VULNERABILITY. I wanted to let go of control and open to things that I didn’t have the answers to. I was ready to feel what was uncomfortable and go even deeper. I had so many opportunities during...
Dec08
Posted on Dec 8 by Ruth Davis
We have arrived at our new volunteering assignment at Fort Pulaski National Monument, just outside of Savannah. We’re learning about the Fort’s significance, and all kinds of Fort-y words, like Sallyport (the entrance to the Fort), cannon gin (a machine used to move the cannons), and Blindage (large timbers used to protect the inside of the Fort). Right now we’re still being oriented, and shadowing the other workers. Eventually, we’ll be answering questions in the Visitor Center and walking around in the Fort, answering questions and making sure folks aren’t climbing on the cannons and grassy mounds. Next weekend, we’ll be dressing in period costumes and greeting visitors for the special Candle Lanterns event where we offer evening tours of the Fort, with carolers, apple cider and cookies. Some of the re-enacters will even spend the night in the Fort! We’ll be working 4 days a week, 8 hours a day, with an hour off for lunch. (I haven’t worked an 8-hour shift in more than 30 years!) But this week we’ve been on, off and on again, so we’re still a bit discombobulated. I’m sure...
Nov28
Posted on Nov 28 by Ruth Davis
Greetings from the Grand Strand. That’s what the local weatherman calls this section of the South Carolina Coast that stretches from Little River, north of Myrtle Beach, to Georgetown, where we’re spending one more night before continuing south. We’ve been enjoying a very relaxed journey from New England down the Eastern seaboard. We learned about the Surfmen at a Light Saving Station, weathered a Nor’easter with 50mph wind gusts, and enjoyed leash-free romps on the beach with no other people on the entire beach. We watched die-hard fisherman cast their lines on 35° mornings, and happened upon an exhibit of Audubon’s original prints and engravings at the Booth Museum in Dover. Marika drove us over the 18 mile Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel, a truly beautiful drive from the passenger seat. We camped at a state park along the Chesapeake Bay and took beach walks every day. We walked the labyrinth at the Edgar Cayce Association for Research and Enlightenment, and marveled at the decoys at the Atlantic Wildfowl Heritage Museum. Marika even said that they made her a little hungry to carve again. For Thanksgiving we visited with a dear friend who I...
