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...
Oct18
Posted on Oct 18 by Ruth Davis
note: wifi is slow and sketchy, so no photos right now. When we left New Jersey on October 1st, the trees along the Garden State Parkway were still full of green, and we were both wearing shorts and t-shirts. Because motorhomes are not allowed on New York Parkways because of the low clearances, we skirted the city and took the Tappen-Zee Bridge over the Hudson River, and into Connecticut. We spent one at a state park along a river, just a few miles from a very rocky beach. The tide was high, and there were so many big rocks and no sand for a beach. But the sounds of the water pulling back over the rocks was mesmerizing. We spent two nights in Narragansett, a fishing village on the southern tip of Rhode Island. We’d been there 20 years before, when we rented a cottage with Marika’s mom and some of my friends came to visit, just blocks from where we were now camping at the state park. We were just around the corner from...
Oct03
Posted on Oct 3 by Ruth Davis
Counting Blessings Our volunteering gig at the refuge in New Jersey is officially over. I worked my last shift at the Visitor Information Center on Saturday, and it was a full and fulfilling day. We had 158 visitors and sold more duck stamps, park passes, and gift shop items than any other day I’ve been there. We loaned out binoculars, showed the wonderful video, and helped folks identify what birds they saw on Wildlife Drive. I enjoyed the women I worked with, and I even teared up on my walk home. That night we went out for Rita’s ice cream with our neighbors who live down the street. We’ve had dinner with them twice and chat when we see each other walking our dogs. It’s been fun to connect with people in the neighborhood. And now today, Sunday, is a readying day: laundry, more laundry, packing the mosquito tent, taking out the maps. Marika is on an all-afternoon birding boat tour to watch migrating hawks. I am so thrilled that she is doing this. She’s enjoying a day in...
