May 13 - 31, 2002

Monday, May 13, 2002                                                                      Charlotte, NC

I drove out to Monroe to keep an appointment I made to get the RV leveling jacks serviced.  The RV service center needs to order some parts so I’ll have to go back next week to get the repair completed.  I also had some additional service performed on the RV alarm system.  I spent the afternoon working on a project back at the house.

Tuesday, May 14, 2002                                                             Charlotte, NC

Today Ken took Christine and me down to the JAARS museum complex south of Waxhaw.  This is a fascinating operation.  JAARS (Jungle Air And Radio Service) along with Wycliffe Bible Translators, was established by Cameron Townsend in the 1930’s with the goal of printing the bible in the mother tongue of every language in the world.  There are over 6000 spoken languages in the world today, but only half of them have a written language.

JAARS supports the efforts of the volunteer linguists in the remote regions of the world where the unwritten languages are spoken.  This accounts for approximately 300 million indigenous peoples (about 5% of the world’s total population).  The volunteers spend 10 years living with a tribe listening to the language.  They then create an alphabet to build the phonemes necessary for the words of that language.  The alphabet is often built from the characters used in the politically recognized languages of the region, though the actual language being interpreted is unique.

One of the museums on the JAARS campus is the Alphabet Museum.  This is an overwhelming look into the fascinating world of linguistics and language building.  The museum exhaustively traces the development of the written language from hieroglyphics and cuneiform to the modern alphabets.

Also on the campus is the Mexican museum.  Cameron Townsend was first inspired to take on this translation project when he was acting as a missionary in Mexico in the 1930’s.  Someone from one of the 40 indigenous tribes there without a written language said that: “If God is so great, then why aren’t his words written my language?”  Townsend received a lot of support from Mexico’s president at that time (Cardenas), and began a lifelong worldwide goal of documenting all the tongues of the earth.

The latest goal is for work to be in progress on all 3000 remaining unwritten languages by the year 2025.  All of this effort is rooted in the goal of translating the bible into every language so that Christianity can reach the world.

We returned to the house and piddled around the rest of the afternoon.  This evening we walked down and had dinner with our old neighbors, Herb and Linda.  The weather was cool and dry, which made it a perfect evening to sit on the deck and enjoy the view.   It was a great visit.

Wednesday, May 15, 2002                                                             Charlotte, NC

I spent the entire day working on projects—most of them having to do with very poorly behaving computers.  I also began preparing for my weekend motorcycle trip to the mountains, and for a visit from my parents tomorrow.  My folks are stopping in Charlotte on their way down to their condo in Florida.

Christine worked hard preparing dinner for our friend, Joe and his fiancée, Jessica.  We grilled out some pork tenderloins and had a perfect evening dining outside in the cool evening.  Jessica is from Ecuador, which brought a whole new dimension to the conversation.  It all went well with the strawberry-topped meringues that Christine prepared for dessert.

Thursday, May 16, 2002                                                             Charlotte, NC

My parents arrived in the late afternoon having an easy trip down from northern Kentucky.  Christine again planned a great meal for tonight that included tuna steaks on the grill.  We had another cool evening that was perfect for eating outside.  We capped off the meal with one of Christine’s best desserts yet, heavenly rhubarb custard bars.

Christine, Marilyn, Ron, Ken, and Luma.

Friday, May 17, 2002                                                          Crabtree Meadows, NC

The entire house was up early this morning.  I said goodbye to my parents as they prepared to continue their trip to Florida, and then I climbed on my motorcycle at 6:15AM and headed toward the mountains.  I met up with Russ at 7:00AM at a pre-arranged stop along the way.  We then found Harlan and Kip at 9:00AM off of the Blue Ridge Parkway at Linville Falls.  We enjoyed a late breakfast before making a day of riding some really great mountain roads. 

We drove up to the Linn Cove Viaduct on the Parkway and stopped to pose for some photos there.  The viaduct is an engineering marvel as the road wraps around the side of the mountain, seemingly without touching it.  We later explored some new roads that took us up to Erwin, TN for lunch and then a long ride back to the Blue Ridge Parkway.  It had become a very warm day in the high country.  We ate a good Italian meal before tenting at a Parkway campground.  Jackie, the fifth rider of this weekend’s group found us at the campground late this evening.

By Christine: Ken also left early this morning for a short business trip, so Luma and I settled into a quiet weekend.  This morning I had a final doctors appointment relating to my headaches.  The doctors have determined that the headaches are sinus related but they are not being helped by Allegra, so I am now using a prescription spray.  So far so good.

This evening Luma and I headed downtown to listen to some Indian music while enjoying a simple supper outside.   The rain held off until shortly before we were ready to leave, which was good.

These are all pictures that Joe took of the other guys on the Lynn Cove Viaduct.  1) Harlan, Kip, and Russ; 2) Harlan; 3) Kip; 4) Russ.

Saturday, May 18, 2002                                                                         Cruso, NC

We were all nearly blown off the mountain as a heavy storm of rain and wind lasted through the entire night.  We all managed to get some sleep, but the temperature had dropped to the low 40’s by this morning.  We started out too slow to get breakfast this morning, but caught an early lunch before again finding some new roads to ride today.  The sky stayed pretty cloudy today, but the pavement was mostly dry.  We cruised through Hot Springs, NC and made our way down to The Blue Ridge Motorcycle Campground, a 13-year tradition for our bike trips to the mountains.

The wind really picked up this evening as a high-pressure system forced its way across the mountains.  We did our best to keep out of the cold, but we all turned in early knowing that our sleeping bags would be the warmest place.

By Christine: I spent the whole day doing homework today as Luma had to work.  But we thoroughly enjoyed our evening.  Luma's sister has given her tickets to the WNBA team in Charlotte, the Charlotte Sting, so we went to their first preseason game against Minnesota.  It was a lot of fun watching the women's basketball.  There weren't a lot of people but it was still preseason.  Charlotte led the Eastern division last year and ended that season with big crowds so everyone is positive about this season.  The Sting won the game.  Afterwards Luma and I enjoyed a Mexican dinner before heading home.

The normal motorcycle camping crew; Jackie, Joe, Kip, Harlan, and Russ.

Sunday, May 19, 2002                                                                      Charlotte, NC

We woke to a clear cold morning in the low 30’s, but all looked forward to the views we would get from the Parkway today.  After a hearty breakfast we packed up and hit the high road.  We crammed in some good riding before taking a break at an overlook along the Parkway.  It was here that I realized that I had run my rear tire down to the steel belts.  I was so surprised that I didn’t anticipate this condition in my tires.  I was forced to change my plans of riding the twisties all day, and instead headed back toward Charlotte on the highways.  Russ accompanied me all the way back in case I had a blowout.

I got back to Charlotte without incident in time to join everyone for a dinner celebrating Eric’s Birthday.  Eric is Luma’s nephew, and we went to his favorite Chinese restaurant with Ken & Luma, and their neighbor, Ken and his date Donna.  We all came back to the house for some apple spice cake that Christine had baked.

Monday, May 20, 2002                                                                      Charlotte, NC

Today was our last full day in Charlotte.  I kept an appointment to get a new jack put on the RV, to repair the hydraulic leveling system.  I got back in time to take Christine to a doctor’s appointment.  The rest of the afternoon and evening was spent packing up the RV.  We had managed to move a lot of our things into Ken & Luma’s house.  Christine made some pizzas for dinner and then we got to bed early.

This is Grand, he's a greyhound.  He is a very mellow dog and we've enjoyed him very much.

Tuesday, May 21, 2002                                                             Clayton, GA

We all woke early and enjoyed a final cup of coffee with Ken and Luma.  Their hospitality and friendship has gone beyond all measures I can express.  It has been exactly a month, and it is now time for us to move on.  We loaded the last of our stuff into the RV and then pulled out of Charlotte at 10:00 AM.

We drove down to Greenville and met my buddy Dave for lunch.  He has recently left his job and moved out of his house to begin another chapter of his own travels.  I credit Dave for planting the original seed of extended adventure travel in my mind.  We compared calendars and identified some possible rendezvous dates down the road.

After lunch Christine and I switched to some back roads and angled our way toward the north Georgia mountains.  We stopped for the night at Black Rock Mountain State Park` and camped near the top of the mountain.  It was a cool evening that lured us out for a walk, but I let Christine walk alone since I was feeling poorly.  I turned in early and hoped to feel better tomorrow.

Wednesday, May 22, 2002                                                         Flowery Branch, GA

I was glad I thought to turn on the furnace last night.  It was cold outside this morning with temperatures in the low 40’s.  After a relaxing breakfast we went for a great 3-mile hike along the mountaintop.  The cool clear air made the outing perfect.  Christine enjoyed trying to identify the many wildflowers in bloom.  We surprised a turkey hen and her brood of chicks, and then a half-mile later we came across a grouse hen and her brood of chicks.  It was a great way to kick off the day.

Christine reheated some of the chicken-noodle soup she made last night, which we ate for lunch before checking out of the campground.  We drove down to Tallulah Gorge State Park to hike around the gorge.  Tallulah Gorge is one of the deepest in the eastern U.S. at 1000 feet deep.  The Tallulah River drops almost 600 feet over five major waterfalls as it goes through the gorge.  We had a spectacular walk around the gorge and across it over the new pedestrian suspension bridge.  Tallulah Gorge received some notoriety when the great Karl Wallenda walked across the gorge atop a high wire in front of 35,000 onlookers in the early 1970’s.

We finished our hike and pointed the RV toward Atlanta.  We found a really nice campground near Gainesville on Lake Lanier.  Old Federal Campground is managed by the US Army Corps of Engineers, and almost all the campsites are right on the lake.  I was so pleased with the lovely conditions that I grabbed my fishing rod and tackle and left Christine to her studies in the RV.  The lake water was perfect for wading and the two hours I spent casting my hook into the water was as good as it gets.  I even landed a couple fish, but they were far too small to keep.

  Tallulah Gorge and the new pedestrian bridge.

Thursday, May 23, 2002                                                             Dunwoody, GA

We awoke to another pretty day on Lake Lanier.  I found the BMW motorcycle dealership in northern Atlanta and dropped off my bike for a 60k-mile servicing and new tires.  We then ran some errands before visiting with my Aunt Judy and Uncle Ron for the night.  Judy cooked up a great dinner, and even prepared one of Grandma’s cold strawberry pies—such a treat!  We sat around laughing over stories we shared with each other, and later made plans to go fishing tomorrow on Lake Lanier in Ron’s bass boat.

Friday, May 24, 2002                                                                      Alpharetta, GA

We woke up at 6:00 AM and were on the lake before 8:00.  The water was glass-smooth in anticipation of the holiday weekend.  We would get off of the water today shortly after noon as the recreation boats began to flood the lake.  Lake Lanier is at its highest level of the past several years, yet is still 6-feet below normal.  The recent rise in water level has displaced the fish making the catching of fish a real challenge.  Ron and I both managed a couple small spotted bass.  Christine tired of the fishing without catching, and seemed satisfied to bask in the sun on the rear deck of the boat.  The weather was perfect for spending five hours on the lake in utter leisure.

After we got off the lake, we drove to see the new house that Ron and Judy are building.  It is well under way, and will be much closer to the lake.  We returned to their current house and ate some lunch before saying our goodbyes.  We really enjoy our visits with Ron and Judy.

We drove up to Alpharetta to visit the Podbers, where we will be staying for the weekend.  Harlan and Anne have two cute girls, Morgan and Renè.  They hosted a grill-out that included our friends Kip and Jackie.  Carolyn, from our week of skiing in Vail, was visiting Jackie for the weekend, down from Indianapolis.  Throw in some neighbors, Jeff and Nancy, and we had a real party.  Jeff kicked off the cocktails with a slew of dirty martinis (Ketel One Vodka, olive juice, and some large green olives stuffed with bleu cheese).  They were surprisingly good.  It was a very fun evening.

Saturday, May 25, 2002                                                             Alpharetta, GA

I spent most of the day working on a project over at Kip’s house.  I also picked up my fully serviced motorcycle from the BMW dealer.  Christine enjoyed some pool time with Anne and the girls.  We enjoyed another grilled dinner on the Podber’s deck, and some stimulating conversation until late into the evening.

Sunday, May 26, 2002                                                                      Austell, GA

I again spent most of the day working on the project at Kip’s house, and finally completed it at 5:00.  Christine and I enjoyed a final meal of pizza with our hosts before heading down the road.  It had been a great visit with our friends and we are ready to move west.

What a wonderful family and such good friends: Anne, Harlan, Renee, and Morgan.

Monday, May 27, 2002                                                                      Prattville, AL

We got under way this morning and called an old friend of mine in Birmingham, Alabama.  I hadn’t seen Joe since 1993, but we’ve kept loosely in touch since then.  He has moved a few times, gotten married (Julie) and has a child (Kate), and one in the oven.  We met up with them in time to join them for lunch of some tasty barbecue in a jumpin’ joint in town (Dreamland BBQ Ribs).  We had a good visit with them before turning south down toward Montgomery.

Tuesday, May 28, 2002                                                             Biloxi, MS

After camping just north of Montgomery, we drove on into visit Alabama’s Capitol building.  We were amazed at how quiet the capital city was at 9:00 in the morning.  The original construction of the Capitol building dates back to 1850, but today the building is mostly a museum.  The Supreme Court moved out in 1940 and both houses of the legislature relocated to the Alabama Statehouse in the 1980’s.

We spent most of our visit to the Capitol taking in the exhibit of Spider Martin photographs from the Civil Rights March in 1965.  Alabama seems now to embrace its role in the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960’s.  The steps of the Capitol building are remembered as the location where the four-day march from Selma ended, and Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr. gave a rousing speech promoting the voting rights of African-Americans.  The photo exhibit really grabbed me—and to think that all that injustice was so recent.

Those same steps were famous over a hundred years earlier.  It is the same spot that Jefferson Davis was inaugurated as president of the Confederate States of America.  Montgomery served as the first capital of the seceded south until it was moved to Richmond, Virginia.

The Capitol building struck me in another way.  It was built to appear opulent, but with inexpensive materials.  The exterior walls were constructed of brick, but were covered in a thin stucco of plaster to give the appearance of expensive building stone.  The interior walls were all painted with three-dimensional ‘fool the eye’ patterns that made it appear like the walls had fine panels and molding.  Also, the columns in the senate chamber were painted to simulate the look of bronze.  The builders/designers of the Capitol at that time must have recognized the symbolic importance of the building, and were determined to make the building appear great, even though their means were limited.

We moved on out of Montgomery down toward Mobile.  We stopped for lunch and a walk at Claude Kelley State Park.  It was a quiet little park that afforded an opportunity to break up our day with a little exercise.  We then drove on down past Mobile to the Mississippi Gulf Coast.  We found a campground in Biloxi and then explored the beach on foot.  The massive floating casinos down here are quite amusing.  They appear to be permanent structures, but the gambling law requires that they be afloat in the water, though they never leave their slip.  This is a very tacky coastal area with dated amusements and limited appeal.  The soft white gulf sand however, is very pleasant for walking.  We took in a hot sticky walk after dinner, and called it a day.

Wednesday, May 29, 2002                                                             New Orleans, LA

There was an intense stretch of rain that interrupted our sleep last night, but it was mostly clear by morning.  We went for another good walk along the beach this morning.  We packed up and slowly made our way toward New Orleans, making numerous personal stops along the way.  The most notable of these stops was a brief detour to Kiln, MS—hometown of Bret Favre (QB for the Green Bay Packer … for those of you from a different planet).  Christine giggled her way through a photo in front of the billboard noting the town’s celebrity status.

We approached New Orleans across Lake Pontchartrain and were slammed with another healthy downpour.  We found a campground right in New Orleans.  We checked into our site and then walked out to the bus stop.  We smartly opted for public transportation down to the French Quarter, versus hunting for an RV parking spot in the congestion of town.  We walked around the French Quarter for a couple hours and enjoyed a pretty good fish dinner in one of its many restaurants.  Today was garbage day, so the already grimy feel of the area was accented with the smell and sight of garbage lining the curbs awaiting pickup.

The appeal of the French Quarter seems to be hidden within an alcohol induced haze, so we took advantage of the local laxity of ordinances that permits open containers of alcohol to be consumed in public.  We walked around enjoying some drinks, but never did reach the level of influence that makes the French Quarter a mystical experience.  It’s hard to believe that neither of us partiers felt much like partying in this environment.  We’re not sure just what that says about us or the French Quarter.

When we finally decided to make our way back to the campground, another storm blew in forcing us to take cover until our bus came by.  It was fun to use the local transportation, even though we stuck out as tourists on a neighborhood bus. 

1) Self-explanatory; 2) One corner in the French Quarter. 

Thursday, May 30, 2002                                                             Grand Isle, LA

We checked out of our campground and took the RV into town for a driving tour of New Orleans.  We followed a map that took us through the City Park, along the lakeshore, and down through the Garden District.  It was really a good tour, but I was very preoccupied by the low branches hanging over the roadway.  New Orleans has an abundance of massive live oak trees lining the streets.  Their branches are thick and intimidating with respect to the height clearance of the RV.  I managed to avoid any collisions, but I was ready to move back onto open roads by the end of our driving tour.

I continued south into the bayou all the way down to Grand Isle State Park.  This is a long meandering drive that connects the intermittent pieces of dry land all the way to the coast.  We drove along canals that were lined with fishing vessels and shipyards.  This is a working community that relies on the water for its living. As we approached the shore of the Gulf of Mexico we entered oil country.  Many of the large oil companies have operations down here that support their drilling platforms out in the Gulf.  We could see several oil platforms out in the distant water as we drove along.

The further we went, the less land there was on which to build.  The tide must have been up, because in many places the roadbed lie only a few inches above the water level.  This gave the road the appearance of floating on the water.  Rarely did surrounding dry ground rise more than a foot above sea level.  Most buildings were mounted on stilts that rose from the water.

We stayed at the state park campground on Grand Isle and enjoyed a quiet spot next to the beach.  Grand Isle is a fishing mecca.  Shrimp boats dotted the water and sport fishermen could fish from shore or a fishing peer.  Fish were plentiful, and visible from the pier through the water darkened by Mississippi River sediment.  We enjoyed a walk around the park looking at birds and bunny rabbits (the dominant park resident).  An observation tower provided a great bird’s eye view of the area, as well as a welcome cooling breeze.

Though Grand Isle draws a healthy flow of recreational visitors for fishing, it can hardly be called a resort area.  The lodging and cabins along the waterfront are built for function, not fashion.  All the residences resemble each other in their Spartan simplicity.  Most of the cottages have been named, many with ominous names like: Sugar Shack II and One More Time that remark on the short life expectancy of structures built so exposed to the water, and the forces of nature. Christine particularly enjoyed (was horrified by) the sight of 30-year old trailer homes jacked up onto pilings … the bare minimum in housing investment.

1) A snowy Egret, we saw many of these creatures throughout the drive to and from Grand Ise.  2 and 3) These are just a couple pictures of the many cemeteries in New Orleans.  The interesting thing is that all people are "buried" above ground because the water level is so high.  It is almost impossible to dig a grave without it filling with water. 4) New Orleans has a lovely old trolley system.

Friday, May 31, 2002                                                                      Baton Rouge, LA

We got an early start anticipating a long drive back to the mainland.  On the way back from Grand Isle we stopped to buy some seafood.  We bought two pounds of shrimp fresh off the boat and we even scored a pound of stone crab claws.  We drove up through Houma and stopped at the McIlhenny Tabasco plant on Avery Island.  It is really a neat little experience to drive out to this high point in the marsh.  The ground has been forced into a hill by an upsurge of a mountain of salt lying in the earth.  Edmund McIlhenny was given some capsicum pepper seeds during the Civil War, and he planted these on his inlaws’ land (Avery Island) shortly after the war.  By 1868, he had produced his first batch of Tabasco Pepper Sauce.

The peppers are now grown in several locations in this hemisphere to distribute the risk against disease, drought, or other crop concerns.  They are harvested by field hands that only pick peppers at their peak of ripeness, as determined by the petit baton rouge (little red stick) that they each carry.  The little red stick is painted the exact color of a perfectly ripe pepper for comparison to the peppers being harvested.  Each day’s harvest is immediately processed into a crushed mash seasoned with salt.  The mash is then stored in white oak barrels where it ferments for three years.  The mash is diluted with vinegar and bottled at a rate of over 500,000 units per day.  The McIlhenny’s have a regular dynasty here.

We left Avery Island and headed up toward Baton Rouge, the state’s capital.  We visited the Capitol building in Baton Rouge.  It is very impressive.  Governor Huey P. Long flexed his political muscle and got the Louisiana legislature to approve a special depression era expenditure to build a new capitol building.  It was completed in 1932, and stands as the tallest state capitol building in the country at 450 feet high and 34 floors.  The house and senate chambers were magnificent in appearance with lavish uses of copper, brass and marble.  We even went up to the observation deck on the 27^th floor and observed the bustle of river traffic on the Mississippi below us.  There is a special exhibit on the main floor in the location of Long’s assassination in 1935.

We camped across the river for the night.  I got busy cleaning all the shrimp we had bought so that Christine could make us a peanut noodle meal with shrimp for dinner.  She boiled up the stone crab claws for an appetizer.  I used my hammer to crack the claws open, and then we feasted on the delicious claw meat.  The whole dinner was very tasty.

Continue on to June 1, 2002...