Living Childhood Dreams with my Childhood Friend. (Or – “Ponies!!!”)

Can you remember a very special something or somewhere from your childhood that enticed your imagination? Can you recall that one story or book or movie that carried you into another world in your dreams, and you longed to actually go there and see and do the things you fantasized about? I hope so. And I hope you will give yourself the immeasurable gift of making it real in some way if you can.
Because I did that; I went to a place of my childhood dreams. And to make it all the more miraculously perfect, I did so with my life-long BF (best friend), the very one I shared those childhood fantasies with since we were five years old – April Ann!

If you know me at all you can probably easily guess the subject of my childhood daydreams. Its animals of course – horses mainly. And the story I longed to live into was famous and well known among millions of little girls like April and I. “Misty of Chincoteague” was a book about wild ponies living on two islands off the Virginia and Maryland coast. They are still there today.
And just like so many other countless gifts of synchronicity and timing on this trip, she and I fulfilled a very special lifelong dream on the anniversary of the birth of the North Man. On October 4th, North’s 53rd birthday, April and I camped on Chincoteague Island and took a boat ride to see the wild ponies.

That evening we shared a bottle of wine that North and I were saving for a special occasion. If there ever was one, that was it. Of course my best bud and I would be on an island on the opposite side of the country, seeing wild horses, laughing and crying (often simultaneously) and toasting to North on his birthday!
April has been a constant loving presence in my life for 36 years. She stepped up in countless incredible, selfless and courageous ways during North’s final days and his transition, and the most difficult days of my life. It was beyond perfect and beautiful to be on Chincoteage Island, with her, on his birthday. We both felt the tangible presence of my sweet husband that day and night and I will treasure those precious moments as long as I am alive. And getting up close to untamed wild horses (even if they didn't ACT particularly wild) was awesome and unforgettable too!

After the ponies we left the coast to head towards Pittsburgh and on our way we went through Amish country. Fall colors weremstarting and we enjoyed witnessing and learning about a fascinationg culture and way of life.

And also on our way was a stop I am certain niether one of us will ever forget. The flight 93 memorial is in field where the crash took place in Pennsylvania. To say it was surreal and moving would be an understatement. I left little pieces of me and of my personal heroe, North, on the make-shift memorial (an angel and crystal) to honor all those who died there that fateful September 11th. It poingnantly reminded me of the fragility of life and the astounding level of heroism and selfless courage that the human spirit is capable of. God Bless Us All!

So signing off now from Colorado. A few more trip blogs are due so stay with me!

PS Love you April Ann! Oh, and say/squeel it with me now… “PONIEEEEES!!!”

My Month in the Magical Meadow

Hello fellow life travelers!

Once again, I sure hope this update and travel story sharing finds everyone well and feeling grateful and peaceful. There has been another lenghtly gap in my blog updates. It feels like I have lived a few very distinct little lifetimes since I last wrote at the end of August!

After having constant (and very welcome) company on the road for the last month of October in the forms of April Ann, then Linda (my Dad's wife) and finally my Dad; Barnie and I find ourselves "stuck" smack dab in the center of this great country I've been so blessed to explore these past seven months. (Can you beleive it's been that long?!) For the second day I sit inside my RV in a campground next to Interstate 80 in North Platte, Nebraska. The heater's cranked and we're rocking and rolling to the i-pod and the WIND, the latter of which is gusting mightily at up to 60+ mph! There is also a thick crusty layer of ice/snow on the picnic table. Winter has come!

So I am staying put for now and, admittedly, feeling quite cranky and annoyed at my inability to move forward to my destination, not to mention the fact I broke my window blinds and blew a fuse in the kitchen as soon as I woke up! I am also having to deal with the agonizingly slow, irratic behavior of my laptop and even slower and unreliable internet connection!!! (Which is the only thing there is "to do") Arggghh! CABIN FEVER!

Oh my... just then, as I paused and pondered WHY this is so (can I find something good and positive about this seemingly maddenning situation?) and whether or not anyone wants to read about my current predictament, a very special song begins to play. My wedding song. "Have I Told You Latey That I Love You" - So yes, there is a gift in this. And yes, I needed to hear that song. As this part of my incredible journey of life comes near to a close, I am here, now, in this still and stationary time and place to ponder and appreciate all that I've experienced, all that has brought me here. And suddenly I can feel endless gratitude to my North Man for the journey he made possible and that we continue to share in ever changing ways. His love and care for me enhanced and expanded my life, my consciousness, my very soul. And in strange and mysterious ways, continues to do so.

After all that has taken place, all I've seen and done, and the time that has passed, I STILL MISS HIM SO! I hear this song and I remember our wedding dance and the way the world fell away from me so utterly and completely as we moved slowly around the dance floor, our arms around eachother; all there was in the expanse of my universe in those pure and precious moments was him - this man I love beyond all measure and comprehension - my husband. And so today I stand up to play the song again and end up swaying there on my feet with my hands on my heart, my closed eyes shedding tears that carry salty streams of continued letting go down my cheeks.

This is the ending of one time; one significant piece of travel and transformation, and the beginning of another. I am on my way to Colorado (for those of you who may not know), and there I will stay temporarily with the Morrison's (North's cousin Dan and family) in Evergreen. At thier loving insistance and the fact they have three empty rooms upstairs, Barnie and I will take up residence there to explore living in winter weather very unlike what I've known all my life in S. California. There I will unload, winterize and store Grace the RV (not an ideal time to try and sell it!), find a 4 wheel drive vehicle and a job and ... (whoah momma are we ever wiggling in the wind here! The tree outside my small window is in a constant state of frantic severe bending and I bet if I stepped outside I'd have a hard time staying upright!) Anyway..

:-D... I am going to give living in Colorado a test run and am so looking forward to that AND to coming home to California for Christmas! More to come on that.

And so in the meantime here is a blog and some pictures of my month long house sit in Virginia. (Seems so long ago!) If I can I will post a few more updates and pictures of the shared adventures since then in the next few days.

Enjoy! Much love and WARM blessings to you all,
Stef (and Barnie)

Month long house-sit - Meadows of Dan, Virginia (September 2008)
I am just in love with these Blue Ridge Mountains... the miles and miles of wild woods and rural farmlands with weathered barns, plentiful ponds and fabulous trails. Ahhhh... Truly paradise for me. Even the small dispersed towns are charming and have all one needs; especially Floyd with all of its artsy ways and the famous Floyd Country Store Friday Night Jamboree; where musicians play bluegrass and folk music and locals dance the traditional Appalachian flatfoot.

Some real charachters frequent the place!

More fiddle, banjo, violin and guitar players fill the sidewalks and a friendly casual crowd gathers to socialize, enjoy the music, and eat ice cream cones from the general store.

But then it all comes "home" here on this particular piece of property. I currently dwell on 70 acres just off the Blue Ridge Parkway in the outskirts of a town called “Meadows of Dan”, in the western corner of Virginia. I am home and pet sitting for the month of September for Jack and Lee, two very cool people I met on a house-sitting website who call themselves “old hippies.” I am here to live and care for home and critters as they venture to Europe. It is such a lovely change to be out of the RV and spread out in this comfy cabin home.
The property and area is mostly wooded with loads of paths that I am joyfully exploring on foot. On this bit of land is a great three bedroom, two bath, two story cabin overlooking three tiered ponds, (the last and largest being full of catfish, blue gill, bass and goldfish), and a huge garden and apple orchard.
All the critters add to the idealism for me. Their animal family consists of one very old but still sassy and lovable siamese-ish cat with the same name of my first love/dog "Frodo", “Seth” is an 11 yr old BIG lovable black lab who reminds me of Jazzy (my yellow lab before Barnie), and… “Jazz”, (can you believe all this name synchronicity?!) who is an Appalachian Fiest; a small yet mighty hunting dog who Barnie has a thing for! Here is lovable big Seth trying to fit in Barnie's bed!

Outside (and vocally announcing his presence under my window each morning) lives a very social rust colored rooster named Randy, six more chickens live in their garden border pen, a red tailed hawk named Elfie,

JC the falcon, (Lee is a falconer – hunting with her birds with the help of Jazz), 13 baby bunnies and even some pigeons! I love caring for them all!
And I so thoroughly enjoy myself as I do my morning feeding rounds and also enter the garden, chatting up the hens and pruning the basil bush to add to my meals, digging up potatoes and collecting fresh eggs from the 4 fat "ladies" in the hen house. Yep, no question... this is totally, completely and joyously PERFECT for me!! The only thing I would add is a four stall barn, a few horses and some pygmy goats. Heaven! Well, that is ALMOST the only thing I’d add. As glorious as this all is, and as much as I find peaceful contentedness in the natural surroundings and my animal companionship, I miss my family and friends. So having mom come for ten days to relish in this slice of heaven with me was absolutely the most delicious icing on the cake of this experience. Oh was it ever good to see her! This is the longest we’ve ever been apart and what an ideal pace and setting to just enjoy one another. We had a marvelous time soaking up everything the area and temporary home had to offer. We leisurely explored the mountains and valleys by car, getting lost on purpose as we searched for covered bridges, making different and wonderful meals, walking in the misty woods and enjoying funny movies on rainy days. Bliss, one of my favorite words, best describes it.

This pic is a preview! Inspired by my rich relationship with Barnie and the companionship he gives me, Momma recently got an adorable new doggie! (not this one) Welcome Indie!

Love you momma!

And love you Blue Ridge. In this gorgeous wonderful place, a part of my heart will forever be at home. I will be back!

Wilderness and Wildlife Bliss

End of August, 2008 - Virginia
The Shenendoah Valley and Blue Ridge Mountains...





This was the longest stretch yet of silence and solitude (out of cell and web range for 9 days), but I was not alone. Much to my immense pleasure and delight I was blessed to see so much wildlife! As I pulled into my first campground in the national forest I heard a strange bird whistle and looked up to see... a black bear!! Whoo Hoo! This was when I fell even more deeply in love with my birthday present to myself - a new awesome high zoom digital camera. Oh the joy!

And this was NOT the largest biting fly I've seen!

Butterfly's abound here. As well as platter sized alien planet looking flowers of bright orange fungi! Frogs, salamanders and newts made themselves known to me too and seeing them all did my nature loving heart SO much good; especially the amphibians as they are primarily only found in healthy and intact eco-systems. This is indeed a wild, wonderful and pristinely gorgeous place.

Just before reaching my destination where I am currently house and pet sitting in Virginia, I stopped at a campground with an intreaging name, "Fairy Stone State Park." Tiny cross shaped stones are found here and legend has it they are petrified fairy tears. As I set up camp near dark, with the help of the friendliest and funniest camp host, and elderly gentlman from Mississippi who gave me his "business" card with a picture of he and his wife and thier tiny dog that read "Too old to work, too young to die - so here we are!" What a charachter! Just then it finally began to rain. They were having something of a serious dry spell in these parts and I knew the rain was welcome. And I welcomed it coming without thunder and lightening for once! But what I did not expect and have never experienced before was rain that came down steadily without ceasing for THREE DAYS!
To say I got a raging case of cabin/RV fever would be a vast understatement! Barn and I walked for hours anyway, getting soaked and not caring in the least. When it cleared at last I brought the camera with us and this is Fairy Stone.

This mushroom was larger than a dinner plate and just blew my mind!! I saw it on my first day and it was about 5" across. Then it rained for all that time and BOOM! A world record perhaps?I must have taken a dozen pictures of it! Mother Nature is creative and marvelous and infinite and I am continually in awe of her handi-work. What a blessing.

I sincerely hope you enjoyed these photo's, some of my trip favorites so far.

Much love and warm hugs,

Stef

Family Road Trip in Pictures

New York and Pennsylvania - July/August 2008.

Catching up here on the blog again. Currently in Virginia but wanted to share some great pics of a real trip highlight. After my birthday we spent a few glorious days at the summer home of Gina's Mom on Lake Erie. Then it was off for a week long road trip to visit friends Brigitte and Mark near Scranton, Pennsylvania, with my sis Kris and nephews Skyler and Jackson.
We had quite an adventure and made memories to treasure for a lifetime. God is good!

Sis Kris and Gina. I miss and love you both SO MUCH! (Thanks again Gina - for everything.)

Sis Kris enjoying the spectacular view.What a fabulous and fun family! Barnie met Max, a younger and wilder version of himself. What a charachter!

Sistah's around the campfire.
My nature loving sibling!
Jackson exploring a stream.Sky and I goofing around at the bottom of "Pennsylvania's Grand Canyon" - a steep gorge we hiked to. It was a loooong hike but worth it!
Let's see what's under this rock!
It did our hearts good to spend time together after the longest time apart yet as sisters. But it made it extra hard to say goodbye again.

Miss Brig took us to a really fun water park. The boys weren't the only one's screaming down the slides!
Both boys learned to drive this tractor by themselves! (Thanks Mark, for showing them such a grand time.)


Pennsylvania is a gorgeous state with some of the neatest barns and greatest cloud days I've seen yet.

Barnie loved all the attention he got from the boys!

There were lots of low bridges on our way back to Buffalo. Kris volunteered to climb on top to help me measure just how tall my home on wheels actually is. Not quite 12' (in case you were curious.)

A few days after they left marked the one year anniversary of North's passing. It was bizarre and quite incredible where and how I ended up spending that day. Not in the plans I had but sure turned out to be exactly where I needed to be. More on that in the next entry. In the meantime, my missing of all my family and friends increases by the day. It's been FIVE months sine I pulled out of Mom's driveway and took off on this long journey. So please, if you feel inclined, write to me by posting a comment or directly to my e-mail. I'd love to hear from you!

Much love,

Stef