Arriving in Winchester, VA April 21. 2008

WELCOME TO WINCHESTER, VA!!  Home of the Battle of Cedar Creek and the annual Apple Blossom Festival!!!

Honestly, this picture really doesn't do the state justice!

 

Home, Sweet Home!  From woodsy, rustic fauna to tropical flora to a darn healthy patch of grass...

There's just no place like home!

"Wherever you go, there you are." 

View from our living room window.  BUT, you want to know why we really love this place?  This is just 5 minutes from home:

Yes, endless miles of this.....

And this.... 

This........

And a whole lot of this.... Every time we turn round a bend, it takes my breath away. 

It's ALL about apples.

 

No, seriously.

You still think I'm kidding?

Here's the sad thing: this farmer's market? The local apple growers?  Not yet have we found anyone who grows their apples organically.  After seeing CRAPSHOOT last night, I can't help but be scared.  It's a real shame....

Welcome to Virginia.......Now Git out

Lake Lanier Campground

The plan was to leave Florida and stop by Georgia to visit Jen and Jay in time for Jens baby shower.  We had a really good trip but it was very long and we did not get into the campground until after dark.

Due to its proximity to Jens house we had decided to stay at Lake Lanier campground north of Atlanta. We did not know when we reserved a spot but Lake Lanier campground is part of a very upscale resort based on a chain of islands and we had a very cool long 2 or 3 mile long drive into the campground after the entrance gate

 

It was dark out. I mean no moon, in the middle of the woods kinda dark out. Because of this we now have our first and most important rule of traveling.

 

RULE #1. Stop driving before dark.  well before dark, at least an hour or so...  No really, just stop. ...I don't care if you are only 2 hours from where you are going to, just stop. By the time you get there it'll be dark out and you'll be sorry.

what? you don't believe me? Then fine go right  ahead...

 

 

 

 

 

 

There you see, that's why you stop before dark and don't try to park the 39 foot trailer backwards up a hill in the pitch black of night .

We were heartbroken......Our new house, our brand new house. with a hole in the roof, a broken awning and a ripped slide topper. but hey, we made great time.  

So we drank a couple stiff shots of single malt and went to bed.

 

and woke up to this.

 

Lake Lanier is the reservoir that supplies Atlanta's drinking water.We came at the end of a record drought that at times had predictions of there only being two weeks worth of drinking water left in the lake.

Building a Mobile Glassblowing Studio

First off, I have to say that this was way more work that I ever expected it to be. I saw I small outdoor studio for sale HERE that looked really simple. I figured that since I knew where to get all the components for one tenth of what they were asking and since the assembly was simple that it would be no problem....

I should have known better................

I won't bore anyone with the technical details but what result was that I ended tearing  it apart and rebuilding it 4 or 5 times. ..

I do have to say that I am very happy with the final result though. It is very sturdy and i expect it to hold up well to life on the road.

 

This is the glory hole. It is used to keep the glass hot enough to be workable.

 

 

 

 

This on the other hand is the actual furnace. It holds a crucible of glass at 2400 degrees (glass melting point). It gets hot enough to burn the hair on your arm off from 3 feet away.  Ask me how I, uh, know that.....

 

 

 

 

 

Here is basically my whole studio setup except for hand tools. The blue box is the annealing oven which is required to allow the glass to cool slowly and evenly. If it cools too fast stress builds up and it can shatter.

 

Here you can see my first test run.  Inside the furnace you can see the molten glass that is at a consistency of thick honey. It worked really well the first time but still needs to be a little hotter.

Return to Florida Jan - April 2008

 

Visiting with old friends and Joel's family were certainly the highlight of our trip down south.  Nearly as soon as we arrived, we hooked back up with Arin and Jeff and saw Yonder Mountain String Band at Revolution, aka The Chili Pepper, aka The Edge, the venue where Joel and I met in December of 1997.  What a wonderful show... and even better company!  :-)

I also got to reconnect with my sweet sistah, Kristie and her princess of a daughter, Johanna.  Once we get together, it's like no time has passed between us.  That's the wonderful thing about old friends....  And we are thrilled that Jojo is going to be a flower fairie in our wedding this October!

 

When we visited Will at his awesome Delray Beach pad, he spoiled us with a wonderful dinner and lots of laughs.  It was so great to see him again!

Luckily, timing was on our side because Greg and Michelle came down from MN for a visit while we were down in Florida.  They invited us over for a barbeque and we all met up with Paul and Renee for a fun evening.

After a fabulous meal and wine just-a flowin'.

 

These guys have known each other forever.....

We can't help getting a little crazy when these guys come to town!  What fun for us all to be together again! 

 

  Poor Baby!

We are so grateful to have had the love and support of Joel's parents during our downtime in Florida.  We were really able to relax and allow Joel to heal.  Thankfully, he was treated by one of the best eye institutes in the U.S., Bascom-Palmer.

Once Joel recuperated from his 2 eye surgeries, he started building his mobile glass-blowing studio.  His Christmas gift this year was an annealing oven, an essential component used for cooling glass.

 

Joel's father, Ewart, the Master Gardener and Landscaper Extrodinarre , has designed this lovely meditation garden at his lovely wife's request.  You can see we were staying in a tropical paradise!

Good neighbors!  We're nestled into the side yard, right next to Gram's country cottage!  It was as if the RV were made to park right here!

 

Here, you can see him experimenting with his nearly-completed setup.

Joel constructed the glory hole you see below using steel, ceramic fiber blanket and refractory cement. This is his own custom structure designed with mobility in mind.  The door is a baking pan insulated with ceramic fiber blanket.

The first finished product: a fish (of sorts)!

 

Hunter has settled into his new life as a nomadic kitty.

As you can see, they are fat and happy.

As long as Taziki has her window seat, she doesn't complain... too much!

! Strike a pose!

Look into my eyes...

Taziki enjoys the view of Ewart's nursery.  What a joy to wake up each morning to the sight of Mother Nature doing her best work out of our living room window.  How lucky are we? :-) She's a Supermodel, too.

 

Are you comin'?

Joel and I explored the newly opened Riverbend Park just 4 miles east of his parents' house in Jupiter.  What a wonderful place to bikeride to our heart's content.... observing an endless array of birds, turkeys, and even the occasional gator pass us by!  Joel's parents joined us for a ride one day and Maxine, Joel's aunt, and I took a respite from our daily trek around the Farms and rode our bikes through this tropical wonderland.  I can barely keep up with her!  She is my inspiration, and I will NEVER get tired of this park!

Find your own path!

SOUND THE TRUMPET! 

It's time for us to hit the road again.....

Back in Florida. February 2008

It was great being back in Florida and warming up again. But it didn't take long, even in February, for us to be warming up too much! Believe it or not, we were running the A.C. during most of the 10 weeks we were down there.
We loved spending time with Joel's family again, and they got to see a lot of us .... since we were tucked into their backyard. It was very cozy, and we tried to be good neighbors. Since we didn't have any outo for our water, Joel's parents were generous enough to let us use their shower, dishwasher, laundry and etc.
We were proud to sport our Volunteers T-shirts!

Contrary to what might be surmised, this black eye had nothing to do with me! Joel underwent two difficult eye surgeries and spent the majority of our time in Florida recuperating. It was a nasty affair involving shots, steroids, and stitches.
Thankfully, it was worth all the suffering. His eyesight is now better than ever!

Happy Birthday, Dylan!!

Dylan turned FOUR on December 23rd and we were all together, "the whole family," as Dylan exclaimed, to celebrate his birthday!

Joel and I even baked him a cake! We arranged green and red M&Ms on top of the cake to spell out his current favorite word.... "POOPY!!"

That was a riot.

Dylan is looking forward to becoming a big brother in May!!! Jessica and Mike are expecting their second son. We can't wait to meet the little guy!

Mike, the family beer connoisseur, kept us well-stocked for the evening with delicious micro-brews. Hopefully, he'll scout out his favorites to share at our wedding reception!