Oh the places you'll go... or have been anyway.

I know it has been a minute since I have posted.  So much has happened, including moving to Dunedin, FL to a place with no wifi.  Anyway... Here is the short list of the places I visited this summer.

Palm Harbor, FL
Tampa, FL
Morehead, KY
Nashville, TN
Lafayette, TN
Knoxville, TN
Nashville again
Kingsport, TN
Johnson City, TN
Bluff City, TN
Boone, NC
Asheville, NC
Swannoa, NC
Raleigh, NC
Roanoke, NC
Shanendoah National Park,
Strasburg, VA
Washington DC
Ironton, OH
Otway, OH
Columbus, OH
Richwood, WV
Summersville, WV
Roanoke again
Boone again
Asheville again
Marietta, GA
Tallahassee, FL
Home.

I am sure there are many places that I stopped that I don't remember, but like I said, it's the short list.

There is a drum circle in the kitchen...

It sure has been busy these last few months.  I spend my days molding young minds and teaching them hope to use sarcasm properly. lol At night I have been sorting, and packing all of my belongings.  I have either sold of given away most of what I owned in preparation for my new life.  Bonnie and I have moved into a cute little apartment thing in Dunedin.  It's a super cute little town; we are 2 blocks from the water, 5 blocks from downtown and 1 block from the Pinellas trail.  Perfect location.  Last night we could hear drumming coming from somewhere downtown. Sadly the drummer only knew one beat, but it reminded us of cleanup this summer when a huge rum circle started in the kitchen.
Bonnie probably won't be here terribly long :( but soon, (2 months) Mark will be back, and we will spend our last month in town at this cute little place by the water.  This is a good change.  I needed to move.  That house was just making me depressed.  Bad memories, bad juju.  I miss the boy, I wish he were here now, but he's working hard; only had one day off so far this month.  We will have the most amazing life together.  I just wish he would hurry up and come back to me so we can get started.

Yes, I did tell my bosses I was taking leave in January.  I am sure you all wanted to know.  They are all very supportive and completely get what I'm doing and why I'm doing it.  I just wish other people would understand, but I am not wasting my time on people  who just want to judge me.  I want to travel and see the country, I want to grow my own food, I want to write a book, etc etc etc

Today we are getting the new place all purdy like and then I will take some pictures.  :)

I blew up the computer

Gawd I miss writing.  I have so much to catch up on.  I literally had no time for writing this summer, and then the motherboard fried, then I had no time again.  Stop the Insanity!  LoL

So I am back in Florida, and the school year is 1.5 months in and my house is being auctioned this week.  Yea, I didn't expect it this soon either, but we have to do what we have to do.  I am completely stressed out to the point of not being able to sleep, clenching my jaw and literally pulling out my hair, which btw if you haven't seen, is in fact dreaded.  Yea, I didn't make it very long into the national gathering before I had one giant dread.  My friend Roger helped me separate them and now they are finally starting to lock up and look pretty cute.  I am not Sideshow Bob no matter how many people call me that.  :\ . 

I had the most amazing experience this summer.  I met so many beautiful and wonderful people, saw some of the most breathtaking sights, and explored many new adventures.  Even the bad stuff was good.  It was a summer of learning and growing and becoming a better human, as well as fun.  I brought a friend home (and her dog) to live with me while Mark is out west working because I knew after spending so much time together I (and Zooey) would be a basket-case if I had to be home alone for 4 months.  I was right.  People here don't get it, they don't understand how my views on life have changed,  but really this all was put in motion years ago, lifetimes ago if you think about it.  Now we have a 3rd person living here and her dog.  The problem is that we are in the middle of selling off everything in the house and I am super stressed out with work and the house and I miss Mark and it's really hard for others to take my feelings into consideration because this combination of craziness has not afflicted them before.  Regardless of any of that, I'm having a hard time and I would like that to be taken into consideration when I flip the fuck out.  Come on, it's bound to happen.  

The book?  ah yes, it's all in my head now... I need more info and a computer, but some of the possible chapters so far... There's a drum circle in the kitchen, princess wave, topless Tuesday, infested, pizza anyone?, manifestation, truck stop showers, cattail hollow, and many more.  I know, I sound like and infomercial.  

I will post more detailing some of the amazing adventures I had, but I need more time for that.

I know you are eager to know what is next for me, and all I can tell you now is that something big is on the horizon.  In December Mark and I will reunite and together will begin a new chapter of our adventure.  

I think sometime in August is when it really hit me... this man is my soul-mate   

The kitchen.

Cumberland kitchen is not a one person in charge kind of place.  From the first day we walked in we were in the kitchen making magic.  At first I was intimidated because I hadn't really had much experience with this whole cooking on an open fire in the middle of the woods thing.  By the end of the week people were asking me all sorts of crazy questions like I knew what I was doing.  I suppose it is part of who I am associated with, as Mark is the kitchen rock star.  It was kind of funny.  Anyway, I made some dank food while I was out there.  In addition to the dishes I made, I assisted on many things as well.

I made carrots with brown sugar, honey, orange peel and rosemary, potatoes with onion and garlic, sweet  yams with pineapple, cinnamon and fresh herbs, battered broccoli bites, sweet potato and leek soup, and hush puppies with onion and chili powder.  And, if you did not realize, I made these things having never made them before, not knowing how they would turn out, not really measuring anything, and having totally random ingredients.  It was great though.  Nearly every dish made it around dinner circle at least once, if not twice.  I suppose after these dishes people thought I knew what I was doing.

For those curious, we boil water for dishes, tap a spring for fresh water, and collect donations for bulk food purchase.  I went on a supply run one day with Mark.  It was interesting to see what we could get with the small amount we had.  We were in an area that didn't have a great deal of resources, but we made it work.  Hopefully we will be heading to the site near Johnson City for Nationals because there are a great number of resources he has found in that area.

When I went on the supply run, we went to West Liberty, KY.  The town recently destroyed by a tornado.  I have pictures of the town and will post them as soon as I get my pictures off my phone.

... it's laundry time.

Until the next installment, Lovin You!

To dread or not to dread, that is the question...

Just coming out of my first full week in the woods and my hair was what some say is beautiful and some say a matted mess.  After a lovely shower I had quite a difficult time getting the brush to get through the tangles and I thought, hey... just wash it and leave it alone, it will dread, but then I thought about what I would look like if my head were shaved and I thought again and managed to get the brush through the mess.  We'll see what happens next time I go into the woods.

Cumberland was great.  

Mark, Zooey and our rider picked me up from work Friday afternoon and we set off on our adventure.  We had planned on stopping for the night in Marietta but changed our minds and drove straight through.  The site we were headed to was between Morehead and West Liberty, Kentucky.  I realized that I haven't really spent any time in Kentucky other than driving through.  It was actually really pretty.  We arrived on site and it was blazing hot.  In retrospect, I  now know that I need to seriously hydrate before heading into a gathering.  The hike in with the gear in the sun, after being in the car so long gave me a massive headache. Duh... should have remembered this from Ocala.  

Mark found a sweet spot to set up the house for the week, and I started to get to know the goings on of the kitchen.  It seemed to be a pretty independent kitchen and people could just come in and cook something.  There were three other small kitchens out there that I saw anyway.  Pretty much as soon as we got there, we were in the kitchen.  I made some crazy awesome food though.  And this is where I will leave you until the next time I have a free minute.  Off to find dinner for tonight. 

First Site is now known.

So this is where we are headed.  At least though June 1st anyway.We will find out the next stop on the 26th.  Of course it will be in the 90's while we are there.  At least it is for a much shorter time during the day, and the humidity is much much lower.  

 Overboard/Mark set up this chipin account for the kitchen if anyone wants to contribute green energy to some good grub for the summer.

http://iriskitchen.chipin.com/iris-kitchen

The Final Countdown

5 days.  I can't believe it.  We are leaving here in 5 days.  I now know that we will be headed towards Morehead, Kentucky for the first week or so.  We have yet to find out any of our other locations.  We still don't really know where near Morehead, but I think that information will be available tomorrow.  

I got some fancy schmancy hiking boots this weekend, now I am just looking for some utilitarian sandals that don't cost a fortune.  Hard to find.  I don't want to wear boots for 3 months, and I need something to wear around camp, etc.  I also need rope, or cord.  Instead of a sleeping mat, I got those foam puzzle pieces that people put on the floor of their kids playrooms.  Seriously, it was the coolest idea.  We saw them at Sam's Club yesterdayhttp://www.samsclub.com/sams/shop/product.jsp?productId=107930 and the light bulb appeared.  We laid them out on the floor and laid down, and ya know what???  They are pretty comfortable.

I also got Zooey her backpack.  She is so stinkin cute with it, but the best part is that she will be hiking in her own food and bowls.  I mean for sure I will be making several hikes in and out, but every little bit helps.

I still need flashlights/headlamp, and some random clothes and stuff, but all of the medicine has been bought and   most other major things are here.  I just have to finish my projects, get everything packed, clean up around here, shut everything down and hit the road.  Holy crap people, I am really doing this.  I sure hope I can control my stomach issues, but I can't worry about it; I have to go with the flow because if I stress, it will act up.

Oh The Places We Will Go...

After July 7th, we are pretty much unscheduled.  There are a few places I would like to go, but we are also looking for ideas... Here is what I have so far.

• Asheville, NC
• Crater of Diamonds State Park in Arkansas
• A place from the Heart farm in Tennessee
• Hot Springs National Park in Arkansas
• Raleigh, NC
• Roanoke VA
• Lebowski Fest in Milwaukee, WI
• Maine
• Hostel in the Woods, GA

So... anyone have any suggestions?  Cheap, free camping, stay with friends, kind of places, festies, roadside America kind of stuff.  Is there anything I don't want to miss?

11 days away... wishlist

Can you believe it?  I am leaving here in 11 days.  I still have a wishlist if anyone has anything to kick down or know of any places with especially good deals.

• self-inflating mat 2.5"
• hiking boots women 7.5
• pots, pans and utensils for outdoor use
• headlamp
• dog backpack (one that Zooey wears to carry her food)
• retracting dog leash and martingale collar
• camera case
• digital voice recorder that downloads to a computer
• rechargeable AA batteries. 
• gluten free dry goods
• good socks
• basic t-shirts (for Mark)
• bathing suit... possibly.  
• camping cups... all temp, with handles, etc.

That's all for today.  The countdown is on for the greatest adventure ever.  

Who knew?

Every journey is a beautiful thing.  Little did I really know when I began this blog that I would in fact be taking a real life adventure.  Everyday is an adventure, but not like this.  May 25th I head out for three months of living in a tent in the forest.  Yes, me... I know.  Honestly, I have never felt as free as I did when I was just visiting.  Now for three months I will be living the dream.  OK, so not the "American Dream", but who ever said that was MY dream?  Surely not me.

Current wish list

Wish List...
Hitting the road for a few months and I am looking for some stuff...

• gps
• good hiking boots
• folding shovel
• medium ish pots and pans for cooking over open fire
• car tires
• headlamp
• tent tall enough to stand up inside
• quality water bottle that has a loop to hang from belt or something.
• leash, collar, harness for Zooey
• dog backpack (so she can carry her own stuff)
• camp chair
• hammock
• new phone
• self inflating sleeping mat
• ...

So many adventures

I have so much to catch up on here. I have been on so many adventures in the last few months... Camping at Disney, Ocala National Forest, Atlanta and Marietta Georgia and Oconee National Forest in Greensboro, Georgia. And soon to come Cumberland, KY, a bunch of places in TN, and a whole summer of being on the road all over the place. :)

Many new adventures to come...

I am happy. The universe has spoken and I am on a path to lovely days. I will back post with some pictures of recent adventures soon... and soon I will have new adventures to share with the world. I have become involved with a special human being who has brought me to this new path in my life, which I am embracing with open eyes, mind and heart.