On Traveling Alone

JULY 3, 9PM

I passed into the Eastern time zone this afternoon. Have traveled more than 4,000 miles since the start of this journey and despite a few bingles with the camper, have had a very pleasant and interesting journey! Sure, there are moments when I feel lonely, and when I really, REALLY want to share a funny or insightful moment with someone important, and tonight, on the eve of spending yet another holiday alone, I’m not so psyched. But here it is in a nutshell – I’d much rather spend time with a faithful dog than waste it with a man who is unworthy of my time or my love. I deserve someone who loves me wholeheartedly and with joy, and who is worthy of the same in return. Oh - and who loves my dog too!!! And the super bonus plus is that I have a lot of really wonderful friends. I am so grateful for each of them.

Long driving over the last few days. Left Mississippi, crossed Alabama along the gulf (and yes, it is very beautiful!!) and went into Florida. Drove around Pensacola to get a feel for the place, and liked it!! But here’s the funny thing – I drove all over New Orleans with the camper in tow – even through little roads in the French Quarter – and no problem. Yesterday while in Pensacola, however, I ran into a dead end street. Should have been able to make a U-turn, but didn’t cut it close enough and backed into a small brick wall while trying not to jackknife the camper. Put a wiffle ball-sized hole into back of it – this poor camper is getting quite the workout – it’s like a sailboat – every time I take it out I have to do another repair.

So tonight I’m on the outskirts of Tampa at yet another Motel 6 – On these one night stops, a hotel is cheaper and more convenient than setting up the camper.  I’m out in the boondocks, not sure why there’s a hotel way out here – but there are a lot of truckers here, and other people who look like they have a profession I’d rather not know about. But it’s clean and Higbee will keep me safe. Guess what’s next door?? Can you guess? A WAFFLE HUT!!!! A woman in Mississippi told me they are like cockroaches – they multiply overnight and you can’t get rid of them! I’m shocked at the number of Waffle Huts I’ve seen – even this afternoon at a gas station, the garbage can was overflowing with Waffle Hut styrofoam coffee cups. I can’t get away from them – no one can!!

Crossed the bridges of Madison County this afternoon. Also came across the Suwannee River and sang a little song. Realized that Ponce de Leon and other explorers hundreds of years ago must have found the waterways much easier to traverse than overland slogging as the trees, kudzu and underbrush are so thick – I couldn’t imagine the creepy crawlies in there.

But that imagination got a taste of reality later in the day. At the rest stop this afternoon, Higbee and I enjoyed walking around the grass – she rolled and rolled around and I spent some time swatting at clever mosquitoes. On the drive south, big bugs – REALLY big bugs kept hitting the windshield, not as profusely as the bees on 5 in California, but these were so big I wondered if the windshield would crack. Then when I pulled up to park at Motel 6, there was a little gift that made me grateful that I wasn’t spending the night in the camper. In the middle of the parking lot right at the back of the RV – designed for semis (my truck and camper look like a tonka toy compared to these big vehicles). There was a big SNAKE. I asked a few truck drivers hanging around to identify it as good or bad (“all snakes are bad”) so one guy with sneakers kicked it away from the vehicle so I could let Higbee out without worrying whether she would get attacked.  Just returned from our evening walk and saw enormous spiders and toads. Hopefully Higbee won’t get hooked on them. Apparently they are addictive.

How is it that you get tired sitting in a vehicle for 9 hours? I’m bushed and headed for bed. Tomorrow will be a continuation south, hope to make it to the entrance to the Keys and then on to Key West on the 5th.

Wishing everyone love and happy basking in their independence – whatever that may be!!!

Red Sticks, Big Heads and Dirty Water

Got to see the Johnson Space Center on Sunday. Mission Control, walked inside a space shuttle, saw some very very large rockets. Bob – I know your buddies think that landing on the moon was a hoax, but man, it’s an expensive one!
Left Houston reluctantly, but it was time to move on. Learned so much from Joani and Mike and the other outstanding people there. I really felt at home. I will return some day.

I’m sitting and sweating in the pop-up in Biloxi, Mississippi. People on either side of me are enjoying their beer a second time and burping the way I used to in the heater when I was in college (I was able to get the coils to vibrate the sound so intensely, it sounded like a train – little did I know that the guys downstairs could hear it too – always wondered why they never asked any of us out). Well, I’ve grown up a little and have decided to move on tomorrow. No reason to relive the past. I’ll consider tonight as karmic pay back and that’s good enough.
As I crossed into Louisiana yesterday, I said out loud, “Louisiana – get me some crawdads and hot sauce” and shazzam – on the radio comes, “looking for some hot stuff” by Donna Summers. I thought that was pretty cool. I also appreciated the better roads of Louisiana. Yet another camper near disaster – was bouncing across the very poor road in Texas, minding my own business, and then a guy drives up next to me waving like a maniac, cranking his arm into a 90-degree position, which caused me to look in the right rear mirror and the friggin door to the camper had popped open!!! I pulled over and found that only the screw of one of the extra jacks had fallen out. Whew! Could have lost the tool box, Higbee’s bed, the fridge, and a few other items.

Robyn, I realized today that I left the handy log in Houston, or maybe it fell out too. That would have been a big one to avoid for the car behind me. Oops!!!Enjoyed seeing the signs in French in LA – my favorite was, “Grande Tete” which means, “Big Head.” Maybe the guy back in in Barracho Station woke up in Grande Tete. Spent the night at reliable Motel 6 in the Red Stick (Baton Rouge) and was disappointed to learn that the ribs place that was recommended by the front desk guy was out of business. Alternative was Taco Bell. But I got to enjoy my first Waffle House for breakfast!!! Did not eat a waffle, however; enjoyed a couple of fried eggs, hash browns, sausage and WHITE bread. There was no choice for wheat or English muffin – it was white bread or nuthin. And lots of butter, and no sugar substitute. I knew I was in the south. Since then, I’ve seen, and I honestly kid you not, at least 65 other waffle houses.  Who eats all those waffles???

There’s one next to the campgrounds, but I found a local place right on the water nearby. I’ll break fast there tomorrow.

Stopped this afternoon in New Orleans. Told myself that I had no need to see the devastation. But as I approached the exit for the city, I just had to pull off, and I felt a bit like I did driving into SF for the first time after the Loma Prieta quake in ’89. What would I find of a city that I loved? And in both cases, it wasn’t nearly as bad as I had imagined. 

The thing about NO is that it’s in a steamy swamp, so there will always be paint coming off of the wood and there will always be buildings in disrepair. And yes, I did find quite a bit of that as I drove around (the amazing thing is the power of the Kudzu plant – it was growing all over the abandoned houses) but I also saw a lot of Tyvek – which means a lot of buildings were in the midst of repair. And the good news is that NO got to keep their natural canopy – While Galveston lost their trees to Ike, NO got to keep their beautiful oaks. Much better.Continued on to Mississippi. Decided to take the scenic route and have been following hwy 90 for most of the day. Beautiful old houses, but this area too has been devastated by hurricanes. Don’t know if it was Katrina, but there are a lot of foundations with no structure above it. A guy I talked to on the beach said that many Antebellum homes were destroyed, as were a lot of the mom and pop beach restaurants. What’s replacing them are chain restaurants (can you say Waffle House?) and high rise condos. Kind of a shame.

The trusty Motel 6 was booked solid for a family reunion, and after trying other places without luck (not many places here take dogs), I chose a campground. As I said, it’s not great, but it will do. I usually don’t like hassling with the camper for just one night, and I do feel I made a wrong choice by staying here (there’s more than burping going on, no need to detail), but I was ready to stop driving and I’ll be moving on soon enough.
Took Higbee to the beach this evening for a swim and a walk. Conveniently ignored the No Dogs sign (it’s easier to ask for forgiveness than permission) and we waded out nearly a quarter mile with the water coming only to my knees. It wasn’t the nicest ocean I’ve ever been in, but the sand is beautiful! Unfortunately the water got worse when Higbee pooped in it. I tried to run over and get it, but by the time I got there, it had floated away somewhere, so to make up for it, I used the plastic bag to pick up trash on the beach. Filled the bag in no time. We are even.
Tomorrow it’s time to move on. Will stop in Mobile, Alabama – heard it’s a beautiful city (similar to NO but not as many beads) and would like to see it. Then on to Florida. Since I’m not doing Independence day in DC, I think I’ll head down the state and join my buddy Danny for some fishing in Key West. Have never seen it, so I might as well check it out! I think the water will be bluer – that will be nice!!!

Sending love to all.

Southern Hospitality - liquified.

Wednesday,  June 24

An interesting week.  Have been practicing a lot of yoga.  But then, when you're living in a yoga studio, and there's 44 classes a week to choose from, you are pretty much guaranteed to practice a lot of yoga.  Between that and the intense humidity outside, I got myself pretty dehydrated, and so a few days ago decided the best solution was a hearty piece of beef.  I love beef.  I know a lot of yogis are vegetarians, and I totally respect that, but my body needs cow flesh every now and then.  That sounds gross, but call it what it is, and then there are no deceptions.  

Friends at the front desk (and I have to say, EVERY person here at BY Houston has become a friend - they are wonderful) recommended the Houston's restaurant right down the street.  Have never been before, even though I can picture the Houston's in San Francisco on the Embarcadero.  As a sola diner, I decided on the bar so as not to take up a full table or booth at the busy restaurant.  Brought a book to keep me occupied while I waited for my prime rib (that wasn't cheap by the way), but opted for the more hip and functional iPhone.  Sent a few messages, checked facebook, looked for movies in the area.  Then my meal arrived.  I put the machine down and gazed at a beautiful piece of meat and some lovely cous cous.  Immediately before I could even pick up my utensils, the drunken fool on the nearby stool started to comment on my meal.  "that cow's gonna kick you, it's so rare" was one of the milder statements.  I tried to be nice, but after a while it was getting ridiculous - when he sloppily told me he needed some private stretching lessons, I quickly finished my meal and left.  Grrrrr.  

That scenario has been bothering me for several days, I'm not quite sure why.  Perhaps because it was a blatant reminder that I dine alone (and really do prefer intelligent companionship), perhaps because I saved up to have a great meal and by not telling the guy to bug off, it was ruined, perhaps because the contrast of this drunken fool to the wonderful people I've experienced lately was so great.  In any event, I will take from it the lesson to tell the universe what I will and what I will not allow into my life.  And what I deserve is certainly a great deal better than that experience.  

Have visited some really great places in Houston.  Yesterday I visited the museums and got to see a terrific presentation on diamonds - although they showed some really stunning jewelry, 

I was most interested in the science of the rock - and how the electrons line up in a way that makes them special.  Also got to see the terra-cotta warriors from China.  Wow - they were really

 amazing - and to think they were created more than 2,000 years ago.  

Also took a stroll around Rice University.  My friend Keith (an alum) said his statue was on campus, but I found only one, and it was definitely not him.  Beautiful old buildings and stately trees lined the roads, and really YOUNG students!  How does that happen?  They seem to get younger every year.

Last night Liana and I went to see "The Hangover."  We laughed nonstop for nearly 2 hours and man, I needed it.  Yes, it's raunchy, but it is really funny.  There's one part where someone calls someone else and "asshole" with a very strong accent.  Reminded me of another situation years ago.  I hope someone else remembers too.

This afternoon Liana and I are driving up to The Woodlands to visit the Bikram studio there.  Karen Waxler from my training will be teaching the 6:30 class, and I understand it's an amazing studio.  Looking forward to seeing both.  

Okay, time to go.  

Sending love to all.  

UPDATE:  Friday, June 26

Got to drive up to The Woodlands and see the studio up there.  Wow -- it is VERY fancy, maybe a little more fancy than you need in a Bikram yoga studio, and Karen did a great job.  Excellent dialogue.  She inspired me to get even more and more and more down verbatim.  It was a great trip and Liana was fun to travel with.  

Attention All Certified Bikram Instructors

Diane Ducharme Posture Clinic
                           
Saturday,  August 15  Teacher Only Seminar!!
                                     
10am CLASS    NOON to 3ish SEMINAR

 hosted by Bikram Yoga Auburn MA
 
On Saturday 8/15 Diane Ducharme is giving a seminar for all Bikram Yoga Teachers.

Topics discussed will include the Pregnancy Series and HOW to teach it.  Also, how to best help students (the right way!) that have physical limitations.

What a great opportunity for teachers, new and experienced,
to get together, share ideas and make sure our students get
the best, most up to date information available.

Teachers are invited to take the 10am class (Diane is teaching) and the clinic will begin at noon.  

THERE IS NO CHARGE!!!  CAN YOU BELIEVE IT??? 

We ask that you bring a food or drink instead for a pot luck after the clinic.

Please RSVP to:  Linda Hewins at  upsidedownL@comcast.net

 

as soon as possible.  We need a head count and and inventory of the munchies.

Thanks so much and hope to see you all soon.!!

Deep in the Heart of Texas!

June 19, 2009

I woke up this morning with a wicked headache. Felt like a hangover, but I had one beer with dinner two nights ago. I know yoga makes you pure, but believe me, there’s no way I’m that pure. Thought I had a head cold, but Liana nailed it – I am dehydrated. Had a big glass of orange juice and eggs for breakfast, but I need to up the fluids even more. To put it bluntly – it’s fuckin’ hot and humid here in Houston.

Arrived at Joani and Mike’s South Blvd. studio a week ago. 

This place is amazing. They offer 44 classes a week at this studio and 34 at their Fountain View studio 

– it’s like a yoga factory here! And every class – even the 8:15 classes - are packed – the 4:30 classes have with more than 70 people! They do not offer an introductory offer and they don’t need it. They are compassionate and encouraging, strong and supportive, and they have fun here. It’s a really nice studio. 

Before and after each class, the instructor takes time to greet each student and answer any questions, provide feedback if needed and just encourage. They have a staff to work the desk, which is really smart, and the instructor’s first priority is the student, then they help out at the desk.

They’ve allowed me to teach a few classes at the Fountain View studio, and I’ve really enjoyed it. Haven’t taught much at all lately (only once in the last month) so it’s been an interesting experience. They are very dialogue driven here, and in prep for going to visit Diane Ducharme, I’m re-learning the entire dialogue again anyway, so that’s not too much of a problem – it’s coming out fairly well. Except for last night’s “come to the top of your towel for camel toes.” I laughed and then everyone else laughed and then we all laughed so hard we barely made it through the first set and then we just kept going. It was a fun class and I was happy that everyone said they enjoyed it at the end.

Joani has a series of articles in which she talks about how the hatha (physical) yoga offers the opportunity to also practice Raja yoga. Raja yoga is “best understood as the science of mental discipline and it is another aspect of Bikram yoga.” She goes on in the article about how moving together, holding still between postures, avoiding the wiping, etc helps to build mental discipline and allows us to control our “screw loose brains” as Bikram says instead of letting it control us. Last night I was given the opportunity to pick up another class, and it went well also (avoided the camel slip up), but I noticed that I was starting to get a little sloppy with the dialogue. I started to interject some of my own words and got a few things out of order. And it occurred to me that knowing the dialogue and having the DISCIPLINE to use it just as it is, is a form of Raja yoga. It us having control over the mind and the ego to use the formula just as it’s prescribed. That little insight is going to help me to be better at dialogue as I go forward.

I like Houston. It’s a really big city and I haven’t seen much of it, but this particular neighborhood, located near Rice University, is beautiful. The homes are so diverse! There are little cape cods, adobe houses, big modern glass and metal boxes and very proper brick homes. And that’s just in the first few blocks. A little farther down the road and there are beautiful estates! Stunning!!! I’ll get photos of those later – it’s too friggin hot and muggy to walk that far except for early in the morning.

Liana, who's from Minneapolis but is now based here, but living in one of the studio's guest bedrooms until she can afford a car and then an apartment, and I went to Galveston a few days ago. Strange place that by no means has recovered from Ike last year. We drove by a house on stilts near the ocean with the back wall that was gone.  Inside you could see the bed, TV and all the other accessories that you’d find in a bedroom (well, not all) but there was no wall. It was so strange. We walked along the water for a while and while Higbee played in the water, chased birds, and generally had a great time, we picked up pieces of glass. We avoided the biohazards though. There were a few of those. The town felt sort of dead, but even in the places that seemed fairly unscathed, we couldn’t figure out why. Then we realized – all the beautiful oak trees were leafless! We found out later that the tidal surge brought in so much salt water, it killed off most of the live oak trees in the city. Dead live oaks. The entire city had a vibe of deadness and it was because of the trees. It was such a eerie feeling. Didn’t like it. But we did go on a tour of a beautiful mansion and that was interesting and fun, and then headed back home.

When I got here, I was planning to stay, as usual, in an RV park, but Joani and Mike offered to let me set up camp in the back of their studio on South. When Mike met Higbee, though, he told me to come inside and take one of the two guest bedrooms they have here. He would not let his own dogs outside, Higbee should come in - and me too.  So we are living indoors in air conditioning, and I am very grateful. We would both be suffering quite a bit out there.

San Antonio Doesn't Disappoint

Seriously, I really like it here. The KOA campground is just the start of this very nice place. Higbee and I strolled along the entire Riverwalk, saw the Alamo (that’s an interesting story - I have a companion dog and apparently I look like I NEED a companion dog) and we visited the San Antonio Museum of Art (which is inside the old defunct Lone Star Brewery – how cool is that) and the Witte museum park. The architecture here is much different than I expected – I thought it would be all adobe structures, and there is some of that, but there’s also a lot of craftsman homes, brick and other architectural styles. And the price per square foot is quite a bit less than $200 for homes in the most tony part of town.  Compared to California, that's really a bargain.  I gotta say it again, I really like it here!


Lisa and Steve, who own the two San Antonio Bikram Studios, are absolutely fabulous. They have terrific, positive energy, two really beautiful studios, a fabulous staff (including 3 people from our training – shout out to Casey, Carlos and Jill), and a very loyal following. I’ve practiced with people suffering from fibromyalgia, amputees, and spasms and they are all really great yogis. Lisa gave me some guidance on my practice yesterday, and this afternoon in Jill’s class (which was great BTW) I implemented her recommendations, and got good results! 
I met this morning with Lisa and Steve, and they answered a ton of questions about how they operate the studio, about the dynamics of having two studios, about partnerships, and so many other questions. They spent more than 90 minutes with me, and I consider it a GREAT gift. I will be a better teacher and a better studio owner as a result of this stop.   

Oh, my thesis (and yes, I’ve made more progress while here) is on the relationship between communication and Bass and Avolio’s full range leadership theory. I argue that although the theory describes the behaviors that lead to one of three leadership styles, it is incomplete because it doesn’t describe the communication skills that are necessary in order to demonstrate those behaviors. I will include a survey, and I’ll ask anyone who reads this (and has or has had a boss) to help out and compete the survey. 

Tomorrow, it’s on to Houston. 

San Ahhhhntonio

If San Antonio is anything like this KOA campground, then this is certainly a place I could live.  It's green here, lush, lots of beautiful trees, lively fauna including small diapered children who have no fear of Higbee! 

So I left Bisbee two days ago and drove up state highway 80.   At one point, I noticed I had no signal on the phone, but I also noticed the clocks were wonky.  Then I looked around and noticed there was not one living thing (besides Higbee) in the area.  Nothing, no one.  I pulled the car over, went to the bathroom on the side of the road (which historically ALWAYS draws a person or two no matter where I am - even in the middle of the woods) and then walked around and nothing, nada soul.  Here are the photos I took looking north and south from the middle of the highway.  

The plan was to spend the night in Las Cruces NM, but I wasn't tired, so I decided to keep driving to take some miles off of the next day's drive.  Could see the lights of Mexico as I drove along Hwy 10, it was a bit strange knowing an arbitrary line kept people in one place.  Went all the way to Van Horne, TX - drove through 3 time zones that day.  Found a reliable Motel 6 - Tom Bodett might sound hokey, but you can depend on a clean, inexpensive and dog-friendly place with Motel 6.  As a sola traveler, I do appreciate the reliability of the chain.  

Got into the room and for the first time in a week or so I was able to get a close look in a well-lit mirror -- OH MY GOD - what I thought was tan was actually a finely embedded layer of dirt, and my face was so dry, I had flakes of dry dead skin on my cheeks!!  A good scrub took care of the problem, and continued driving the next day helped to ensure no more super dryness.

Found Boracho station - I'm sure that place was named by someone's angry wife!  (Borracho = drunk in Spanish)  

While tooling along hwy 10 (which has a speed limit of 80 btw - never saw that before!), A trucker had pulled off the side of the road.  He came out of the cab, grabbed the handles and then missed the first step and lost his balance.  It was like a slow-motion movie.  He let go of the handles and peeled off the cab and fell right on his back in the middle of the highway.  Meanwhile I was barreling up on him (at 75 mph - I respect the law), and had to swerve to miss driving over his head.  I did crush his glasses - hope they weren't his only pair of seeing eye glasses - but in any event, I'm pretty sure he wasn't going to be driving very far - that fall looked like it HURT bad!!!  It took me a while to straighten out the swerving camper in the back.  I'm damn lucky I didn't crush that guy's skull, and not roll the friggin camper.  

From that point forward, a rather uneventful trip to San Antonio - and this beautiful place.  I paid for a week - figure that Lisa Ingle won't be available until after the weekend, and I can use the time in between to work on the thesis.  It's shady and not dusty here - very conducive to intellectual work......or maybe a walk with the dog.