If I can't go in person, I'll go my way...

Hi everyone,
As you have probably guessed by now, I can be somewhat of a dreamer.  I plan things out in my head, hoping that all of those motivational speakers ("If you can dream it, you can do it!") are correct.  When I want to do something, I plan it all out, I visualize it happening and I do everything in my power to make it happen.  Sometimes it works.  Sometimes life gets in the way. But that's okay, I've enjoyed the planning part and generally will have learned something new.

So... here goes.  The Viking Cruise Lines trip around the world has been in my head for weeks now.  As I mentioned two days ago, I made an Excel spreadsheet with all of the dates, days of the week, locations the cruise will stop and the tours that I would most like to attend.  Today, I added in the average temperature for each location on that date so I can plan what I would pack. LOL  I know it's silly, but I get all excited about it. And now I know that the lowest average temperature is about 42 degree F. (5.6 degrees C.)  and the highest average temp will be about 90 degrees F. (32 degrees C).  Viking has planned the trip well, arriving in most ports when it's a fairly mild time of year, or when it's summer.  Many of the stops are near the Equator and temps stay around 83 degrees F. (about 28 degrees C.) for most of those dates.

https://www.vikingcruises.com Ultimate World Cruise

The trip begins and ends in London, England, a city I know fairly well after living in England for nearly 8 years.  The embarkation date in August 31, 2019 and then we spend the next day, Sunday Sept 1st touring London before heading off.  The tours I chose for that day were the included tour of Royal Greenwich on foot, or the Chelsea Physic Garden.  Since it's a Sunday, though, I'd probably arrive in England a few days early to spend time with friends and "heart family" before going on the trip and I'd just visit the Physic Garden on my own then.  Sunday I would probably go to church somewhere nearby and meet more of my Worldwide Family there.

What's a Heart Family, you ask? When we lived in England, we only flew home to the U.S. once or twice a year, generally in the summer.  So, holidays were on our own or with our friends who became our family while we lived there.  There are so many dear friends there, especially those who lived in Harrogate at that time, who are more than friends.  They are my chosen family members.  I have some great actual family members, but its hard when you don't see them often.  Since we've traveled around so much since Bob and I got married, (we lived in 8 different houses in the first 7 years of our marriage) we've gathered family as we've traveled.  Our boys had friends who became honorary members of the Stull family. And after being a Juror on a photoshop/photography/multimedia and text website called Worth1000.com for many years, some of my friends there have become heart family.  Bob teases me sometime about the vast number of family members I now have and just says he's thankful that I don't feel the need to buy them all gifts at Christmas.  ha! They are truly loved, though, and I'm adding to my family all the time.  It's a great way to live - and love.

So: Here's my list of Must-Sees in London, based only upon what I've actually done there.
1.  The Tower of London, including the tour to see the Crown Jewels and to see where the Princes in the Tower lived and where Anne Boleyn was brought in to the Tower and where she was beheaded.  The history alone is simply amazing.
The Tower of London

Photo from VisitLondon.com

2.  See a West End show if you can.  Last time I was there on my own, ages ago, I went to see Cats.  I got a seat right next to the stage on the end of a row and got patted on the head by the Rum Tum Tugger cat. LOL  It was great. :)
3. The London Dungeon tour was chilling.  Being a History major made the history just come alive for me.  It's horrifying what people will do to each other.

Photo from https://www.city-walks.info

4.  Big Ben - Most people think the clock tower at the Palace of Westminster is Big Ben, but it's not: it's the bell itself. When it was made in the 1850s, it was the largest and most accurate four-faced clock in the world.  Hearing the gong of the bell shakes your chest.  You don't just hear it, you can feel it too, when you're close by.  Definitely go near an hour with several bell peals.
5. The Changing of the Guard at Buckingham Palace is heart stirring.  Little kids can get bored but I have loved watching it every time.  Be sure to look for the flag to see if the Queen is in residence. Even if you don't get to see her, it's fun to know that she's just beyond the wall.
6.  If you're up for a drive, head up to the Cotswolds to see the quaint thatched roof houses.  Stop in one of the older pubs (the White Stag was delicious when I was there about 10 years ago, and definitely gave you the feel of an ancient public house, since it's about 400 years old.)  Then head to Oxford and Cambridge to see the colleges and Kings College Chapel at Cambridge.  It was built beginning in the late 1400s, I believe, then Henry VIII had his and Anne Boleyn's initials carved in a few places there before their wedding.  You can still see the intertwined initials there.

photo from https://www.visitcambridge.org


7. And last but definitely not least, if you can take a tour or a drive, head out to Warwick Castle.  It's a masterpiece and one of the most complete of the ancient castles.  I go there every time I'm nearby.  It's like stepping back in time and they have some really interesting diorama-type displays with mannequins dressed in period costume, doing what the people there might have been doing on just a regular day.  I love it.  I've also seen a guy dressed as Henry VIII who will stop and take photos with you, so it's definitely an immersive experience.

There's so much more, but that will do for now.

A Worldwide Cruise with Viking

A while back, I read someone's post on Facebook about a worldwide cruise with Viking Cruises that took 245 days (about 8 months) and visited 53 countries.  I was immediately intrigued. I read about it online and thought it would be a really awesome trip, I just didn't have the $113,000 per person, double occupancy, that it would cost to be in a cabin big enough that I'd want to live in for 8 months.

Later that afternoon, I found myself back on their site, reading more about it.  It became a bit of an obsession (in a good way) and I'd go back daily to look at the itinerary and daydream about all of the wonderful places to see and amazing things to eat and do.

https://www.vikingcruises.com/oceans/cruise-destinations/world-grand/2020-world-cruise/index.html

This is a new cruise offered by Viking, who are consistently named the World's Best cruise line and I really, really want to go on it! It starts and ends in London, so I'd get the bonus of being able to visit my beloved friends in England either before or after (or both) if WHEN I get to go.

During this time, the lottery was up over a Billion dollars, yes, that's Billion with a B! So, I figured, 'someone has to win it, it might as well be me!' and I bought a ticket.  As you can see, I didn't win, so I'm back to trying to figure out how I can go.

After looking at the map of the places the cruise travels several times, I found the page that spells out the itinerary day by day.  I also found their curated list of books to read to get ready for the trip.  So, I wrote down the list of books in my journal.  I'd look over it now and again and realize I'd only ever read one of them.  Ha!  Today, I went online to our library's card catalog and noted which books are available in our county library system.  Of the 64 books listed there, only 24 of them are in the county system, with most of those at a local private college's library. Only three of them are available at my local library and they are all currently checked out. Looks like a trip to McDaniel College is in my future today.

On the 12th of this month, I started an Excel spreadsheet.  I made columns for the day of the trip, the date we'd be in that port and the day of the week it was, so I could try to keep the Sabbath a bit more holy on Sundays.  Turns out, thankfully, that many of the Sundays are either a sailing day or in a port where the ship stays for a couple of days.  I also included my top choices - up to three - of their available guided tours or excursions for each port.

Since our Church is a worldwide church, I thought it would be amazing to contact the ward or branch in each city and meet some of my Worldwide Family!  Wouldn't that be fun to meet people all over the world who have the same beliefs and who are already part of my "tribe"?  So I have columns for the ward or branch of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints for the area where we'd dock.  I haven't figured all of that out yet.

So, after I'd done all of this, I was feeling a little silly and obsessed over something that seemed unlikely that I'd ever get to do.  I got in the car to head to work to fill the kiln and a song came on the radio.  It was a very old song that's in my iTunes play list by the B-52's called "Roam"  The lyrics, in part, say:

"...Take it hip to hip, rocket through the wilderness,
Around the world the trip begins with a kiss.

Roam if you want to,
Roam around the world.
Roam if you want to
Without wings, without wheels,
Roam if you want to,
Roam around the world..."

Well, that seemed pretty auspicious and specific!  I laughed and prayed "Heavenly Father, PLEASE let there be a way for me to do this!" and my heart just about pounded out of my chest.  Usually, that's how the Spirit witnesses to me that this is the truth or something I should do.  I've learned to listen to that kind of a prompting. So, I started thinking that maybe I really AM supposed to do this.  It's been in the forefront of my mind now for a couple of weeks, which is pretty unusual in itself.  But how can I possibly get that much money?

I got out of the car, went into work and started working on the pottery pieces that needed to go in the kiln.  I'm the only one in the studio during kiln time, since the studio is closed on Mondays, so I listen to General Conference talks on my phone.  I had been listening to April 2017 talks, so I clicked to the next talk and turned it on.  As my hands were in the glaze bucket, mixing up the clear glaze by hand, I stopped with my dripping arms in mid air, as I heard the speaker.  It was a talk by L. Whitney Clayton and it was called, "Whatsoever He Saith Unto You, Do It!"  In the silence of the studio, his voice rang loud and clear in the kiln room, telling the story of Mary, the mother of Jesus, who told the servants at the wedding in Cana to do whatever Christ told them to do.  Then he likened that to us, who when the Lord tells us that we should do something, we should do it - immediately.

So, how do I do this?  How can I possibly do this?

I looked on the Viking Cruise Lines page to look for jobs, searched a couple of job sites to see if there was a way I could work for them and go on the cruise in that way.  Nothing really jumped out at me.  So, the next idea I had was that I could contact Viking and see if they'd hire me as a Social Media person to write about this new cruise.  I don't know if that's a good thing to do, but I'm thinking about it.  So, in the meantime, I thought I'd read their booklist and talk about it here, along with the places the cruise will be visiting.  Maybe something will come to me.  Have any ideas?

Until next time!
Judi

Happy 2018, National Straw Day, Travels and President Thomas S Monson

I decided in the last few days of 2017 that I'd start blogging again and try to be more consistent about it.  Since I'm still not going to be able to finish up This Crazy Trip any time soon, I thought I'd write about something else.  So, what to write about?  Traveling in general?  Local places that I could travel to in a day?  Pottery and techniques for being creative within our studio?  Religion?  Things I've learned?  Bullet Journals, which I use daily?  I didn't know.

So, then I came across the National Day Calendar and after writing down some of the things for the first six months of the year, I found that every single day from January through June 30th has a "National" something or other Day attached to it.  The rest of the year probably does as well, I didn't look yet.

So, since this is January 3rd, we've already missed:

January 1st - New Year's Day, of course.  It's also National Hangover Day, National Bloody Mary Day, and National Thank God Its Monday Day.  Ummm, OK.  Not sure about that one, but the others are fairly self-explanatory for New Year's Day.

January 2nd - was National Buffet Day - I guess people are sick of holiday cooking?  It's also National Cream Puff Day; National Personal Trainer Awareness Day, of course, and National Science Fiction Day, which seemed more fun.

And today is National Chocolate Covered Cherry Day, which I would be happy to participate in if I wasn't on a diet; National Fruitcake Toss Day, which makes sense since not too many people actually EAT the fruitcakes that show up on Christmas and this seems a good day to toss them; and National Drinking Straw Day!  National Drinking Straw Day?  That's a funny day.  (Thanks to www.NationalDayCalendar.com for the use of their photo.)  #DrinkingStrawDay is paying homage to the day someone named Marvin C. Stone took out a patent on this date in 1888 for a paper drinking straw.  The website also mentions the Sumerians using straws around 3000 BCE.  I seemed to remember reading about the Egyptians using straws made of reeds around that time, too, so it seemed logical that the Sumerians had them, however, the one they had was apparently a gold tube with blue inlay!

Our grandsons like to use a straw with everything they drink, so I bought some stainless steel ones last year to use instead of continuously using plastic ones.  I'd like to think that I'm doing a little more to help save our planet's resources.

And congratulations to Marvin C. Stone who 130 years ago, took out a patent for a paper straw.  And congratulations to the Sumerians who created a gold tube straw thousands of years prior! :)

The other thing that happened this morning was that we found out that our Prophet, Thomas S. Monson passed away last night at the age of 90.  What a wonderful man he was!  I learned about cheerful service from him.  I loved his stories and how he could recite a poem from memory.  I loved that he cared so much about doing the Lord's work and how he loved the people he served.  He missed his wife terribly and I'm sure they are having a grand reunion.  Thank you, President Monson, for your life of service.  We will miss you.  

That's it for today!  See you tomorrow!

Judi

On leaving one's child 3000 miles away

This portion of This Crazy Trip has been put into place because Matt wanted to move to California to help a friend raise and show her Siberian Huskies and to take care of, as she said, "about 92 Ball Pythons." Matt is our youngest child. He's 22, not a baby and yet, hasn't really been an adult yet, I suppose. Letting him go has been hard and yet, I'm proud of him for deciding what he wants and going for it.


Yesterday, we drove the final 631 miles of our trip, leaving Kassy and the boys in Arizona and driving through southern California and up through the Inland Empire to Winton, near Merced and Fresno.  That is where I stepped out of the car and left my man-child in the hands of other people. 


I'm filled with sorrow and happiness.  I'm filled with pride and despair.  I'm looking forward to hearing his adventures and trying to figure out how life will go without having him around all the time. 


This was the purpose of our trip and now that its here, I'm very grateful that my sister Linda was here to pick me up.  She hugged me and bought me ice cream and got us a hotel room so we didn't have to drive two more hours - plus she had clients to see in the area, so that was good.  And now I have four days with family and friends in California before hopping on a train that will start me on my journey home.


Our last travel day was filled with beautiful scenery, massive rain storms (who says it doesn't rain in California? It does this year!!) and recollections of home.  Matt got sillier and giddier the closer we got to Winton.  We listened to the same songs over and over again on the Alt Rock station on Matt's XM radio.  I'm not sure I'll ever get Silvertongue by Young the Giant out of my brain. LOL


But as we drove further north, especially driving through the Tehachapi area, it felt more and more like home to me.  I recognized more places that I visited as a child.  I felt more relaxed and happy, brushing away the realizations that I was leaving my baby there in a few hours. 


So, as we got to Winton and I met Krystal and her family (including the four-legged and slithery ones), I enjoyed talking with them and learning more about them.  I felt comfortable with them.  I felt like they cared about their animals and were knowledgeable about caring for them and showing the dogs.  And then, I found out that they were also Latter-day Saints!  How could Matt have kept that from me?  It was weird, but as soon as I knew that, I knew more about the kind of people that they are and my heart was eased.  Matt got in trouble for not telling me that from all sides.  LOL


So, today, even though I'm tearing up a bit now writing about it, I'm happy for him.  I like Krystal and Laura, her mom; and her daughter Klarissa and her sister Maleeseea (sorry if I butchered the spelling there.)  I hope and pray that this move will be a great one for them and that Matt will find what he needs for his life here. 


Letting go of my baby is hard.  Watching him step out and grow up is wonderful. 

This will be a long one!

Hi all,
We've been a long way since my last post two days ago. We've left rocks in Illinois, Missouri, Kansas, Oklahoma, Texas, New Mexico and I'm getting ready to go put the Arizona rock at a shopping center in Prescott Valley, AZ.  :)  It's been fun to get feedback on the photos I've posted on Facebook.  I still can't get my phone and blogger to see each other.  Blogger only sees photos up to 2015 for some reason, which doesn't help at all!


After leaving Indiana, where Matt drove across nearly the whole state, I drove across Illinois and into Missouri.  We thought about putting the rock near the Arch in St. Louis, but decided not to deal with the traffic.  Next plan was to put it in Columbia which is two hours down I-70 and which is where my husband Bob is from. As soon as we got close to Columbia it started POURING down rain!  It continued until we got out of Columbia and were only a couple of miles down the road.  It was so funny - it was like a bucket was turned over above Columbia.  So, we continued toward Kansas City, another two hours away.  Matt decided he wanted some good KC Barbecue and I know that Jack Stack Barbecue is one of the best, so we stopped there before going to my in-laws house.  However, Jack Stack is in Overland Park, KANSAS, so we put out the Kansas rock before we put out the Missouri one!


We stayed with my in-laws that night and got to play our normal Chicken Foot Dominos game which is always a lot of fun with a lot of teasing going on.  I love Nancy and Dave and am thrilled to have had the most wonderful in-laws, including Bob's Dad Thurman who passed away many years ago. 


The next morning as we were leaving KC, I saw some signs on the side of the road where the Oregon Trail crossed the area.  Back in 1805, my great-great Grandparents, William M. Bland, Belinda Long Bland and their family crossed the plains in a covered wagon, leaving from Springfield Missouri and heading up to the Oregon Trail.  That means that my great grandfather, Thomas Warren Bland, Sr., had walked the very spot when he was five years old. (I'm pretty sure he was five, he was very young - I'll have to go look it up.)  It made me choke up, thinking of their little family of boys walking all the way to Oregon!  They had two wagons, one for the people and one for the food and belongings, however, Belinda was very pregnant when they left and had her son Isaac as they crossed Nebraska, so she was in the wagon much of the time.  I can't even imagine. It made me very grateful for our air conditioned car since it was 88 degrees in KC that day. 


Driving through Kansas on the Kansas Turnpike, we saw some smoke off in the distance.  It was billowing and spreading across the sky, so something had been on fire for a while.  There were many signs about controlled blazes in the area, so that's what we figured it probably was.  As we got closer, we saw huge flames coming from a stand of pine trees, and we didn't see any trucks or people nearby, who would have been present for a controlled burn.  So, I called 911 and told them about it.  I told him it was at mile marker 60, so while he was trying to locate it, I explained what we'd seen and said that it was next to a bridge or overpass.  This perked him up.  "It was by a bridge?" he asked. I replied yes, that the bridge was 57 point something, (since they all have numbers on them) but that it probably didn't help much since they all had similar numbers and I didn't know the rest.  "No," he replied, "that helps a lot!"  Oh good!  I hope they caught it before it burned too much more!


As we drove south to Oklahoma, (which does NOT have a state sign on I-35! grrr,) we set up to meet with a friend of mine, Matt East, for lunch in Moore.  Matt and I were both jurors on a photoshop, photography and writing website called Worth1000 for many years.  I've known him over 10 years but until that day, hadn't ever met him in person!  Since he's now online friends with several of my family members, we decided to adopt him.  LOL  It was great to meet him finally.


We continued through Oklahoma and were planning to stay in Amarillo, Texas, but decided to continue on a bit farther, and ended up staying in Tucumcari, New Mexico last night, driving straight into the sunset as we drove west. I tried to drive behind semi-trucks as often as possible to block the sun in my face.  Didn't happen often enough!  We got up this morning and left with the sunrise, which thankfully was behind us. The temperature hit 100 degrees while we were crossing from Oklahoma to Texas.  Super hot for March!  The other thing that amazed me was the sheer number of wind turbines across southern Oklahoma and the panhandle of Texas.  Absolutely incredible.  I wonder how much it saves on electricity and fossil fuel for the states?


So, early this morning we left Tucumcari, New Mexico and traveled toward Arizona.  I love the stark beauty of New Mexico.  I am positive that Matt was a little fed up with me continually saying, "Oh my gosh! Look at that!  So gorgeous!"  ha!


My friend Mary Catherine messaged me from where she currently lives in England to tell me about a restaurant to try in Albuquerque which just cracked me up that we have the technology to do such a thing!  The lady at the gas station where we stopped agreed that they are terrific but then warned us that there's a lot of road construction in that area and it's taking a really long time since it's down to just one lane.  We decided to sadly miss going to Frontier Restaurant for a burrito, left the New Mexico rock in front of the Hobby Lobby that was nearby, got back on Route 40 and continued heading west.


I stopped for pictures at the Continental Divide in NM, then as we continued through Arizona, I tried to talk Matt into standing on a corner in Winslow Arizona so I could take his picture.  In typical Matt style, he lowered his head, looking up through his eyebrows and slowly asked, "Whhhyyyy?" I played "Take It Easy" for him and he still didn't think it was funny.  So I said that *I* would stand on the corner and he could take MY picture.  No. Then he continued, "And that's probably the stupidest thing you've wanted to do on this trip."  Sigh.  I thought it would be funny!  We kept driving.


We were about to run out of gas at one point, just before getting to Flagstaff Arizona.  We could have made it but the drive through the mountains was eating more gas mileage than the drive on the prairies.  So, we stopped at a little place off Route 40 and paid thirty-five cents more a gallon for gas than we had been paying!!! Yikes!  There was a very gaunt couple sitting next to a wall with their dog and some meager possessions with a sign saying, "Very Hungry."  They looked it.  I asked Matt if he minded if I gave them our snacks.  He said that was fine, so I took a bag of juices and snacks and told them that it wasn't much but they were welcome to have it.  They were thrilled and the small bag of Doritos and the box of Pepperidge Farm cookies were gone before we'd finished pumping gas.  It made me happy that I could help a little bit.  I tend to be hesitant sometimes because the people don't really look like they are really in need, but this couple very much did. If the gas station had had food, I would have bought them more.


So, we snuck up on Kassy, since she thought we were coming tomorrow.  She was still in California this morning and is hurrying home so we can see her and the boys. We'll have time to have dinner together and have hugs and that will be about it.


Matt wants to drive the nearly 700 miles tomorrow rather than stopping another night.  We'll see if we can do it!  He's driven about 400 miles of the 2100 that we've come so far.  So, if my behind holds out, we'll give it a shot.  Long day!


I had a mental list of all of the plusses and minuses of the trip so far.  Sadly, I don't remember much of any of it.  No funny names.  No great thoughts.  Just a lot of driving with Matt.  I'm enjoying being with him and that's enough. 


Take care! 

We are on our way!

This morning Matt and I left Maryland heading for California. We dropped off rocks in Maryland, West Virginia, Kentucky, and Indiana. It was really fun to be there as people found them in WV and IN. I didn't expect to see that.

I posted pictures on my Facebook page (Judi Bland Stull) and haven't been able to get them to post on here yet. I will, just not today. So, here are some thoughts about our first 600 miles:

1. There are some really funny place names.
       My favorite city/town name for today was Big Otter, WV. Matt apparently read an article about the towns in each state that have the dirtiest names. Strangely, we stopped for lunch in the one for Kentucky. Morehead. It never, ever crossed my mind to think of it that way! Lol Another good one was Hurricane, WV - no bodies of water are even close, so how in the heck did it get named Hurricane?

2. The second was my deep thought for the day.
       As I was driving through the Appalachian mountains this morning, the road twisted and turned, bringing the sun to my left or right or behind me in turn. It made me think about how, when we have a goal in mind, we don't often travel from Point A to Point B in a straight line. We twist and turn and it may feel like we are going in completely the wrong direction, but if we are focused on our goal, we will get there in the end. So much of my life has been to just have faith that I'm going the right direction, trusting the Lord to be my roadmap and compass and knowing that He is steering me in the right direction. Sometimes my detours feel like I'm going the wrong way and as I keep my eyes on the end goal, I will eventually get there.

3. I love my son.
       Of course I love all of my sons. That's a given. I just was struck today with all of the long trips Matt and I have taken together. We travel well together. I like that. Having him move to California is tough and I'm really going to miss him. I keep trying to remember that I did this very thing to my parents when I met Bob, got engaged 5 days later, then moved from California to Missouri two months later. Maybe this is payback? :)  Either way, I love Matt and am so glad we are getting this 5 or 6 days together. It's a balm for my heart.

As always, have a terrific day! Talk to you all soon and will hopefully get some pictures together when my phone and the blog talk to each other.

Heading out in the morning!

My shortened version of This Crazy Trip begins in the morning.  Matt and I are both packed, we have snacks and juice, and a travel plan.  At some point, I'll get to put rocks out for Maryland, West Virginia, and Kentucky tomorrow.  I'll post hints and pictures as we go, so hopefully someone will find them and share it on here or on Instagram!

State Flag Rocks!

Since my youngest son, Matt, has decided to move to California, we are taking an abbreviated version of This Crazy Trip.

I returned all of the money I received from my GoFundMe account, thinking that I wasn't going to be able to go.  It was the right thing to do.  And now, I do get to go, at least part of the way.

We are leaving Maryland on the 19th of March and will travel through West Virginia and stop in Kentucky for the night.  On the 20th, we'll travel through Indiana and Illinois and will stay with my in-laws in Missouri.  The 21st, we'll travel on through Kansas and Oklahoma and will stay in Texas.  The 22nd will include New Mexico, and Arizona, where we'll stay with my daughter-in-law and get to see the grandkids. Then the 23rd will bring us to California where we will travel up to the Merced area.

On the 24th, I'll leave Matt there, will probably cry for the rest of the day and will spend the 24th through the morning of the 27th with my sister, Linda near Sacramento.   The 27th, I'll catch the Amtrak train, the "California Zephyr" heading to Chicago.

That train stops in Nevada, Utah, Colorado, Nebraska, Iowa, and Illinois.  Then I'll switch to the "Capitol Limited" train with stops in Indiana, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Maryland and Washington, DC. So, I'll be able to put out rocks in at least 12 states.  I'm bringing the ones for the train trip also, just in case I can leave them in the other 7 states and D.C.  I'm not sure how long the stops are in each location.

So, keep an eye out for the State Flag Rocks.  If you've found one, please take a picture of it and tell where it was found. Use the hashtag #ThisCrazyTrip in your post. You can either keep the rock or hide it somewhere else in the state for someone else to find!  I'm excited about doing this!  It's not quite what I had in mind, since I won't be staying with many people.  I am happy to be spending these days with Matt, though.  And I've never been on a three-day train ride before!  Should be a fun experience.

GoFundMe account is open

Oops, the link doesn't work.  It's a widget, not a link. LOL  Look for the widget on my page!

I've had so many topics running around in my head for posts lately and haven't been able to get even one of them written.  I'll be back, hopefully later today, to get the rest of them written.  In the meantime, here's the Go Fund Me widget for my account.  :)  Can you help with my crazy social media experiment?  Will you sponsor me for a tank of gas or a breakfast burrito at McDonalds?  Anything will help.  Thank you so much!! I can't wait to see all of you!

It's ON!

Hi Friends!  I am working diligently to get This Crazy Trip up and running.  Since I decided to leave in January in the hopes that people would be more interested in loaning me a car or camper during the "off season," I'm having to revamp the whole trip from the one planned 2 years ago before surgeries.

I'll be starting off to the South, for one thing, instead of to the North.  Many of the people I'd planned to stay with have either moved and sadly, a few have passed away.  With my mom feeling frantic about me sleeping in a tent (especially at Yellowstone) when I don't have a place to stay, I've been working on getting a small camper instead of a car, so I can just stay in the camper.  That means, though, that my gas prices are going to be higher.

So far, I've written down every person I know who is in each state, categorizing everyone as either "1" - they said I can stay with them, or someone I don't need to ask
"2" - people I would feel comfortable asking if I can stay
"3" - people I'm not sure I know well enough to ask
"4" - single guys, Public Figures that I'm friends with, or others I wouldn't feel comfortable asking to stay with, but that I'd still like to meet or at least say "hi" to.

I've also compiled many lists from all over the web which I'm mapping:
The Oldest Restaurant in each state
The Best Restaurant in each state
The One Thing to Do In Each State
33 Most Beautiful Places in America
The One Can't-Miss Event in Every State - which was from 2015 and sadly, I believe only one of
         them is between January and May
A State by State Guide to the 50 Coolest Things to do in America
The Best Ice Cream in each state (which my body won't allow me to do now)
Fodor's 20 Places to See in the U.S. Before You Die
The Most Beautiful Spot in Each State
U.S. Landmarks to see according to that "perfect trip" meme
Strange Roadside Attractions in each state
The Weirdest Roadside Attraction in each state (some of which are the same)
50 Natural Wonders
and the National Park Service guide to parks.

I've also added in all of the U.S. Temples for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and all of the restaurants mentioned by Diners, Drive ins and Dives.

Right now, I'm color coding a map for each state with all of those items and all of the cities where my friends live so I can mark my exact (or nearly exact) route and know how many miles I'll be traveling.  I'd really love to not travel on Sundays, if at all possible.  The only practical way I can do that is if I can have someone loan me a camper instead of a car.

I've also started writing to the U.S. Senators for each state to see if I can come talk with them here in DC (or someone from their offices) about their states. I'd like to know if there's anything I'm missing that I really should see, or if there's something they'd want me to note and write about when I visit their state. Not having any responses so far, except to see on a couple of their websites that they only make time for their constituents.  I know the new session started this week, so they're likely to be swamped and with the election coming up, I may not be able to visit with anyone.

I've got my packing list done, for with a camper or with a car.  I've got 4" white quilt squares from my fabric stash that I'll have people write or draw on.  And I've got blank journals for my notes and for the people I'll visit along the way.

Next on the list are to:
Send letters to all of the restaurants on my route to see if they'll comp me a meal when I'm there
Send letters to the places I'd like to stop that aren't already free to see if I can get free entry
Go to the Bank on Monday and open a new account that's just for this trip
Check out GoFundMe to see if that's a viable option for getting help paying for gas and for food that's not comped
And contacting the National Park Service to get an Annual Pass for free.
And I'd really love some instruction on how to better use my cameras and to put pictures on this blog correctly.

I contacted Cruise America today to see about getting a camper.  I figured it would be best to use a national company who would benefit the most from me "advertising" them all over.  If that doesn't work, I'll start contacting local car companies and rental agencies.  No luck with getting a car through Priceline.  They were offering cars for $5 a day - that didn't seem such a stretch to be FREE for a day. LOL  I'd also contacted a couple of rental agencies when I started this and wasn't successful, however, maybe they'll have changed their mind by now.

So... that's where I stand.  Still definitely in the planning stages and a huge jump further than I was last week.  I'm getting excited!! Bob's getting more morose.  LOL

Stay tuned! It's coming together!

To Drive or Not To Drive... That is the Question.

I have been wracking my brain trying to decide whether I should do This Crazy Trip or not.  I really, really want to.  After driving to Kansas City and back to Maryland in a four day weekend, I realized that long days will be tough now that I have to baby my knees a bit.  So, the 200-300 miles a day that I had originally planned might be okay.  I figure if I start in January and start with the Southern route first, I'd get to the northern most part of the trip at the end of March, beginning of April.  That's still pretty snowy in most of those areas.  I have a few places to contact regarding a car or small self-contained camper/conversion van thingy, figuring that might help in the few places that I was going to have to camp.  My mother about had a heart attack when I told her I was going to camp, alone, in Yellowstone.  :)

So.  What to do?  I have no idea.

Then tonight, my friend Francine Speaker sent me this link to a blog post about how to see all of the National Parks in one trip.  It's pretty close to my original plan and covers almost every city that I have in my list.  Not all of them, since it leaves out my in-laws and probably more, and yet, it's a start.

http://www.randalolson.com/2016/07/30/the-optimal-u-s-national-parks-centennial-road-trip/

I'm still excited about doing this.  My family is not so excited about it.  I'm really trying to weigh the plusses on my side (getting to see the U.S.; doing something really crazy and fun; getting to see my friends and family all over the U.S.; figuring out a way to actually do this for free; writing about my adventure, etc.) against the negatives that my family sees (ACK! SHE'S GOING TO GET KIDNAPPED, KILLED, AND BE GONE FOR 4 MONTHS!!)

What do you think?  Is This Crazy Trip just one step too far? Let me know what you think.

Recipe Advent Calendar - Day 22 - Candied Cinnamon Pecans

This recipe comes from GRIT Magazine, but it's very similar to others that I've used.  These are like the yummy candied almonds, cashews or pecans that you can get at the Renaissance Festival and the fair.  They're a favorite around here!

Candied Cinnamon Pecans Recipe

By Jean Teller

November/December 2014

Ingredients:

• 1 tablespoon butter
• 3 cups pecan halves
• 1/2 cup sugar, divided
• 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg

Instructions:

1. In large, nonstick skillet, melt butter. Stir in pecans and all but 1 tablespoon sugar. Cook until sugar melts, about 5 to 10 minutes, tossing pecans often so they brown but don’t burn. Remove from heat.
2. In small bowl, mix together remaining sugar, cinnamon, ginger and nutmeg. Add to skillet and toss to coat pecans.
3. Spread mixture on wax paper and let cool for about 20 minutes, then break up clumps and store in resealable plastic bag.

Recipe Advent Calendar - Day 21 - Candy

We're nearing the end of this Advent Calendar, so I thought I'd post a few of the candy recipes that I tend to make for Christmas giving.

Caramels

1 cup butter
1 lb brown sugar (2 1/4 cups)
1 cup light corn syrup
dash of salt
1 15-oz. can evaporated milk
1 tsp vanilla

Butter a 9x9 square baking pan.  Melt butter in a 3 qt saucepan or dutch oven.  Add sugar and salt; stir thoroughly.  Stir in corn syrup, mix well.  Gradually add milk, stirring constantly.  Cook and stir over medium heat to firm ball stage (245 degrees on a candy thermometer,) about 12 to 15 minutes.  Remove from heat, stir in vanilla.  Pour into pan, cool and cut into squares.

Chocolate Caramels - add two 1 oz. squares of unsweetened baking chocolate with the milk.
You can also add chopped nuts at the end, if desired.

Wrap individual caramels in squares of waxed paper or dip them in chocolate.

Chocolate Covered Caramels - Place 1 - 1 1/2 cups of chocolate chips in a microwaveable bowl and microwave on high for 30 seconds.  Stir with spoon.  Microwave in 15 second intervals, if needed, stirring each time, until chocolate is melted.   Drop caramels into melted chocolate and lift out with a fork.  Place on waxed or parchment paper, or a Silpat, to cool and harden.  Store in airtight container.

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Divinity 

2 cups sugar
1/2 cup water
2 egg whites
1/2 cup finely chopped walnuts
1/2 cup light corn syrup
pinch of salt
1 tsp vanilla

Place egg whites in bowl of mixer and set aside.  Place sugar, water, and salt in a saucepan over low heat until sugar is dissolved.  Then cook without stirring to 252 degrees on a candy thermometer (soft ball stage?)  Pour syrup in a very fine line over egg whites, beating constantly.  Do not scrape the bottom of the pan.  Continue beating until mixture is dry and holds its shape.  Beat in vanilla and nuts by hand.  Drop by spoonfuls onto waxed or parchment paper.  Makes about 1 1/2 lbs.

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Rocky Road Candy 

This is by far the easiest candy I've ever made, but people request it every year and just love it.

2 cups chocolate chips
1 cup Chunky Peanut Butter (I choose Jif. LOL)
3 Tbsp butter (can leave out, but it makes it creamier and at this point, saving calories is a moot point)
1 pkg. mini marshmallows

Butter a 9x9 square cake pan.  Melt peanut butter, butter and chocolate chips in a saucepan over low to medium heat, stirring often.  A double boiler works well, too.  When melted, remove from heat and  stir in mini marshmallows until you can't stir anymore.  It generally takes between half and 3/4 of a package.  Spread into the buttered pan and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.  Cut into squares.  Keep refrigerated if it lasts longer than 30 minutes. :)

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Butter Mints

1/2 cup butter, softened
1 tsp salt
2/3 cup sweetened condensed milk
7 cups sifted confectioners sugar (powdered sugar)
food coloring
peppermint flavoring


Cream butter and salt together until smooth.  Blend in milk.  Add confectioners sugar, 1 cup at a time until it's no longer sticky to the touch.  Knead in your choice of food coloring and peppermint flavoring.  Shape into small balls less than 1 inch in diameter.  Press down onto waxed or parchment paper and press a fork onto the top to make a design.  Mints will dry and stick slightly into place.  Can sand them with granulated sugar if desired.  Keep the rest of the dough covered while not working with it.

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Easy Uncooked Fondant

This is what is in the filling of Cadbury Easter Eggs, so it can be colored and then dipped in chocolate to make them yourself.  (Take a small piece of yellow, rolled into a ball, then wrap with an oval of white.  Dip in chocolate.) It's also what's wrapped around maraschino cherries, then dipped in chocolate to make chocolate covered cherries.  As it sits, the fondant melts to make the gooey syrup surrounding the cherries.  I've colored it, flavored it with all kinds of flavors, shaped it many different ways and dipped it in dark, milk or white chocolate to make all kinds of chocolates.  It looks impressive but is incredibly easy to make.

1/3 cup white Karo syrup
1/3 cup margarine or butter, softened
1 tsp vanilla or other extract
1/4 tsp salt
1 lb. box powdered sugar

Mix first four ingredients together, then gradually add powdered sugar.  Fondant will be stiff and the sugar may take a while to work in, but do not add more liquid.  After mixing thoroughly, divide fondant into pieces, according to the number of flavors or colors desired.  Flavor according to taste.  Wrap tightly in plastic wrap and refrigerate.

Take out of refrigerator and work fondant into shapes for dipping as desired.

Melt 1 1/2 to 2 cups chocolate chips in microwave or in double boiler until melted.  Dip candies in melted chocolate and set onto waxed or parchment paper, or on a silpat, to harden.
Store in an airtight container.

Recipe Advent Calendar - Day 20 - Hot Fudge Pudding Cake

It's well-past time to start the desserts for this advent calendar, so today in a texting session with my mom and siblings, a funny memory came up about the Hot Fudge Pudding Cake recipe.   Sandy asked me if I had the recipe, so I'll start with this one.

When I was a teenager, I would sometimes drive over to see my grandparents in the evening.  Grandma would go into the kitchen and whip up one of these cakes, or Bread Pudding or some other dessert for me, just on the spur of the moment.  Of course, that meant I needed to stay long enough for it to bake, but that was how she showed that she loved us.  Cooking = Love in our family, which is why I'm overweight, I would imagine!  But now, I do the same thing for my family and friends - if I cook for you, it just means I love you.

Hot Fudge Pudding Cake 

1 1/4 cups granulated sugar, divided
1 cup all purpose flour
1/2 cup Hershey's baking cocoa, divided
2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup milk
1/3 cup butter or margarine
1 1/2 tsp vanilla
1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
1 1/4 cups hot water

Whipped topping or ice cream to serve with it.

Heat oven to 350 degrees.  Stir together 3/4 cup gran. sugar, flour, 1/4 cup cocoa, baking powder and salt.  Stir in milk, butter and vanilla; beat until smooth.  Pour batter into an ungreased 9-inch square baking pan.  (If you're going to cook it in the microwave, which I don't recommend, but it works - use a 1 quart casserole dish.)  Stir together remaining 1/2 cup gran. sugar, brown sugar and remaining 1/4 cup cocoa.  Sprinkle mixture evenly over batter.  Pour hot water over top.  DO NOT STIR. 

Bake 35 to 40 minutes or until the center of the cake part is almost set.  Let stand for 15 minutes; spoon into dessert dishes, spooning sauce from the bottom to pour over the top.  Garnish with whipped topping or ice cream.

Serves 6 to 8 normal person-sized servings.  :)

To cook in the microwave, it will take about 10 to 12 minutes on high.  If your microwave doesn't have a turn-table thingy, turn it 1/4 turn half way through. Start checking it at 8 minutes to see if the cake portion is baked.  As with any baked good in a microwave, the texture is still spongy and doesn't crisp on top, but it still tastes awesome.

Oh, and the funny memory about this?  I got this recipe from my sister Linda many, many years ago when microwaves were just starting to be used very often.  The recipe stated "line the oven with paper towels."  I am fairly certain that Linda lined her normal oven with paper towels when she baked it, not using a microwave.  It might have just been that we'd laughed about "what if...", though.  We do that a lot.  :)

Merry Christmas!

Recipe Advent Calendar - Day 19 - Starbuck's Lemon Loaf, copycat

If you ever see me in a Starbucks, you can pretty much count on the fact that I'm getting either Hot Chocolate or a slice of their Lemon Poundcake.  That stuff is really good!!  So, when I found a copycat recipe of their Lemon Loaf, you know I had to try it.  It's pretty close.

Starbucks Lemon loaf.

This is a Top Secret recipe version of Starbucks Lemon loaf.

Share to save to your timeline so that you can make it later

Starbucks Lemon Loaf

1 1/2 cup(s) FLOUR

1/2 teaspoon(s) BAKING SODA

1/2 teaspoon(s) BAKING POWDER

1/2 teaspoon(s) SALT

3 EGGS

1 cup(s) SUGAR

2 tablespoon(s) BUTTER; Softened.

1 teaspoon(s) VANILLA

1 teaspoon(s) LEMON EXTRACT

1/3 cup(s) LEMON JUICE

1/2 cup(s) OIL (recommend coconut oil)

LEMON ICING

1 cup(s) POWDERED SUGAR; Plus 1 Tablespoon.

2 tablespoon(s) WHOLE MILK; I Used 2%.

1/2 teaspoon(s) LEMON EXTRACT

Instructions

Combine flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt in a bowl.

Use a mixer to blend together the eggs, sugar, butter, vanilla, lemon extract and lemon juice in a medium bowl.

Pour wet ingredient into the dry ingredients and blend until smooth.

Add oil and mix well.

Pour batter into a well greased 9x5-inch loaf pan.

Bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes or until a toothpick stuck into center of the cake comes out clean.

Make the lemon icing by combining all the icing ingredients in a small bowl with an electric mixer on low speed.

When the loaf is cool, remove it from pan and frost the top with the icing.

Let the icing set up before slicing.

Recipe Advent Calendar - Day 18 - Chicken Bryan from Carrabba's

I'm not really sure where I found this recipe, but going to Carrabba's generally means that either Bob or I - and sometimes both of us - will order either Chicken Bryan or Filet Bryan.  The combination of flavors is so scrumptious!!  It's a grilled chicken breast or filet mignon topped with goat cheese, a beurre blanc sauce and sun dried tomatoes.  That combination just makes my mouth happy!

Carrabba’s Italian Grill Chicken Bryan

(copycat recipe but I don’t know where it came from)

For the Sun-Dried Tomato Sauce:

2 Tbsp butter

1 Tbsp finely chopped garlic

1 Tbsp finely chopped yellow onion

½ cup dry white wine

¼ cup freshly squeezed lemon juice

10 Tbsp. cold unsalted butter, cut into small pieces

1 ½ cups finely sliced sun-dried tomatoes

¼ cup chopped fresh basil

½ tsp kosher salt

½ tsp white pepper

Place butter, garlic and onion in a large skillet over medium heat and sauté until garlic and onion are tender and transparent.  Add white wine and lemon juice.  Increase heat to medium high and simmer to reduce by half.

Reduce heat to low.  Add cold butter one piece at a time.  Add sun-dried tomatoes, basil, salt and pepper and stir to blend ingredients.  Set aside.

For the chicken:

6 large chicken breasts

1-2 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil

½ tsp salt

½ black pepper

8 oz. goat cheese, softened to room temperature

In a charcoal grill (I’ve also used a stove top, but grilling is best),  reduce charcoal briquettes to white-hot coals. 

Brush chicken breasts with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper.  Grill over hot coals 15-20 minutes or until cooked through.

Divide goat cheese evenly between chicken breasts, placing some on each breast for the last two minutes of cooking.

Place cooked chicken on serving platter or individual plates and spoon Sun Dried Tomato Sauce over the chicken.

Serves 6

From Chef Chad in Houston, TX.

Recipe Advent Calendar - Day 17 - Raspberry Thumbprint Cookies

Today I spent most of the day with my friend, Marlene Paisley.  She just had a new baby, Zoe, a couple of days ago.  Zoe is very, very tiny at only 3 lbs., and was precious to see.  Marlene and I became friends mostly over Facebook, I guess, but we're both Realtors and both like food.  One day, she brought me a box of cookies for a Christmas present and I gave her these Thumbprint cookies in exchange.  

I am skipping ahead to a dessert, but this is the cookie that cemented our friendship.  It was good to spend the day with you, Marlene!  Congratulations on your precious and tiny baby. 

Raspberry Thumbprint Cookies

from Christmas Cookies by Oxmoor House

2 cups butter or margarine, softened

1/2 cup sugar 

2 tsp. almond extract

4 cups all-purpose flour

1 tsp salt

sesame seeds (I never put these on) 

raspberry preserves

Cream butter in a large mixing bowl; gradually add sugar, beating until light and fluffy.  Add almond extract, flour and salt; mix well.  Wrap dough in plastic wrap and chill for 1 hour. 

Shape dough into 1 inch balls and roll in sesame seeds.  Place two inches apart on lightly greased cookie sheets (I use parchment paper).  Flatte cookies slightly and indent centers with thumb; fill centers with raspberry jam.  Bake at 400 degrees for 12 to 15 minutes.  Remove to wire racks to cool.  Store in airtight containers.

Makes about 5 dozen.