Raleigh: Thoughts and Notes

Raleigh is beautiful. It's like living in a park - lots of green trees, and every time I step outside I hear all kinds of birds. Sometimes I see them - ones I don't recognize, for the most part.

Lots of people walk here - why not, when you live in a park? Driving out here I noticed people getting fatter and fatter - more morbidly obese people than I've ever seen. But they are not so fat in Raleigh - I guess because they walk a lot.

The weather has been moderate - cool and moist, with more cloudy days than I've seen since I moved out of Seattle. Yesterday we had a gentle rain all day. Today I've felt a few drops, but it's mostly just been cloudy, near 70. The temperature has been between 60 and 80 the whole time I've been here - very nice, in a park.

The downside is driving in a park. The roads mostly wind around, and you can't SEE anything except trees! Even with the GPS (which sometimes gets its left and right mixed up - well, so do the best of us...), I've had trouble finding things because there are TREES everywhere. Fully leafed-out trees. Great for a park, lousy for navigation.

I'll have to think of all this when I'm walking at home, where the dirt road (you knew that from looking at my car, right?) sometimes has dust within an hour of a "rain" or "snow" (quotes, because this year has been SO dry).

The pictures are of my Dad's back yard, by the way. This is what I see when I open the blinds on the french door in my room.

Worse and Worse

This morning the news on CNN said there were over 90 tornadoes yesterday. Each time I see a news broadcast there are more fatalities, more destruction, more lives and livelihoods lost.

Yesterday it was a little scary here, but I had no idea how bad it was just a short distance away. We heard some thunder, saw some lightning, had a little basement flooding but not much.

And I was complaining about my hair frizzing out. I'd go around forever looking like a white-haired Bozo the Clown if it would bring back some of what was lost for others yesterday. But it won't.

My prayers are offered for you.

Weather Update

We were indeed fortunate. This is being reported as the worst tornado outbreak ever in this area. One did go straight through Raleigh, killing several people. The entire area of the state saw tornadoes and damage, and many counties saw fatalities. In some areas there is simply nothing left. Even power poles were ripped out of the ground and carried off - they are not down, just flat gone. Over 143,000 people are without power tonight. The infrastructure will have to be rebuilt before some of those people get power again.

Some people lost everything, including family members. We had no damage. We have power and dry beds, our cars are intact and not upside down in some tree or building. We have our lives and limbs. My heart goes out to all those who are not so fortunate.

Weather

We had a tornado warning today. The radio was talking about damage in downtown Raleigh - I'm unclear whether there was a confirmed tornado there, or if it was just ("just") other storm damage, but there were several long-track tornadoes in the area, and we saw one on the weather map south-west of us, then saw it north-east, so it could have been. Dad and I came down into the basement - fortunately he can do one floor of stairs now. We set up the weather radio and the regular radio, and for a while hung out in the bathroom.

The long-track that went through (past?) Raleigh was on the ground for over 90 miles. They kept saying on the news how unusual that was, and also how unusual it was to see so many on the ground at one time.

Punkin started out safely under the couch, but when she came out I grabbed her and put her in her carrier and stuck her in the shower (towel over the carrier in case the shower door broke). She was not pleased, and loudly let us know that for some time.

After a while the tornado warning was lifted, then the thunderstorm warning lifted, and we went back upstairs. Had our excitement for the day - and I thank God that's all it was. Some storms in other areas of the South have killed several people, mostly when trees fell on their houses. I guess we're at risk for that here, too, but we would be safe in the basement hallway and bathroom where we were.

We had some water leak into the basement in the utility room - not sure where that was coming from exactly. I heard the water running, and went in to find it pooling on the floor. Didn't cover the whole floor, and as far as we could see only caused minor damage to some wood Dad had stored there. Guess we'll have to track it down at some point.

After a week and a half in the humidity, and especially today, I have my "white girl's 'fro". My hair is officially un-comb-able. Not sure what to do with it at this point. I'd been thinking I'd lost some of the curl as the hair went white, but I guess not. And I'm thankful that that is the worst of my problems from the storm!

Travel Notes: Kansas

Well, better late than never!

One of the things I noticed both in Kansas and in Missouri was the burning fields. I guess they must use burning as a way to get rid of weeds and cleared brush, and possibly also to clear out last year's corn stalks or other leftover agricultural stuff. Coming from a dry and fire-prone area, it seems strange and risky to me. Probably just a sign of spring to them. Junction City, KS was covered in smoke.

A way to tell a good restaurant is that the locals go there. How to know when you have locals in Kansas? The men all wear "gimme" hats (baseball caps advertising agriculture-related companies, like fertilizer and tractor companies). These were older men, with their wives, and each table had at least two couples. I guess it's acceptable to wear your hat at the table, because the ladies didn't seem to notice. The only table with men not wearing gimme hats had other travelers at it.

I was driving on I-70 / I-40, and the upper speed limit was 70 and minimum speed was 40. Really wanted to get a picture with the speeds and the highway numbers, but the only time I saw them was when I was driving.

It was so windy - I was very glad to be driving my trusty CRV, and not a motorhome or something. I was also very grateful for cruise control - and for other drivers using cruise control and going the speed I wanted to go. Relaxed, orderly.

I drove over the first section of the US Interstate Highway system. I looked it up because I couldn't remember which state it was in, and it turns out there are at least three claims for that honor, so I was on the one in Kansas.

Raleigh

The dogwoods were in full bloom when I got to Raleigh, and I noticed the azaleas a couple of days later. I didn't know what either of those plants were, and had to ask. Dad's townhouse has pink dogwoods in front and white ones in back. A week later, and the white flowers have a brown tinge on the outside of the petals, and tonight we have a rainstorm, and when the wind blows it looks like large snowflakes falling. The brick patio in back is covered with ivory petals.

Another wonder are the cardinals – common here, non-existent at home. And there's some sort of jay I'll have to look up, not like anything I've ever seen before.

As I drove out from Colorado, I time-traveled into spring. The trees went from bare to buds to fully leafed out. Here at Dad's, there's a small lake in back of his house, and the trees are so thick you can't see the houses on the other side. It looks like a secluded park.

I've been here a week. We had a day to go over things, and realized I should have come a week earlier. Then we had the time in the hospital. I was leaving a timed food dish down for Punkin; with the diabetes, she needs frequent small meals. When the ants discovered it, I changed my schedule to come home every 3 hours to feed her, then go back to the hospital. Not a problem – it's about a mile away, an easy drive. It was actually nice, giving us some structure to an otherwise totally unpredictable day.

Some things about hospitals have improved in the last 30 years (since the last time I was in one), and some have not. Food is better now. But people pop in at odd times, and with everyone on the floor trying to provide service, sometimes it turns out that no one does. Anyone staying in a hospital needs an advocate, who can get water and blankets, reach things that fall off the tray, and go down to actually get a nurse if needed. Call buttons get you someone who answers, but whether someone actually comes and takes care of the problem is another matter. I've stayed a couple of times with my daughter when my granddaughter was having tests done, so I knew what to expect with Dad's stay.

Now we're home – all three of us are happy about that (I'm including the cat). Dad's doing well, healing and rehabilitating, getting back on his feet – literally.

I've made a few forays out into the neighboring areas here in Raleigh, and learned that it IS possible for me to get totally lost. I've never done that before, but I've managed that dubious accomplishment here. Fortunately I had the GPS and I was going to a bookstore, so I bought a map. And also fortunately, it was AFTER I bought the map that the GPS went on the blink. It's working again, but the streets are so twisty-turny that the map is still invaluable. I can get a picture of where I am in relation to where I want to go, and I don't feel so, well, lost.

We're trying to settle into a schedule now, but we have various health personnel visiting here and there. This week the visits started on a Sunday, so the days and the people were all different. We should have the same people from now on, though, and next week will be the “regular” days. Of course, the home visits won't go on for long, so it will all change again. Just as well, though. Dad will be glad to get out and about again, even if it's going to doctors' appointments.

And we have the lovely rain, and the flowers everywhere, because it's fully spring here.

Update

Sorry I haven't written. Dad and I were going over things on Tuesday, and Wednesday was his surgery. It went well, looks good. He's healing. Thank you all for all of your prayers!

The ants discovered Punkin's timer dish, so I now have to be present and semi-awake to feed her every 3 hours or so. Probably good - I was at the hospital all day yesterday and most of the day today (until I came home and found the ants in the food dish), and she had been lonely. She's doing well - happy that we're not in the car, eating well, drinking well, good glucose readings.

I really will write more about the trip - like how to tell a good restaurant in Kansas. Just a little busy right now.

I'm here!

Another windy day, but what I could glance at of the landscape was beautiful! West Virginia, Virginia, and North Carolina.

I'm an avid reader of the Mrs. Murphy mysteries by Rita Mae Brown (when she's not soapboxing), so was very interested to see Virginia where the stories are set. Hillier than I expected, but so green and so lovely.

I'm getting things set up and put away, since I'll be here for a while. I still have lots of notes, and will write them up for you in the days to come, but wanted to let everyone know I'm safe and sound and off the road, so it's safe to go out in your car again!

Today's Word: Wind

My goodness - I'm so glad today was the short day! The wind was fierce. My loyal little CRV is usually pretty good in the wind, and even so I was fighting almost the whole way here. Louisville wasn't bad, and the mountains in Kentucky broke it up a little, too, but whew!

Indiana was beautiful but smelly. Note to highway folks: don't place rest stops downwind of stockyards. But to be fair, it smelled that way through most of the state. I put some Peppermint oil in my car diffuser and that helped.

Kentucky is gorgeous! I love it! I didn't get to sight-see as much as I did earlier in the trip - with the wind I couldn't really take any of my attention away from the road - but what I did see was beautiful.

Spring has been "springing" the farther east I've come, and it's going strong here. Grass is green, and there are leaves on the bushes and just getting started on trees. I saw forsythia and daffodils yesterday, but even more flowers today. And bugs. Lots of bugs on the windshield.

No music today - had to keep the GPS plugged in after I didn't need the diffuser any more. It didn't play any nasty tricks on me today. Things went smoothly.

Punkin's doing well. She's eating and drinking almost normally. Sleeping a lot in the car. She really didn't want to get in the carrier today - I think she's tired of the trip. So she slept - resting up for her room explorations tonight!

Tomorrow's route:
I-64 East through Charleston, WV, joining with I-77 South there and on down to Beckley, then I-77 on through Virginia into North Carolina to I-74, to 52, then 421 to I-40 on into Raleigh. At least, it looks like that will do it. I don't have satellite reception in my hotel room to see if the GPS agrees with that.

I decided to go ahead and take the WV tollway - it's not expensive and it is MUCH easier than trying to avoid it. Maybe if I come through another time with a navigator I'll take some back roads.

Well, this is the room with the whirlpool tub - can't let that go to waste! And I want to catch the weather on TV before tomorrow.

Thanks for checking in! I'll write more about some of the sights and events of the trip later.

'Night!

Sky Paintings

Saturday's drive was long, but pleasant. The sky dominated it. I started out with a buttermilk sky - a light layer of clouds that look like a glass you just drank buttermilk from. All day the clouds changed formations. It was pretty overcast most of the day, but the clouds were just magnificent - except for the 5 minutes at the last rest stop when I tried to take a photo. But back on the road, and they got beautiful again. Guess you really did have to be there!

Kansas and Missouri have a nice series of rest stops along I-70. But don't speed - both states have troupers or state patrol cars sitting every few miles monitoring traffic. It was pleasant, really - everyone was comfortably going the speed limit, nobody was pushing or driving aggressively. Nice. Actually not much traffic at all, although more than Friday.

Until St. Louis. Lots of traffic there, with a highway system reminiscent of a Rube Goldberg device. Absolutely insane. And I don't know what drugs the construction planners were taking, but I think I'll pass - the construction detours were bizarre, splitting lanes up and joining them back together in really odd places with no apparent purpose. Add to that incredibly rude drivers and a slightly mischievous GPS taking me to the second place to join 64 rather than the first (and they were subsequent exits - why??), requiring me to cross 4 lanes of traffic from left to right, and I was SO glad to get out St. Louis.

Once in Illinois, drivers ignored the speed limit signs again. I found a group of other out-of-staters, and we kept each other company at only about 2 mph over the limit.

But the hotel is nice - I like Drury Inns. And Punkin has adapted well. She started out under the covers, but came out of hiding, is eating well, and exploring. She slept on top of the furry blanket I brought from home, which usually covers Loren's fancy leather desk chair that the cats have taken over.

For those who care about such things, Suellen, the music I played on Friday was Roll the Bones, by Rush, Supernatural by Carlos Santana, and 'Ulalena, which I like to describe as the soundtrack to a stage show I haven't seen, telling a story I don't know, in a language I don't understand. It's from a CD I got on our honeymoon in Hawaii - I asked the vendor for some real Hawaiian music, explaining that I like slack key guitar, and she recommended 2 really fine slack key albums and this one. It really is the soundtrack to a stage show. Marvelous music, great drums. I love it!

Saturday was a little more mellow - Earthbeat, by Paul Winter and the Dmitri Pokrovsky Singers, and Earth, from the Elements Series by Peter Kater.

One great scene - just as the song "Winter" was starting up I passed a large pond. The slightly-rippled water reflected the slightly-rippled gray sky, with a mirrored backdrop of still-bare trees bordering the far side of the water and shoreline. There was a small boat in the water, with two fishermen, back to back with lines dropped in the water.

If you haven't heard Earth, it has some really beautiful pieces. "Winter" and "Celestine" are my favorites. See if you can find them online and hear clips.

And for my family, I'm not sitting there changing CDs or anything. Loren gave me an iPod a couple of years ago, and one time when I was playing around with it I set up some of my favorite albums in playlists. I start it up at a rest stop and can go for hours.

I have some more notes, but I'll save them for another time. Shower (yay!), free breakfast (yay!), and on to Indiana and Kentucky!

Bare Basics

Well, the day went much better than I had thought it would! So the long day is out of the way now! I was still functioning pretty well when I got in and got everything into the room, but decided I'm too tired to go out to get dinner (missed happy hour), so I'm eating a soggy-but-still-good corned beef sandwich I made yesterday morning, and a few containers of yogurt that I brought along for the trip. And you know, it's just right! And I didn't have to go anywhere!

Punkin did better today. She drank some water last night, and has been drinking a reasonable amount today. And she got her appetite back today. She had been just eating a few crunchies, but at one rest stop she was eating like she was hungry, so I opened a fresh can of her preferred flavor of food, and she ate a good amount of that. So she's doing well. She is hiding under the covers at the moment.

I made notes today at each rest stop of the things I want to write about, but I don't think I could do them justice tonight. I'll catch you up on the trip experiences after I get to Dad's, but here's tomorrow's route information:

Sunday will be my shortest day - 350 miles, estimated at 5 hours and 37 minutes. I'll be on I-64 the whole way to Grayson, at the eastern side of Kentucky. And my room is supposed to come with a whirlpool tub! Definitely soaking tomorrow night!

Monday I'll have a choice to make. There's a long stretch of toll road that I was planning to avoid, but the alternatives look like a lot of work without having someone to navigate. I was on a toll road for a while today, and it was nice and only cost $2.50 for the whole way (take THAT, E-470!)! So I'll do a little research tonight, and if you have any advice I'd appreciate it. The stretch is in West Virginia, from Charleston down through Beckley on I-77.

And I will write about the trip itself - as I said, I'm making notes so I don't forget!

Catch you later -
Linda

Travels with a Diabetic Cat: Part 1

I'm driving to Raleigh, NC, to be with my dad while he has a knee operation and during his recovery. I'm taking the diabetic cat, Punkin, with me, because Loren doesn't do needles. I'm glad to have her - I've felt cat-deprived when I have traveled without a cat.

It's a long trip - 1698 miles (when you avoid toll roads), and estimated at 29 hours of driving. It will take me a little longer, because I have to stop to care for the cat every 2 to 3 hours. I have it split up into 4 days of driving.

Today I drove from home to Salina, Kansas, 440 miles, estimated at 7 hours and 37 minutes. I took Hwy 24 east to Hwy 94, then took I-40 up to I-70. Once I got out of Colorado Springs, there was almost no traffic. When I-40 split off from Hwy 287, it was EMPTY. Good roads, too. There was a little more traffic when I joined I-70, but it's two lanes instead of one, so it didn't really matter. Not near as heavy as I would expect on a Friday afternoon.

It was great weather - overcast most of the day, but I could see blue sky around the clouds. Later it was just white, puffy clouds in a blue sky; when the landscape is mostly rolling golden hills, the sky really jumps out at you.

Stopped in Woodland Park for cash and fuel, then drove to Punkin Center (of course), for our first "Punkin stop". I had to pull her out of the carrier, but then she walked around the car a little before going back into the carrier. She didn't drink any water or eat any canned food, but did eat a handful of crunchies over the course of the day. Didn't use the catbox while we were in the car, either, but did finally at the hotel (whew!). I stopped 3 more times during the day - at Cheyenne Wells and at a couple of rest stops.

Saw 2 quail - one ran across the road in front of me at the eastern edge of Colorado, and another was flying low next to the road a few miles into Kansas. First time I've seen wild quail before.

As I drove farther east, I noticed more and more green fields. The oil wells I saw were all pumping. I saw a small herd of deer trying to get through a fence into a last-year's cornfield. Why didn't they just jump it? I don't know, but they were nosing around the fence wires. Silly deer.

I drove past a wind farm, with those huge, silent windmills. I don't know why I love those things so much! They are just so other-worldly. The sun was very close to the horizon, and the shadows the windmills made on themselves were a work of art.

When there are no mountains, the sun makes LOONNNGGG shadows.

Once we got to the hotel, Punkin first tried to find a way between the bed and the wall (two of the three pillows on my bed took care of that problem), then crawled under the bedspread. I had to pull her out to test her blood, and then she ate (again, a few crunchies, but no water or canned food) and did her business. She's back under the bedspread, but she knows where everything is and seems to be comfortable, just a little stressed. She was SO good during the trip - didn't really start talking to me until we were about ½ hour away from Salina! I'll check her hydration tomorrow before we leave. If I have to, I'll force some water down her with an eyedropper (yes, I have some with me), but hopefully she'll relax enough tonight to drink some on her own.

I can recommend the Econolodge in Salina, KS. Nice room, nice people, great Mexican restaurant next to the office. And the best price of the three hotels I reserved for my trip!

Tomorrow (Saturday) I'm headed for Mt. Vernon, Illinois. I'll stay on I-70 through the rest of Kansas, through Missouri, and then at St. Louis switch over to I-64. Oh, Joy - Kansas City and St. Louis in one day! Oh, well. At least it's a weekend, so I shouldn't have to deal with rush hour. Saturday is my longest day - 499 miles, estimated 8 hours and 19 minutes. Guess I'd better get some rest, huh? The hotel I'll be at tomorrow is a Drury Inn, and they serve free food and drinks in the evenings - hopefully I'll get there in time to get some!

I'll post more later in the trip!