Monthly Archives: August 2012

The goal of setting sail for France seemed so far away, even impossible, as we traveled 3,500+ miles in our CRV, packed to the rooftop, to reach the Queen Mary 2. France seemed like a dream from some other era, and only the day-to-day realities of travel and family reunions. Yet despite all anxieties, our long months of preparations paid off and we successfully received SweetPea’s health certificate and boarded the QM2 at 2pm on Aug. 28th!!  The ship sailed from Brooklyn harbor at 5pm, and SweetPea met all six of her kennel mates, had supper and bedded down for the night.  We had our first dinner on board and met our four table mates from Australia and the UK, and settled happily into a stateroom with view of the open ocean.  The ship is HUGE.  There’s only a light chance that I’ll find my way around in the 7 days we’ll be on board.

Already Ken has played golf on a simulator, was pegged as a “ringer” and will enter a competition in coming days.  Hunter and Irene Lott had prepared us well by taking to to play the beautiful & difficult course at the Wilmington Country Club last Thursday, and we were also able to play twice in Connecticut, once with Todd & Jack Armstrong, Karen’s nephew and great nephew.

With any luck, I’ll be able to upload some great photos from this past week, but right now it’s a little difficult.  So this will suffice for now to say WE MADE IT!  to the ship, anyway, and are headed for Southampton and on to France.

If home is where the heart is, then we’ve been at home in all of these 13 states we’ve crossed on our quest to reach the Queen Mary 2 by next Tuesday morning (August 28). Having crossed the deserts and mountains of California, Nevada, Arizona, Utah, and Colorado, we reached the safe shelter of home with Karen’s sister Robin to celebrate her birthday on August 13th.

In recent years, Karen has found that she is strongly affected by altitude, even if just driving over 10,000 ft. passes, as we did on the way into mile-high Boulder – But the beauty of the Rockies and the pleasure of being with family outweighed the small discomforts of adjusting to altitude.

Time was too short in Boulder, but with many more miles to go, we headed out across the high plains to Ken’s sister Cathy & husband Barry’s home in Topeka, KS where we were treated with wonderful BBQ and relaxation. The next morning we headed out through Missouri & Iowa.  *Note to self as we stopped for a break midway across Iowa:  August 15th, 2203 miles completed with about 1,000 more to go. It’s the sound of the cicadas in the woods that defines this place in our passage. No photo could capture the feeling so well.

Traveling north we enjoyed a one-night stop just north of Chicago with Ken’s sister Debbie, husband Mike, & nephew Justin (Dave’s son) who all whipped up some great enchiladas for us. So much catching up to do and so little time!

Early the next morning we headed out to Lansing, MI, crossing Indiana briefly. A long weekend in Lansing and Bay City, MI two hours north, brought us together with four generations of the Smokoska family.

As we packed up to leave Lansing on Aug. 20th a good omen appeared in the form a brilliant red cardinal, who sat for a moment on our side rear-view window, resting with us, then bidding us god-speed for the final leg of the trip across the U.S.

Crossing Ohio into PA, we spent a fun evening with Ski and Lenora Embrowski in Butler – old family friends from military service days in Madrid, Spain. They’ve been married 61 years and their love continues to burn bright. They gave us a very warm home away from home, indeed.

With only three states and one week to go before sailing day, we are enjoying much needed rest days in Pennsylvania. SweetPea is traveling well. She’s a model for staying flexible & adaptable in old age. I’m taking notes.

No more counting . . . We’ve done the impossible . . . loaded all our essentials, including SweetPea, into the CRV and headed out of SLO yesterday, the 10 Aug., to begin the cross-country trek that will bring us to the Queen Mary 2 in Brooklyn Harbor on August 28.  It seems unreal.  There are too many bags, it all weighs too much, and somehow we’ll make it work.

Linda is moving in today; will she master the art of the tractor? of the TV remotes? of the irrigation system?  Well – Linda is a master of the art of building community, and there’s no doubt she will love our home as we do and bring together friends and neighbors to fill the place with joy and liveliness.

France seems so far away in the midst of the realities of travel across the western deserts. Yesterday it was about 115 degrees F. as we approached Las Vegas.  Cars tires were shredding in the heat, and engines overheating. We found a wonderful respite in St. George, UT at The Seven Wives Inn, with a little cottage of our own

and chickens in the yard.

Today we made our way through Zion National Park, spectacular mesas, checkerboard & honeycomb rock formations, and moved all day through deep red, magenta, mauve, and ochre sandstone cliffs. Late in the day huge thunderhead clouds moved in from all directions. We beat them in to Grand Junction, CO and collapsed in a road-weary state in a Super 8 motel.

Tomorrow on to Boulder, CO and a birthday celebration for my sister, Robin, together with Gary her husband and my nephew Scott and his wife Sarah. From this point on we’ll be with family, both mine and Ken’s all the way until sailing time.