It's been surprisingly tricky to make time to write and reflect while everything is new and exciting all around me. I made notes along the way so I would remember all of the great experiences we have been having. This is going to be lengthy but enjoyable!
I left off with us heading to visit my mom. We spent a few days with her and my step dad around Middletown, New York, driving around the countryside which was dotted with Victorian mansions, large horse farms and apple orchards. We sought out a particular farm which we saw advertised in a local magazine called Dirt. This magazine is distributed freely in mailboxes around that region and features local food growers and tips about sustainable living. Such a great resource.
The farm we visited had produce galore, fresh eggs and even grew their own black beans. We wandered into a large barn which housed a walk-in fridge full of more produce and prepared meals and snacks made from the farm's own goods. They also hosted monthly local food dinners in the large, rustic dining room. My mom inquired as to whether their produce was organic. The owner explained that even with an organic certification, certain pesticides and herbicides are still "ok" to apply to crops and that they use no pesticides or herbicides at all on this farm. "So you're beyond organic then?" I asked. "Exactly." She answered.
Folks are trained these days to seek out an organic certification logo on their foods. Take it a step beyond that and get to know the people who are growing your food (or grow some yourself!). Challenge yourself to find a local farmers market or farm stand. In addition, you can join a CSA (community supported agriculture) group at a local farm, where you can participate in growing your food and get heaps of fresh produce each week all growing season!
Mid-week we booked a room in a hostel in Brooklyn, NYC, which was only an hour and a half away. We drove into the city after morning rush hour and checked into our hostel, which was actually a converted third floor apartment. It was cute and cozy and hosted young folks from around the world.
Outside, at our car we were approached by a man in his 60's who was a passenger in a large SUV. He asked in French if we spoke French and I said no (where did my french skills go from two years of French class in high school?) He pointed to our Canadian license plate and must have guessed we were French speaking. He got out of the vehicle and proceeded to tell us all about NYC, and Brooklyn in particular, in his thick foreign accent. He said the recent mayor had broken up the mafia and that it's now a much safer city, with less dismembered bodies in garbage bags. (Phew!) He did give us pointers on how to out-think anyone who may be trying to intimidate or assault us on the streets. Mind over matter. He said that he, too had traveled around the USA for 9 months in the 1960's after saving up for 5 years. Harvey was a tall, African man, native to Haiti and had lived in NYC for over 40 years. He was warm and cheerful and listening to him was like a scene from a novel. We had just listened to The Alchemist by Paolo Cohelo on CD (amazing story!) and this encounter was like a chapter from that story. We shook hands and thanked him for all of his wisdom and advice and proceeded to the bus station about 8 or 10 blocks away. For the first time in my life, I got a taste of what it was like to be the racial minority. We were the only Caucasian people as far as the eye could see. I suddenly had an even deeper respect for folks who are treated as unequal in much of North America. Racism is very much still happening all over the world and I can not understand it. I will write more about that another time. As we sat on the bus stop bench, about 45 minutes later, Harvey drove by and shouted and waved from the passenger seat of the SUV with a big grin on his face. Amazing that in a city of millions, he happened to find us twice. I suspect we were easy to spot.
NYC was wonderful and absolutely insane. I grew up very near there and made yearly trips with school to see Broadway plays and museums, and the US Open tennis tournament was an annual high school tennis team trip. However, I had never been in a passenger vehicle, as we always traveled by greyhound-style buses. It was madness. We were on constant high alert for wild drivers and daring pedestrians and cyclists. We spent an evening strolling in a fun neighborhood in Brooklyn called Williamsburg, and met up with some fellow Albertans. The following day, we trekked into the heart of the chaos and accidentally drove (extremely slowly, in a sea of vehicles) through Times Square. The art, music, fashion ad architecture are so unique in NYC. A feast for the senses. It was a short visit to NYC but a memorable one. We both decided spur-of-the-moment to get a permanent keepsake to remember this crazy journey.
After NYC, we spent a few days regrouping our energy and relaxed back in rural Pennsylvania with family and friends. We took my dad for a birthday brunch with some old friends at a beautiful B & B called The Settler's Inn. They had dozens of spectacularly carved jack o' lanterns decorating the place and it was so cozy and fall-like. We both bonded with my 7 year old nephew and we were all so sad to part. Can't wait to see him again.
We made our way down the east coast through Pennsylvania, Maryland and Virginia, down to a tiny place at the southern border of North Carolina's coast. This is where my mom has decided to retire with her beau. We have been here for several days and have enjoyed the beaches and balmy weather.
On our first day here, we walked several miles on the lovely Sunset Beach to a very unique place. A 1,300 acre wildlife preserve along the beach has been protected to assist in the successful hatching of loggerhead sea turtles. There are thousands of rolling sand dunes covered in tall native grasses and scruffy brush.
A mile from the nearest parking, just off the beach, marked by an American flag pole, on top of a dune, stands a lone mailbox. It reads "kindred spirit". Inside of it are several notebooks and pens. The notebooks are filled with mostly anonymous journal entries from thousands of global visitors. Based on the dates at the start and end of one journal, I would guess that there are hundreds of visitors each month. I paged through and saw hopes and wishes and even confessions. I was so moved by this concept. There was even a package of tissues in the box for the teary-eyed vagabond. I just about needed one. We left our own entries amongst the others and sat down on the weather-worn bench to take in the beauty of the Atlantic Ocean. What a perfect place for souls to come and recharge.
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