Nomads, days 29 and 30 (10/2/2023)

Day by day we are getting closer to home. Albeit relatively slow going, on average we are driving 350 or so miles each day. At the end, soon, I will write an overview/opinion piece on this “more than a month trip in a camper the size of a large hotel van.” But then first, stay tuned for my next entry for a plot twist. First things first:

Day 29: Lee’s Summit (MO) – Tipton – Jefferson City – St. Louis – Rend Lake (near Mt. Vernon, IL)

Day 30: Rend Lake (MO) – Mt. Vernon – Evansville (IN) – Morehead (KY) – Ashland (KY)

Both days were crazy, but in particular on day 30, we drove 420 miles, had a side trip to Evansville, and we lost an hour going from Illinois into Indiana and Kentucky. What technically would be a 6-hour drive, puts you 7 hours later at your destination. On that day we had a nice breakfast at the Cracker Barrel in Mt. Vernon, where we also looked for a wool store in town that appears no longer exist, followed by the need to restock our dogfood, literally put is on the road a little after 11 (or 12 noon Kentucky time). At the Cracker Barrel we finally saw evidence what is reported, you are allowed to camp in their parking lot.  A side jog and visit to that wool store in Evansville and grocery shopping in Morehead resulted in the fact that we reached our destination around 8 pm that day, leaving little time to enjoy our destination and forcing us to eat dinner in the dark or by the one plug in lights we have and the two battery operated lanterns. We also have and old USB Christmas light strand that we plug in for atmosphere; however, it does not contribute much to ambient light. Now, the KOA in Ashville wasn’t the greatest KOA we ever visited, although we did not have the time to explore it and the surroundings. Message to self: “Better planning recommended.”

Let’s return to day 29. We took US Route 50 to Jefferson City and the interstate highway after that. We passed through some cute towns including Sedalia (“This is a cute town; hey, look a home for sale”). Just outside Sedalia we found a Dutch Sandwich and Bulk Food Shop. Bulk did not refer to folks trying to bulk up your waistline, but those sandwiches were humongous and eating a few of those would put some bulk on you. Remember, Dutch refers to Pennsylvania-Dutch and has very little to do with the country I originated from. Anyway, a wonderful ham sandwich later we were on the road again. We hit St.Louis right around 4:30 pm.

The camping at Rend Lake, an hour away into Illinois was strange but actually, ok. It seems to be a state owned or operated site. Their website mentions first come-first service camping, but there is none. They squeeze you into an already reserved site where no one is. Our site had no running water. The camp host was difficult to find, the rest rooms were not very clean, so it felt awkward. However, it is at a great location. It cost us $20 per night (we stayed one night) and I can imagine why some folks just park their motorhome or trailer there for the entire summer. It would make a stay $140 a week, which is less than the average one-night stay in a motel room for us (remember we have to pay for the dogs to stay in a motel room, as well).

In all, I have little to report since they were driving days. I’ll discuss more about our experiences, camp hosts and alike in my summary posts, a few days from now. But first we need to end this adventure. Stay tuned.

Breakfast at the Lee's Summit campground, operated by the county.  It was a great place and only cost $20 

A quick stop on the way for a brief walk at Knob Noster State Park (MO), we absolutely needed to take care of the needs of our pouches as well

The sandwich shop in Tipton (MO)

A visitor (banded tiger moth) in our van during the evening in Ashville (KY)

Nomads, day 15 (9/19/2023)

We have arrived in Long Beach, our intended destination. We have come here to watch our daughter get ordained as a Unitarian Universalist minister. I have no idea how long we will stay here. But let’s continue with the correct sequence of events.

Day 15: Henderson (NV) – Las Vegas – Barstow (CA) – Long Beach

Days 16, 17 and 18: Long Beach and the Los Angeles area.

The trip from our latest stopping point to Long Beach was interesting and uneventful at the same time. We left the hotel as soon as possible! Here, I came up with one observation: while the setup of the van makes sense and is good, we need to devise a better way of moving things from the van into a motel room or now into our daughter’s home. Yes, I get a lot of steps on my Fitbit walking back and forth between our van and the intended place of domicile for the night, but it all seems somewhat inefficient if you decide not to sleep in the van that night. We have our clothes in bins and when staying overnight in a motel room, I only need our toothbrushes, one piece of underwear, a clean T-shirt, etc. You get the message I assume. We still sleep with the same clothes on as at the time we were born.

After what had inevitably become to be, our regular breakfast of a McMuffin meal with coffee, we decided to go for broke and visit the famous Las Vegas Strip. It took us a half hour drive in morning commuter traffic to get there. However, we were treated with the sights we were somewhat expecting. The van we are driving has the advantage that you sit higher, and you can look over all the vehicles. It was a great vantage point. There was a lot of construction and traffic on the strip, so we inched from one end of the strip to the other. The benefit was that the driver (me) had plenty of chances to look around as well. The electronic billboards, the famous casinos, the tourists, and even the occasional person sitting on the curb, acting as if he was completely out of it, broke after gambling, drunk or with a hangover at 9 in the morning was fun to see. After hearing so much about the famous strip, it did not disappoint.

Leaving Las Vegas put us on Interstate 15, all the way to LA. Starbucks on the way, and by the time we left Nevada for California my Google Maps told me there was an accident somewhere down the road. We were passed by a screaming police vehicle and soon thereafter we got the reminder why not purchase one of these super big campers (at least the size of a big bus) that fit behind a monster truck. We finally got to see what one of those campers looked like from underneath. The camper was on its side on the shoulder of the highway. The truck that was pulling it was upright, but it looked like it had been on its side as well. The airbags had been deployed and when we drove by, I could see the driver trying to deflate them.

The remainder of the drive was fascinating. We just descended and descended from a plateau that was above 4000 feet to approximately 700 feet in elevation. It got progressively hotter, and the vegetation became sparser; we encountered large areas covered in sand. Looking on the map we could see we were entering the beginnings of what was to become Death Valley further to the northwest. We never actually entered Death Valley; we skirted it; however, this low area already seemed very inhospitable and an eerie reminder of what we could have encountered had we gone there. In Barstow we stopped for dog food at the local Tractor Supply, which was much larger than our local one at home. Lunch at the outlets near Barstow and on the road again, now with Long Beach as destination on our GPS. Our lunch spot (at Chipotle) was interesting. We sat outside with the dogs, and we were surrounded by house sparrows that were begging for handouts. Radar was really interested in the little birds and tried to shoe them away.

Back up in the hills to finally descend into the L.A. basin. As we dove down a layer of smog or maybe thicker polluted air and the L.A. highway system welcomed us. The highways were all that they were made out to be, very crowdy and congested. Thank goodness we were able to utilize the carpool lane having 2 individuals in the van.

We arrived in one piece after a 16-day trip. In the next post I will describe some of our adventures while residing in the Long Beach and L.A. area. We are now slowly starting to plan our trip back home. I think we will be somewhat happy to drive up our street, to stick the key in our front door and start planning some new (van-based) adventures.

Not in order of our trip this time.  We have arrived!

Joshua trees in the Mojave Desert 

Las Vegas strip

Las Vegas strip

October travels and what's next (10/24/2022)

While I have been (or will be) teaching three different weeks this month, I only had one overnight trip. One trip was to Hampton, approximately 20 minutes from my home, and I am going to Richmond this week. Richmond is my home office, and although it is an hour and twenty minutes’ drive, I am not allowed to stay overnight, at least not on the boss. However last week I spent some time in Portsmouth, which is technically closer to home, but further away from the office.  Moreover, the traffic here in the Hampton Roads could make the commute 2 hours although it ordinarily may take only 35 or 40 minutes.  Hence, the need to stay overnight at that side of the tunnel. 

The Portsmouth class was not scheduled. We had some turnover at work, and I needed to pinch hit as you might call it. So, I spent 3 days helping to teach Erosion and Sediment Control Plan Review, a course I used to teach a lot, seven or more years ago. Naturally at the end of the day I need to come down and try some of the microbreweries on the path to my hotel, the Hilton in Suffolk. Both breweries were new to me.

On the first day I tried the MoMac brewing company. The beer is decent and the guy behind the bar was talkative which was great. I really enjoyed their Schwartz Beer. Their IPAs tastes good. All fine. It was here that I received the word that the assistant brewer from MoMac will becoming the brew master at one of my favorite microbreweries in my area: Capstan.

The second day was at Harbor Trail Brewing Company, not far from MoMac. Harbor Trail seems to be a very young establishment (3 months old), but boy, I love their black IPA and their regular IPA was good too. The girlfriend of the soon to-be new Capstan brew master was behind the bar, and he popped in as well, so I had a great time. Having to drive to the motel after teaching a full day, I don’t dare to drink much more than one beer and a small taster of the other.

This post serves a quick update on two breweries and my travels this month, so no literary masterpiece again. I have three more trips planned for November and December. Next month it will be Winchester and in December I will be going to Virginia Beach and back to Lynchburg. That will do it for the year. I am looking forward to Winchester. I have not been there since before COVID and I love strolling downtown and eating at some of the restaurants. Pre-COVID (four or so years ago) there wasn’t really a nice microbrewery with a good atmosphere in town (or at least I don't remember them). I remember two pizza joints with their own beer, but hopefully they have gone up in the world. I will report out.  Weather permitting, I tend to stop for a walk/hike either at Sky Meadows State Park or the State Arboretum, on the way out there.  I really love those two places.

At least there will be plenty to report about the other two towns. So, stay tuned my friends, the quest for the perfect microbrew, restaurants and just travel will continue.

The Schwarz Beer at MoMac was really tasty.  The had two IPAs that they would like you to compare.  Skeeter Juice and one for the Aussie name of mosquitos (Mozzie Juice).  Interestingly for me, I could only taste the Mozzie Juice which is made with Australian Hops on the tip of my tongue and no where else in my mouth.  I never had that with any other food or beverage.  A strange experience.

A view from the bar at Harbor Trail Brewing.  I really like this place.  Google maps had a difficult time putting me here since it is on a corner of an intersection.  Again some good beer here!

Climate change alarm bells are going off (11/27/2019)

It was again in the newspaper today, we are experiencing a climate change crises, or better a global warming crises.  The United Nations issued their report on Tuesday November 26, it seems, which tells us that during the past decade the global average temperature has already risen 1 degree Celsius or for us non metric stone-age folks 1.8 degrees Fahrenheit.  Moreover in the age of Trump the CO2 emissions in the USA last year have increased 2.7%.  This seems to be a reversal from what we were trying to do under the Obama administration of reducing greenhouse gas emissions.  This alone should be reason for impeachment, if not by us, at least by our children or by the unborn children he is trying to protect to gain brownie points with the religious crowd.  But is seems, they be damned once they are born.

My wife and I were discussing whether it would behoove us to eat more vegetarian.  But then I was thinking, living here in Virginia would it be better for the environment to eat tofu produced in California or chicken and pork slaughtered here in Virginia?  Yes, those animals eat plant based food and produce a lot of waste.  However, the transportation cost from farm to my dinner plate surely must be less and thus the energy to transport them.  This is an interesting debate to have with yourself and to question with everything you do.  I really think we have to live more purposefully; make decisions in our every day life, with the environmental end in mind; and be concerned about leaving a livable planet for future generations.

A colleague of mine bought a large property with a home on it that might not be the mansion that many of us would want to live in.  It is a simple home; however, like her handle on Instagram which includes the word "homesteader", she and her husband decided to make is a homestead and try to become independent to some extent.  The first year they were there, they raised chickens for the slaughter, planted a garden, which did not do very well (the soil was to heavy), planted an orchard, all the fish in their pond died, but they had fun trying to find solutions and at least make a start.  I really think this may be a way of fighting the global climate change crisis, grow things locally and if you grow enough, maybe you can sell some of it at a farmer's market or barter.  She chronicled it all on Instagram.  Granted she is not there yet.  A lady down the street seems to want to do the same on her half acre lot.

I myself, what am I doing?  Our yard is wooded, and our vegetable garden is somewhat of a failure since it is mostly in the shade and we are still working stiffs.  I promised myself that I would revive it when I retire.  We try to heat with wood whenever we can, don't use fertilizer or pesticides.  For the rest we do eat vegetarian one or two days a week (no tofu form California though).  I bake my own honest bread.  Can we do better in battling global warming?  I am sure we can.  I would love to put solar cells on our roof; however that would mean cutting trees, which would raise the internal temperature in the house in summer (more air conditioning?).  On top of that, mature trees take out more CO2 out of the air than lawns or smaller trees or young trees.  It is all a question of alternatives.

I just love the profile of this tree on Yorktown Beach.  Again, trees are very productive in removing CO2 and other pollutants from the air. 

But again folks, we need to be aware of what is going on.  We are so close to that point of no return.  The UN says global emissions need to fall by 7.6% starting in 2020 to meet the Paris climate accord.  And then to see we increased it by more than 2.5% last year.  Let's resolve to live purposefully and as I mentioned in one of my posts, "Plant a tree" and consider climate change in our every day decisions, from eating to sleeping.

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

Is age really just a number? (12/13/2018)

I have been feeling my mortality lately. Not that I am sick or have been diagnosed with anything, but just because I am getting older. But then aren’t we all getting older? Every day we are getting a day older; a day closer to death. The newspaper obituaries are replete with folks younger than me. I brush them aside as accidents, suicides and unhealthy people. Having turned the magical six five or better 65 earlier this year, it feels different. We really downplayed the event, no big parties; my wife or family did not even throw me a surprise birthday party. The day passed like any other day; I even went to work on my birthday. However, eventually, the Friday evening after my birthday, my father-in-law treated me to a fancy dinner to our favorite restaurant where we had a great dinner for three. The day after my birthday I was 65 and 1 day; I did not even have a hangover. One of the problems always is that my birthday falls on or around Father’s Day weekend. It is more a family weekend, not conducive to big parties, I guess.

Oh well, enough belly aching. Why now? Coming out of a day-long workshop I gave this week I had a car crash. Yes, it was my fault; I pulled away from a stop sign (after a full stop), obviously did not see the car coming from the left (there was a snow bank that was obscuring my view and the lady that hit me was obviously speeding); however, I do not think that ten years ago when I started this gig I was this exhausted after a full day of teaching. I solo teach, and standing on my legs for six hours, being on all the time, thinking, talking and answering questions is a lot of work. It takes a lot out of me. I have noticed that I am more tired the older I get and that my recovery time is getting longer. I am often still tired the day after teaching a full day or often two days in a row. Also knowing that my parents did not make it much past their mid 70-s, makes you wonder if your days are numbered and what the hell you are doing still working and putting yourself out there on the road, after a full day of teaching, increasingly in danger of getting hurt in an accident.

A google search tells me the following about the age at which we humans peak at certain things:

• The ability to learn a second language: 7 to 8 
• Sexually: Men 17, Women 35 
• Brain processing: 18 
• Remembering names: 22 
• Life satisfaction: 23 and again at 69 
• Strength: 25 
• Metabolism and heart rate: Early adulthood 
• Fastest marathon: 28 
• Bone and bone structure: 30 to 35 
• Remembering faces: 32 
• Focus: 43 
• Arithmetic skills: 50 
• Understanding people’s emotions: 51 
• Vocabulary skills: 71 
• Happiness with your body: 74 
• Psychological wellbeing: 82 

Looking at the list, my ability to focus has been going down since I was 43; and let’s not talk about my sex life (peaked at 17? I wish I realized that back then and capitalized on it). Moreover, based on my genetics, I may never reach nirvana or psychological wellbeing. Although, maybe finally I’ll be happy with my body before I die. So be it! But age is only a number, and as you see, these are only numbers. 

This is what makes me happy: Forest bathing.  Being out in the woods, exploring, visiting some of my favorite trees.  This is where I find solace with life, with my age and the world.

My mortality was brought even more to the foreground by the accident. It all happened in a flash, I never saw the car coming, I did not even saw it when it hit me, maybe just a flash. Yes, she obviously drove very fast. But still, I get the blame and I will keep wondering if my age contributed to it; am I loosing my ability to focus? Maybe. The statistics tell me I am, but then I learned you can also lie with statistics (what was that about something peaking at 17?). 

I often wish there was a way to slow down the aging process. There are so many things I want to experience, explore and to see or do in this world. Many have tried to slow aging down, no one has succeeded. This blog post has no solutions, I am sorry. Accept aging gracefully? I’ve always thought: “Hell no!” Some folks say calorie deprivation will allow you to live to the biological predestined age of humans which is around 120. They even claim that living this way of eating very few calories and starving yourself can be fun and enjoyable. I am not sure what planet they come from, but torture is not my way of having fun. Others say slightly overweight is good. Now I like that!

On the other hand, the problem is that my skeleton is slowly starting to refuse to cooperate; my knees hurt, my back is stiff, I get tired quicker and my recovery time is longer. They call it the regular wear and tear on the body. I feel like I am becoming that middle-aged lump of coal on the couch. This is also torture and I know that my weight and lack of exercise will only make this worse in the long run. Folks around me have (early) Alzheimer or other forms of dementia. They are older than me, but I realize I have less of a focus, sometimes more difficulty remembering names. That makes me wonder and it bothers me too. 

I use this picture in my classes as an example that old guys can be strong, or old ideas can still be valid.

Sorry for bitching about my age young readers of mine. Hopefully you too will hit it one of these days. It will creep up and all the sudden it will hit you right smack in the face, as with me. You are getting old! Then you will try the excuse “age is just a number” while your colleagues at work announce: “you are older than my father” (or my mother/parents)!

On Environmental Sustainability (8/11/2015)

On April 1, we premiered a new class that I developed on the use of plants in erosion and sediment control and stormwater management.  When we announced the class it was still in the design stage and I had hoped it would have even more emphasis on native plants than it did; but looking through all the materials on the books, I felt there was such a tremendous need for a more comprehensive approach to the use of plants and planting that it quickly became a much broader class for people reviewing construction plans and inspecting construction sites (and that from someone not formally schooled in landscape architecture or planning).  Honestly, I am still not sure I cover the entire issue, but what can you do in a six hour class?

It is well recognized that with the increased population throughout the U.S., there is a tremendous pressure on the natural (land) resources.  The cartoon below illustrates this very well.  I use it very often in my classes.

This is actually a sad cartoon, but I think this cartoon is applicable wherever you live: Yorktown, Richmond, or even Dallas (TX).  I have this nagging feeling that we are allergic to moving into the inner-city or older homes and renovating them, but that we all want that new home out in the suburbs, away from what we would consider riffraff.  With it of course comes abandoned buildings, increased city blight, urban sprawl, traffic jams, road rage, and environmental degradation, just to name a few negatives.  The great exception I have seen lately is Cincinnati where we visited in April this year.  Boy what a difference 15 years make, people are finally moving back into town and it has become so vibrant.  I am sure there are other examples as well.

A photograph I took in Over the Rhyn in Cincinnati in April.  The area has been revitalized; all kind of small independent shops and even small chains have moved in, and is an amazing place to hang out. When we lived in Cincinnati more than 15 years ago you would not go to this area.

The photo below shows an example of what I mean when I write about the move to the suburbs and urban sprawl.

Built three (3) years ago, the grass had a hard time getting established in this yard, after the soil was abused during the building process.  This yard had 40 to 50 year-old trees and shrubs growing in it.  They were all cleared in favor of grass (they left those three trees against the fence, or did they misjudge the property line when clearing the site?).  We have been walking by this yard for three years wondering what landscaping they were going to add, but you guessed it.  You can see the surrounding yards where the neighbors left some of the trees.  In addition to being an ecological desert, this house has no shade and I am sure their air conditioning bills are much higher than my home which is surrounded by trees.

I am sure this is a well built home; it was was built three years ago in an infill lot in our neighborhood.   Previously it was a wooded lot with mature trees that were at least 45 years old.  The site was completely cleared or as I called it in my classes "nuked," and just seeded with grass.  That's all!  To me this yard has absolutely zero ecological, biological, or environmental value.  It is a biological desert!  Before this one small infill lot was the home to birds, snakes, frogs, salamanders, turtles, insects, raccoons, rabbits, opossums, mice, etc., and now, I don't think even a bird would want to live in that yard.  Let's not talk about aesthetically value as well.  Boy, can I be any blunter?  But it is not only this house, I see it everywhere.

But you still see this everywhere, a forested track gets cut, turned into a subdivision with 5- to 10-acre lots that are all completely turned into lawn with no trees or when there are trees growing on it they are introduced and have very little ecological value for native animals such as birds and other critters.  Moreover, we fertilize and chemically treat the lawns so that they become net exporters of chemicals and pesticides, while in the past the forests that were growing there absorbed all the chemicals and exported oxygen, clean air and life.

We have a choice how we treat the land don't we?  Even when we want to live in the suburbs.  Landscaping can be done responsibly with humans and all the critters in mind.  I am sure that the people in the home of the photograph above did not choose this landscape with the thought of intentionally messing (or f...ing) up nature, but they obviously did not know any better; do no have the resources; cannot be bothered; are taking the easy way out; or in the worst case have no pride (I am sure you can come up with a few more reasons).

Steve Allison writes that we choose the world we create in our landscaping decisions; it is not only an ethical decision, but of course also a financial and often a maintenance decision as well.  But the question remains: why not do the best for the environment?  I understand that from a builder's/developer's perspective that there is a profit motive; we all need to make a living; and yes I am generalizing here, but I would like to see more people who are proud of their work and more concerned about future generations.  Money is not the end all; actually in the end we can not take it with us any way, but we can leave a legacy of a great ecologically sound landscape for future generations.  I know I am generalizing here; however, I also know there are people who are proud of their work.  I have met them and it was fun working for and with them.

In many of the books and reports that I read, I am told that we humans have reached the level where we are changing the world's environment.  We are the only species on the earth that can do this, all others have to adapt to the environment.  So instead of only changing it for the worst, why not try to change it for the better, or at least try not to have any impact at all?  Yes, we need to build and live, but let's do it with nature instead of against nature.

Shawsville (7/24/2014)

Taught two courses at different sides of the state this week.  Kind of like a traveling salesman.   I drove to Fairfax on Tuesday evening after having an MRI of my head (boy that was a different experience).  The MRI itself was absolutely not as bad as everybody had warned me about.  But then, I am convinced that all my yoga practice helped with it.  Shavasana really helped.

Then it was down to Wytheville after a full day of teaching in Fairfax.  I left around 4 pm on Wednesday and got in around 9 that evening.  After teaching again on Thursday I stayed overnight to recuperate and took it easier going back on Friday.   By taking it easier I mean not going 8 or 10 miles an hour over the speed limit, trying to make some time, kind of in the frame of mind of "hurry up to relax."  This probably is a contradiction, and I am not sure if it works anyway; you area kind of wired after a five hour rat race on the interstate at 80 mph.  So on the way back I made sure that I consistently only exceeded the speed limit by 4 miles per hour (if that) and I actually got off the highway for a while.

So I got of the interstate in Christiansburg and actually rode highway 11 down the mountain.  Highway 11 is a nice twisty (down the) mountain road that is actually really quiet with some nice vistas.  I am sure it does not put many extra miles on the vehicle but it is away from the rat race of the interstate.  I took the picture below in Shawsville. No idea what I took a picture of, but is was a pretty farm building.  Wikipedia does not tell me much about Shawsville either; although I am sure it has a rich history, in addition to being wiped out by the Shawnee Indians in 1756.

Eventually I got back on the highway and joined the rat race back to Richmond.

One of the things I taught my students Thursday was "to think outside the box," while understanding that most of the time they will need to enforce the law and regulations.  Yes, there may still be times that they can, may and even should improvise, even though they are restrained by those darn laws and regulations.

Think outside the darn box!

Well that's what Friday felt like.  I think it felt like that for everyone; for me, kind of obeying the speed limit and getting of the main road and driving the back roads, at least for a little bit.  For other it seemed that they were all living in the left lane on Friday.  It was amazing here I was driving 70 (which was the speed limit) and I was passing people in the right lane.  I even had people moving over to the right to let me pass and then more back to the left lane.  It was so bad that I adapted the Beatles tune Yellow Submarine into "We all live in the left lane."  Guess even they were thinking outside the box, but I'm not sure if that was the right thing to do.  We learn in traffic school that most fatalities happen in the left lane (but that would be thinking inside the box).  Oh well.

Getting back to Richmond, even a transformer thought outside the box.  It seemed that it exploded underground, just outside our offices.  All traffic lights were out and our building only had emergency lights and was evacuated.  Dropped the car off and continued my road trip home.  A busy week indeed.

Norfolk (6/26/2014)

I was teaching in Norfolk on Thursday and driving back home that afternoon I had a stroll through memory lane.  See, I used to work in Norfolk and Virginia Beach and had to travel back every afternoon.  It is my understanding that the traffic in the Hampton Roads is the fifth worst in the country,  Actually we locals call it the great cul-de-sac: two tunnels going to what we call the south side and you can literally drive a circle.  In one tunnel and back through the other.
Well, the tunnels start backing up around 3 pm and going home yesterday afternoon, there was a 6.5 mile backup to the tunnel  Just like the good old days when I did this every day.  Back then, I figured out which of the two lanes goes consistently faster, and darn things have not changed there as well.  It also reminded me of the other blog post I wrote on traffic issues.
The trip home also made me think of that one time when my flight was diverted from Newport News Airport to Norfolk and we had to take a shuttle back to Newport News.  We were with three passengers: a lady 5 or 10 years younger than me, a U.S. Army soldier in his early 20-s, and me.  When approaching the tunnel and going down towards the hole the soldier panicked and actually opened the van door and was ready to jump out of the vehicle (we were driving 30 or 40 mph).  I was sitting in the front seat, so I could not do much, but the lady grabbed the soldier, pulled him back into the van and held him like a baby through the tunnel.  The poor kid had just flown in from Houston and never seen a tunnel before, and going under the water terrified him.  I still often wonder whatever happened to him.  In addition, I wondered if I should feel safe knowing he was defending our country.  Oh well.
I took two pictures going into the tunnel on Thursday.  The first shows the approach and actually a boat that was about to cross the tunnel overhead.  I love the approach when a boat or a submarine goes over the tunnel.  The second was somewhat enhanced by Google, but this was about the point where our soldier panicked, opened the door, took his seat belt off and had one foot out of the door, when the lady pulled him back.

Stress free in Northern Virginia (5/27/2014)

This week I am in northern Virginia or what they call NOVA.  The trip up north was interesting as always.  The roads were crowded, and of course there was an accident on I-95.  So here I was sitting in a backup thinking about the radio show I heard this morning.  In an interview with Dr. Amit Sood about living without stress he spoke about being in a traffic jam and thinking of people you are thankful of, for being in your life.  I really think that would help a lot; why even bother yourself with people who are potentially toxic to you?  At work you already have to deal with people you cannot choose, so in your private life, concentrate on those people who contribute to your well being; be thankful for them and concentrate on what it is about them that makes you happy.  Quit obsessing about those people that bother you.  Life is too short! 

Well, in the traffic jam I was able to take this (horrible) picture by sticking my phone out of the window and shoot this image of the traffic jam, so symbolic of all the crap and toxicity that can jam up a person's mind.  To me this was particularly important, after a weekend of murders, such as the guy in Santa Barbara, California who had his mind poisoned by his inability to attract women.  As a father of a daughter and a husband I am very disturbed about the increased violence against women, but also of any other hate crime.