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Name: CW
Member since: 2008-03-06 16:31:48
Website URL: http://www.wampoline.com
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User comments

  1. Funky Cold Medina

    August 27th, 2010 at 1:51 pm

    @Jim Stacy
    Hi Jim! Thanks for your comment – it’s fun to look back and remember our trip across the country, it already seems like eons ago, but it was only last summer.
    Medina was definitely one of the highlights of our trip, and the comments we’ve had from area residents confirm our feeling that it is a very special place. Unfortunately we didn’t get to see any Shakespeare in the park while there – it was too short a visit (the problem with such an ambitious road trip!). But you can be sure the next time we plan to cross the country, we will make a stop in Medina!

  2. Are You Going to San Francisco?

    November 9th, 2009 at 2:19 pm

    Haha, nothing like a cliffhanger ending to keep you enthralled, right?
    I promise there will be a blog post forthcoming with all the juicy details. But I’ll give you a clue….we are still on the west coast, we haven’t budged in over 6 weeks. Seems like this is where we’ll be for a while, or at least, until the next roadmuse urge hits us…

  3. Seattle Bound

    September 7th, 2009 at 12:29 pm

    @AJ
    What, you didn’t get the email saying we’d be coming to live with you for a few months? Whoops…
    But seriously, thanks for the invite, we are looking forward to being in SF again and seeing our pals…As i said to someone yesterday, San Francisco is a place I just seem to keep coming back to, no matter where else the road might take me…

  4. Wide, Wide West

    September 5th, 2009 at 2:47 pm

    @Jill
    Yes, it is amazing – and we haven’t even explored one tenth of what’s out here. We’re in Montana today, leaving for Idaho, and won’t get much time in either place. As far as the people, well, if you saw the size of some of the trucks out here, you’d have reason to be afraid.

    But seriously, my interaction with people has been very limited, so I will just say this: it seems like the men are a lot taller, I mean really tall, and big in a lumberjack way. And it seems like there are millions of (very tall) teenagers hanging around everywhere (was there a baby boom here 17 years ago?)

    As far as politics go, I think it’s safe to say that not many people are mourning for Ted Kennedy out here. I saw a bumper sticker yesterday which said “So how’s that ‘hope’ and ‘change’ working out for you?” And we’ve gotten some comments about having a Mass. plate – nothing major, but I can tell we are seen as being from another world (and probably a world not very appreciated). Otherwise, people are very friendly, and I found some nice produce and bread at the local Albertsons’ supermarket. (But I question – not for the first time on this trip – how different my experience would be if I were black, or dark-skinned, and not white. It’s pretty monochromatic out here.)

  5. Corn Palace

    September 5th, 2009 at 1:08 am

    @Di
    I agree – I could never give up popcorn or corn chips, or corn on the cob, heck no! No, the corn itself is not evil, but the way it has been modified, like you said, and literally shoved down our throats over the years in just about every product from salad dressing to dessert. Michael Pollan catalogues all the places corn shows up in the american diet – and it is pretty scary. I mean, it’s EVERYwhere. This is the problem of letting one crop overrun any other, and creating such a massive surplus. Well, i could go on, but then i’d just be paraphrasing the whole book! You get the picture.
    Should be in San Francisco by mid-September – maybe we can have a roadmuse soiree somewhere when we get there?

  6. Corn Palace

    September 5th, 2009 at 1:07 am

    @Brenda
    Wow – thanks Brenda, your comment really made my day! (and week, and year!);-)

    Sometimes i wish I could just “be” on vacation, or in life, without the constant need to summarize and analyze and compare, contrast, etc (all those fun things we learned to do in high school english class!). But alas, this is how i’m wired – what makes for good prose does not always make for the most comfortable, enjoyable existence (certainly not always for my more laid-back traveling companions!). Anyway, i’m glad you are appreciating these musings, and i would love to publish them someday as part of a larger piece, who knows?

  7. Roadside Americana

    August 27th, 2009 at 1:24 pm

    Yes, the signage was wonderful. Love the colors, all that red! i think red is an underutilized color in today’s commercial graphics, especially fast food chains – there is usually so much orange (which i guess is because orange supposedly stimulates your appetite?). Or lots and lots of colors in a confusing mix. I like the simplicity of a “restrained pallette” like this one.
    I could go on and on! (Just visited the art museum in Minneapolis so i am totally visually cued in right now!)

  8. How To Camp, in 10 Simple, Easy To Remember Steps

    August 26th, 2009 at 12:24 pm

    @AJ
    You did understand that i was just trying to be funny, right? Of course we have lots of packets of instant oatmeal and dried fruit, etc etc (at least i think so, they are somewhere in the hidden recesses of that giant blue plastic tub…i’m gonna organize that today in fact..)

    Soaking dried fruit overnight is a good idea, although it does involve something called forethought, which is not our strong suit.. In the meantime i’ve learned to enjoy very watery instant coffee and even just water for breakfast, with a handful of almonds and an apple. Almost as effective as jogging at melting the pounds away!
    Anyway, thanks for the suggestions! And pass the cigar…;-)

  9. How To Camp, in 10 Simple, Easy To Remember Steps

    August 21st, 2009 at 1:38 pm

    Glad you enjoyed the post, i had fun writing it. The ironic thing is, I really do enjoy camping, and I find it worthwhile on so many levels, physically and mentally etc. But like most worthwhile endeavors, it takes a little more effort than the usual path of least resistance that we all fall into.

  10. Rain on the Road

    August 14th, 2009 at 1:44 pm

    @99
    I know, LOL…it’s like we are submitting comments to a committee or something!

  11. Rain on the Road

    August 14th, 2009 at 1:43 pm

    @Brenda
    Yes, would love to have you along, we are missing hanging out with friends on this trip! We could have some good cook-outs together under the stars…as long as you are OK with half-cooked, half-scorched food! (we are still getting our cooking system together for the trip).
    Didn’t bring the red bucket, LOL…i don’t know what happened to that thing. But Lottie is having lots of fun chewing on as many sticks as she wants (it’s like a stick paradise for her here). We had to leave the squeaking duck behind, BTW – my 2 1/2 years old nephew appropriated it, in spite of its being almost completely in tatters…

  12. Our Trip to the Inauguration

    January 29th, 2009 at 11:50 am

    Wow, thanks for all the comments everyone. We felt very lucky to be able to go to the event and enjoyed making a record of it to share with other people. Keep us in mind if you know of an event or happening that you or someone else would like documented here in the States – or if you have any ideas in general for roadmuse in 2009. Have camera, will travel!

  13. Our Trip to the Inauguration

    January 25th, 2009 at 3:38 pm

    Thanks Mags!! i know you were there with us in spirit. We loved getting your phone call from Paris while on the parade route! What a contrast – while you guys were drinking champagne under chandeliers we were shivering to death with bad Au Bon Pain coffee in our hands in the sterile streets of DC. Ha! But I have to say, it was such an overwhelmingly beautiful feeling to stand near so many people sharing the same sense of optimism and pride. Is this what it felt like to be an American in 1945? Or 1963?

  14. GALLERY

    October 8th, 2008 at 11:53 am

    p.s. Merilyn, glad you liked the alaska garden photos too. It was so wonderful to eat those turnips, i can still taste their fresh tang and crunchy sweetness. Who knew that Alaska was going to be in the news so much after we’d visited there in June?

  15. GALLERY

    October 8th, 2008 at 11:52 am

    Wow, thanks, Merilyn! we’re glad you appreciate our little blog endeavor. Yes, it was hand held, Cedric’s tiny Sony video camera, which fits in the palm of his hand. I agree that Obama’s speech was a bit canned for this event – I had the feeling that he hadn’t prepared anything personal for the folks in Manchester. Still, his presence in person is pretty overwhelming. I know people talked a lot about Bill Clinton’s charisma, but I never really understood it, or fell for it, myself. With Obama I guess i am “smitten” – even though I know he is only a human being, he just feels so much more “real” than any other political figure I can remember since Jimmy Carter. And that’s going back a ways!

  16. GALLERY

    September 23rd, 2008 at 10:48 am

    LOL – i hadn’t even thought of that, but you’re right, “Change we need” IS very Yoda-esque…And of course I couldn’t resist telling my Buddha joke to anyone within earshot at the rally: “The only thing constant is change…except when you need it for the bus!”

    Yes, it was pretty exhilerating to be that close to Obama, after seeing him for months on TV, or, more frequently, on a tiny YouTube screen. I’m not usually star-struck, but I have to admit that Obama is an exception. He just PULLS people to him, like a powerful magnet. Or a newborn baby. His energy is so clear and light, it’s hard to believe he is a 47-year-old politician, or even a man. I know that sounds corny (and i swear, I am not one to idolize people!) but when I was in his presence, all I felt was this incredible light and energy. And I wasn’t even doing any drugs! The only thing I can compare it to is certain musicians I’ve seen perform, but even then, when they are off-stage they often seem drained and uninspiring. Obama, on the other hand, seemed just as charismatic off-stage as he did on, maybe more so.

    I realize that personal charisma is not enough to lead our country out of debt, war, and despair. But surely it will be helpful, to mend fences with our allies and to create an environment in this country where political and cultural changes are even possible?