Typical Day on the Road

October 2007

< - September 07 - October - November - >

Oct. 1

A long day of office work for Kimberly and Dennis, while Zephyr is still in North Carolina. Then we treated ourselves to watching the film "Mean Girls", a hilarious comedy that, despite its touches of absurdity, is rooted in reality. The author of the book has started an organization to help prevent bullying among teens -- a problem which, as many people might forget, exists among girls as well as boys.

Oct. 2

Early this afternoon, we picked up Zephyr at the airport in Buffalo; then after a few hours at Borders, we returned to the airport to pick up his friend Libby, who flew in from San Francisco to spend a month touring with us. Yep, we're adopting a daughter for an entire month! (You may recall that Libby met up with us during our recent jaunts to California.)

Oct. 3

Met up with our other "daughter", Ellie, who took us to a Greek restaurant in Buffalo for breakfast. Then we said goodbye to her and started driving toward our next engagement. We stopped for the night in the New York town of Corning, spending the night near the famous Corning Glassware headquarters. We also took Libby on her first trip with us to a YMCA.

Oct. 4

Continued heading southeast, stopping at the same flying J as last week to dump and fill. We learned, much to our relief, that it had been their propane apparatus and not ours that was malfunctioning, and we were able to get the tank filled this time.

Stopped at Wilkes-Barre and had keys made at a Home Depot. (Libby had none for our vehicle and trailer, and Zephyr's set apparently was left in North Carolina.) Mission not entirely accomplished, as they made three attempts at one particular key and still didn't get it right, so we left after having spent enough time there already.

Stopped at a Trader Joe's, the first one we've seen in a while, and we always miss Ol' Joe.

Oct. 5

Two shows at Baker School in Moorestown, NJ, where we also performed two years ago (the last time we were on the East Coast). Then we got online briefly at a Panera before continuing toward tomorrow's gig.

Oct. 6

An afternoon performance at the library in Manalapan, NJ as part of a special family day celebration. Then we hightailed it to Lancaster, PA., so Zephyr and Libby could "work" (i.e., volunteer) at Field of Screams, the haunted attraction that Zephyr regards as heaven on earth. They were out until 1:00 a.m. scaring the cornshucks out of the public who dared attend.

Oct. 7

Drove into town to hit the YMCA, then back to Field of Screams. This time, we parked in the remote lot near the cornfield, and were able to plug into a socket on the light pole when the lights were turned on. Thus we had electricity for about 6 hours.

Oct. 8

Columbus Day. We started driving to make some of the 400 miles we have to cover by Wednesday. We were running two appliances on our inverter, and blew out power on the right side of the vehicle, including the refrigerator. Replacing the fuse solved the problem for everything except the inverter -- which actually still works, but the power outlet is inoperative now, and we'll have to replace it.

Stopped at Wegman's in Wilkes-Barre to get online, then dropped in once more at the Flying J to dump and fill our tanks.

Finally, finally having some cool fall weather.

Oct. 9

Laundry and computer work in Binghamton, then continued driving. Stopped at the YMCA in Norwich, then on to Utica, where we did some last-minute printing for some workshops we're teaching tomorrow. (We're just now getting the details about these workshops.) Then we had to do some additional printing while driving, running our little printer on the inverter plugged into the cigarette lighter on the dash, as the other power outlet is still broken.

Oct. 10

We began a two-day residency at a school in Westmoreland, NY -- beginning with a performance and then continuing with workshops all day.

A landmark birthday for Kimberly, and Dennis paid her back for a few years ago when she had friends and relatives email him on such an occasion and rub it in.

After our long day of working at school, we also surprised her with a cake.

Oct. 11

Another full day at school, then we began driving back south. A very chilly day, causing us to dig out our winter coats.

Oct. 12

Started the day online at Wegman's in Wilkes-Barre, then on to Lancaster, where we checked for our mail at the post office, but it wasn't there. We then went to the Mountville post office (very close to Field of Screams) to check on yet another shipment of mail, which was equally not there. Then back to Field of Screams for another long night.

We were pleased to hear today that Al Gore was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in recognition of his 40-year struggle to raise public awareness about climate change. Until now, Mr. Gore was slated to go down in history as a good man who got a very raw deal (and, thanks to an incredibly effective campaign of disinformation by his detractors, as a bigger liar than Davy Crockett). But this honor should help crank up the spotlight on his important efforts.

Oct. 13

Toured the Amish Farm and homestead in Lancaster, although the person in charge was reluctant to give us comps because she seemed to think we might be out to exploit the Amish community somehow. The farm and home complex is like stepping back 100 years into the past, but it's next to a Target store, and in the midst of a strip mall.

Back to Field of Screams, where Zephyr and Libby put in another long night.

Oct. 14

Frightfully ensconced at Field of Screams once more, this time with Zephyr contributing even more man-hours in the daytime to help ready the place for the night's events. Dennis rode his bike to Redner's supermarket for a few food items, but otherwise we stayed put all day and night.

Oct. 15

Laundry at Festiva Laundry in Lancaster, a pleasant and brightly colored establishment with a very helpful staff. (The only drawbacks are no top-loading washers, and you have to use those plastic cards from a vending machine instead of money.) Then we paid another visit to the YMCA and swung by the post office to pick up our mail. (It was there this time!) Likewise to the Mountville post office (Ditto!) to pick up some copies of Haunted Attraction magazine, which Zephyr had shipped here by a friend in Oregon. Then we were off, driving to the Philadelphia area.

Oct. 16

In Berwyn, PA., went to Citibank to take care of some business that we've been needing to transact for some time. While we were there, we asked about obtaining a credit card with Kimberly's name on it, as we only have one with Dennis' name on it, and we've been told by other branches that we would have to visit our home branch to take care of this. (Our "home" branch is in San Francisco, and we almost never have a chance to get by there when we're in town.) But we were told here that they could take care of it for us; yet after about half an hour of red tape, she ended up with only an ATM card, which we were told -- surprise -- she'd have to get activated as a credit card at our home branch.

After patronizing the first Trader Joe's we've seen in a couple of weeks, we drove on through Philadelphia; we've been wanting to take Libby to some of the historic attractions in Philly and vicinity for some time, but today won't be the day.

On into Atlantic Highlands, NJ, where we went to the home of our contact person for tomorrow's gig and spent the night in her driveway.

Oct. 17

Two performances at a school, one of "Quizzical Quests" and one of "Shakespeare Shazam". Then we taught several workshops. Back to our contact's home in the evening, as tomorrow's engagement is at another nearby school. Zephyr and Libby walked to a movie, while D and K stayed at home and got work done. We are advised that the neighborhood is an attractive one to stroll through, and there is even a good view of Manhattan; but we'll have to save that for another time.

Oct. 18

Another full day at a school, this time a Catholic school, so that we were performing for up to eighth grade -- but we included a Shakespeare show like yesterday. And again we followed it up with a day of classroom workshops.

Oct. 19

Three performances at a school in Briarcliff Manor, NY. Our contact was a jovial gentleman named Jeffrey, who it turns out was also from San Francisco. In fact, he seemed familiar to us, and we suspect that our paths may have crossed before.

Then on to White Plains, passing through the picturesque village of Tarrytown, where author Washington Irving lived, and where his famous story "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow" is set. We attended the Halloween celebration here several years ago, and it was quite an affair, even featuring a headless horseman. We'd hoped to come back this year, but the event is held only one weekend -- i.e., next weekend -- which we already have committed elsewhere.

In White Plains, we finally sent off the home footage we shot of ourselves for the Canadian TV producer that is considering producing a new series.

At a shopping center, we attempted to do some online work at a K-Mart (many of this chain's outlets now have wi-fi cafes in them) but the system was down. A fierce rainstorm came up, and shopping carts were whizzing all around us. But that didn't deter one young woman from standing outside with her cell phone and having a loud argument with (presumably) her boyfriend.

Oct. 20

Drove to Stamford, CT to visit our nephew and his girlfriend. We'd planned to go out to dinner with them, but Zephyr and Libby suddenly decided they wanted to try to work tonight at a haunted attraction in West Haven. So we drove up there, and they were indeed put to work -- although Libby left after about an hour because she didn't like the attitude of her supervisor. Zephyr stayed the entire evening, but said he found the attraction to be a big disappointment.

Oct. 21

Headed to the Hartford area for tomorrow's engagement. Stopped at Stew Leonard's, the colorful supermarket we patronized a few weeks ago, to do some shopping and to marvel at the kitschy animatronics and the festive atmosphere. Very, very crowded today. Kimberly took in the camera, and at first a security guard told her she couldn't tape inside, but she talked to the manager and explained who we were, and he said it was okay.

Hover your mouse over the photo to watch Willy flip

Oct. 22

Two performances and several workshops each at a school in West Hartford. Our contact brought us wraps for lunch from the local Wild Oats, to which we ourselves went later because we figured maybe, just maybe, they really might -- no, it can't be...can it? I do believe... YES!! They DO have a water machine -- one of the 2 or 3 in captivity in all of New England. So we at last were able to fill our jugs, which had stood forlornly empty for all too long.

Oct. 23

Despite numerous phone calls -- to just about every major repair facility in the Hartford area -- we were unable to locate a place that would take a look at our front brakes, which have been squealing like pigs lately. It's always been at least SLIGHTLY difficult to find shops that will accommodate RV's, but lately it's been far beyond absurd. We've been trying for at least two weeks to find someplace (the noise started, oddly enough, not long after we had the brakes checked in Buffalo and were told they were just fine), but every place we've asked has not had bays big enough or lifts powerful enough, or just didn't have its planets properly aligned. The one shop we found around Hartford that actually would welcome a vehicle our size (which really isn't all that big, mind you) was all booked up until next week. We even called ahead to the RV Supercenter near Providence, RI, where we shopped not long ago, and which will lie on our route next week. The earliest they could see us was Nov 9 -- more than TWO WEEKS AWAY!!!! Take note, one and all: if you intend to travel fulltime, you must plan your vehicular emergencies VERY WELL in advance.

So instead, D & K went to a Panera to do some computer work, while Zephyr and Libby went to a movie. And then we had to contend with another breed of technical difficulty: Dennis couldn't get his computer online, and spent a frustrating two hours on the phone with tech support (made lengthier and more frustrating because the technician had a heavy accent that made him hard to understand), using up pretty much all of our cell minute ration for the month (on an 800 # non-the-less). When that failed to solve the problem, Dennis strapped the computer onto his bike and rode to Circuit City, the franchise from which he bought the computer. To our astonished relief, they were able to correct the problem within a few minutes (and at no charge, as it's covered by warranty). This is certainly a big leap forward, as it wasn't so long ago when you had a gizmo under warranty, you'd be told that you had to ship it off to Outer Elbonia for repairs, getting it back perhaps a month later -- even longer and more problematically in our case, as we're always on the road.

Oct. 24

After performing at a school in Stafford Springs, we drove (squeak squeak) to Worcester (rhymes with rooster), MA and began looking for a place to look at our (squeak squeak) brakes tomorrow. Checked at the Firestone in Shrewsbury, where we had our vehicle worked on a couple of years ago, but no go. So we headed (squeak squeak) on down the street, where we inquired at a Meineke Muffler place, which looked as if it too would be too small. But to our relief and astonishment, they said they would indeed be able to accommodate us -- TODAY!! (Their lifts can't lift our entire RV, either, but they were willing to do the job by lifting just the front wheels.) So, after getting an estimate of $717 and an assurance that they'd be able to accept our check (so we didn't need to run to the bank to withdraw cash), we left the vehicle in their care and headed across the street to the Borders Bookstore. Later we received a call from them notifying us that the actual cost (surprise!) would be considerably more than they'd estimated. We needed not only new pads and rotors but new arms of some kind, and a new doodad, and a calibration of the warp drive space/time continuum. Whatever -- we've learned from long, sad experience that estimates almost inevitably end up being doubled in the end.

Shortly before the shop's 6:00 closing time, Dennis went back over to take care of business, and at first the check he wrote for them was declined. This could have posed quite a problem, as the bank already was closed. But he noticed that when the young man read the numbers off the check to the check acceptance service over the phone, he included the check number positioned between the routing number and the account number -- the unorthodox sequence used for some reason or other by our check printers. So he insisted that they try it again, this time leaving out the extra numbers, and it went through. Phew.

All four of us were starved by now, so we decided that, not having spent enough money already, we should grab a burrito at Moe's down the street. Our favorite burrito franchise, Moe's started out in Atlanta in 2001, and we've encountered it mostly in the Southeast. But it's been expanding its territory, and now can be found in 35 states.

Next to Moe's was a Trader Joe's, so we stocked our fridge after dinner. And just across from TJ's is a haircutting place that brings back fond (?) memories, because it was here that Zephyr got his scalp massacred a few years ago after seeing "Minority Report", featuring a close-cropped Tom Cruise. He told the stylist that he wanted really short hair like that, and he ended up with a Marine Corps boot camp look that literally shocked his mom to tears and made him the butt of many jokes in the weeks to come.

Oct. 25

Sudbury, MA., where we dropped in on a couple of historic sites in one convenient location. One is a red one-room schoolhouse built in 1792 to which, once upon a time, a girl named Mary Sawyer brought her pet lamb to school and hid it under her desk until she went to the head of the class to do a recitation -- whereupon her pet grew restless and noisy, to the delight of her classmates. A visiting student named John Roulstone supposedly scribbled down a few lines of doggerel (or sheeperel) which he handed to Mary; and then supposedly a lady named Sarah Hale added a few moralistic lines to top it off (and quite possibly, it appears, claimed credit for the whole thing). And the rest is nursery rhyme history. Today, the schoolhouse is open to the public during the summer months -- we just missed the window of opportunity to step inside, but we still had an opportunity to peer through the window and get a good glimpse of the period trappings; and with only one room, how much did we really miss? We couldn't resist doing our best sheep poses on the doorstep for the camera -- except for Libby, who served as our shepherdess. This landmark, by the way, originally stood in the nearby town of Sterling, but it was relocated here in the Twenties by Henry Ford, who also built the imposingly ornate church next to it. (Calling to mind, perhaps, the line "The Lord is my shepherd.")

A few yards away is Longfellow's Wayside Inn, which didn't belong to poet Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (celebrating his 200th birthday this year) but he certainly deserves a stake in it for the fame -- and hence revenue -- he's brought to it. Originally a two-room house and pub called Howe's Tavern, it has served as an inn almost continuously since 1716 (the building was heavily damaged by fire in 1955), making it almost certainly the oldest operating inn in the country. Longfellow stayed here in 1862, and was inspired to write the verse collection "Tales of a Wayside Inn" (published the following year), apparently intended as the American counterpart of The Canterbury Tales or The Decameron. The book includes the famous poem beginning "Listen my children, and you shall hear/ Of the midnight ride of Paul Revere", which may be a fun read, but it's also largely responsible for the larger-than-life image many Americans have of Revere's (unsuccessful) mission.

In its colorful and quiet rustic setting, the Wayside Inn seems a perfect location for a writers' retreat. We don't know if it ever serves that purpose, but it's certainly an "in" inn, bustling with people here, perhaps, to get away from it all. The tavern, which was one of the original two rooms, still serves as a bar, and looks almost as it would have nearly three centuries ago. So do many of the historic rooms that are open to public viewing, with authentic period furnishings and informative plaques. What a treat it would be to spend a night or two here -- in a living museum!

Oct. 26

Ah, SALEM. The Halloween capital of the world. We pulled into town in the morning and picked up our mail at the post office, then dropped in at the haunted attraction where we worked 2 years ago hoping to go back to work again, but that didn't work out. so we tried another place and got another nope. Then we applied at Salem's 13 Ghosts, and the welcome was much warmer. We did have to audition, however (the first time we've auditoned for anything in years) but of course we aced it and they gave us lines to memorize and put us to work starting tonight, until midnight.

Since there are 4 of us, and we only have 3 bicycles, we face the challenge of getting all of us to work and back every day from our campground. We inquired at the local bicycle shop about renting a bike for Libby, but that turned out to be prohibitive. So we figured one of us would have to walk to and/or from, perhaps getting a ride back tonight. (That is indeed how it worked out; and when they made out our schedule for the rest of the days, they staggered our shifts so we could swap bikes.)

Then it was off to Winter Island, which is pretty much the only place to camp around here. The island has been used as a military installation more than once, going back at least a couple of centuries -- if you stroll around, you can see the foundations of some of the older structures. More recently, it was the site of a Coast Guard station, which closed in the Sixties, and the hangar and other buildings from that era are still standing.

A pretty busy day and night at the old haunt, with the streets full of people in zany costumes.

Oct. 27

A very rainy Saturday, but we still biked to work. At least we didn't have to bike in the snow, as we did 2 years ago. In fact, the weather overall has been considerably warmer this time.

Actually, Kimberly and Libby were the only ones who had to bike in the rain, as they went in first. By late afternoon, the downpour had stopped, and the revelers were out in force in the evening.

Kimberly and Libby are dressed and made up as vampirish creatures who lurk in the shadows and scare the wits out of people. Zephyr, who's stationed in the part of the attraction that commemorates Salem's history as a seaport (and magnet for pirates) is attired as Capt. Jack Sparrow, an impersonation he's been doing splendidly for years. Dennis is serving as the security guard, which is just as well, since he's recuperating from laryngitis, and doesn't have much of a voice to scare people with right now.

Oct. 28

Dennis and Kimberly had the daytime shift at the haunt. Dennis finally was put into costume and makeup and did some scaring, having somewhat recovered his voice. Zephyr and Libby worked on the evening shift together, so they went into town early to explore Salem.

Oct. 29

Kimberly went into work at ye olde haunt first; Zephyr and Libby took off into town early again. And Dennis took off scouting for propane, as our supply has been running very low and the weather is turning nippy. (Once we leave the campground and its electrical outlets, we'll be needing propane to keep us warm.) But he was unable to locate any anywhere in the vicinity.

An extremely slow day and night for the haunting business, with only an occasional trickle of victims. We can't quite figure out what the reason is. The world series is over -- as any local will tell you, the beloved Red Sox made short work of the Colorado Rockies. Even the "religious" fanatics stayed at home -- normally they are in the thick of things with picket signs and megaphones, handing out tracts (including some grossly inaccurate interpretations of such "occult" symbols as the pentagram and the peace sign) and warning people that they are going to hell for having so much fun on such a satanic occasion (which is actually, of course, a holiday of Christian origin, but we wouldn't want to spoil THEIR fun by pestering them with facts). But tonight, it's as if everyone except us received a top secret memo warning there might be a terrorist attack or some such. But there wasn't.

It was perhaps a favorable opportunity for friends to drop by and visit, as we had plenty of time to talk to them; and indeed our old friends from New Hampshire -- Jeanne, Kiaya and Chris (plus canine addition) -- did drop by. And in fact, Kiaya was even interested in applying for a job at the haunt, but was told there was no more need for personnel. Which is not surprising -- given how dead things are tonight, you don't need many "undead" to scare the living daylights out of the living.

We closed up shop early, and some of the workers, including Zephyr, went out to a movie -- after which Zephyr fielded to Erin, the supervisor, some of his own endless cache of ideas for operating a haunt business.

Oct. 30

This morning, we saw the headquarters of The Bioengineering Group, an organization that promotes ecological soundness in engineering projects.

Today was a busier day on the streets of Salem -- even the "religious" fanatics were back, although they reportedly were showing more restraint since being rebuked by police after complaints about them harrassing people and driving customers away from the businesses. Bigotry may be alive and well in Salem but, unlike in 1692, it no longer has the law on its side.

Things were still slow enough at times in Salem's 13 Ghosts that the haunters had time to get a bit punchy; at one point Zephyr and his jovial co-worker Scott launched into a "pirate rap", which someone videotaped and posted on Youtube.

Oct. 31

The Big Day in Salem. The streets were much busier, though still not as busy, we think, as two years ago. Our prize for the top costume might go to the three young men dressed as ghouls who were pulling around a wagon full of "body parts" apparently made of edible material, because they occasionally nibbled at their treasure trove. Yum! (There were also, for some reason, several occurrences of the four thugs from the film "A Clockwork Orange".

A bit of a soap opera at work, as one young woman was under the impression she had been fired (her supervisors say it was a misunderstanding) and as she had befriended Libby, the two of them took a stroll to talk things over. The rumor then was that the young woman had convinced Libby to quit as well, and the two of them were planning to spend the evening partying on the Streets of Salem. Being her surrogate parents for the month, we were rather concerned, and contacted her on her cell phone. But she said she'd just gone to have a chat with her friend about the tense situation -- which apparently got all ironed out -- and later Libby returned to work.

It seems fitting that we were in Salem on Halloween when the news broke that DNA evidence may soon free "The West Memphis Three", who were convicted of a crime 14 years ago, despite the utter absence of any substantial evidence, in one of the most disturbing instances of the witchhunt mentality in modern times.

< - September 07 - October - November - >