Month: April 2022

Duke Gardens

4/16/22

For my second day in Durham yesterday—with perfect weather, despite some drizzle today—I went to the acclaimed Sarah P. Duke gardens, on the Duke University campus. The place was crowded on such a beautiful day, but the gardens themselves did not disappoint. There is a Japanese garden there as well—including a really cool bamboo grove—so I spent most of my time in that area.

Today I’m taking it easy, doing some calls and administrative tasks. Tomorrow I’ll head south to Apex to meet up with my aunt and uncle again, so there may not be much to report on for a couple of days there as I enjoy some family time. Afterwards, on Tuesday, I’ll be taking the train to Richmond, and after that, if all goes well, visiting some really cool intentional communities.

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An artsy ride from Raleigh to Durham

4/14/22

Today I put in some more miles in the saddle. Very tame by bicycle-touring standards, but more than I’ve been used to lately, at about 30 miles.

I said goodbye to my awesome Raleigh host Cody this morning, and headed northwest, riding past a pretty church downtown before getting to yet another beautiful trail to take me partway to Durham. Most of the ride today took place on regular roads—some of which had minimal bike infrastructure—but most of them were pretty. And I did get to experience a couple of the greenway trails.

One of these trails was filled with art by local artists, which was unexpected and really cool. The art included everything from markings on the bike path itself, to paintings nestled in the trees, to several large sculptures in open fields.

Once I arrived in Durham, I said hello to my new awesome Warmshowers host, Chris, who actually used to be actively involved in the inner workings of the Warmshowers organization. Like so many of my hosts, he was very welcoming and amiable, despite having just arrived back in town about a week ago after four months abroad, and also preparing to leave town tomorrow for a long-weekend trip to the beach with some friends.

After we said a brief hello, I headed back out again into downtown Durham, to meet up with three fellow Marillion fans for dinner. They treated me to a wonderful meal at a beautiful Indian restaurant, the Viceroy, while we talked about music, travel, and concerts. Two of these folks were on their way to a Steve Hackett show right after the dinner! Sadly the concert was a bit outside my budget, so I wasn’t able to join them, but I have had the privilege of seeing Mr. Hackett perform early Genesis material twice before, so I wasn’t too disappointed.

After dinner, I lingered in downtown Durham a bit, enjoying the public art and a few local parks. Then I met up with Chris at his friends’ place nearby; they were just welcoming a new puppy (sorry for the lack of pics!) so we hung out in their backyard sipping cocktails, talking bicycling and travel, and enjoying the puppy and his older “brother,” the existing dog of the household.

I’m happy to be here. Tomorrow, after taking care of a few administrative tasks, I’m looking forward to exploring more of the Durham area.

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Amazing greenways, and a surprise dinner meetup

4/13/22

Another full day today, with beautiful weather here in Raleigh.

I had not been aware, until today, of just what a prodigious greenway network there is in and around this city. It’s amazing! My host told me that Raleigh’s car-free greenway system is the most extensive of any city in the Carolinas. From what I have seen, it rivals any city I have visited so far (with the possible exception of Tucson and its amazing Chuck Huckleberry Loop).

So I headed out today to experience more of these beautiful—mostly paved and forested—trails.

First, though, I wanted to experience Raleigh’s all vegan cat café, Purr Cup. It is a place with a café section of coffee drinks and vegan pastries (including the first macaron I’ve ever eaten, since it is hard to find vegan ones) and then a separate section with four adoptable cats. Normally you have to make a reservation—and pay a donation—to spend quality time with the cats, but the staff there kindly let me go in for just a couple minutes in between other patrons’ booked sessions. When I went in, two of the cats were sleeping, and the other two (pictured) didn’t seem to be in an interactive mood, but it was still fun to see them and enjoy their cuteness.

After the café, I headed out for several hours of biking on a number of greenways, including the Rocky Branch, Walnut Creek, Neuse River, Mingo Creek, and Crabtree Creek.

By the time I got finished with all that nature cycling, I had made a serendipitous Facebook connection with my Portland friend Indigo, who travels often for work, and who happened to be right near Raleigh this evening! We met up for dinner at a local falafel restaurant, and caught up on each other’s lives. What a fun coincidence!

Tomorrow, I will make my way northwest of here to Durham. Fingers crossed that I can arrive before the forecasted thunderstorms. Right around the time the storms are supposed to start, at 5:00, I will be meeting up with two local Durham Marillion fans for dinner at an Indian restaurant.

I love technology and social media, which make so many of these wonderful interpersonal connections possible.

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Raleigh, and Lake Johnson Park

4/12/22

I arrived into Raleigh on the train about 8:30 this morning, having slept probably five or six hours in my berth. Despite the extra cost for the sleeper on the overnight train, I think I made the right decision: I had a nice full day here today.

Unfortunately, it got off to a rocky start when I discovered that the baggage handlers on the train had somehow caused my bike’s chain to slip off. (First time I’ve experienced that on this bike.) I tried to ride off the platform and out of the station, but couldn’t do it with the chain off. After an Amtrak staffer helped me to walk a back way through the station, I went out front and tried to reattach the chain, but only succeeded in thoroughly blackening and greasing my hands. I sat in front of the station and watched a YouTube tutorial on putting the chain back into place on a Brompton (the folding mechanism makes it extra tricky) and the woman made it look very simple, but I could not duplicate it.

Fortunately, my Raleigh host (introduced to me by my wonderful Charlotte Warmshowers host Pam) was working in his office in a nearby downtown building, so I was able to simply walk the rig over to his office to pick up the key to his house. I had thought I would then walk the rig over to the certified Brompton dealer in town to have them work on the chain, but Cody was able to fix it himself on the spot, using a bike tool he had on hand at work. I so appreciate when people are able to help me with unexpected mechanical troubles!

Thus fortified, I biked the rig over to his house on the east side of town, and spent a few hours getting my mind settled in my new city, working on logistics and lodging for the coming week, and deciding what to do today.

When I did leave the house in the early afternoon, I ended up taking a beautiful ride about five miles west, to the gorgeous Lake Johnson Park.

Getting to the park, about half of my journey took place on two dedicated car-free paths, the Rocky Branch Trail and the Walnut Creek Trail. They made for a lovely ride.

Once I arrived at the lake, I was struck by the beauty of the place. The water itself was gorgeous, and there was a paved bike trail loop all around the lake, including a few short scenic spurs. I enjoyed the ride in the forest and the views of the water, and spent probably at least an hour resting on various benches and just taking in the natural scene.

After that nearly perfect afternoon, I cycled back toward town and met up with a Bumble fellow I had just matched with, for a dinner date at a vegan restaurant downtown, Element Gastropub. We enjoyed good food and good conversation, and then took a short walk to the nearby Raleigh Memorial Auditorium, which looked really cool with magenta light in the early darkness.

I’m working out my plans for the next couple of days (another day in Raleigh? Straight to Durham?) but definitely looking forward to spending more time in this area.

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Last day in Savannah

4/11/22

Today was a bit emotionally challenging. I’m choosing not go into the details here, but I had some emotional ups and downs, including an interpersonal exchange that didn’t feel good. Fortunately, though, this town is gorgeous, the weather was perfect, and I had a generous amount of downtime to process the feelings, and also just enjoy my surroundings.

In addition, I was able to meet up with several new people, and share a meal and coffee with them, talking travels. And tonight, I made the decision to splurge on the overnight, direct train to Raleigh (departing 1:20 am, arriving 8:35 am if no delays) rather than taking two trains, the first of which would have departed at 7:35 am tomorrow. No ideal solution, but I think this one will be the more easeful choice for me, and I’ll be able to sleep in my roomette.

I went to at least four different parks and natural spaces today; I’ll let the photos do the talking.

First I went to the Savannah Botanical Garden, which is another free one. It was very pleasant, filled with flowers, plants, beautiful tall trees, and benches generously sprinkled throughout.

Later, I found a natural space along the side of an otherwise busy road, and fully soaked in the experience of resting there. I was the only one there for the whole hour or so that I sat, stretched, and wandered there, and there was also a prodigiously-Spanish-mossed tree there, at which I marveled.

I ended the afternoon back in Forsyth Park, loving the trees there too… but before I arrived, I hit another small neighborhood “pocket park” with more beautiful trees and benches.

This town is a glorious place to rest. I hope I can visit again; I think the early spring is a great time for the weather although my host tells me that autumn is equally wonderful.

I’m so glad I got a chance to include this city on this journey. Now, I’m looking forward to spending some more time in the Raleigh/Durham area!

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Another beautiful day in Savannah

4/10/22

Today marks seven months since I embarked on this grand adventure. My, how time flies. I am loving it as much now as I did the day I left. And, I’m looking forward to the five and a half months that still stretch before me.

Today was another beautiful day here in Savannah. Yesterday was chilly, so I stayed inside all day and attended to administrative tasks, such as filing my taxes (hallelujah, and I hope I did them right, for my first time on the road and first time with rental income to report) and dealing with some drama at my Portland storage unit. (I think all is now OK, thanks to the help of a Portland friend.) I also spent some time securing lodging for my next couple of nights here, and starting to work on my second swing through the Raleigh area, in a few days.

But today, Robert and I walked from his place to a nearby coffee shop, the Sentient Bean, to meet up with his friend Joanna for brunch. We enjoyed vegan breakfast tacos and burritos, and even a housemade vegan lavender brownie.

Then we walked through the magical Forsyth Park again, and then returned to the house to lounge on the comfortable front porch for a spell. Then I set out for the riverfront once more, noticing architecture (including two streamline moderne buildings!) and of course trees and Spanish moss… and then another new-to-me fruit!

I had heard of loquats once before, when I was in San Diego a few months ago. I had spotted what appeared to be a fruit tree in a neighborhood park there and, curious about the fruit, posted a pic on Facebook. A few friends guessed they were loquats, until my tree-expert friend weighed in to say they were not. But this made me curious about loquats, and I looked them up online.

However, I did not expect to stumble upon a line of loquat trees right on the street in Savannah today! I identified the tree using my National Geographic Seek app (which I recommend, by the way, to identify plants and even animals while out walking) and then picked one up to taste it. I was pleased with the flavor, and as I was enjoying it, a young man walked by and said, “Aren’t those great? I always grab a handful when I’m walking by there.”

Nice. Fellow neighborhood-fruit enthusiast!

After my serendipitous snack, I made my way north to the Cathedral Basilica of St. John the Baptist. The inside of the structure was closed to the public today, but I enjoyed the beautiful exterior.

Then I went back to the riverside, to indulge in a weak, overpriced, touristy strawberry daiquiri and some French fries at an outdoor table. I continued to appreciate the Savannah architecture and cobblestones along the way.

Finally, I returned to Robert’s house, and bade him (and his impossibly cute dog) a thank you and farewell.

I jumped on my bike and pedaled directly south just a bit shy of two miles to reach my new Warmshowers host, Yossi, and his own two wonderful doggies.

He only recently moved into this house—and is relatively new to Savannah, hailing originally from the Washington, DC area, as I do—and has already planted two plum trees and one fig tree.

Nice.

Tomorrow, for my last day here in town, I hope to visit the botanical garden and one more vegan restaurant, and possibly meet up with a few local folks. Then, back to Raleigh!

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Savannah!

4/8/22

Well, it wasn’t quite a New Orleans-level arrival in Savannah, but there were similarities.

Yesterday afternoon I said goodbye to the cute little doggie Pebbles in St. Pete, and my wonderful host Patrick was kind enough to drive me to the Tampa train station—stopping at both a vegan grocery store and vegan deli on the way for provisions—because there were heavy thunderstorms in the area most of the day. (In the morning, though, before the storms, we went out with his housemate Yvonne and “fed the critters” in the backyard, which is their morning ritual. We fed blue jays, squirrels, and a woodpecker with peanuts in the shell for about half an hour, which was really cute.)

The train ride lasted about eight hours, and deposited me in Savannah at about 1:30 am last night. I did not wish to saddle my new wonderful Warmshowers host Robert with such a late arrival, so I had booked a hotel about 3.5 miles away from the station.

When I disembarked, unlike New Orleans the weather was mild, at about 59 degrees, and there was no wind (nor rain, as I would frequently remind myself over the next hour.) I called the hotel to confirm that my room was still available, since many hotels surrender rooms at 2 am if the guest hasn’t arrived yet, and was assured that it was. I was not sleepy, having dozed on the train, so although the hour, darkness, and unfamiliar city combined to create a bit of a surreal feel, I calmly embarked from the station. I expected it to take me no more than half an hour.

But.

Shortly into my journey, I encountered a freight train crossing the tracks just ahead of me. I sighed and figured I would wait a few minutes for it to pass. No big deal.

But shortly after it blocked my passage, the train slowed, then stopped.

Then it began backing up.

I thought maybe it would back up enough that it would clear the intersection, and I could pass.

No such luck. It stopped again, and showed no signs of proceeding in either direction.

I sighed again, checked Google maps for the alternate (longer) route, and turned around.

The roads out there on the edge of town were quite dark, without much street lighting. And when I got to my next scheduled left turn, I was met with a “road closed” sign.

Ugh, really?

I weighed my options. Maybe the road was closed to cars, but a bike could squeeze through? I really didn’t want to have to wait for that train.

I decided to chance it, and set out down the dark and desolate road. I reminded myself that this was an adventure—and a comfortable one, at that, with such pleasant weather.

I soon found myself at a more impressive-looking barricade, right before the underpass I needed to cross. After attempting to squeeze the trailer through a space in the barricade, I decided against it, and turned around.

(Sigh.)

Once again, I weighed my options: go back to the earlier crossing, and hope the train has moved on? Or try yet another way that I could see on the map, even though it would take longer?

I hate backtracking, so I chose the latter.

As I turned left down that new road, I was struck by how deserted it felt. It wasn’t blocked off or listed as closed, but the pavement was full of vegetation, as if it hadn’t been driven on in a while.

I pressed on… and shortly reached another barricade, this one entirely impenetrable.

Argh!

I turned around, and looked once more at the map to find another alternate route, to avoid backtracking and the chance of hitting that stopped train again.

As I made my way from the deserted back roads onto a main thoroughfare, I was able to appreciate how quiet it was at 2:30 am. Things are different at night. Better.

About half an hour later than I had anticipated—and an hour after disembarking the train—I finally pulled in to the motel’s parking lot, and checked into my room. The room seemed to reflect the extremely low price I had paid for it; the bathroom fan on the same switch with the light was nearly deafening at that hour, and I was mortified at the thought of waking my neighbors, so I turned off the switch and brushed my teeth by the light of my bike’s headlight instead.

I made it into bed about 3:30, and fell asleep shortly thereafter, though I awakened at least once because it was cold. I’m not in Florida anymore. (In St. Pete, I had awakened once at 5 am because I was too hot.)

In the morning, I made my way toward town, along sunny roads filled with many more cars than the night before. The drivers didn’t seem too keen on sharing the road with a cyclist, so I took the sidewalk for much of the way.

After about half an hour—the latter part of which was rather scenic in the way I had hoped for Savannah to be—I arrived at the house of my host Robert, who turned out to also have an adorable and friendly elder small lap dog.

We chatted for a bit, and then Robert, who is a professional photographer, went out to get some good shots in the right time of daylight, and shortly afterward, I did the same. First I visited the old-time natural food store across from Forsyth Park, Brighter Day (est. 1978). I grabbed a sandwich and a chocolatey treat, and then after savoring them both at an outdoor table, I set out first through Forsyth Park, then toward the river, finding several breathtaking small public parks and squares all the way there. This city is as gorgeous as I had hoped, in exactly the ways I had hoped. The large old trees, the Spanish moss, the classic street lamps, cobblestone streets… it is wonderful.

I made it down to the river, and spotted a beautiful old sternwheeler. Shortly after I sat down on a bench in front of it, the boat embarked on a tour.

I spent several hours outside, just enjoying the river and the parks.

At 6:00, I met up with Robert for dinner at one of two vegan restaurants in town, The Haunt. It is a mushroom-focused restaurant, which concerned me a bit since I’m not usually a mushroom fan. Apparently the owner is quite a forager, and this area is rich with mushrooms. (I was impressed to see some gorgeous pink ones at the market earlier.) Nearly every dish on the menu was based on mushrooms. I decided to embrace the moment, and ordered a lion’s mane entree.

Wow, I was impressed. The mushrooms tasted more “meaty” than fungal, and all the ingredients of the dish worked together beautifully. It was a splendid meal.

After dinner, we walked back home, where we chatted on the front porch for a bit (yay for front porches!) while the dog made herself comfortable on my lap.

Tomorrow, I’m hoping to bicycle up to Hilton Head Island, about 35 miles away, across the state line in South Carolina. That may depend on the wind situation, though, as well as the availability of my Hilton Head Servas hosts.

Stay tuned!

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Florida Botanical Gardens, and the Pinellas Trail

4/6/22

Well, yesterday was a relatively uneventful day—I did some chores and then moved from my wonderful Warmshowers host Kathleen’s place to my new wonderful Warmshowers host Patrick’s place, which was about a 3-mile journey. It was a hot and muggy day, so after my arrival, Patrick and I stayed in (with the adorable Jack Russell terrier he’s dog-sitting, Pebbles) where it was cool, and just chatted.

Today was more blog-worthy. For my last full day here in St. Pete, we went over to the Florida Botanical Gardens, which amazingly is a free public park. We explored the trails there—and even saw a mama gator with half a dozen babies! (see photo) as well as a long black snake (not pictured) and lots of cool native vegetation—and also the Heritage Village nearby. I didn’t get many good photos of that place, but it is a sort of village reconstructed from various old St. Petersburg buildings, preserved and relocated from their original sites when development overtook those original sites. We saw an old grocery store, train station, one-room schoolhouse, a few residences, a forge, and more.

From there, we biked through the picturesque Walsingham Park to reach the Pinellas Trail, which is the primary off-road bicycle path here in Pinellas County. We only rode a few short miles of the trail’s total 45-mile length, but it was pretty, and we got to go on a cool blue bridge over a freeway.

Tomorrow, I’ll be boarding the train from Tampa all the way to Savannah, Georgia. I’m sad to leave St. Petersburg and Florida, but excited to experience Savannah, as well as nearby Hilton Head Island, South Carolina.

Unfortunately, my train is not scheduled to arrive in Savannah until after 1:00 am, so I will not be able to post a blog tomorrow night. Look for one the following night.

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St. Pete biking tour… and beautiful Weedon Island

4/4/22

Another full day!

I had a slow and lazy morning (which I love!) and then spent about an hour working on my taxes. Made some decent progress there, so that felt good.

Then I headed out for a tempeh BLT at the neighborhood vegetarian coffee house. While there, I met up with a local Warmshowers fellow named Phillip. He is no longer hosting travelers, since he has moved into a place that won’t accommodate that, but he agreed to meet up with me to give me a bicycle tour of the town.

It was cool! We pedaled through many scenic neighborhood streets, with beautiful old houses and trees, and sometimes those iconic brick pavers in the roadway. We headed south along the water until we reached the pier. Several people had told me not to miss the pier, but I hadn’t made it there yet. It was really cool to see; just in the past few years, the whole area was redesigned from a car-centric two-lane road into a car-free bicycle and pedestrian plaza, with little parks, playgrounds for kids, a nighttime light show area, and a three-story building at the end with a tiki-themed bar on top.

After the pier, we headed south around the University of Southern Florida campus and an industrial-port-looking area. Then we continued north, into the downtown area, and finally completed a loop back to the coffee shop, where we parted ways.

Afterward, I went back to my host Kathleen’s house. She had just arrived home after work, and we decided to go enjoy the hiking trails at the Weedon Island Preserve.

I had heard good things about that place, and they definitely were true! The wooded pathways (unpaved, and open to pedestrians but not bicyclists) were wonderful. We passed many mangrove trees in the water, saw lots of Spanish moss, and walked down a very long, arboreal boardwalk until we reached the end at a breathtaking pool surrounded by forest. We even saw mullet fish jumping out of the water, which amazed and delighted me.

Unfortunately, at that spot the humidity and near-sunset hour converged to bring about swarms of tiny itchy and biting insects, so we soon turned around to go back. But it was a perfect way to spend the evening.

Tomorrow I’ll be heading to my next Warmshowers host, a bit northeast of here but still solidly in St. Pete. If I have time, I may also cycle over to the Florida Botanical Gardens.

Do you have your own dream or project, and would like some support or collaborative brainstorming about it? Use the green “contact” button above to schedule a one-hour phone or video call with me!

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Biking the beachy trails at Fort De Soto

4/3/22

Today was a scenic day. My host Kathleen was able to spend the day with me, which was really cool. We started with a short walk in her neighborhood to a nearby vegetarian coffee shop for brunch. Along the way, we passed two cool murals.

After brunch, we headed out to Fort De Soto Park, about 15 miles southwest of her house, to bike the trail there. The palm trees were beautiful, as expected. Some of the old fort structures looked cool. One side road took us into a beautiful forested area that led to a secluded beach. And we also got a good view of the Sunshine Skyway Bridge. One big surprise to me was when we saw blooming cacti! I thought I had seen my last cacti in Arizona (although I did spot a few stragglers in Texas, and even North Carolina.) But the blooms on the prickly pear were lovely, and helped me feel better about missing the spring bloom season in Arizona.

When we finished the bike ride, Kathleen took a dip in the ocean, while I was content to wade a bit and just enjoy the sea view and the mesmerizing waves. It feels like just a short while ago that I was saying a sad goodbye to Pacific beaches in San Diego… yet here I am already in the Gulf—and the Atlantic—in Florida.

On our way back home, we stopped for dinner at a great vegan restaurant in Gulfport, Golden Dinosaurs, where we dined al fresco. On the way there, we drove through St. Pete’s Beach, which gave me a good view of the beautiful Don Cesar Hotel.

Tomorrow I’m hoping to make it out to a nature preserve, and/or get a cocktail on the St. Petersburg Pier. I do also need to buckle down and work on my taxes for a while, though; the deadline is rapidly approaching, and 2021 brought new complications to my filing situation.

It will all work out.

Do you have your own dream or project, and would like some support or collaborative brainstorming about it? Use the green “contact” button above to schedule a one-hour phone or video call with me!

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Want to support my vision financially? I am in the process of manifesting $50,000 in lieu of a “salary” for the year of this journey. You can make a one-time or monthly contribution, or even become a Fairy Godfunder! (Heartfelt thanks to all my patrons and supporters!)