Month: May 2022

5/9/22

What a full day!

The sun finally came back out in Waterford this morning, leaving us with a glorious last day for me to spend with my folks. It had been a wonderful week at the homestead, and it was finally time to move on today.

We had a leisurely breakfast together, then headed out in the early afternoon to Harpers Ferry, West Virginia again. That’s where my train would depart from, but first, we had to try the highly acclaimed vegan restaurant Kelley Farm Kitchen, which coincidentally sits only a few hundred yards from The Barn, where I had attended my high school classmates’ birthday party just two days ago. (What are the odds?? I’ve only been to Harpers Ferry a handful of times in my life, and the previous time was nine years ago.)

Our meals were as delicious as we had hoped, and the portions were very large, so I took half of mine with me on the train and ate it for a late dinner.

After the meal, we went down to walk very briefly around the deeply historic town of Harpers Ferry, before getting my rig across the tracks and ready to board when the train (also very briefly) would stop, arriving from DC.

We said our farewells on the platform, and my parents and the conductor helped me to load my rig onto the train. Fortunately, despite the (unusual) lack of space in the luggage racks, the conductor seemed entirely unperturbed about it, and simply stood the trailer up and propped it against the wall, in the common area right next to the exit door. I guess he must have moved it out of the way of boarding and departing passengers at each stop along my route—no simple feat, with its bulky dimensions and 72-lb heft. Yay for easygoing, solution-oriented conductors!

The scenery along this train route was breathtaking in the evening light. This is a gorgeous part of the country. I wish it were easier to take clear photos from a moving train with dirty windows, but I trust you can still get the gist. There were also several sections of magical wooded hills directly outside the windows, with the evening light slanting through them. Sadly, those scenes are nearly impossible to capture on camera, but I enjoyed them in the moment.

We paralleled waterways for nearly the entire 6-hour ride, and it was beautiful to see while the light remained. I also happened to be seated in the very back row of the entire train, so I was able to look out the back again, which is always fun.

Once we arrived in Pittsburgh, at about 11:30 pm, it was an easy task to disembark and reassemble the rig on the platform. The local temperature was perfect, with no wind, rain, nor excessive humidity.

I was struck by the beauty of the exterior of the station at night. On my one previous trip to Pittsburgh—which lasted only 24 hours, from 5 am to 5 am(!)—I had exited and entered the station downstairs, and found it aesthetically lacking, looking quite Greyhound depot-ish. I had never realized how grand the upstairs entrance was, and seeing it lit up in the darkness tonight was really a treat.

The short bike ride to my hotel passed without incident.

It’s very late now, but I’m excited for my next few days here. I already have both lunch and dinner plans with different local friends tomorrow, and I’m also looking forward to touring the Phipps Conservatory (and its Japanese garden!) and meeting my new Warmshowers hosts.

But now, some sleep!

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5/8/22

My restful time here is drawing to a close. This past week has been wonderful, connecting with my parents and my childhood home.

I’ve done almost no “outside” socializing here (except by phone) although I was spontaneously invited to the 50th birthday party of twin middle- and high school classmates of mine yesterday. I enjoyed celebrating their milestone, and meeting some of their other friends and family, as well as seeing a few other old classmates, most of whom I had not seen in more than 30 years! (I’ll refrain from posting the one group photo we took, since I haven’t asked permission of all the people in it.) My mom knew the birthday girls’ mom, though, so she joined me at the party.

We were lucky to make it there—in Harpers Ferry, West Virginia, where we’ll be returning tomorrow for me to catch the train to Pittsburgh—because several days of  steady rain had created flood warnings in the area. The creek in our own driveway was high (the photo of it I’m posting is from my second day here, before the rain had begun) but we managed to get the car through it.

One other excursion during my time here was to the quaint post office in the quaint town of Waterford (founded by Quakers in 1733). It was always a charming and welcoming place to visit to pick up the mail in my childhood. We lived out on a rural road, so the post office was where the mail was always delivered. I have fond memories of enormous Sears catalogs (I used to long for their canopy bedroom sets, which in hindsight would have been laughable in my various unfinished bedrooms, with curtains in lieu of doors) and handwritten letters from faraway friends and relatives.

The post office still holds this charm, and I even received my package of vitamins there. (Hopefully I can get back in the habit of actually taking my vitamins! I’ve gotten very slack about that.)

I also strolled all around the property here, admiring the fields and wildlife. Sightings included one snake (though I didn’t get a good enough photo to post) and one large snake skin, as well as a vulture, many squirrels, and four cute groundhog babies.

The old (and recently restored) barn was looking venerable at the edge of the fields my 81-year-old father continues to mow.

I did some reading while I was here, too. This included some very moving excerpts from my mother’s memoirs that she is slowly writing, as well as an unexpected opportunity to do some copy editing/proofreading on a Portland friend’s wonderful novel.

I got to celebrate Mother’s Day with my mother in person today, for the first time in 32 years. It happened to fall on the 50th anniversary of the day that my folks signed the papers to acquire this property (affectionately known as “Toad Hall,” after Mr. Toad’s residence in The Wind in the Willows) six months before I was born in 1972.

A few days earlier, Mom had baked a wonderful vegan strawberry-rhubarb pie for me. What a treat!

It has all been a treat. Tonight, my last night here, we even had a video chat with my sister and her partner in Seattle.

I kind of wish I could stay longer here. But… the road beckons, and time is steadily moving onward. Tomorrow, we are planning to have a late lunch at a highly rated vegan restaurant in Harpers Ferry, and then I will board the train to Pittsburgh, to begin my next chapter!

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5/6/22

I’ve been here at my family home just outside of Waterford, Virginia for three days now, hanging out with my parents. It’s been really cool so far! I’ve got another few days to go, before continuing on my journey, next to Pittsburgh.

The past day or so has been quite rainy, and the rain is forecast to continue for the next couple of days as well. But when I first arrived, I encountered beautiful golden-hour light that made for some lovely strolling and photography. I hope you enjoy these scenes of trees and fields.

The house is a special part of it all, too. This coming Sunday, May 8th—which happens to be Mothers Day too, of course—is the 50th anniversary of my parents’ signing the mortgage on this now-250+ year-old stone farmhouse and its surrounding 30 or so acres, back in 1972. I’m so excited to be able to be here for this anniversary! (And I was born exactly six months later, on November 8th, so this has been my family home for my whole life. I count myself very lucky.)

When they bought the house, it was an enormous hovel. Despite the grandeur of its size and stone work, pretty much everything else needed replacing, including floors, roof, electricity, plumbing… the only plumbing that first year was a single cold-water faucet in a rusty old utility sink. The toilet was an outhouse, and the “shower” was the garden hose. (My father was commuting to work in a suit and tie at the time.)

As for electricity, the makeshift kitchen had only one outlet, so if my mom wanted to use the oven, she had to unplug the refrigerator.

(Did I mention she was pregnant that summer?)

There were peacocks roaming around when they bought the place, and in the course of that first year, they saw a group of wild pigs making their way across the overgrown lawn. Black rat snakes (not poisonous, but up to six feet long) were all around, both outside and inside the walls. And of course squirrels, groundhogs, raccoons, opossums, skunks, and plenty of insects and spiders.

Also within the first year was Hurricane Agnes, which flooded the barn area rather dramatically.

All this is to say that although the place is beautiful and picturesque now, getting from there to here required a staggering amount of time, work, money, and patience.

I’m glad to be here now, especially at this special time, and also especially during the springtime. I left for college in Portland in the late summer of 1990, and I believe this is the first time in the intervening nearly 32 years that I have seen the property with the dogwoods blooming.

More photos to come in the next few days. I hope you enjoy these.

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5/3/22

What a ride yesterday! It ended up being about 27 miles, much of it on the Washington & Old Dominion (W & OD) rail-trail. I had biked the full 45 miles of this trail in September of 2019, on a folding bike loaned to me by Michelle, who I stayed with in Centreville. (The following month, I got my Brompton!)

This time, I did a few miles of the trail on my way to Centreville from DC, and then I did about 15 miles of it again yesterday, from Herndon to Leesburg, where my parents picked me up to take me back to Waterford.

At first, leaving Centreville, I once again enjoyed the seemingly northern-Virginia-specific amenity of tar-paved sidewalks next to major roads. They felt safer than riding in the road, but were also wider than conventional sidewalks, and no concrete seams!

Shortly after I departed Michelle’s place, though, I realized I had not refilled my hydration pack before I left. I noticed a park area on the map coming up, and decided to make a detour from my Google maps route to see if I could find a drinking fountain or tap to refill it.

I did not find such—it turned out to be more of a creekside-path type of park—but the detour took me at least half an hour. It was rather scenic, but the path was full of roots poking up through the tar in spots, and at one point, I encountered a creek-forded area of the path, with water running across it.

This gave me pause, since I like to keep the bottom of the trailer as dry and clean as possible. But I also had to laugh, because the “homestead” in Waterford where I grew up happens to have a hilly, gravel, quarter-mile driveway, with a stream running through it! During my childhood, we always used to laugh about visitors arriving in their cars, stopping at the creek and wondering what on earth to do. (Answer: just drive on through it!)

So, I figured it was pretty apropos that I would encounter such a thing on my way there. I gauged the depth, and decided that if I pedaled slowly and steadily, the trailer should be fine.

Sure enough, I made it through without incident. I remembered the rain from the previous day, and wondered if perhaps before the rain that part of the path had been dry.

It also then occurred to me to count my blessings that the water was not any deeper. There would not have been an easy way across if it had been too deep, and the trail up until that point had been rather hilly and bumpy, so backtracking would not have been much fun.

I continued on, and got back onto major roads for a while.

But then another park showed up, and I thought I would try again for a water tap.

Along this creekside path, I found a little free library! Wow. I’ve seen them all over cities, but did not expect to find one out in the woods. Pretty cool.

Before too long, I encountered something extra cool! Ahead on the path, I saw several people standing with their fancy cameras pointed up.

No one said anything, nor even acknowledged me. I stopped and carefully looked up in the trees. It took me a few moments, but I finally noticed the owl peering out of a hollow in a tall tree stump.

Wow!

Everyone was fully intent. I took a couple photos with my old phone camera (if you look closely you can see the owl) but then I was kind of ready to move on. But no one would make eye contact with me to give me a signal that it was OK to proceed. I didn’t want to disturb the bird… but I did have a destination to reach.

Finally, I just slowly walked my rig forward, through the people (who still did not acknowledge me—kinda rude, I judged) and continued on. The bird stayed put.

Not fifty yards later, though, what should I see but another ford, and this time too deep to cross.

Doh!!

I briefly considered unpacking everything and carrying it piece by piece to the other side, but balked at this delay and hassle.

I consulted my phone’s map. Fortunately, I wouldn’t have to go too far out of the way to get to another road and avoid it.

I went through a cool tunnel—almost flooded, but thankfully not—and then found myself in the path of a beautiful cherry tree with blossoms fluttering over the path. What a beautiful time of year!

Before too long, I reached Herndon and the start of the W & OD trail. It was as picturesque as I had recalled—even an old railcar on the side of the trail—and I enjoyed the ride.

At one point the trail was closed for maintenance, but thankfully there was a gravel alternative—normally intended for pedestrians—directly parallel, for the several hundred yards of the closure. There was also a nice shaded bench there, where I stopped for a rest, and a short few steps away, a little pond area.

It was all very pleasant.

I arrived in Leesburg in the late afternoon, and my parents brought me back to the homestead.

I think I will be here, resting and regrouping and enjoying family connection, for about a week. I’ll have time to catch up on phone calls and such, which will be great.

I don’t have much in the way of “plans,” though, and therefore my blogging may be pretty sparse this week. I do plan to share some photos of the homestead at some point.

After here, my next destination will be Pittsburgh; I’ll catch the train there from Harpers Ferry, West Virginia, not too far from here.

For now, though, it’s a week of childhood memories and relaxation!

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5/1/22

Yesterday was my “latest” bicycling day, in terms of going from one town to another: I started in the afternoon, and arrived late in the evening. The trek was about 35 miles, with about 950 feet of elevation. (That Custis trail had some hills on it; oof!)

I had enjoyed the Hillwood Estate in the morning—with a lovely creekside bike path on the way back—and then enjoyed a nice homemade lunch with Mike and Marya, before heading out to my friend Michelle’s place at about 1:30.

Mike took a farewell picture of me with my rig, before I pedaled down their NW DC street.

I got stuck in traffic on M Street in Georgetown for quite a while; the streets were narrow enough, and my rig wide enough, that I couldn’t squeeze next to the cars, so I had to just “be” one of them.

But finally I made it onto the Key Bridge to cross the Potomac. On the Virginia side, I quickly joined the Custis Trail, and then eventually the W & OD (Washington & Old Dominion.) That path had been widened in some areas since I last biked it, about two and a half years ago, which was cool. There were also some very lush green spaces on the sides of it.

Once I got near Vienna, I had to get onto roads, although in many cases the roads had nice tar-paved “side paths” next to them: not really sidewalks, but separated paths that felt much safer than riding in the roads with the fast traffic.

When I finally arrived in Centreville, just before dark at 8:00, I was greeted by Michelle, her sweetie Mars (who turned out to be an avid prog-rock fan!) and her two adorable dogs Goliath and Gretta.

Today was rainy and very quiet. Tomorrow, I plan to continue on the W & OD all the way out to Leesburg, where my parents will pick me up from the “homestead” outside of Waterford. I haven’t seen them, and the homestead, in those two and a half years; I’m excited!

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5/1/22

Yesterday, I finally got to visit this Japanese garden I’ve been wishing to see for years! Every time I had tried, over the past few years, I found I was visiting the area on a Monday, when they are closed. This time, though, I made it on a Saturday.

The Japanese garden is part of the Hillwood Estate, which also includes many other gardens, as well as a mansion. A local couple from the Buy Nothing Travelers’ Network kindly toured me around, sharing one of their guest passes from their membership, which saved me the $18 admission fee.

It was a beautiful place. Here are some of my favorite photos from the day.

Then yesterday afternoon and evening, I biked the 35 miles from my friends’ house in NW DC to my other friend’s house in Centreville, Virginia. I’ll plan to do a separate post with those photos.

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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!)