Will Work For Food II

“I'm on vaca this week and hope to
be up by Whites,N.H. this week.”

“Look me up if you're in Orlando. Don't look like your route passes through this way, but if it does - we're here.”

“Happy Trails to you!

They don't call her Tarabull for nuttin' ;]”

“Wow.
This is gonna be The Roadtrip of the New Milliinniiuumm - if not the next!

I barter, appearantly. Om's paying me in the form of a ganoe-ish river fisherman flatbottom boat thingy. It's fiberglass, about 14 ft long, with a 7.5 h.p. Evinrude kicker and a trailer. It's big enough to sport the motor, but small enough to row through whitewater - maybe class II. Row around farm ponds, too.

I gotta get'er in the Santa Fe before I leave here (the boat, that is - I already got Om in the wallet! heh). I've decided to bring'er on the roadtrip. I figured I could justify towing it for umpteen thousand miles as long as I use it at least a half-dozen times.

Since I'm going to Philly first, I'm gonna look into aquatic trips along the Eastern shore of Chesapeake Bay (island camping?) if I can depart home soon enough. BWCA. Salmon River, ID. Lakeside state parks EVERYwhere. Yeah, I could get plenty of use out it.

Maybe leave it in towns (firehouses, police stations, etc) while bp'ing.

Ski - I got your email (thanks, Om!). I'll give you a ring when you're back home.

Elf - Boston? Doable. I could swing through post-NH. I'll be in touch.

Tarabull - I'll take your offer. It'll be cool to meet you(s). I'll prolly be past-due for a hot shower by then, too. Though Belle and Gizmo will be "verry prowd of my stinkyness", you may be in for a shock. Heee!

Actually, I tend to get an occasional dog-friendly motel room for "heavy washing".

Ewwww! I just remembered something:
In July 2000, I came out of the Wind River Range after a four night trip, got in the Mighty Mighty Tacoma, and drove straight home to GA. I slept two nights on the road. EWWWW! SIX NIGHTS W/O A SHOWER! Belle didn't mind, tho.


Nullen - Work AND beer? You're on!

Coop -
Sorry. I'm not gonna be able to make it down your way. Thanks for the invite, tho. I'll assume a raincheck is in the mail...
We'll at least meet in Ocala again.

Liz -
I'd LOVE to meet the Executive Director of the Quarter-Miler Club! Don't worry about your lack'o cooking - we'll do dinner... your treat. lol! Actually, I have a $20.00 gift card [departure gift from a former colleague] for Roadhouse Grill if'n one happens to occur in you're area. If not, I'd be willing to go Dutch - hehe. Awwww - I'll freakin' treat...

Hodge - I still intend to hit BC before the passes become impassable.

What the hay - here's my phone #...
(770)898-3329.
Gimme a call, y'all. I'll be home this weekend through the middle of next week. Call now and leave a message, if you'd like.”

“If you want to come hang out in Maine, feel free. I don't have much for projects - I'd like to have my porch reattached to the house, need some registers in the floor...
but you can sleep and shower on your way to someplace else if you like! :)”

“We will be at yer hous nex Sunnerdy. Get reddy for some ded lisserds!”

“gojo, i don't know how long you're planning to stay in the wonderful metro detroit area, but if you get bored, there's plenty of small things to do at my house!! i'll get in touch with tarabull and find out when you're coming.”

“So, do I call and ask for "gojo", lol?”

“Drop the Go and you'll be n track. I'm so excited I might get to meet the infamous Sarabelle, (and her human)!”

“(thanks sass. i knew his name was joe. i was teasing. lol)”

“Sassafras, Sarabelle is much more purdy then her diddie. More fun too:o)”

“...when the Mighty Mighty Tacoma rattled off the pavement onto the North Florida sandy road. Wet by the rain, the sand was boggy and slippery, but the MMT hung tough, and we were soon at the "Dead End" signed turn-off.

The twin-track lane dropped off into the "Car Wash" - I call it that due to the palmetto frons that wipe the sides of the vehicle as you pass by them. The addition of the rain - and the tunnel formed by the tree canopy and overhanging vines and branches - created what was reminescent of a car wash.

Within a half-mile, I found the driveway, and continued deeper into the woods. Around a final bend in the sandy driveway stood Om's Castle. I had found Camelot.

Om's home is grand. Simplistic and sophisticated and humble and grand. I have never been more comfortable anywhere.

A short walk beyond the house brings one to the banks of the Santa Fe River. The tea colored tributary to the Suwanee is reputed to be the most pristene river in all of The Sunshine State. The river is met with numerous crystal-clear springs and/or their streams. The waters are alive with birds and turtles and gators and fish. Quite a mote, I must say...

My dogs and I were treated like royalty by the Princess of TrailTalk.

Thank you, Om, for your wonderful hospitality. God bless you and yours...”

“Pamster - Eat a booger!

Sass - I reckon you can meet Belle. Geez, I should prolly call this roadtrip "Michigan, Ho!".

Smiley - Small things? K, then - you can "pay" me with small food, ie, shrimp, caviar, new potatoes, peas, lamb, etc...

("...lamb". Get it? "...small food...". Get it? [baby sheep]).

Okey-dokey. Let me scoot... I'm heading home.”

“I'm home.
The boat pulled w/o a hitch*. I couldn't even tell it was there.

(*The verb, not the noun.)

I swung by my dad's place so's he could give the motor a look-see. He's confident that new fuel and spark plugs will have it running smooth as silk. It ran fairly well on the 'Fay Wednesday, but there's room for improvement.

Geez. I get to spend a couple weeks in Paradise (Utopia?), do lots of things that I enjoy doing, and have the company of Om - then leave with a boat/motor/trailer.
God Bless America!


Lesseeeee... who's next?
Oh yeah - Ski. See ya in a couple weeks, bro.”

“LOL Gojo! Sure, small things....'cept no seafood in my house. Its yucky! But I'll make a pan of lasagna just for you! Maybe a couple of small pans, LOL!

I just thought of another job for you last night, but now I can't remember what it is. I should really write things down. Jeesh!”

“Hmmmm, Smiley.
Perhaps a BIG pan of lasagna made with little pastas?

"I just thought of another job for you last night, but now I can't remember what it is. I should really write things down. Jeesh!"

I'm the same way, especially with dreams.
Wait!
"I just thought of... you last night... can't remember..." You dreamin' about me?!
hehehee!”

“I had the weirdest dream last night....I swear. I'm supposed to be recording my dreams for an "Unrational Leadership" class I'm taking. Then we're supposed to analyze them, but I'm telling ya, some crazy #&%!$ happens in dreams!

OK, a big pan of lasagna, but I'll prolly stick with the big noodles. :)”

“Was that a 9 and 1/2 Weeks dream ya had there, SG?”

“weh joo go?
i liked the perch, but the boss took it down because i used it to get close to a place where I could climb down and i did just that when the boss was at work and i got on the table and made confetti out of the boat and trailer title....

i dont know why the boss said some really new words that i have never heard.....(but i will probably learn them quick because they are only have four letters) .......she was always so pleased when i made confetti out of the junk mail.....

o>”

“Holy cow!

That Petey's a mess...
God love'im.

I'm not sweating the titles...
everything's gonna be okay.


The perch. Dang - I meant to find a better stick and swap them out. What else did I forget?



Looks like a couple days boating about Chesapeake Bay is out of the picture. Dag nabbid hurricane! Why does this crapola ALWAYS happen to me me meeeeee? Waaaaaaaaaaaah!

I'm not ready to hit the road just yet, anyway. A couple more days of preparation will come in handy.


...speaking of the boat. The mutts and I just got in from an early early morning fishing cruise. It's the second time I've gotten it wet since returning home. It's still running slugishly, so I bought some new plugs. I'll change them and launch at a friends ramp later this morning. I'm curious to see how she'll run then...


Ski and I have been playing phone tag. He's costing me alot of time and effort; picking up the phone, dialing numbers, etc... sheesh! He's gonna pay dearly for all this grief. j/k!”

“Gojo - When do you think you'll make it to Wyoming?”

“Wyoming? I can't say for sure...
Before the snows, I hope.

Seriously, tho. I would guess about two/three weeks(?)”

“There was snow in the Absaroka range this weekend. Mid 60's and plesant in the North Fork (Shoshone River) valley though. Where I was.”

“I talked to my landlord, who wants to rebuild my garage, about bringing you in to do it. He's putting the project off til' next year. Sorry bro... I tried.”

“Hey gojo, I've got more work for you... Need one built and help installing it. Are you actually coming to Iowa or should I just do them solo?”

“Do you have an email address, gojo? I'd like to give you my numbers in case you do get to Michigan. If not, I'll give you a call in the next day or two.”

“Gojo,still in N.England?”

“lol....did i ever tell ya petey is a big kidder....
check yer mailbox this week gojo!”

“gojo, depending on when ya head through, I might be gone on vacay. Looking like Oct. 12-17 at this point.”

“...just minutes from skiracer's place.

Jessica's wedding was great. Her new hubby seems like a really nice guy. It was great to see her and her family. I'm gonna swing back thru Eastern PA to do a quick job for her mom, then westward we'll head...

From Jessie's wedding, I crossed from Philly into NJ. I slept that night just SE. of Deleware Water Gap. Northern Jersey is very pretty. Come morning, we headed to NYC.

The city was alot of fun. I caught on quick to the ways of Manhattan driving - the Mighty Mighty Tacoma done us proud. I cruised the WTC site first. I wanted to stop and take a closer look, but parking was impossible.

I finally found a parking space at 64th and 3rd - just a few blocks East of Central Park. The dogs and I did a late lunch al fresco, then went for a walk.

The kids did really well on their leashes. We encountered many many other dogs, and Belle and Giz were soon ignoring them all. Sarabelle was pleased to see so many squirrels and pigeons in the park.

I came across a statue of a dog (name? d'oh!), and decided it would be a good photo op. After a couple minutes of posing the mutts and saying "stay" a dozen times, I turned to find a crowd of 30 people standing in a semi-circle - cameras were clicking left and right. I said "Not y'all!" in reference of the numerous "stay"s I had said. They all laughed. The pose was a classic - I can't wait to see the pix.

That evening, we stayed in Western Conn.

We drove north on US 7 to Manchester, Vermont, where I stopped to inquire about a Green Mountains hike. It turned out to be an excellent point of inquiry. In Manchester there is an FS Visitors Center, and two outfitters - The Mountain goat and EMS.

I stopped first at the FSVC. There I bought a map and a patch. I bought boots, socks and a replacement filter at EMS, and a stove and fuel at The Mountain Goat.

We then headed for the hills where we did an overniter. The hike was a loop which included a stretch of the AT/Long Trail. The hike included a lake and a highpoint - Baker Peak. Shelters were abundant, so I didn't pack the tent. It rained all night and thru the morning. We were rained on a little hiking out, but it was a great hike nonetheless.

New England is freakin' georgeous.




Tarabull -
Email addy? Not yet - I'll see if'n I can set one up at Ski's tonight. I'm at a library now - as always, and time restraints tend to limit what I can get done on the computer.

om -
I got the title the day I left GA. That Petey IS a big kidder - LOL!”

“Well, if you can, email me at the addy on my bio. I'll give you my ph number and info so you can call me when/if you find your way to MI.”

“I'm definitely heading to MI. I should pass thru about a week from now. I'll prolly finish Ski by this Friday, then he and I are gonna do a weekender in the Whites. I'll be back on the road Monday, do Jessie's mom's job on Tuesday, and be in MI on Wednesday p.m. Yep... 'bout a week.”

“Hey Gojo, if ya get close enough to Ohio I'd love to meet you if only for lunch or something. Man, all this talk of work and food has me hungry...

"Cream tangerine and montelimar,
A ginger sling with a pineapple heart,
A coffee dessert, yes you know it’s good news,
But you’ll have to have them all pulled out after the savoy truffle.
Cool cherry cream and nice apple tart,
I feel your taste all the time we’re apart,
Coconut fudge really blows down those blues,
But you’ll have to have them all pulled out after the savoy truffle.
You might not feel it now
But when the pain cuts through you’re going to know, and how.
The sweat is gonna fill your head,
When it becomes too much you’ll shout aloud,
But you’ll have to have them all pulled out after the savoy truffle.
Know that what you eat you are,
But what is sweet now turns so sour.
We all know ob-la-di-bla-da,
But can you show me where you are.
Cream tangerine and montelimar,
A ginger sling with a pineapple heart,
A coffee dessert, yes you know it’s good news,
But you’ll have to have them all pulled out after the savoy truffle.
Yes you’ll have to have them all pulled out after the savoy truffle".”

“Ohio?
Yeah, it seems there's no sensible way to get to MI from here without going through OH. It'll prolly be during the day that I'll pass through. Lunch would be cool If we could pull it off.”

“Ohio?
Yeah, it seems there's no sensible way to get to MI from here without going through OH. It'll prolly be during the day that I'll pass through. Lunch would be cool If we could pull it off. Are you near the freeway that I'll be traveling (from PA to MI)?
BTW - Dirtbag Darrel had better stay home if he knows what's good for him!”

“Dang I done it again!”

“Oh, the timing...

Beware. I've got a tiling project that'll be started soon. Hope the toilet and shower aren't un-usable when you get here. lol”

“"Ohio?
Yeah, it seems there's no sensible way to get to MI from here without going through OH. It'll prolly be during the day that I'll pass through. Lunch would be cool If we could pull it off. Are you near the freeway that I'll be traveling (from PA to MI)?
BTW - Dirtbag Darrel had better stay home if he knows what's good for him!"

I'm right on 75 near Dayton. Sounds like you'll be getting there via 80. That's a couple hours north. I don't expect ya to go out of your way just so Dirtbag can 'rassle yer dog. LOL!”

“I came across a statue of a dog (name? d'oh!), and decided it would be a good photo op.

That's Baldo, the sled dog who saved loads of folks in Alaska, by leading a team carrying a sled full of vacine through terrible weather.

I hope we get to see the pictures sometime Joe!”

“How long are you going to be in Michigan? I may have an odd job or two.”

“Hey -- gojo's coming to Michigan! I hope I can sqweeze outta work to vist!”

“Don't forget I've got a couple things, and a large pan of lasagna for ya! But I don't fly back into town until Thursday next week (Oct. 2). How long ya staying?”

“I dunno. A few days. A week. A month. Something like that.

Sass -"Baldo", that's it! I scanned the inscribed plaque, but didn't remember the buggers name. Gissmo thought he remembered something about "Bad Bo" the bear resslin' blah blah blah...

Nigal -
I'd go waaaaay out of my way to see Belle and Darrel mix it up! Two hours, tho? Maybe we could meet at a Hooters betwixt Dayton and I-80... Waffle House, Chevron, whatever.

lagtis -
Keep an ear out, perhaps we could arrange a mass gathering for dinner or something. I know! Tarabull can host a par-tay! Heh...



Anyhoo...
Ski and I made the Depot run last night, and I got a start on the stairs today. I didn't get much done as far as looks, but the engineering is done, and tomorrow will be all about sawing and leveling and nailing and lots of other stuff you amatuers just wouldn't understand.

Skiracer and Snowshovelracer have a picturebook New England woods homeplace. This is one beautiful area. I could sit on the deck and and watch the leaves turn for hours on end - in fact, today I did - LOL!
Seriously, tho. I could spend a week walking the surrounding woods. If Om's place is Camelot, Ski's place is Sherwood Forest...”

“gojo, I'd be more than happy to host a party in your honor.

There's a lake and boat launch near by so you can play w/ your new boat. There's lots of decent dayhikes w/in an hour of here.

And, best of all, there are lots of TTers in SE Mich that are dying to meet ya. So, come one over.

I have a couple weekend trips planned coming up. Hopefully, you don't show up while I'm out of town. :-(

Did ya get an email address set up yet?”

“Did ya get an email address set up yet?"
~Tarabull
Yep!

gojo58@hotmail.com

Somebody send me some mail!

I still plan to get a phone soon, too.

I don't have my boat BTW - I took the hurricane as an omen. Besides, could you imagine me trying to negotiate the streets of Manhattan (et al?) with a boat in tow? Whoa, mama!”

“BTW -
I wasn't necessarily serious about a party... but if you insist.”

“alrighty, you have mail.”

“I checked my mail, and responded. I'm a little confused, tho...”

“Balto was a husky who, in the winter of 1925, led a dogsled team through a blizzard to get desperately needed medicine to Nome, Alaska where there was a fatal diptheria epidemic.

opie1979@yahoo.com if you make it to FL's highest point!!”

“"Maybe we could meet at a Hooters betwixt Dayton and I-80... Waffle House, Chevron, whatever."

Chevron? CHEVRON?! Alright! Moon pies and RC Cola lunch here we come. Hey buddy, I'm buyin'! I'll keep an eye on this thread so I know when ya might be coming through and we'll see what we can work out.”