Destination NOW

“Goin’ to Graceland, Graceland, Memphis Tennessee”–Paul Simon

Greg was about five years old when Paul Simon released his Graceland album. I have wonderful memories of the two of us singing along all the way to daycare, Greg’s little blonde head bobbing in time to the music. I never thought that decades later, we’d be visiting Graceland together! Elvis purchased Graceland when he was 22, and for the time, it was quite a mansion, but not so much by today’s standards. According to the audio guide, this is the way the living room looked when he lived there. Growing up, I wasn’t a big Elvis fan, but over time, I’ve come to appreciate how much he contributed to popular music. His achievements are impressive, and the Graceland tour does an effective job highlighting them.

Elvis’ racquetball court is now a display room for his hit records. Pretty impressive, when you see them all amassed in one place.

How sad that his life ended the way it did. Are there many music superstars that have been able to manage their celebrity? I’m thinking of Michael Jackson, Whitney Houston, Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin, the list goes on and on.
The Graceland complex is a marketing machine. We bought the “platinum” tour, (but found a half price ticket on the Internet) which got us into the car museum, the planes, and a couple of rooms with videos of Elvis on tour. Here’s Greg, doing his Elvis imitation, as he climbs into the Lisa Marie, an early jet, that was customized with a bedroom, living room and conference table. Ah, those most definitely were friendly skies!
Other than the mansion itself, every site is accessed through a gift shop containing every item imaginable with Elvis’ name or picture slapped onto it: pajama tops and bottoms, trivets, key chains, sunglasses. It is a money machine…and I’m sure, very good for the city of Memphis, providing jobs for lots of its citizens.
One of the things that I loved most about my former job was my wonderful customers. I traveled to Memphis at least twice a year for the past 10 years, visiting International Paper. We would conduct our meeting then enjoy a fantastic dinner together. Let me tell you, Memphis has some of the best restaurants in the United States!
This time, I had no business responsibilities, but was fortunate enough to spend time with Jim, who graciously took us to lunch and gave us a tour of places I hadn’t discovered on prior visits. The highlight was his partner’s studio. Brantley has done some amazing pieces, one of which is hanging in the Memphis Civil Rights Museum. Enough for this post…but more on Memphis to follow.

Country, soul, rock and roll–Tennessee’s got me singing the blues

Well, we never made it to the Grand Ol Opry, but we DID stay in the Opryland area, at the Radisson, which was a more cost effective choice than Gaylord’s Opryland Hotel.

The Radisson offered a free shuttle that took us to the Gaylord Opryland complex, where we had lunch. That place was clearly the country western fan’s version of Disneyworld: gorgeous setting, but mediocre, over priced food.

Had we really wanted to attend the Opry, our just-in-time planning would have failed us. Considering that I thought Rascal Flatts was a singer’s name, it wasn’t a huge tragedy that we didn’t get tickets. Instead we made our way downtown, to enjoy the sights and sounds of Broadway.

Looks like Mike and I weren’t the only ones to decide that memorial day weekend was a dandy time to get married.

Have you ever worried that sitting on a bar stool is bad for your health? Nashville has effectively addressed that issue. Where are the Sombrero sisters when I need them?

Gives new meaning to “pedaling your body all over town”.

After enjoying the musical offerings on the street and in several bars, we made our way back to the hotel for an authentic barbecue dinner, with authentic country western singers, that will undoubtedly be discovered and soon be playing across the street on the big Opryland stage.

On to Memphis, home of the King!

Go west, young man (and mother)

Day Two’s destination was Knoxville. We weren’t in a particular hurry to get there. I’m sure it is a perfectly lovely city, but it just didn’t SPEAK to us.

Natural Bridge on the other hand, almost shouted “stop! Ya gotta see me!” , so we did, and we did. Once inside the Natural Bridge complex, and it IS a complex, we decided to forego the wax museum, the toy museum, the Native American village, and yes, even the Natural Bridge, in favor of the caverns. Hey, they had large pictures of the bridge. I can’t imagine that the real deal
would look a whole lot different. Besides, it was getting a tad hot, and we figured the caverns would be a nice, cool break from the heat.

We weren’t disappointed. The caverns were quite beautiful, and the sweet young guide did a stellar job telling the story of their creation, as we descended 34 stories into the earth. At least they SAY it is 34 stories. I find that highly doubtful, given that we not only walked down, but back up. Regardless of the depth, it was a fun experience.

The moss on one wall almost had a Jurassic Park vibe to it.

It was fairly dark down there, so it was a bit of a challenge to get a photo that does the stalactites justice, but I gave it a shot, so to speak.

Although day two covered almost 400 miles, the drive wasn’t tedious. Great company, glorious scenery and enough stations on Sirius to keep us entertained and in a Tennessee state of mind–who could ask for anything more?

We managed to get hungry just in the right spot…near Daleville, the home of the Three Little Pigs Restaurant. Now, I’m not an expert on barbecue, but I have to say, they had the finest pig I’ve ever tasted. Plus, we loved the decor.

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I'm thoroughly enjoying letting this trip unfold, with little to no preplanning. It is quite a novel experience for me, the Organization Queen. Greg pointed out we are practicing "just in time" delivery, something that Toyota does…and look how successful THEY are.

Our last minute hotel choice proved to be an excellent one, just west of Knoxville, one exit past the Adult SuperStore. No, we didn't stop. Something told us there would be several similar establishments along the way. We sure were right about that, but we were moving too fast for me to snap a photo of the billboards.

Wanting to relive the Cinco de Mayo experience, we chose a Mexican restaurant for dinner, and managed to catch a birthday celebration. The waiters sang, dressed the birthday boy in hat and serape and did SOMETHING to get that white gunk on his face. Unfortunately, I wasn't fast enough with my camera to capture exactly what.

Heading to Nashville for Day 3.

Cross country jaunt…well, almost

The very best thing about being retired is when opportunity comes a knockin’ you can say “come on in, pull up a chair and make yourself comfy”. That’s exactly what I did when Greg announced that he was driving to his summer internship in New Mexico. Mike had prior commitments, so Greg didn’t need to ponder which parent would be the better traveling buddy. Instead, he first had to decide if he even wanted someone riding shotgun, and then determine whether he had room in his car for me and my baggage (not emotional, the kind used to carry clothing–good thing, huh?) He did and he did.

This trip will be the longest that either of us have ever driven. Google Maps calculated the distance at a little over 2,000 miles. Had we kept going through Arizona and California, the total would have been 2,750 miles. So, although the ride won’t be from sea to shining sea, it will be pretty darn close.

Our destination for Day One was Greg’s apartment at the University of Virginia. It took us just about 6 hours to cover the 375 miles. Aside from a short cloudburst, the ride was quite beautiful. Not much traffic at all.

Great lookin’ set of wheels, no? Here’s the thing. The car’s a standard. One of the many skills I never mastered was the ability to drive a stick. Some might argue that I never completely learned to drive an automatic, but they would just be being mean. Lucky me. I get to sit back and enjoy the scenery while Greg does all the hard stuff, which he does very well.

Charlottesville is such a fun little town. Dinner was at Frye Spring Station, a gas station reincarnated as a great place for pizzas, salads, sandwiches and beers. What makes the place really special is that the huge doors where the service bays used to be are still in working order. When the weather is nice, one wall can be opened up. You feel like you are eating outdoors, except you are sheltered from the sun and the rain. Good thing, because that cloudburst followed us.

Next stop was the Charlottesville Downtown Mall, for drinks at the Sky Bar. Given that it was only up one flight, the name seemed a bit of a stretch, but the bar did afford a nice view of the mall.

I loved the artwork. Isn’t this couch great?

Day Two’s destination is the greater Knoxville area. We plan on getting to Memphis by Sunday, and to Santa Fe between June 1 and 3 but the rest of the itinerary is still in the formative stage. By keeping it open, we can take advantage of random opportunities as they occur. We’ll be listening for those knocks!

Ten Random Insights after Six Months of Retirement

In a few days, I will have completed a half a year as a retiree. Although many people probably figured this stuff out long ago, these were all new insights to ME.

I’ve spent decades multitasking, so I’m finding it hard to focus on just one thing for extended periods. I need to relearn how to uni-task!
After a lifetime of structure, it is slightly disorienting to suddenly be without any structure at all: no school term, no work week, just a 24 hour day, 7 day time span. When I wake up, it takes a while for me to figure out what day it is.
Once I got used to being free form, I discovered it is quite wonderful. Plus, I quickly realized I can create as much or as little structure as I want.
During my working decades, I had fantasies of what I would do if only I had the time. I now have the time, and I’m slowly discovering which of those things I REALLY want to do and which are, in reality, not so appealing.
It is amazing how quickly time flies when you are doing what you want to do, when you want to do it.
My local Y is a wondrous place. It is truly a community center, with all ages being served. It is particularly inspiring to see significantly older members being active and engaged. How fortunate I am to have such a large Y nearby, with so many classes and activities.
There are so many interesting, worthwhile volunteer possibilities; I need to resist over committing. Now is the time to explore different organizations and activities to determine which ones will be my focus for the future. (Does that count as uni-tasking?)
As tempting as it is to book lots of activities, I’m finding it better to keep some time unscheduled to allow life to unfold. By staying flexible, I’m able to take advantage of opportunities as they arise, like a road trip to New Mexico with my son, starting tomorrow.
Home made chicken broth IS worth the effort! Although cutting up your own chicken is cost-effective, what is equally important is that it TASTES better. (Or at least that’s what I tell myself.)
I need to find a better word for this stage of my life. The reaction that I get when I say I’m retired leads me to believe that others view it as a stage of inactivity, stagnation, lots of TV and sleep. Nothing could be further from the truth! Any suggestions for a more descriptive term?

Well, I said it was going to be random…what about you other retirees out there? What insights can you share?

Family ties, reinforced with duct tape

What better way to celebrate the completion of five months of retirement than with a Cinco de Mayo (5/5) celebration with five of your favorite relatives. And since we are on a roll with fives–after we all got together, it took my sisters, cousins and me approximately five minutes to get into the party mode. For one weekend, we were carefree–no husbands, kids, grandchildren, parents to take care of, no work or responsibilities. To paraphrase Cyndi Lauper, we were girls that “just want to have fu-un”.

Although my sisters and I have always been close, we cousins recently rediscovered how much we enjoy each others company. I’m sure Grammy was looking down at her six granddaughters, watching us raise our glasses of Bloody Marys in a toast to her, the original “Proud Mary”, and wishing she was there with her flask of blackberry brandy.

The Wyndham Resort in Hancock, Ma. was the perfect setting for our weekend together. It had it all–beautiful scenery, two bathrooms, not too many other guests, and just the right level of activities. We managed to take full advantage of everything the resort had to offer: Pool, sauna, hot tub, karaoke, exercise room.

But the activity that was the most fun, or at least produced the most laughs, was the duct tape wallet caper.

Even after seeing the craft room, and the bemused looks on the faces of the two (age appropriate) little boys in the class, we were NOT dissuaded.

The instructor, on the other hand, felt we should move to a larger table (and to larger chairs). Was it because my sister laughed hysterically at the sight of me sitting with my knees touching my ears or was the instructor worried that SHE might have to extract me from that seat?

Once we stopped laughing, we became intensely focused on the task at hand. Who knew duct tape came in so many varieties? This was clearly an educational weekend.

We were rightfully proud of our finished products! What’s next? Duct tape evening gowns? Duct tape sombreros?? Duct tape canoes??? The possibilities are endless. Whether the folks back home will be equally impressed is questionable…

Not content to depend solely on the resort for activities, Lissy and Lindy created their own. I don’t think the Wyndham expected pinatas to be suspended from their balcony. Fortunately, we had that area all to ourselves.

You can see from the blur, that Lindy gave the pinata a mighty bash, but it STILL held together. Doesn’t she remind you of Luke Skywalker wielding the light sword (or whatever it was called)?

But wait. Look at Sue and Sandy in the photo below. Could there have been some cheating going on? I count two hands on that pinata stick…and one hand belongs to someone who is NOT wearing a blindfold!

“The Sombrero Sisters”, as we were affectionately dubbed by Paul, the Karaoke master, had worked up a powerful hunger with all that activity, so off we went to the local restaurant. Looks like the seating plan was blondes (Lindy, Kristy and Sue) on the left, brunettes (Lissy, me and Sandy) on the right.

Time for me to bid my sisters a fond farewell, as the Massachusetts contingent heads home on Sunday morning. (How did Lindy manage to escape this photo-op?)

The Jersey girls were determined to make the most of what was left of the day, starting with a visit to a local winery, which was also a cider mill and an apple farm.

What goes with wine? Why ice cream, of course. Sundaes, to be exact, from Gardiner’s Ice Cream stand, coffee shop, miniature golf course and driving range. Places in the Hancock area appear to be multifunctional.

They didn’t have the kind of nuts that Lis wanted so our new friend made up for it with extra toppings. Yikes.

The Hancock area is truly beautiful, and we were fortunate enough to have wonderful weather. On a day like that, even dandelions looked amazing!

Kristy, the “baby” of the group, and mother of three, returned home, leaving me and Lis to experience one last activity–a property walk up the ski slopes with Paul, the karaoke master and snow board instructor. Like the businesses, the people are also multifunctional up here.

What’s left to say, except:

What about you? What do you do to reconnect with family and your childhood?

Good bye Team Two, plus contest answers

It has taken me a while to write this post. I guess I’m having a hard time acknowledging that the Team Two St. Lucia experience is officially over.

But on to the important stuff–the contest answers. The following statements are all true. Global Volunteers:

Serve only where they are invited.
Work under the direction of local leaders.
Help local people do what they have already decided they want done.
Send teams of volunteers to each community several times a year, serving on five continents and the Pacific area. For the St. Lucia project, the hope is that there will be a team on site every month starting in 2013.
The fee Global Volunteers pay covers food, water, lodging, local transportation, program related and administrative expenses. The volunteers also pay for their flight/transportation to the country. Yes, the volunteers pay their own way. For those that want to fund raise, Global Volunteers will provide assistance.
Anse La Raye, St. Lucia is the newest Global Volunteers site. Yes, we were only the second team to serve in St. Lucia.
The St. Lucia project is one of the largest to date, in terms of the number of volunteers on site. Yes, normally there are fewer than 20 people on site.
Although the volunteers work hard during the week, they are free on the weekends to explore the island. And we did!
Many Global Volunteers get “hooked” and serve on additional programs. Out of the 27 of us, only 4 were serving for the first time. Everyone else had been on at least one other project. Norina held the record, having working on more than 25 projects!

Drum roll, please: The contest winners are (in order): Lindy, Sue, Sandy, Lissy, Kristy, Mike and Jim. Congratulations to all!

As a farewell to team two, I’m including photos of other volunteers. With 27 volunteers working on 9 different teams over the two-week period, I wasn’t able to get to know as many of the group as I would have liked. What an interesting group it was! Coming from different areas of the USA, and from various occupations, the group had collectively traveled to all 7 continents and well over 100 countries. If you had a question about a particular country, it was quite likely that one of the other volunteers would have the answer, having been there and done just about everything!

Here we are in the bar, just before the farewell dinner: Jeanne, from New York (who I met on the plane), Norina, from Pennsylvania, Laurie from Colorado and me.

Moving over to Kid Step for week two gave me a chance to get to know Edith. I enjoyed every minute I spent with this fascinating, kind woman. I won’t reveal her age–I’ll just say that the calendar fibs–her varied interests (Tai Chi, ballroom dancing, foreign languages, travel), activity level and stamina convinced me that she is easily two decades younger than her driver’s license would indicate.

The kids made themselves comfortable. Like children everywhere, they loved physical contact. (And so did we!)

Jan, the baby of the group, is a teacher from Ct. who used the grant given by her school to come to St. Lucia during school vacation. She and Kathy, the Earth Box team, worked really hard, out in the sun all day, visiting the different sites, teaching teachers and kids about planting and watering. They never complained about the heat or humidity, and managed to keep smiling regardless of whatever challenges the day might bring.

Here are Tom and Jonah, demonstrating the partnership between local leader and Global Volunteer, as they finish repairs on the fence behind Kid Step. Jonah’s three-year old daughter, Johanna, is one of the Kid Step students.

Bonnie, an attorney from Maine, has encyclopedic knowledge about plants, animals, insects, food, nutrition. Her cabin was even higher up than mine. I got this photo of her early one misty morning, when she was out watching the birds that stopped by for breakfast.

Some people get the face they deserve. That is definitely the case with Jim–he is exactly the way he appears in this photo: kind, friendly, happy–an overall great guy, with a face to match.

Martha decided to join the “Globettes” (Jim’s name for Jeanne, Laurie and me) at JD’s restaurant on Marigot Bay. This is where Lawrence, our night watchman, performs a couple of nights a week until the late hour of 10 PM! Lindy wanted more photos of me. So here I am, in my room. The mirror encouraged multitasking. Hair combing was the ideal time to get in some squats!

St. Lucia, beyond the resorts

Most of the Global Volunteers’ work took place in Anse La Raye, which was about a 20 minute ride from our hotel in Marigot Bay.

Permit me to give you a tour of this sweet little town. First a history lesson from the town square. Sorry about the wire–I figured I’d better not mess with anything electrical!

We were in Anse La Raye during Lent, which meant that the fish fry described above was not as festive and exciting as it normally is, so none of us attended.

Here’s what the rest of the square looks like.

The first Sunday of our visit, the Volunteers were introduced to the congregation. During the service, we were asked to stand and the entire congregation applauded for us, making us feel so very welcome.

Seems no matter where you go in the world, you can always find caffeinated, sugary drinks.

Here’s Edith leaving one of the town’s two bakeries. This one has delicious rolls that you can get early in the morning, before starting work.

Then at noon time, Edgar has some wonderful creations. I particularly liked his coconut squares. And yes, that IS a NY Yankees cap that he is wearing!

Although the town lacks billboards, there is no shortage of inspirational messages.

For lack of a better name, we referred to this place as the “Bounty Rum”. It was a gathering spot where we could get coffee, water, fruit juice and snacks. We were always working, so we never got around to sampling any of the place’s name sake.

And while we are on the subject of food, this is the local ice cream store, where you can get a cone for $1 EC, or about $0.40 US.

Remember how clean the children are? That is not something easily accomplished. As we strolled through town we would often see uniforms hanging out to dry. Recognize the little red skirt? That’s the bottom half of the Kid Step uniform.

These ladies are working in the local open air laundry, right by the ocean. Talk about putting things into perspective–when I do laundry, I just press buttons!

This woman doesn’t need to go to the gym. She got those muscles in her arms by scrubbing clothes. Notice the wonderful smiles on these very gracious ladies.

Right next to the laundry is the market for souvenirs.

The lady on the right told me if I bought something from her, she’d give me a very BIG smile. This was not a problem, because I was trying to buy a little something at each stall anyway.

After chatting with them, I learned that they are sisters, and that I had been working with their little girls during my week at Kiddie Homey Day care.

Here are their daughters, Starr and Gladice.

Not every vendor can afford a store or a booth, so they spread their wares on a blanket on the street.

Below is the public shower and toilet for town residents that don’t have indoor plumbing. It is right across the street from Kid Step Day Care. The facility lacks a bathroom for adults, having only a toilet for the children, so the staff suggested that the volunteers go next door to use the bathroom at Kiddies Homey Day Care. The staff, however, used the public toilet.

The town also had its share of beautifully decorated, well maintained homes.

I’ll end this post with the Primary School’s Motto, which tells you a lot about the spirit of the people with whom we came in contact.

The Contest Finale– Global Volunteers Questions

Learn more about Global Volunteers by determining whether the nine statements below are true or false. (And being the visual person that I am, I had to throw in photos for your — and my — entertainment.)

Global Volunteers:

Serve only where they are invited.
Work under the direction of local leaders.
Help local people do what they have already decided they want done.
Send teams of volunteers to each community several times a year, serving on five continents and the Pacific area.
The fee Global Volunteers pay covers food, water, lodging, local transportation, program related and administrative expenses. They also pay for their flight/transportation to the country.

Waiting for our “end of day” meeting to start. Every week day the 9 teams on the St. Lucia project share their thoughts and the day’s accomplishments.

From the left:

Steve, Elmer, Ruth, Sue and Brenda

6. Anse La Raye, St. Lucia is the newest Global Volunteers site.

7. The St. Lucia project is one of the largest to date, in terms of the number of volunteers on site.

Front row: Norina, Bonnie, Edith, Steve, Jane, Ruth. Second row: Gabi, me, Jeanne, Sally, Martha, Brenda, Sue, Marianne, Dotty and Elmer. Last row: Jim, Kathie, Tom, Laurie, Marsha, Tom, Warren, Kathy, Jan and Ron. (Warren and Ron were the team leaders).

8. Although the volunteers work hard during the week, they are free on the weekends to explore the island .

The beach near Rodney Bay, the north part of the island.

Kid Step Preschool Kiddies Homey Day Care Center

9. Many Global Volunteers get “hooked” and serve on additional programs.

And that, my friends (sisters and cousins to be exact) is the end of the contest questions!

Part 2 of the Contest

Well, gang, you did much better with these questions!

I’m sure Grammy is smiling down on her granddaughters, pleased to know that we still remember the many things she taught us. (Some things right, some–well, less accurate…but she still was a good ol’ gal)

Question 4: The cruise ships dock at which St. Lucian city?
The correct answer is Castries (also the answer to question 9), But the names of the ports works too.

The Celebrity ship is bigger than the office building across the street. Yikes!

Here’s a view of the port from one of the scenic overlooks we visited with Jeffrey and Ashley on our Sunday off. That Celebrity ship is on the right in the photo below. if you look carefully, you can make out the office building. See what I mean? Sorry for the blurry photos. I was using my iPhone for these. Didn’t want to be weighed down with my regular camera.

Question 5: Which two countries spent 150 years fighting over St. Lucia?
Yes, the French and the British were duking it out and yes, the last country standing was Great Britain. Hail Britannia! Notice the flag on the sailboat in Marigot Bay, the nearest town–the one with the bank that wouldn’t accept my ATM or credit card.

Question 6: In what year did St. Lucia become independent?
Yep, It was 1979. Sorry, no visuals for that question–other than the mental picture that Lissy provided.

Question 7: What St. Lucian poet received the Nobel prize for Literature in 1992?

Sorry ladies, but spelling DOES count, so Lindy and Sue get extra credit for getting it right. Kristy gets a point for creativity and for making me laugh.

The Square named for Derek Walcott is right across the street from the Basilica. I wonder if that is why the cherub (facing the Basilica) has a leaf growing in a strategic place?

The Basilica is quite beautiful. I was fascinated by the ceiling! I also stopped in at the Pentecostal service down the street. The service took place in a small auditorium, with a stage, and white plastic chairs. The congregation was standing, swaying and singing–and were most kind and welcoming. I stayed to sing one song with them, but had to get back to my traveling buddies. But I digress. Back to the contest.

Question 8: St. Lucia makes a unique kind of ketchup. What is unusual about it? (and do you think it might be one of the prizes?)

Yes indeed–it IS banana ketchup.

So, the score to date is: Lindy 8 points, Lis and Sue tied with 7 points, Sandy 5, Kristy 3, Jim 0 – and Mike has already received his prize, so he is out of the competition.

One more set of questions–this one will be about Global Volunteers–and then the contest closes. Prizes to be awarded the first weekend in May.

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