Vegan X-Country

Well, it’s been a while since our last post. We took a little hiatus after our road trip, and started the settling-in process. Brian and I are living with Betsy; this was originally going to be a temporary arrangement- a friendly place to crash for a couple of months to make transitioning a bit easier. After 2 1/2 weeks, however, negotiations for our permanent residency in this lovely house have begun. You see, Betsy is…not a cat person (gasp!), but she likes having us here, and we like being here. So she is willing to try co-habitating with Murphy and Emma, and we are willing to share living space with someone who may not completely adore our cats. It’ll be an adjustment for all, but I am optimistic.

So we’ve definitely been keeping busy. Brian is working for Jim Gallucci, a local sculptor and good friend. He is also doing a bit of sub-contracting work for his former NYC employer, and continuing to search for ways to put his architectural/planning talents to good use. I am largely unemployed at the moment, though I am doing child care on Sunday mornings for a nearby Quaker meeting house. And I have returned to dancing with John Gamble Dance Theater, which is fun and cathartic. In between, I am sending out resumes and applications and trying to put good energy into the universe.

Our first Saturday in town, neighborhood-wide yard sales started at around 8am. Brian and I scored a new dehydrator for $5, and have been happily experimenting with various food items. Most successful have been the banana chips, and prunes made from sweet plums collected from a nearby tree.
Our first Sunday in town, we discovered that the folks across the street sometimes play bluegrass music on their front porch. I fully intend to practice my fiddle so that I can join them.
Last week, we were pleased to discover an active and accepted pagan community at a Goddess Market, where normal looking folks mingled with ladies wearing wings and guys sporting pentagrams. There was music, belly dancing, jewelry, tea, and long flowing dresses.

i’m doing my best to enjoy this period of unemployment. in between sending out resumes, and perusing the classifieds, i’m managing to have some fun.

for starters, i’ve been taking advantage of the abundant summer fruits and vegetables. between the weekly farmer’s market, deep roots natural food co-op, and earth fare, my belly is very happy. yesterday i made mint hummus, peach salsa, and peanut burgers (recipes below).

i’ve also been watching tv and movies. brian and i are tearing through the first season of “heroes” via the internet. the nbc website provides full episodes with limited commercials. we’d been hearing good things about “heroes”, and it really is a wonderful show. i’m also nearly caught up on “veronica mars”, which features possibly one of the best female characters on television (played by vegetarian kristen bell). unfortunately the show will not be back for another season. betsy’s former housemate left behind the first season of “weeds” on dvd, another excellent show with another fabulous female lead.

believe it or not, i still have time for bike rides in the park, walks into downtown, and reading. i’m currently alternating between “to the lighthouse” (virginia wolfe), “the second sex” (simone de beauvior), “the sirens of titan” (kurt vonnegut), and my latest issue of bitch magazine.

life is good, and hopefully i will have a job soon.

Peach salsa: mix together 3 medium sized peaches, 1/2 a cucumber, and red onion, jalapeno, cilantro, and lime juice to suit your taste. (courtesy of vegetarian times magazine, july/august 2007 issue)

Mint Hummus: in a blender, mix 1 can of garbanzo beans, 1 tbsp of tahini, 2 or 3 cloves of garlic, juice of 1/2 a lemon, a few fresh mint leaves, and a dash of salt. (courtesy of “please feed me: a punk vegan cookbook” by niall mcguirk)

Nut Burgers: chop 1/2 an onion and saute in oil until soft; mix onion, 1 grated carrot, 8 oz of peanuts, 3 tbsp chopped greens, 1 tbsp sunflower seeds, and herbs to suit your taste with 1/2 cup of flour and enough water to hold everything together; form into burgers, and either bake for 12 minutes, flip and bake for another 12 minutes OR fry until golden brown. (also from “please feed me”)

Baltimore is a great town to explore, but we rarely have enough time there to fully check things out since we have lots of family to see. We stayed with Arlene and John and Cora, & saw Grandma and Marcy and Seamas the Crazy Poodle.

We tried to find Charm City Cakes, home of the show “Ace of Cakes”, but had no luck with that. We did find Red Emma’s, a very cool bookstore, cafe and infoshop.

After that we headed over to Fells Point and (randomly) saw my friend Melissa who lives above Red Emma’s and works at 925 the silver store (1640 Thames St., 410-327-0036). We paused for a drink at Du Claw’s Brewery where I had the sampler: 11 different kinds of beer!

The next day we visited Aaron and Susan, who have a very cool house decorated with Tim Burton movie posters. We had a bit of an adventure finding a restaurant to have dinner (maybe everything was closed because it was Memorial Day?) but finally located a decent pasta place.

On Tuesday morning, we drove to Raleigh.

While we did spend almost a whole week in western New York, it didn’t seem nearly long enough. I didn’t have a chance to explore the abandoned Rochester Subway System, nor check out the Ant Hill Collective to see what they had going on. Things started on a somewhat sour note when we arrived Sunday night to find that although we did make it in time to watch the 400th episode of the Simpsons, the pizza place where we got vegan pizza had only recently shut down.

The next day we spent relaxing, cleaning out the basement, cleaning out the car, and then we got to see my sister Jackie, and visited the Christmas Tree shop, which sells everything except Christmas trees.

Tuesday Ren and I set out for Syracuse, NY where we met our newest nephew Kevin. This was the also the first time we had a real conversation with Allison, and also Patrick showed us some of his favorite Scooby-Doo stuff. The next two days were full of lots of playing outside, with toys and in sand. We also spent some quality time with Jen and Brian after the kids went to bed, and watched the season finale of “Lost”.

We returned back to Rochester on Thursday, ate at Bill Gray’s, Home of “The World’s Greatest (veggie-)Cheeseburger” and to our dismay realized that their great hot sauce (of which we usually bring several bottles home) actually has dairy in it… So we committed to figuring out how to make it ourselves leaving the butter part out. My mother took Friday off to spend with us and we learned that day that the Penfield Library had ordered both The Silly Boy and The Silly Girl to shelve alongside real books.

Saturday morning we headed off to Baltimore, MD

Part 1: The Farm

A few years ago Sandor Katz (author of Wild Fermentation and The Revolution Will Not Be Microwaved) mentioned that whenever we were in the area, that we could stop by and visit the farm he lives on. I didn’t know much about it when I asked if we could visit, just that he described it as a rustic farm, there was a community of people who lived there, and that the goats who also lived there were his friends. So now that we were finally in the area, we had just enough time to spend a couple hours there walking around the farm, seeing how the folks there lived their lives, possibly befriending a goat or two, and if it was possible, see where all the fermentation took place.

After taking three or more wrong turns through the winding mountain roads, when we finally did arrive at farm, we really only had a few minutes to check the place out. We talked to a really nice girl who told us that Sandor and most everyone else were in a meeting and would be for a couple more hours. We said hi to a dog, saw what we could, and walked back to our car to go to see another farm in Floyd, Virginia.

Part 2: The Other Farm

We spent much of the six-hour car ride talking about how nice it would be to see David and Agatha and chill during the next couple of days on their farm, without driving, without annoying neighbors or stupid camp sites. The sun was setting as we approached their house. And then I realized my mistake.

I guess maybe I never actually confirmed that we would be at their house on that specific day, because the woman at the door of the house said that David and Agatha were in North Carolina.

So instead of staying with good friends, a good dog, in beautiful country…we stayed here:

We got up the next morning, and headed to Rochester 2 days earlier than we had anticipated.

Brian and I left Hot Springs with a loose agenda of how far we would drive and where we would spend the night. Our ultimate destination was Floyd, VA and the home of David & Agatha. But that would have been a nightmarishly long journey from Arkansas. Brian knew of a farm just east of Nashville, and thought we might be able to camp out there; however we weren’t sure if it was a “drop-ins are cool” kind of place. So we pulled off the highway just west of Nashville when we saw a sign advertising campgrounds.

Well…

I now know that my circle of Hell in Dante’s Inferno would include a large parking lot full of RV’s. When these people go “camping” they don’t mess around. They had satellite dishes plunked down beside their lawn furniture and whatever SUV’s and/or boats they happened to be towing along. There was one circle of grass at the back end of the campground which was designated for tent campers. And that’s where we set up our lowly quarters. Our fellow tenters were much more well-behaved than our neighbors in Hot Springs. And there were showers available. Other than that…no hiking…no lovely scenery (did I mention that a large portion of the campground was under construction?)…the pool wasn’t open…and there was a fresh water oyster farm in the middle of the lake where pearls are manufactured. Hmmm….

So. We made ramen noodles for dinner, admired the stars, read by flashlight, got up the next morning, made coffee, showered, and left.

After staying with Sarah, Andrew, Ellie, Lola and Sophie, we drove to Hot Springs, AR to camp in Hot Springs National Park for a couple nights. We were a little disappointed as we walked through town. The main street was lined with souvenier shops that sold pointless wares that had nothing to do with Hot Springs at all.

We did fill up on fresh hot water from a spigot though, which was really neat. When the water came out hot, I thought it must have been because it was a little past noon, and the sun had heated the pipes up…and then Ren said, “Ohhh, HOT Springs”.

We arrived at the campsite, and realized it was one of those smooshed places where everyone is crowded together. We went for a hike, reached the summit and sat down looking over half the park. And right next to us were ripe blackberries and a plant I like to eat called Sorrel. After snacking a little, Ren saw a tick on me, so we went back down to get it off.

And then we met our neighbors. Two teenagers passing us by told us our neighbors had been drinking since six in the morning. One of the guys was throwing up right next to his tent. Two of the guys came over and started talking to me about how they were teasing one of the other campers there. Later that evening, the drunkest of the group got in a fight with that same other camper, and the park rangers came around asking questions. That kind of put a damper on the whole situation.

Regardless, we were finally able to use our little stove, and had a nice dinner of raman noodles with hot and soy sauce as flavoring. We slept looking into the stars, and in the morning, we made coffee and grits and ate near the creek that flowed a few feet away from our tent.

I suppose that one of the biggest draws to Little Rock is the Clinton Library, which we visited Wednesday morning. A few people have remarked that it looks a bit like a trailer, and I guess it does. Inside, we made our way through about an hour’s worth of democratic/Clintonian propaganda. This level of egotism is common, I am sure, amongst all presidential libraries; but that doesn’t make it any less distasteful. And I think Clinton was one of the better ones, as leaders of the “free” world go.

Parking at the library is not only free, but is also convenient to downtown Little Rock. So we left our car there while we explored the River Market. It’s a cute little area, and the market is the kind I love: lots of different stalls and vendors under one roof. Amidst the butchers and BBQ stands, we found a place that didn’t mind fixing a couple of veggie heroes, which we took outside and ate at a picnic table overlooking the river.

We wandered around a while longer. Brian tried to locate Blank Generation, a punk performance space with a possible infoshop, but it looked as if it wasn’t there anymore. On our way back through the library park, we spent some time rolling down the huge hills; there’s nothing quite so liberating as that, though I think I resembled Princess Buttercup (from The Princess Bride) hurling clumsily (and somewhat painfully) out of control.

Andrew and Sarah had pointed us to the Big Dam Bridge as a nice walk, so we headed over to do that. The path actually takes pedestrians across over the river dam, and the view is gorgeous. Halfway across, though, we realized that there was nothing really on the other side, except for the walk back. So Brian went down to check out an old train that we had seen from the bridge, while I laid down under a tree.

On our way home, we stopped at Wild Oats and picked up groceries so that we could make dinner for our gracious hosts. We prepared Filipino Stew, which is one of our favorite dishes, and one that we could remember how to make without the recipe. Sarah and Andrew didn’t spit it out in disgust, so that’s something.

(Pictured above are Sarah and Andrew’s housemates: Ellie, Lola and Sophie (from left to right).)

Yesterday we arrived in Memphis in late afternoon and stayed with the Stantons (friends of Brian’s aunt Mary and uncle Scott). I took the car over to a CarMax for a quick check-up after noticing that the “check engine” light was on. The service rep assured me that it was just a minor emissions issue, and that we should have no problems continuing on our road trip.

Our host’s son, Drew, took us out that evening to show us the sites and sounds of Memphis. We had a couple of beers and a pizza without cheese in a cute little neighborhood in Midtown. After supper we drove over to Beale St., which turned out to be a rock ‘n roll version of Bourbon St.

We also got to meet Drew’s beagle Lucy, who in addition to being perpetually petrified of everything, has a condition that in layman’s terms is “doggie dry-eye”. Subsequently, Lucy had surgery that involved connecting her salivary gland to her tear duct. Yes. This means Lucy drools from her eyeball. She is a very cute dog.

This morning we awoke and had a leisurely cup of coffee with our hostess before heading out to Graceland. Graceland was…an amazing experience for me. And I say that without any trace of irony. I loved it.

I want to go back for the full tour (we could only afford to see the mansion on this trip, which perfectly suited our time-frame anyway). We even found that one of the 3 diners serves satisfactory veggie burgers. Unfortunately the famous grilled peanut butter & banana sandwiches are coated in butter, but I intend to do some vegan experimentation with that when we get home.

After Graceland we visited Decleyre, an anarchist cooperative in town.

Their electricity had just gone out, and there wasn’t much going on, but (even though they didn’t live there) the girl and dog in front of the house asked if we needed a place to stay.  Since we didn’t, we left and got going toward Little Rock. The journey to Little Rock took us through no less than 3 thunderstorms, complete with lightning, wind, and blinding rain. The first one to hit was so bad I had to pull over. I began to imagine that we would die painfully and freakishly there on the side of the highway, so Brian got into the driver’s seat and drove the rest of the way.

So now we are happily with Sarah, Andrew, Alex who is expected to be born in about 6 weeks, Ellie the Weimaraner, Lola the Cocker Spaniel, and Sophie the Cat. We (the humans) had a wonderful dinner at DimSum and ThenSome, and then Sarah and Andrew took us on a little driving tour around town. We have big plans for explorations over the next two days…

We (officially) began our journey yesterday with a stop at my cousin’s house in Apex, NC.

She hosted a 75th birthday party for my Aunt Kathleen (her mom), and all six of Kath’s kids and all of their kids were there. It was quite a fete- my cousins know how to throw down!

From there, we headed on to Charlotte to see Brian’s brother and fiancee and their two dogs. Although we didn’t see too much of them (Dave was involved in poker night with his buddies, and Tia was out doing Saturday night stuff), but the guest room was cozy and their dogs are sweet.

This morning, we got up early and started our trek to Tennessee. The drive was mostly beautiful, through mountains and farmland, and uneventful- which is a good thing. We’re staying with my aunt and her dog until tomorrow morning. Aunt Mary was unsure about how she would accommodate our vegan needs, so Brian went with her to Wild Oats, and bought supplies. For dinner they made pasta with red sauce, peppers, tofu and basil. Aunt Mary bravely tried some tofu, and decided she didn’t hate it, but probably wouldn’t go out of her way to eat it again.

ps: along the way Ren found out that Skateboarding is, in fact, a crime…ollies denied!