Virginia Horse Center

Virginia Horse Center, Lexington

 9/30/10

Its 6:00 AM and it has been raining all night.  Fortunately we are camped in an area that has a large gravel base so at least there isn’t soggy mud.  It takes a concerted effort to keep the inside of a trailer clean.  Rugs have to be shaken out at least twice daily.  Dishes need to be washed and put away as soon as possible.  Even in 25 ‘ all motions require either moving around something, often sideways, or moving something out of the way (and back) before one can move around or move or retrieve  an item.  Its a juggle  that consumes time and energy.  Half steps back before  a single step forward.  There are routines of course but we all know how those can break down.

If I may say something about the content of this blog.  As you may have noticed there are not a lot of photos of me and Jo.  Well Jo is pretty adamant about having her picture taken at all and I am usually  not in the position to take my own.  Consequently you see a lot of the Airstream in different campgrounds.  I hope this is not too boring but I think the main protagonist of this journey, aside from our state of minds, is the Airstream.  I usually capitalize it as a proper name as we have no name for it yet.  Many names have been suggested and a few not too flattering.  There are the usual ones: Silver Bullet, Tin Can, Silver Streak, and in our frustrations - Fluidstream, Black Water Tank, Silver Sewer, or even The Honey Bucket.  This is not being very fair because it has served us well for the past month and a half and sheltered us from the many storms, even  a hurricane, in dryness and warmth.  And we have prepared many memorable meals and kept clean in the very tiny but very hot water shower.  Its just that every time we look at the toilet we have to think - Now where and how long until the next dump station and how much can I really put in there!  This is no small question in the middle of the night.  We will be making a detour up to a dealer in New Jersey to have the valves replaced.  That should do it - period!

Also most of the Airstream’s pictures are taken at our campsites.  This is as much to serve our own flagging memory as to where we have been since so many different places begin to melt into one another.  Clues, I need clues.

It never fails that every day someone comments on the Airstream.  People at counters, toll booths, walking across the road, coming out of post offices, some sharing their own stories.  Yesterday a Virginia lady in her smooth drawn out accent came out of a store and up to the truck in the drizzle,  as I rolled down my window she said how it brought back memories of when she first came to America she lived in one for several years.  It was the last thing I would have expected to hear from this southern matron.

I have not delved into the history of the Airstream but there are hundreds of thousands out there so the river of stories must be wide and deep.  Aluminium connestogas.

Usually people are stunned when they ask us “Where you headed ?” and we reply “We don’t know.”  That will always get a conversational ball rolling and we find out a lot about others.  As you may have gathered by now while we do have some general idea of a route, each day brings up the question of “Where are we headed?”

Maybe away from the rain for a while? 

Do you hear marimbas ?

I understand there’s a space shuttle launch in November in Florida.  They say its like watching the sun rush upwards with an all consuming thunderous marrow crushing noise.

It’s still dark and it’s still raining so I guess I’ll crawl back in bed and read some Merwyn.  It's good rain poetry, full of earthen memory.  I think you would like him.

After we got going this morning with a huge country breakfast at a local waffle house we took in the morning session of the American Saddle Horse judged events.  Kicked around in the afternoon then went back to watch the evening shows.  Amazing animals and riders that ran the gamut from tiny to huge, old to young, balletically composed to floppy hulks.  The men all dress like undertakers with black tails, wide lapels and black hats with tiny crowns and large brims.  By the way, the floppy hulk guy won two blue ribbons ! I’m missing something here.