Tag Archives: travel

Found: Funky Asian Store in Massachusetts!

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERAIsn’t she beautiful? She lives in Great Barrington, Massachusetts. In the Berkshires. Her name is Kwan Yin. She’s the Buddhist goddess of compassion. Some representations of this goddess show her with a thousand arms and a thousand heads – the better to provide mercy and protection to all people.

So, the many branches from her head is an apt way to portray her. And, she makes a way-cool garden sculpture! She would look so beautiful in my garden back home. One can never have too much compassion and mercy in their lives, eh?! But, that good karma doesn’t come cheap. She’s $2,300.00 worth of mercy. So, unless we win the lottery, she won’t be gracing my garden. The cost and the chains attaching her to the fence are the only things preventing her from being strapped onto the back of the Tramper right now!

But, she was fun to see. The store where she lives was closed the day we saw it last week. However, it looked like a good bit of the inventory was outside on display. The store’s called Asia Barong and they have a dragon! OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERAThey also have a website and Facebook page, should you have an interest.

We are still in the Creekside Campground in Rosendale, NY, waiting for Frankenstorm Sandy to blow through. Not to mention that our 4Runner is still in the shop. So, I started looking through the bazillion photos we’ve been taking and found these shots of the lovely Kwan Yin.

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERAIt was the 18 foot dragon that caught our eye, but there was so much other cool stuff:

– Jane

Didin't catch this guys name. He was too busy with all those kids!

Didin’t catch this guys name. He was too busy with all those kids!

Another Kwan Yin

Another Kwan Yin

Hmm, nice lion. And, he's on sale!

Hmm, nice lion. And, he’s on sale!

Your choice of giant Buddha head, handmade wooden tea house or custom-forged gates and fences

Your choice of giant Buddha head, handmade wooden tea house or custom-forged gates and fences

–  Jane

“The Movie of the Road”

…here’s a little slideshow

On the Interstate, My mind and eyes are never relaxed.  On these backroads, I am breathing, thinking, musing about life and generations of lives.  I meet PEOPLE in the stores.

– David

Hmmm, Noticed a very funny thing this morning…

Yes, a very funny thing to me.  Its cloudy, drizzling and nice to be comfy in our little Tramper.  Tin roof, rain tink-tinking at times.  The funny thing unique to this trip is Orientation.  At home my house ALWAYS faces the same way.  the street is always out front, patio and garage out back.  I can call out directions by neighbor names (Rick and Nancy’s vs Joe and Kyra’s).  Here I get “almost dizzy” when the curtains are drawn because every day we face a different way.

I believe there are cultures where people always orient their bed in a cardinal direction.  Maybe now I know why?

– David

DAY 7 – 09/21/2012 – Stowe VT, Cradled in the Arms of Family

You never know how you’ll be received whenever you call a relative by surprise.  They have their busy schedule, need to work etc.  But, you’ll know whether they really want your brief company.  Perhaps bringing our own bedroom where ever we go will help?  Here we feel welcome.

Jane, Caroline and David at Huntly & Doug’s beautiful home. Mt Mansfield in the background

Huntly, Doug and Caroline help us feel at home in their home.  We slept in late (anything after 8 is late for me) and sat around for lots of coffee and pancakes. We ate their home cooked food, had long showers and did laundry. Great hosts, eh?!

Jane, Huntly, David and Amber, our host dog cousin.

Later we rode into Stowe and up/down the “Rec Trail”.  A beautiful 5 1/2 mile paved ribbon between Downtown Stowe’s Blinking Red Light and the Top Knotch Racquet Club along the river all the way.  Idylllic, safe and peaceful, but we yearn for single track.  Won’t be long.

– David & Jane

DAY 6 – 09/20/2012 – Vermont or Bust, Vergennes/Verizon

…enough said!

We started with “Second Breakfast” at a diner:  The Hot Biscuit in Ticonderoga or Ti as they call it.

Here was a breakfast we’d share as we’d already eaten. Homemade biscuits with sausage gravy.

Finally receiving good news buoyed our drive out of New York.  We really don’t want to leave, but Fall moves fast up here.  (We want to move North to Maine and New Brunswick at a modest pace so we can turn South and travel as slow as our overall experience and  entertainment suggests.)

Jane has romantic childhood memories of Ticonderoga, (a game that we’re having trouble researching) or a place she’s never been. We saw this as a reason to explore and plunked down about 17 bucks each for the fort museum.  Despite my frenetic ways, independence, and ability to read display signs, I gently lobbied to wait for the tour.  Boy was I glad.  Dan the presenter in period dress, herded about twenty of us to a flat below the ramparts.  A very good speaker, he skillfully painted the times that these places flourished.  A new nation, French and British interests…very lively and informative.  Looked like a great job for a History Major or actor.   We really enjoyed it.  But as will be our way, our feet were soon aching to make some miles toward Vermont.

Dan had us feeling “Revolutionary sentiments”…

Oddly, the brief “service” our phones had given us, they also irritated us.  However much our phones said “looking for service” and we enjoyed being out of touch, what we lacked most was a way to blog.  This feels like an important part of our adventure.  Surely if we only fitfully jot a few things and posts, it won’t capture the immensity of the country or the privilege we’ve stolen to travel within it.

We saw the Big Red Check Mark:  Verizon Store in Vergennes, I pulled right in.  Picking phones and service plans can be pretty tedious stuff.  In Maryland the stores are so busy it can be over half an hour before anyone notices you are there.  Not so in Vermont.   Chase was gracious, informative and entertaining.  Nick too got involved and we couldn’t help telling them about our adventure to explain why we needed a “hotspot” or something to connect for blogging.  We are 4G!   Both of us picked “dumb phones”.  I see an image of people everywhere, standing, looking down at something in their hands.  I see many parents so engrossed in their swiping and texting, they miss excited toddlers crying up for attention.  I don’t want to miss the world around me.  We want to see and hear all we can.

My cousin, Huntley returned my call, sounding almost like she was jumping up and down.  Wow, you’re up this far already?  You’ve got to visit!  We can make Stowe before 930 PM…more nice back roads then about 20 “icky” miles on Interstate 89.  I think it was the 40mph “Minimum Speed” that confirmed our disdain.  My poor little V6  4Runner can’t decide which gear to kick down into and seems to struggle more trying for 60 on the highway than whatever we roll on those back roads.  (Wonder how long it will last?)

– David

I remember having, as a child, a game called “Fort Ticonderoga”. Or was it Fort Ticonderoga Lincoln Logs? It’s pretty hazy. Maybe Nancy or Bob can refresh my memory. Anyhoo, that’s why I wanted to go to the fort. We also took Iris, our little stuffed bunny who travels with us. We have pics of Iris from all over the world.

– Jane