Home Is Where You Make It (#BOTB results)

Home Is Where You Make It

My Chrysler Town and Country Van at a scenic pull off on the Trans-Canada
Hwy in Glacier National Park British Columbia

        When away from what we think of as home, we try our best to make wherever we are our home.  For about a month my wife and I traversed Canada, traveled down to Tennessee, and finally made our way back across Interstate 40 to return home to Los Angeles.   We essentially lived out of our 2014 Chrysler Town and Country Van, hauling stuff in and out of motel rooms and relatives houses to stay for the night or several days whichever the case may have been.  For road life it was pretty luxurious.   No roughing it in the wilds or sleeping in the vehicle.  We traveled in comfort with air conditioning and a good sound system connected to satellite radio.  When we were hungry we stopped at restaurants to eat.  Some folks might still find this to be somewhat tedious, but we had a great time even considering some of the long driving days we experienced.

         I'll be inserting some vacation photos in upcoming blog posts, but in all honesty I'm bad at taking pictures.   When I'm having a good time I tend to get wrapped up in living and forget about capturing those moments for posterity.  In other words there won't be many photos and they probably won't be all that good.   My wife took the photo below of me standing in front of the Parliament Building in Ottawa, Ontario where we stopped in to see the changing of the guard.   I shot some video of that, but I won't bore you with that here.  Instead I'll bore you with this picture of me wearing my Panama hat as we awaited the ceremony on our last day in Canada.

Arlee Bird in Ottawa, Ontario awaiting the Changing of the Guard Ceremony

     In all we spent seven days (and six nights) in Canada.  It was a great adventure that passed far too quickly.   We've decided that we want to do something similar again and see more sights and hopefully at a more leisurely pace.  So much to see and so little time!

      That's not to mention the great United States which we still have so much more to visit.  This trip incorporated over 9000 miles of driving in 33 days.   We spent a lot of that time visiting in New Jersey and Tennessee so it's not like we were always in our van driving.

       I'd better be careful writing these posts.  I'm already missing the road life.  Home in my house is nice, but I can make myself feel at home just about anywhere I go as long as the company is good and the comfort level is passable.  Home might be where my heart is as the old saying goes, but home can also be wherever I make it.

Battle of the Bands Results

      My Battle of the Bands round this time was with versions of "You'd Be So Nice to Come Home To" by Anita O'Day and Julie London.  In all, this was a pretty evenly matched pairing that could have probably gone either way with most of the voters.  That's how it was for me at least.

       I went back and forth with these two renditions and changed my inclination in voting a few times.   In the end though I decided on Julie London's faster paced version.  If I could have used it I would have voted for the melancholy Frank Sinatra/June Hutton version, but apparently it may not have been available for viewing in all countries.  

       Maybe it seems incongruent that I would end up voting for a faster paced version, but to me the London version seemed cleaner, musically sharper.   The arrangements of both versions were very similar other than tempo.   O'Day's version is fantastic, but London's version had the greater appeal for me.  The majority of voters saw it otherwise.

Final Vote Tally:

Anita O'Day          16  

Julie London         11

Next Battle on September 1st!

       The Battle on Thursday of next week will be quite different than the one I just did, but in a type of music that I've used before and one that I enjoy a great deal.  Some might find the song a bit strange, but I hope you'll still play along and maybe expand you musical horizons in doing so.  It's a rather sensual song that won music awards, hit the charts, and received extensive radio play in 2000 though it's likely a song most of my readers have never heard of.   Be sure to check it out on September 1st.

        Are you able to make yourself at home just about anywhere you go?   Have you traveled the Trans-Canada Highway?   How would you feel about selling your home and living on the road?

     

Related articles

• You'd Be So Nice to Come Home To (#BOTB)
• Ride the Canadian Rockies: Days 11 - 12
• A Visit to Glacier National Park

Fear of Frying

Fried chicken with french fries (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

          As you read this I should hopefully be in Houston, Texas.   I drove.  It's not that that I have a fear of flying or anything like that.  I just don't like to fly with air transportation being like it is now. And driving the open road is something I enjoy doing.  Sure, it takes longer, but I don't mind.  Road trips are fun.

          If you're thinking my blog post title has a typo, it doesn't.  This post is not really about flying, but it's about frying.   No, I'm not turning Japanese--at least I don't really think so.  It's summer and I'm concerned about frying in the heat.

         Of course in a humid place like Houston I might be experiencing simmering rather than frying, but I always have some expectations of hot weather in the summer.  I'm not a big fan of hot weather which is one advantage to living in Los Angeles.  Oh, we do get some hot weather, but it's not often miserably hot night and day like it can get in the southeast United States.

        Since I'm composing this post a couple weeks in advance I don't really know what the exact weather will be like, but usually it does get warm.  I haven't heard about any cold wave coming to us this summer and besides since we're in the midst of global warming I guess hot weather is in the forecast.

         Frying fears not only apply to the weather but to our food as well.  I love fried foods of all kinds.  I often regret that fried seafood platter or fried whatever after I eaten it, but it's so good while I'm eating it.  Maybe we won't have to worry about eating fried food eventually since the government will probably ban it along with anything else they might think is bad for us.  Pretty soon we won't get to eat anything with salt or sugar added or anything fried.  No french fries, chips, sodas, alcoholic beverages, meat, or anything Big Brother (or Sister) thinks is bad for our health.

        Horror of horrors!  We may soon be only allowed to eat fruits, vegetables, nuts, and grains.  Nothing processed, everything fresh.  Good-bye McDonald's and Taco Bell.   Hello Farmer's Market.   I wonder if the Farmers' Markets will start having drive throughs.

          Do you try to avoid flying?   Do you like fried foods?   Do you think the government should tell us what we can or cannot eat?

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Havana No, Houston Si!

The skyline of Downtown Houston, Texas Category:Images of Houston, Texas (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Not Going To Havana Anytime Soon

         Havana, Cuba may never be an actual travel destination for me, but it is a place that will hold some lure.  Recent rumors that Raul Castro might be returning to the Roman Catholic Church might bode well for the future of the island nation.   With an inevitable passing of the Castro brothers in the years to come or at very least their retirement from government affairs, maybe Cuba will see brighter days ahead and hopefully not continue down the ill-fated road still being traveled by the government of Venezuela.  Hopefully the next decade will see better relations between the United States and the countries of Latin America.   If only the drug cartel activity can be gotten under control, maybe Latin American still has a chance for prosperity not for just the few, but for many.

         Enmity between nations rarely serves any positive benefit.   At times the symbolic gesture can end up with a good result, but usually it is a symbolism that increases misunderstanding between peoples and resolves nothing in the long run.  But countries are really bodies of people with their own opinions and ideologies.  As it is with individuals sometimes it seems better to be right than to be compassionate even though what is right eventually gets lost in ambiguity and self-righteous pride while compassion is passed off as something merely for show.

Houston Here We Come

        Tomorrow I'll be packed up and on the long and winding road to Houston, Texas, land of heat and high humidity.  Hopefully the rains will have moved on--I can only pray that they would make their way to California--and we will avoid any flood problems.   I've got a lot of traveling ahead of me, but that also might mean less time on the computer.

        I've already cut back on my blog posting schedule, but I will attempt to stay as active as I conceivably can, internet willing and the creeks don't rise.  Please don't abandon me and keep commenting on my posts so I know you're there.   If I don't make regular visits to your blog posts I hope you'll understand and I'm sure most of you will.   I'm gonna try as best I can.

           And if you see a metallic cashmere colored Town and Country van flying by you on the highway, give a wave--it might be me.

My planned route over the summer

Battle of the Band Results

      From my standpoint of musical taste, I had two great choices in my Battle of June 15th.   I like both of the versions I presented and either one was worthy of a win.   If you read my most recent post at Wrote By Rote you would have learned about my long appreciation for the traditional music of Cuba.   In some of my past posts on Tossing It Out I have indicated my enjoyment of the modern Spanish rock music.

        This was a match up that was difficult for me to predict which way it would go.   In a sense I'm continuing to put out feelers to see how Latin musical styles will go over in my Battle of the Band segments because I have a number of other Battles planned using Spanish music and particularly Rock en español picks.  Seeing as how I received quite a number of votes on this contest I will proceed in the future with some more of this type of music.  Not for next few Battles mind you, but coming soon.

       Even though I'm a big fan of traditional Cuban music, my pick in this Battle was the version by Caifanes.   I think the group's mastermind Saúl Hernández creates some great music.  His current group Jaguares is one of the best of any rock group in the world according to my personal taste in music.   It's a style of music that I favor a great deal.   However in this most recent Battle I was in the minority of voters.  

         The traditional sound of Compay Segundo won by almost twice as many votes.

The Final Vote Tally:

Compay Segundo           24 Votes

Caifanes                          13 Votes

          Do you think the embargo against Cuba had any positive results?    When is a punitive economic action against another country beneficial?    Will you be discouraged from voting on my Battle of the Bands match-ups if I use Spanish music or music of other countries?   

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Stats Status

 Trip Stats:

       On Thursday January 6, 2011, I returned from my Christmas vacation from Los Angeles to New Jersey and points south.  Here are some trip stats:

Days gone:  20

Time spent driving:  94 hours (or about the equivalent of 4 solid 24 hour days).   Since we were actually only driving an average of 8-12 hours per day, the driving was spread over about 9 days.

Miles traveled:  6059 --This was the total actual miles traveled from home departure to our return.  We drove less than 200 additional miles of driving in the places where we were since most of our time at our various destinations was spent just hanging out with family. There was another 200 or less miles of riding with others who were driving us around to other places.  For the most part we were pretty content on being housebound when we weren't driving.

States Visited: We passed through 20 states, but only actually stayed in 9.

Motels Stayed In:  10 nights in 7 different motels at a total cost of $454.60.  All motels were Marriott, Radisson, or Best Western properties with 3 nights "free" due to redemption of points.

Highway Tolls:  At least $40--I didn't get receipts for all of them and lost track of the precise amount.

Gas:   $708.55

Restaurant Meals:  ????   -- We ate in many restaurants during the trip.  I won't venture to even add them up, but I'll estimate that we splurged about $600 on food during the trip.  There was a lot of fast food, but several quite nice restaurants as well. 

CDs Listened To While Driving:   67-- I like to have a soundtrack going to accompany my driving.  I brought an array of listening ranging from Vivaldi to Eels to K.T. Oslin to Manhattan Transfer and on and on.  I would start the day with something classical and then a mix after that.  We drove all Christmas Day and listened to Christmas music the entire time.  We actually had 86 CDs with us, but since we also listened to the radio some and had some quiet drive time we didn't make it through all of the CDs we brought with us.  I love listening to music while driving.

Amount of Fun:   A whole bunch!

         This gives you a rough idea of what it might cost two people to make a lengthy cross country trip.  Certainly it can be done much less expensively, but I think we were in line with a certain element of frugality without being absolutely Spartan about it.   I highly recommend a road trip of this nature if you don't mind the hours in the car and the time away from home.  If you get the opportunity, go for it!

Blog Stats:

            I noticed that some of the WordPress blogs that I follow had received an assessment of "Blog Health" with an assortment of statistics and the blog owners posted their reports.

           In the past I have tried to make some sense of my Google Analytics reports, but have never really gotten overly serious about it.  When I changed my blog page template my Google Analytics stopped working and I just ignored it.  I notice now that on the Dashboard page there is a tab labeled "Blog Stats" that seems to provide the same information as Analytics did.  Someday I really need to study this and make some sense of it all.

           Have any of you studied your blog stats and made sense of them?   What conclusions have you come to from the information that is provided?     Where is the best place to go to find out more about how to interpret blog stats and put them to work?

Travelin'

             As you read this I am on a plane, or in an airport, or perhaps even in my rental van on my way to my destination in New Jersey.  I will have been on a plane all night, probably having gotten very little sleep. Traveling by plane is certainly the fastest way to go from L.A. to New Jersey like I've done, but is it the best?  The question I would like to pose for today is:

If time is not an essential issue, how do you prefer to travel?

         
          I'm not a huge fan of flying.  Getting to New Jersey I was on a deadline so I didn't have much choice.  However, if I didn't have to worry about my wife's work schedule and the amount of time we needed to get to our destination I would have left a few days sooner and driven across country.  We did just that a couple of years ago and it was  a grand experience.  In fact, we compared the cost of flying (including incidentals like transportation to the airport or parking) to driving (including gas, hotels, extra meals) and it came out to similar numbers.  Of course you have wear and tear on your car, but when you have a new car it's not too bad. 

           When we did our cross-country drive we allowed ourselves a leisurely eight days from L.A. to East Tennessee with lots of stops and side trips. What I like best is that you can enjoy the scenery and don't have to be in close quarters with a lot of people you don't know.  You can stop when you like, eat whenever you want, and change your route if you're so inclined.  We stopped in a place the plane would have never taken us in order to spend the night with an aunt and uncle who I hadn't seen in many years.  We went to see the arch in St. Louis and spend a day in Washington, DC.  We spent an afternoon in Richmond, VA, where we were joined by my sister and my daughter.  There was so much flexibility in our schedule and I was relaxed the whole time we travelled.  

          On our return trip we allowed seven days to return to L.A.  We drove leisurely on the Natchez Trace Parkway; spent New Year's Eve in Natchitoches, LA where we went to see the beautiful Christmas lights on the river; visited a daughter in Houston; stopped for breakfast in San Antonio; visited my sister in Phoenix--how could we have done all of that if we had flown?

        Of course there are other options.  I've taken train trips, but never across the country.  Train is not a bad way to travel, but like the plane you are on their schedule.  I've never taken a cruise or travelled by ship, other than ferries.  I've heard that a cruise is an absolutely wonderful experience.  I'm not big on being out in the water, but I might enjoy a cruise. I used to travel by bus occasionally, but I can't imagine anyone saying that's how they would want to travel.

       The bottom line though is that I'm a road person.  I love being in my car with the stereo going and being able to have the independence of deciding when and where I want to go.  So I want to know what is your preferred method of travel and why?  Have you ever taken a really long road trip?  Do you prefer a nice comfortable car and hotels or luxury RV?   Or would you rather just stay home and could care less about travelling anywhere?  I'm just tossing it out there.  How about tossing it back?