Sea Fever

Scott’s Sea Fever

          (with apologies to John Masefield)

I must go down to TRAVELER again with the WAC burgee on high,

With my SSB and GPS and a star to steer her by,

And the motor’s kick and Connie’s song and my white knuckles shaking,

And a gray mist on my gray face but a bright dawn breaking.

I must go down to the tropics again to the hippie sailor’s life

To the margaritas and taco stands where I’ll live with little strife;

And all I ask are some merry tunes from my laughing “Connie Bun”

And a blissful sleep and a sweet dream that the journey’s just begun.

John Masefield's poem Sea Fever was modified by our friend Lisa Dekker.   See the original here.

To Jump or Not to Jump

We're getting itchy feet and jones'n for some sea travel while marooned here in Seattle getting the LRV (land recreational vessel) tuned up and taking care of business.  Meanwhile Traveler is content in the heat of Mazatlan patiently waiting for our return.  Our talk is turning toward plans for the next cruising season and the question keeps coming up, "Will we make the puddle jump to the South Pacific next spring or not?"

Is the boat ready?
Yes:  Many systems have been overhauled including, standing rigging, the hull, engine and drive train, water tanks, batteries and electrical components, wind vane steering, GPS, and Single Side Band.
No:  Need to update the solar panels, fix or replace our 1.5 gal/hr water maker, consider buying a life raft and gather books and charts about the South Pacific.

Are we ready?
Yes:  Jones'n to go, fairly comfortable with the boat and its systems, healthy enough.
No:   A little cash strapped, not sure about having only a crew of two at sea for +- 30 days, got a rental house in Tumwater to worry about.

In the meantime, in the blog world, we're reading about our friends Richard and Brian on Osprey, currently in the Cook Islands at Aitutaki and we are reading about our friends Kirsten and Patrick on Silhouette,  in the Cook Islands at Rarotonga and we are reading about Nicole & Aaron who we don't know but we do read their blog, on Bella Star, also in Rarotonga.  Seems like everyone is in the Cook Islands.  Everyone but us!  Wouldn't it be most wonderful to cruise Pacific Mexico this winter then just before we need to call it quits because of the hurricane season approaching, we jump across the equator into an upside down world where summer is winter and winter is summer and the hurricane ( called cyclone in the southern hemisphere) season is not starting but has just ended?  Gosh, that would be cruising for 12 months straight with 12 months of summer-like weather.  ***Endless Summer ***


If we are doing the jump then there are some things we should take care of while we are here in the States.  Maybe we'll go ahead and prepare a bit, just in case. So we are getting a few things together so that just in case we get the urge, we can jump.

But then again.....

Green route VS red route.  Which seems most straightforward?

Connie had a thought.  We want to really exercise the boat, and really exercise the crew in preparation for going halfway around and maybe all the way around the planet.   Here is her suggestion.  We cruise Pacific Mexico this winter then come May, we jump across to........ wait for it..... Hawaii!

Western Hemisphere

Yes, Hawaii.  That would be a long passage. 2850 nautical miles, about the same as from Mazatlan to Nuku Hiva.  But at the end of the trip we'd be in the U. S. and poised for another crossing, this time from Hawaii to British Columbia, another 2400 miles at which time we'd be cruising down the outside of Vancouver Island, one of our favorite places. "So much for endless summer...", says Connie. 

Then we'd head down to Puget Sound to our old stomping grounds.  Why is the place you are most familiar with in your past called a stomping ground?  But anyway, we'd be back in Puget Sound and could take the big old boat all around the stomping ground.  We'd end up finally in Olympia and be able to live on the boat while we fix up Connie's house in Tumwater to sell or rent it again.  

A side benefit to this plan is that we'd be near Fisheries and West Marine so we could chase down all those important refit thingies and get a little further along on preparations for being gone from the western hemisphere for many years to come. 


"Being gone from the western hemisphere for many years to come."  Now that's a frightening, challenging, interesting concept. 

The Cascadia Flag

A further challenge would be the trip south in September down the west coast of Cascadia and Californica to our origin at San Diego where we acquired Traveler in March 2011.  From there it would be familiar territory down the west coast of Baja, over to the mainland, then down the coast.  But this time we'd continue south past the terrifying Gulf of Tehuantepec,and continue on to Guatemala, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, and Panama before FINALLY doing the puddle jump over to the Marquesas. 


Whew! That sounds like a lot of traveling in old Traveler, just to avoid making the jump this next season.  Maybe we should rethink this a little bit more.

 

Thoughts on turning six o

It's funny how birthdays evenly divisible by 10 are thought of as milestones in life.  At twenty you become an adult, at 30 you should at least be starting to get your shit together, and at 40 you are solidly into middle age.  At fifty you get a glimpse of what old age can be like and you think, "a half century... Hoo Ha!"

Looking a bit goofy as I wait to blow out the candles.

I'm sixty this week and am trying to figure out what that means in terms of milestones.  I guess the big thing for me is that at 60 I am not working at a paying job and have the time to consider what I want to do, minute by minute and day by day.  Having the time to consider, instead of deciding and moving on to the next thing is a luxury, I know.  I'm finding it to be totally wonderful to be able to take my time about things, reverse decisions, and look at situations from alternate perspectives.

I was talking to my 92 year old mother yesterday and she said that she feels the same at 92 as she did at 82 and 72 and 62 and 52.  That got me thinking that our bodies and our minds age at different times and at different speeds.  The body grows really fast until you are 20 something but the mind lags a little bit behind.  Thus you have 21 year old men and women who have strong bodies ready to go to war for their country but their minds are not mature enough to realize that that can be a really bad idea.  You may be strong enough to stay up all night but foolish enough to spend that time drinking and drugging.

Land Anchor by Keith Dekker

For most people the 30s are the time for the mind to catch up with the body and we realize our true potential.... or not.  I personally think that the 30s are a "make it or break it" period in life.  Then by 40 the joints are getting sore and you can't seem to keep up with the youngsters but this failure of the body is balanced by the onset of wisdom. Oh wisdom, what a slippery little duck you are.

In my late 40s I hit several plateaus.  I felt fairly mature and sometime even wise.  My confidence level was pretty stable and my body, while a little worn out, seemed to hit a good stride.  For me, at least, and evidently for my mom, this time of life begins a slow steady rise in maturity and a very subtle decline in health that can last til you exit this world. 

Do I feel 60? No, not really.  But if 60 is the new 50 then I guess I'm cruising along right where I should be.  I'm realizing that the way I feel now and the way I am now will most likely continue for many years to come.  And I realize just why older folks always say on their birthday, " Well I certainly don't feel like I'm (fill in the blank) years old."

As I stand here on the road I see it stretch straight towards the horizon, and when I turn around I can see the travels that have brought me thus far.

When I ride the ocean I know that because of the curvature of the earth I'm only seeing about 3 miles of water.  I also know that the ocean continues on for a long and unknown distance. For some reason I feel that the ride before me will be constant as I chase that duck to the ends of the earth.  Ah 60, what an age.

Adventures in Olympia

Now don't I look, and feel, like a country bumpkin?

We are firmly ensconced here at Lorree's house in Delphi (near Olympia) where we are busily ferreting out some dry rot in the port side wall of our new land yacht named La Dolfina.  Connie has proven to be quite adept in chasing down the soft, waterlogged framing and I'm learning how to peel off aluminum siding to expose the evil rot.


We took a break to see the duet Mucho Gusto perform at Traditions Cafe for a fund raiser.  We met some other musically inclined friends there and near the end of the set, Lorree and Steve invited various singer friends to come onstage for a song.  Connie was coerced up there and her buddy Mike joined her for "La Cachita".  At that moment a photographer from the Olympian snapped the shot that would become the front page lead in the next day's newspaper.  This is all kind of funny because they were only up there for one song and it was Mucho Gusto's set! Steve got cropped out of the picture (so we put him back in, below) and neither Lorree nor Steve got mentioned in the newspaper piece. Go figure!

Stars come out in afternoon for film society fundraiser

On Friday, Connie got to join FOG (Four Old Guys) at the farmer's market having fun playing drums and singing with her old buddies from Ocho Pies and Obrador.  The Four Old Guys are Tom Russel, Paul Hjelm, Michael Olson, and Steve Luceno.  Tom replaced Connie in the last band, Ocho Pies, when she left for Mexico.  Tom actually refers to their new group as FROG.  Four REALLY Old Guys.  Connie's daughter Tesla joined us at the market then we all tromped off to Olson's for a big dinner.

Connie and Tesla at the market

Once we've finished our "minimal" upgrades to La Dolfina we'll head off to the mountains.  But in the meantime, we're in the Puget Sound neighborhood visiting friends and kicking back.  Connie wants me to get the camera out and take before and after pictures of all the dry rot in the land yacht but I'll just leave it to the reader's imagination to picture us out in the great woods of Delphi standing on step ladders, chipping away with wood chisels and screwdrivers, the sound of the jig and hand saws echoing off the douglas firs and western cedars. 

Summer 2013 Update

Holy moly, it's almost August. Here in the Pacific Northwest everyone looks forward to the possibility of some warm weather soon.  We're visiting friends in Seattle and Olympia and have just finished a one week sailboat adventure in the San Juan Islands where we actually went without wearing wool socks for two days. One of the wonderful things I appreciated was that my beer stayed cold in the bottle as I consumed it, unlike in Mazatlan where halfway through your beer it becomes warm and flat.

We anchored at Ewing Cove at Sucia Island

Traveler sits alone in Mazatlan with her new engine, tranny, prop shaft, dripless shaft seal, cutlass bearing, and a smooth sexy new bottom.   We'll get back to her in late September, most likely. 

We've yet to exhaust our offers of couches or spare rooms in these parts but we can see a time coming soon when we'll want to spread our wings and head east into the mountains for scenic opportunities.  With that in mind, today we outfitted ourselves with a cute little 1987 Toyota Dolphin.  You can call it a motor home or you can call it what we call it - "Dolfina"

Note the northwest fashion statement of socks with sandals.

We got a killer deal on the old gal.  Once we get her tuned up, looked at, patched, and prodded sufficiently we'll head towards Montana, Wyoming, Colorado, you know ...to the old west (which is east from here).  Mountain states' friends beware!  You might have little Dolfina show up in your driveway in August.

Engine in Boat - a Milestone

Hooray, Hooray, the time has come.
Mister Perkins is surely done.

Metallic Blue

We spray painted him metallic blue then the crane truck came to the yard and hoisted the beast up into the air and down to Rafael's waiting hands to be directed into the bowels of Traveler.  Some grunting, some heaving and he was resting on the new rubber motor mounts deep down in the bottom of the boat. The whole operation was like a birth in reverse.  Traveler opened herself up to receive the big blue block of metal and as it slid into place you could hear the boat settle into her dry dock cradle with a sigh of relief.  Surely this is a time of gladness, a time of celebration, and to commemorate the event I cracked open an ice cold ballena of Pacifico cerveza.

Hoist it up and lower it  in

As you might have gathered, I'm back in Mazatlan, coming here especially to see the boat receive the engine and get splashed back into the water where she belongs.  The list of accomplishments is a yard long so I'll wait until the bitter end to list those out.  And also, there is no need to risk offending the dogs, er..gods, by claiming a fait accompli when that's just counting chickens before they are hatched. We know how unlucky that can be. 

Hal admiring the engine sitting on the cockpit floor.

Boats here get stuck in the yard for  days, weeks, and months as new problems emerge as the onion gets peeled.  Hal and Nina brought their boat in for a paint job.  Then they found a leaking water tank.  On removal they found a rotten beam under the floor.  Then they found the mast step to be rotten too. They removed the mast, they removed the floor, they removed the floor joists and bulkheads and now they live in a camper in the parking lot as their boat is no longer habitable. We went through a similar thing as we peeled the onion of Traveler, watching a simple hull repair turn into an odyssey of  rebuilding and replacing.

Hope springs eternal, and I truly do believe our repair/refit odyssey is coming to an end. I've got a U.S. Air flight booked for next Wednesday, taking me back to my loved ones in the chilly northwest.  In the meantime, I'll make arrangements for Traveler to be safely moored at the marina here and someone will come by every week to check her bilges, her lines, her batteries, and her state of mind so that when we arrive in late September she'll be ready to head out into the open sea again. 

It's in the bilge,  resting  on the motor mounts.

Connie is back in Seattle, on Vashon Island of all places, getting some much needed rehabilitation for a pinched nerve in her back.  Our friends in Seattle and Olympia have been wonderful, taking us into their homes and giving us a comfortable place to stay.  We've been bouncing around there for a couple of weeks now waiting for the boat to get finished.  But I'm here in Mazatlan and Connie is on Vashon, and I miss her terribly.

Sexy new under body.

We are open to suggestions for trips or house sitting in the months of August and September so if you have any suggestions on how or where we could freeload for a week or two, drop me a line.  One thing I'm looking forward to is spending a week on a WYC keelboat in the San Juans when I get back.  We've got her reserved for 7/22 through 7/26.  Please send us good weather, warm temperatures, and lots of wind.  Ha! Like that ever happens in the pacific northwest.

Bert Wilson, saxophonist

Bert Wilson

 Sunday we attended a memorial celebration of the life of Bert Wilson, an Olympia saxophone player who recently passed.  The hall was filled with musicians and friends playing Bert's compositions and telling stories of his amazing life.  I've never seen such a gathering of talent in the same room. It was quite a party.

With plenty of sound equipment on the stage there was room for many to play.  Our buddy Steve Luceno kept calling for musicians to come to the stage, making sure everyone had a chance to honor Bert by playing his music.  People swapped turns on the keyboards, bass, traps, guitar, and horn section.  In between songs we'd see a video of Bert playing or have a friend come up to the  microphone to tell a story about Bert's life. 

There was a lot of emotion in the room.  I took a few pictures.

Musicians friends of Bert, playing Bert's music

Nancy Curtis Wilson and Laura Booker

Ariel Calabria and Joe Baque

Steve Luceno and Laurie Gardener

This from the Seattle Times: 

"Mr. Wilson developed techniques for playing two, and sometimes three notes at the same time, called “multiphonics.” He also extended the range of the tenor saxophone several octaves above the instrument’s normal range, using special fingerings."

Vincent Soluna

Michael Moore and Connie

John Shepard and Susan Tuzzolino with Paul Hjelm lurking behind

This from Doug Ramsey:

"Although not widely known to the jazz public, he was sought out by saxophonists who regarded him as a guru of improvisation, extended techniques and the history of the instrument.

He lived and worked in New York, LA and Berkeley before he settled in Olympia (Washington) in 1979 where his home with flutist Nancy Curtis became the center of the jazz community. It was the site of private lessons, informal jams and public concerts. Struck by polio at the age of 4, Bert Wilson spent the rest of his life in a wheelchair (he became known as “Dr.Wheelz”) but he said discovering Charlie Parker had a larger impact on his life. He also said playing the saxophone was a necessary exercise in strengthening his lungs."

Affordable blue water sailboats in Mexico

Cheoy Lee Offshore Ketch     $39.9K

When I looked at my reader statistics I see that this blog entry has more hits than any of my others by far.  That brings me to think that there are a lot of folks out there thinking about getting into an affordable blue water capable sailing vessel.  Read on.  I've added an addendum at the bottom of this article.... sv 

Last month I was perusing the for sale board outside of Mazatlan Yacht Sales and was surprised at the number of affordable boats advertised there.  This broker has offices in Mazatlan, San Carlos, Puerto Vallarta, and La Paz so they have quite a bunch of boats available for sale.  Of the over 150 boats, I'd say more than half of these are blue water capable ranging from 37 ft to 52 ft.  This last cruising season we saw a lot of boats and a lot of boaters who were cruising the Mexico coast and most of those boats were in that 37 to 52 feet category with the average being about 40 foot long.

Rafiki 37    $40K

Of course there are boats less than 37 feet in length that are capable of cruising blue water and many over 52 feet are out there cruising but for our purposes, and this discussion (which I'm controlling so STFU) we're looking at the 37 to 52 foot range for the typical sailor.  I had focused on boats in the 40 to 45 foot range when we were looking because these fit our budget and I wanted a heavy displacement vessel with enough room for a crew of four to sleep, eat, and play comfortably.  Looking  back on the decision, I'm reconsidering.  Don't get me wrong, I love Traveler and am quite happy with her.  But now with some experience under my belt I realize that I could have outfitted a slightly smaller boat and have saved tens of thousands of dollars.

Today as I write this post I see (on the Mazatlan Yacht Sales web site) about 18 blue water sailboats advertised for under $40k, all between 37 feet and 40 feet with the majority in the 37 to 38 foot variety.  If you bring the price up to $50k then there are 24 boats in this category.  Some that stand out are the Rafiki 37 and the Tayana 37, both cutter rigs and both very solid blue water cruising vessels.  The Rifiki is designed by Stan Huntingford and the Tayana by Bob Perry, two very accomplished and serious blue water designers.  Yacht World has seven Rifikis advertised, with five under $50k.  The Tayana is a bit more expensive, usually, but a wonderful boat.

Downeast Cutter   $30K

The Downeast 38 is another nice vessel that can be found for under $50k.  Keep in mind that the selling price will often be much less than the asking price.  If you find a boat advertised for $52k then you just might get into the boat for $42K. These three are just a few examples of affordable blue water cruising sailboats.  There are many more.  I've read that you should expect to put about half the purchase price of a used boat back into the boat as you refit her for service.  Thus if you buy a boat for $40k, expect to spend another $20k on her to get her totally ready for sea.  I'm finding this to be true on my boat as we bought her for $93K and have put close to $50K into her since then.

Tayana 37     $47.5K

So what I'm seeing, with the older 37 footers, is that you could have a good solid blue water sailing vessel for about $60K to $70K (after the refit) if you choose wisely and inspect all the systems carefully.  I could be cruising for about half what I've paid thus far!  Holy Cow.

But then, I love our boat.  It is roomy and cuts through the seas like a freight train.  And she is sexy, very sexy with that rounded stern and polished teak.  Oh I just love to pat her rounded stern.

The upshot is... don't let me catch you whining that you can't afford a blue water sailing vessel.  There are dozens and dozens of them out there, many of them in foreign ports, just waiting for you to come take a look. Don't think that you have to buy your boat in the good old USA.  You don't.  Many of the really good deals are down south, and many boats are in Mexico where folks have cruised them for years and then put them up for sale because they don't want to sail them upstream and upwind to the good old USA.

The lowdown is this.  Get yourself a plane ticket to La Paz Mexico.  See what they have there then take the ferry across to the mainland.  Visit San Carlos and look those over, then take a bus south to Mazatlan and walk some more decks.  Then head south, again by bus, to Puerto Vallarta and look at some more.  Take about 8 days for the trip, two days per city, then cogitate on it for a while.  When you have narrowed it down to a few, get yourself a broker and a surveyor and make a low ball offer. You might be surprised at what you can afford.


Addendum -  Written February 2015

Boats.com has an article written by By Zuzana Prochazka in October 2012 entitled "Classic Plastic: 10 Affordable Used Sailboats for Cruising"

This article was prompted by an earlier article about 5 affordable blue water sailboats.  Those five were totally out of my price range.  But this later article talks about some boats that I looked at while looking for my boat, most of which I had to pass up because I couldn't afford them.   I wanted to include these here for those who had a few more bucks to spend.  I've been on many of these boats and have some recommendations.  

Kelly Peterson 44  -  I made an offer on one of these and personally know three people who have them.  These are great boats with a center cockpit and aft cabin.  You can find them at a good price on occasion.

Liberty 458
Celestial 48
Hans Christian 38  -  A sweet looking traditional boat
Tayana 37 -  What I would look for if we lost Traveler to the sea.  Smaller but more affordable.
Passport 40 -  Good performer, faster than the Passport 42 but not as much storage and stability.
Gulfstar 44 - Very solid
Norseman 447 -  I saw one of these at a Seattle Boat Show and lusted after it.  Great layout, very stable.  A big hunk of a boat.
Hylas 44 -  Quality boat, probably drawing a high price still.
Cabo Rico 38 -  Have friends who took one to New Zealand and back.  A very nice design.

So there you have it.  These boats are not a super affordable solution like in the original article but they are really nice blue water cruising boats.  Oh, and let me add just one more suggestion:   The venerable Passport 42!

sv

5500 miles later

Through the southern desert states, east to Nashville, north to Illinois, then across the continent to Seattle, we've logged 5500 miles in the last 30 days.  And in all that time we've camped out 6 times, paid for 2 hotel rooms, and the rest of the time stayed with friends and relatives. I almost said "friends OR relatives" but some, if not most, of our relatives are also friends.  And that's a nice thing.

Wyoming

We've learned that every family has its dysfunctional elements, each household is a little bit odd, and that's the American way.  We came away from this part of the trip with renewed connections with friends, better understandings with our relatives, and an appreciation for the country of our origin. Yes, we were freaked out a little in Texas with all the religious advertising but as a friend pointed out, "They’re probably as frightened of your America as you are of theirs."  

This country is big, big enough to become four or five separate countries.  Maybe it should be.  Folks might feel more at home with their country and their government.  Let's see, perhaps Dixie States of North America. Eastern Seaboard Colonies, Middle America, and Cascadia would be appropriate.

It's been a long time since we've shopped for a cheap hotel room, and our conclusion is that there ain't any.  Coming across Wyoming we got wind stormed out of a bandit camping site.  Even the cheesiest little lincoln log motel nearby was $80 with most rooms over $100.  On that particular night we drove on into the night and found a little city park with free camping. Score!  We are glad we have all our camping gear with us and we revel when we find a place to pitch the tent without opening the wallet.  One trick is to find national forest land and then a gravel road.  Just go a half mile off the pavement, look for a flat spot, and you are all set.  We've found several such places on this trip and they turned out to be wonderful camping spots.  

Bandit camping in the national forest

After making it to Seattle, and getting back into communication via email and phone, it turns out that the boat will not be ready this week but will take another two weeks.  So I rescheduled my flight and Connie and I are spending a week in Seattle and a week in Olympia before I hop on a plane and go south to splash the boat.  

If all goes well, I'll be back later in July for a little sailboat trip we've planned to the San Juans.  Then in August we'll be looking for something to do.  So if you've got a little cabin in the woods, or a ranch out on the flats, or a penthouse in Vancouver that needs house sitting, give us a jingle.

Solstice parade in Fremont

Jumping Ship

The boatyard at Mazatlan

We've jumped ship. Couldn't take it any longer.  Life on the hard finally got to us as temperatures soared and we tired of carrying buckets up and down the ladder. See the photo above and imagine how it is when the temperatures are in the 90s and the air is filled with fiberglass dust and paint fumes.  We talked to Bob and learned that it would be another four weeks before Traveler would be ready to go back into the water.  He advised us to take a vacation from our vacation.  So we hit the road.  We headed north to the country of our origin.

Brevin starting a heat.

Ava rocks.



Barb Dodge in Albuquerque

The first few days we fried, as the little Honda car took us through the Sonoran desert without air conditioning. We stayed at the Departmentos Adelie in San Carlos the first night, then arrived in Phoenix to visit Connie's sister, Diane and her husband, Tom the second night, staying there for about a week. We enjoyed the swimming and attending a swim meet... and we got the air conditioning in the car fixed.  The best part was hanging out with Ava and Brevin. From Phoenix we went to Albuquerque and stayed with Connie's friend Barb who made us feel right at home. Our Traveling methodology is focused on routing ourselves so we always
find a free place to stay and find old friends to catch up with.  As we travel around the USA this summer you can bet we'll find you and crash in your spare room if you are anywhere near our planned route.  After all, we are on a budget!

Richard and Sheila after shooting the rapids

As we headed east we ran out of daylight and crashed at a free campsite near Elk City Oklahoma.  Then the next day rolled across Oklahoma to join our friends Richard and Sheila at a wonderful little cabin next to a river.  That was a very relaxing three days and we caught up on 23 years of news. It sure is nice to catch up with old friends who you have not seen in decades.

Now we are in Hendersonville, Tennessee visiting with brother Bernie and his wife Amy, and mother Voltz of course.  Next we head to Galena Illinois to see Connie's family there.

Amy, Connie, Kathleen, Scott, Bernie

I'll be flying back to Mazatlan in two weeks where I'll find Traveler ready (or not) to go back into the water.  Connie will park herself in Seattle and Olympia awaiting my return then we'll spend the rest of the summer in the Northwest visiting friends, crashing on couches, and making ourselves a nuisance.  We figure to worm our way into a home, drink up all the beer and wine, raid the refrigerator, and once our welcome is worn out, move on to the next friend's house.  We'll also do some sailboat cruising this summer in Puget Sound as I've reserved a boat at the WYC.

Not happy with all this time in the car

See you soon.  Get that beer stocked up please.

And now an aside about how somebody stole my America:

As we made our way east from Albuquerque the flat scenery didn't change much but what did change was the roadside scenery.  Our eyes were bombarded with religious references on the side of the road.  We observed this all the way through Texsas, Oklahoma, and Arkansas.  Some were huge billboards telling of Christ's coming, "Warning, Jesus is coming.  R U Ready?"  Warning? Sounds like something I want to run away from really fast, and we did at 75 miles per hour.

In Groom Texas we saw a huge 19 story high cross on I-40.  People flocked to the scene admiring the statues at its base, some with anti-abortion themes.  And the churches, they were everywhere and they were big.  We'd see a hill off to the side of the highway and there would be three crosses on top. Then down the road a sign on the side of a trailer on someone's roadside property referenced a bible passage.  Off the main road we'd see little signs in people's yards with bits of scripture on it and everywhere, there were billboards advertising the various churches in town.  We got the feeling that in this part of the country you had to be a member and you had to let everyone know you were a member.

We turned on the radio, looking for NPR.  No such luck.  But we did find talk radio and Mike Huckabee, and right wing religious propaganda spouted from the car speakers.  I tried to follow the logic but it just did not make sense to me.  Government should stay out of our business. But on the other hand, government should pass lows telling women what they can or cannot do with their bodies and telling same sex couples that they are second class citizens.  We tried to listen to the radio, just to try to understand where these folks were coming from, but the vitriolic words were mean spirited and conflicted so much from what I thought religious doctrine espoused that we had to turn it off and sit in moody silence as Connie accelerated the car.

We could  not wait to get out of Texas, and then across Oklahoma.  The last time I traveled this county by car I remember the wonderful scenery and the little mom and pop diners in the small towns.  But that was 22 years ago and things are different now.  Now the mom and pop diners are few and far between, replaced by chain restaurants.  And now the roadsides are full of religious propaganda and statements of fear.  

We thought it was funny to see competing billboards coming into Oklahoma City.  On the north side of the highway was a billboard talking about how we need to stop sex trafficking.  On the south side was a billboard with scantily clad women inviting us into an establishment where we'd satisfy our sexual needs.  And there would be a sign touting Jesus's love next to an advertisement for an indoor shooting range. Wanna take a class on concealed handgun ownership?  There is a a special price for women.  

Guns, God, abortion laws, proud displays of the American flag, big pickup trucks, and ball caps.  Now the last three I can handle, but the first three have no place in our public spaces.  Who stole my America?