Day 4 still - i arrive at the Artists' Enclave, I-Park in East Haddam, CT

the last 4 miles of the drive...







the barn--with the end closes to the camera functioning as my studio.

sleeping and eating quarters (is larger than it looks). houses about 6 artists at a time.


the view from the front of the property looking back towards my studio on the left. i believe these are either stone or carved from concrete.


the community garden.

and a stroll around the lake to look at the property and some of the site specific works.


more works tomorrow because my battery died and is now charging!

they must have known i was coming up from Texas--my first dinner was homemade guacamole, tacos, and margaritas.  how did they know that's the only alcoholic beverage i've learned to drink?

ok. i may get seriously spoiled. i love my family, my studio, the BOX, my grandgirls and the younger set,  my new job, and much more, but one month in one spot, one bed, same shower (well a shower!),  one town, will all feel like heaven...and they have a chef! welllll i do have to fix my own breakfast and lunch. and what am i suppose to do all month? MAKE ART! soak up the place, walk, read, write, and heal! i am up for the challenge!!!!

Day 4 - seven states before noon plus DC

Virginia (Springfield), Maryland, Delaware, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, New York, Connecticut. And since Friday--Texas, Louisiana, Arkansas, Tennessee--that's a little over 1,400 miles, 11 states, interesting food, enjoyable friends and family, and all with only one wrong turn.

Must get recipe from Tessa for the egg dinner she made last night.
It was fabulous!

Tessa Wilkin (middle), my hostess for last night, Dr. Rachel Giese (left), my hostess for my exhibition in San Antonio, Amy Koch (right), my future hostess for my as yet to be imagined and secured exhibition at the Whitney or MOMA (ha :) ). Picture stolen from Amy (thanks).

Outside of major cities, i was amazed at the highways lined with thick green habitat. beautiful.





And now I am east of New Haven sitting down to lunch, Italian. And to my surprise there really is a group of 50+ year old women loudly chatting with the over powering accent one assumes is a stereo type and expects only in the movies about the Godfather. 

After lunch, I'll be off to East Haddam for a month.

Just landed on East Haddam, just north of Old Lyme, CT minutes east of where my mom grew up and met my dad (a cadet at the Coast Guard Academy and she the daughter of a Professor Jerry Barton Hoag, a nuclear physicist--needless to say my dad past that class). I brought plenty of tick spray being just north of Old Lyme. On the tour, even the outdoor shower has full length mirror which I was told was for purpose of tick checking. They are serious. Site is beautiful. Phone not only doesn't receive signal it appears to have died. Perhaps the powers that be...

Site pics shortly...but for now just know....aaaawwweee.

Day 3

OMG I have numb butt! Aaaaggh I am at about 1,000 miles, several tanks of gas, drop dead scenery, interesting changes from state to state. For instance, in Virginia along hwy 81, they have signs that speed limit is strictly enforced and they back it up with both marked and unmarked cars (all chevys). In the rest stop, the mirrors asked the question via a sticker, "will you be another Virginia traffic fatality?" So guess what, people go speed limit on the interstate. Well they did speed in sections where the shoulder would make it extremely dangerous for cops to pull anyone over...hmmm. On the other hand in the flatlands of Arkansas the flow was 80 to 85 mph, Tennessee was 80, Louisiana varied based on road condition. The differences and samenesses along the byways are fascinating to observe.

Oh yeah unlike Texas with our mile markers, Virginia marks every tenth.

Lunch break at Lew's pizzeria and sandwich shop in Hollins,VA.

Yum.

And weird thoughts along the way. Look closely

I know they most likely mean well, but I can't image the Jesus I know would be good with fifty foot crosses. I mean I read his stories and these seem so contrary to the way he lived. He was all about people, intimacy, community, and healing ways of life. As a matter of fact the only times he seemed to get pissed was in terms of religious people and some of the stupid systems we set up and our arrogance in thinking we know better and our attempts to MAKE others get in line. I just don't get fifty foot crosses and the billboards. Though my favorite billboard is on the westside of Houston. Big picture of something heavanly (?) on the left and flames on the right. With the phrase "heaven or hell?" laid atop the images and they put the church phone number directly under the image of the flaming hell! Ha! Who in their right mind would call that number.

Other random road trip ponders by the flow to come.

Day 2

Hotwire is my friend. The Hyatt Place was clean, beautiful and the help was gracious last night.

Hwy driving. Memphis.

Green hwy is better.



I know it's just wrong, but I couldn't help myself. I've added a new color to my bubba keg collection. It has a new lid design--perhaps they've resolved the dribble factor. Rational is I use my bubba's as a refiller (tea; no vodka or coffee please), not only saving me money, but I am not throwing away a kazillion cups and lids per day.



Road closed. Really? Yup both ways. They were demo-ing an old bridge.




Lines of trucks as far as the eye could see.


And touch down for a power lunch with Korie and Kirk.

And then off to see my bro and Shelley near Oakridge, where they try to find a balance between nature and nuclear.



The drive to his house. Dang a beater trailer house! Bro what were you thinking???



Typical backwoods Tennessee. Oops this is a temp while he is doing this...






Cool! His own personal sawmill. I won't remind him that he is an Aggie.

Here are his logs he moves about and stacks. Wait. How does my bro do that? Does he have special powers or just understands simple machines and physics (well he better under stand physics since he is a nuclear engineer).



And his backyard while he explains to me how he moves these logs by his lonesome.




Using his super mental powers to move a log. Or simply explaining the process? Your call.

Long drive but family and friend visits awesome.

Day 1

Madisonville, TX

Pretty drive into Crocket, TX

Ummmm a stop in Crocket--my bad! Yes the door was as gooey to the touch as it was dirty to behold. Aaaagh. Dang!

Totally forgot what Cajun hwys are like with their concrete laid with a railroad track rhythm. Fortunately i have not seen any signs that indicate substandard surface as i witnessed almost two decades ago.

Now for lunch in Minden, LA. The choice was crawfish or fastfood. So I decided to stop and get messy. Oops I may have order too much.


Then onward via back roads to Memphis. Hwy 20 is just so hwy that I've opted for slower but more interesting route.

Making a turner in Homer and up into Arkansas. State changes are instantly recognizable by the marked shift in road surface, color, texture, and sound.

More back roads through Humphrey, Arkansas.

And then finally popped out on hwy 40 heading into Memphis with nothing but lines of 18 wheelers.

Am closing out my day of passing through four states by blowing out my sodium intake with some szechwan (sp?) dumplings. Yum!

Sleep.

Then tomorrow off to Nashville to have lunch with Korie Turner Vakey. Sunday a visit with Tessa Wilkin.

A weird but wonderful side effect of my art travels is the joy of visiting with beautiful, smart, interesting women I knew when they were mere girls--Katherine, a newscaster in Vegas but now in Houston, Rachel, or should I say Dr while show her my ears, nose and throat, in San Antonio for install, exhibition, deinstall, Anneke and Annetta in Austin for my women and their work show. And now Korie, Mrs Dr, in Nashville, Tessa, CPA in DC area, Jenny, a future CEO in Connecticut...I obviously need to give the ny actresses, Ann and Amy, a call as well as Alicia and Amanda.

May not get everyone in on this trip. Might need to have exhibition in NYC just for an excuse to see these amazingly wonderful women.

Northward

The journey begins

Northward bound

And today! I wonder if the heat of the summer will kill em