And Lori -- I haven't said much in here, but I've really enjoyed reading your descriptions all this month.

Another peaceful morning here in the woods. We're going to try not to work too hard today. It's our 23rd anniversary.

Thank you, Meredith. I've enjoyed being here. We've had some wonderful conversation.

Tell us more about the black fly supper. I think I'd skip it too.

Lori, I've discovered something since reading your book and corresponding with you in this forum. My family travels a lot, but for the most part we don't sightsee like you do. Typically we go to a resort and plant ourselves. We'll truck around town if there's one nearby, visit the market, get a taste for the people by talking with cab drivers, waiters/ waitresses, and other resort employees, but for the most part we relax on a beach.

You have encouraged me to be more adventurous while traveling. It's funny that you should be the featured author while my son is trucking around Europe. He is doing your kind of traveling. I've spoken with him a few times after he's spent the day on buses, trains, walking, and dicovering new sites, sounds, people, etc. I can hear the excitement in his voice.

Thanks for sharing your journeys. You're an inspiration.

Do you write a travel column?

I would LOVE dearly LOVE to do the type of traveling that Lori has done. Right now I'm settling for living it thru her post.

If you don't have a travel column, you should! People would be enthralled!

JJ

Well folks, The smilinize family circus and touring roadshow has now entered Tennessee. We survived Mom's and a big family campout on the Arkansas River and a very long drive to Murfreesboro, Arkansas with a few stops for car shows and a music festival. Diamond mining is terribly hard work and we found NO diamonds, but Alex bought some fakes to take to show and tell so everyone was happy and tired.
Drove through some wonderful pine forest and ate lunch on the summit of a mountain overlooking Hot Springs, AR. Visited the old hot springs spas and a robot zoo at the science museum then back through the oak forests of the Ozarks to Little rock for my personal favorite experience so far (Ask JJ about this one) then past the rice paddies of eastern Arkansas into Memphis where Elvis awaits.
I'll give him a great big boomer kiss for all you girls.

On the road again.
smile
Great stuff Lori!

I'm gonna let SMILES tell you what DanMeister did in Arkansas, but I WILL say it involves Bill Clinton and I will also say that Dan is my hero! hahahahah..

JJ

Hello, ladies --

Great to hear from you, Smile! It sounds like the Great Eastern Road Trip is off to a fabulous start. And I just learned something. I didn't know Arkansas had rice paddies. I'll have to check those out on my next trip south. And how cool is Alex, anyway? He doesn't find any diamonds, so he buys a few fakes. This is definitely a "when life gives you lemons" kind of guy. His glass is half-full, and that kind of attitude will take him far.

We're just back from New Hampshire. Adam did a lot of the driving. We take almost all back roads to get to our cottage up north, and it's three hours of thin, narrow roads. (Rather like our "Ribbons" journey. I have an aversion to interstates if they can be avoided.) He did fine. He has his learner's permit and will be getting his license in August. He's a chip off the old maternal block, too. He's getting his license, if all goes well, on August 8. "You know what I'm doing on August ninth, mom?" he says to me. "No, what?" "ROAD TRIP!!!" (In his dreams...)

The black fly supper went off without us. We ate burritos at Margarita's in Keene. Basically, Dotise, the black fly supper is just an excuse for the folks of Stoddard, NH to get out of the house and socialize after a long, cold winter in the woods and a six-week mud season that tries everyone's patience. The metropolis of Stoddard has about 600 year-round souls. That number swells to about 2000 when you count the folks who own summer lake cottages. A black fly supper is a major social event, like the pancake breakfasts at the firehouse and the Open House that's held once a year at the historical society. People get to look inside the "Hearse House" and see where they used to park the horse wagons that rolled the dead from their living room wakes to the church on the green to the town cemetery.

Dotsie, I'm glad I've perhaps inspired you to do a bit more exploring on your next vacation. (Your son will be a pro by then. He can be your tour guide.) There's so much magic to be found everywhere. You just need to get yourself around that next bend, over that next hill, down that next street. There are wonders everywhere. With each trip, push yourself just a bit farther than last time. Before you know it, you'll be discovering and learning more than you ever dreamed.

Do I have a travel column? Well, effectively, yes. My blog, http://RibbonsofHighway.blogspot.com is a travel column. I write new stories for it two or three times a week. It's an amazing amount of work, and I don't earn any income from it, but it's a joy to write these stories and share them. I do it in the hope that blog readers will say, "Hey, I like the way this chick writes. I like the way she tells a tale. I should check out her book."

But, I do want to get serious about finding a paying venue to which I can contribute an ongoing travel column. I write lots of travel stories for magazines and online publications, but I have such a vast inventory of travel tales, tips and photos that I could easily produce a column a week or a month. (Heck, I could produce one an hour). I just need to find a publication, whether print or online, that would like a regular travel column. I'm going to get busy looking into that. Thanks for putting that bug back in my ear.

When I land one, I'll let you know. Until then, bookmark my blog.

I'm so glad your son is enjoying his vagabonding. The fact that he sounds excited when he talks to you means he's really getting into the places he's visiting. Getting down under the surface a bit and finding a place's hidden "diamonds."

Smile, we need to hear the Dan/Bill Clinton story.

My last day as Featured Author. Wow, the month went by fast. I've enjoyed meeting and talking with you all. A special thank you to Dotsie for having me.

Wherever the road of life takes you, may the journey be a good one.

Quick post for Smile when she checks in. Your book order came today, and I'd like to thank you. I'll pop your signed copy into the mail tomorrow. Folks tell me the book takes about a week to arrive, so it should be waiting for you when you get home.

After you've read it, feel free to post a review on this thread.

I'd be honored to have others consider adding "Ribbons of Highway: A Mother-Child Journey Across America" to their home libraries. "Ribbons" is a lovely summertime (or anytime) read. I'm sure you'll enjoy it.

Order online anytime, but also keep in mind the special Boomer-only signed copy offer I've mentioned in this thread.

My way of letting you all know how much I've enjoyed spending the past month with you.

Blessings all around,

Lori