Our flight home was uneventful, though it was long, with a layover in Las Vegas. After being in coastal areas for so long, it was definitely different to be sitting in the airport looking through huge glass windows at the arid mountainous landscape with casinos and hotels in the foreground.
Alex has been waiting tables for awhile now, working primarily evening shifts, so Paul picked us up at the airport. It was pure delight having a chance to talk to him; though he and his family live in Ft. Lauderdale we never see each other because of time and work pressures. We’d caught Paul on a break from his flight schedule, so he had time to talk for a few hours – a rare treat for us.
Being home was really strange, as much of our furniture and all our personal belongings were in storage; it was home but it didn’t look or feel like home. Not only that, Alex had a roommate, John, now living in Chelsea’s room, so Chelsea and I were going to have to share my room.
After dragging our boxes and duffels into my bedroom, we started cleaning house. Two twenty-year-old guys had been living here for almost a year, and the house showed it. The pool deck needed weeding, the lawn needed mowing (though it wasn’t too bad), we needed to clean our room and make up the sheets for ourselves on my bed. The kitchen, the bathroom, the floors – we did the basics only for the first evening; in all fairness, they had clearly made a good attempt to clean up before we got home.
First evening home
As long as we live we will never forget our first night home. Not only did we feel displaced, we were tired and disoriented and we’d traveled all day. We’d been staying up until midnight with Dave in Mission Viejo for the last month; with the time difference it meant about nine p.m. in Florida. Alex and John didn’t arrive home until about ten or eleven that first night; it was one or two in the morning for us.
Having never met John and having not seen Alex for many months, we definitely wanted to stay up and see them. The two guys arrived home from work wound up and ready to go – they’d been up and working for hours, talking to people and interacting non-stop. We on the other hand were fading fast.
Alex wanted to show off his newly acquired bartending skills; he wanted us to try a car bomb. For those who don’t know what a car bomb is (we didn’t), it’s a tall can of Guinness poured into a glass, with a shot glass of Bailey’s liqueur dropped in (shot glass and all). The task is to drain the glass of Guinness before the Bailey’s curdles, which means in effect that the beer has to be chugged in one go. It goes without saying that you’ll feel the effects right away.
Chelsea and I are lightweights with drinking and we don’t weigh enough to absorb much, so one car bomb was sufficient for us; the guys are both well over two hundred pounds – they each had another. Alex had brought us food from the restaurant, so Chelsea and I ate while Alex fixed a pitcher of margaritas.
The whole process of explaining the car bombs, making them, and then drinking them had us all laughing hard; it was a great ice-breaker. The talk and laughter was non-stop. After the food and a margarita, I was getting more and more tired, and no one showed any inclination to move from the kitchen, so (not wanting to break up the party) I slid down and sat on the floor. Chelsea said, “That’s a great idea!” and slid down to join me.
John looked uncertain about what to do – he felt awkward standing while we were sitting on the floor, and Alex had gone off to use the facilities. We looked really comfortable, so he slid down on the floor too.
The four of us stayed up until four a.m. sitting on our kitchen floor, talking and laughing, getting to know each other, telling stories, having a great time. By the time we all called it quits, Chelsea and I had been up for over twenty four hours. We didn’t care; we’d had way too much fun to be bothered about losing sleep.
Our own personal belongings
Our first task back home was to get some of our things out of storage and go through them again. We brought our books and clothing out first, gradually bringing more boxes home. We thought we’d died and gone to heaven being able to wear something other than what we’d had on the trip with us for the last seven months. We found ourselves deliberately wearing things that we wouldn’t bring with us on the trip.
Just as good as having our clothes out of storage was having access to our large library of books. Chelsea and I both read voraciously, so having a seemingly unlimited supply of books was too good for words. We opened a few boxes immediately and picked out our favorite authors.
As we went through our belongings, we had a chance to reevaluate everything, deciding whether we wanted to keep it or not. A big advantage was the opportunity to leave some of our clothing behind and bring other pieces with us on the next leg of the trip, along with some gear items. We found a few things that made a big difference to us on the next leg of our trip; we are still delighted we have those things with us.
The advantages of home
I don’t think there’s weather anywhere that can compare to Florida in the winter, and it lived up to its reputation. Day after day was gorgeous. We have a good-sized screened-in porch overlooking our pool; we spent as much time outside as we could.
Alex swam every day for exercise; I joined him frequently. Chelsea and I used the hot tub at least four times a week, working out sore muscles after slugging boxes around all day.
We loved my large bedroom with the office right in the bedroom; we loved fast access DSL. We loved having a private bathroom right off the bedroom; we loved setting the air or heat at whatever levels we wanted.
We loved having so much access to Alex, and we loved having a chance to see his new lifestyle. We loved watching movies on our own TV and having an assortment of movies to choose from. We loved having our wonderful and affectionate cats around all the time.
Having access to Whole Foods and Costco meant that we ate well for much less – we had smoothies made from big bags of organic berries we bought at Costco; we found bags of organic green beans at Costco, along with organic salad greens and fresh frozen shrimp. The prices were so much less for basics than we had to pay on the road, and the quality was far better.
We had a chance to visit our favorite places – we had a Caesar salad and ice cream at Docs in downtown Delray – an institution for over fifty years now; we stopped into our beloved Old School Bakery for café mochas and freshly baked rolls.
Errands and website
Errands
Doing errands was yet another major plus to being back. We needed to get our passports and drivers licenses laminated, and we needed to get our travel writers course scanned so we wouldn’t have to carry the whole heavy book with us.
We got to refill our supplies of shampoo, toothpaste, deodorant and hair conditioner. We got a chance to get some items at Whole Foods that we’d been wanting, like more Alacer electrolyte replacement, Wounded Warrior, and teas.
We returned a number of things to Home Depot that we knew we wouldn’t be using (from an ongoing renovation project); we not only got cash back from some of them, but we got a store credit big enough to get Alex a Weber barbecue grill. He was delighted.
We did manage to return some books to Border’s, collecting enough cash in the process to get a Lonely Planet Guide to Mexico, along with two good maps of Mexico and the Yucatan and some new cryptogram books for Chelsea; we spent a few hours at Barnes and Noble doing research for possible book and article writing.
Website
After making many major changes on our site in New Hampshire, we improved the site once again in Seattle with the addition of a new banner and new background color. We are total newbies to this, so we had a very stressful time of it when the site crashed several times in New Hampshire.
Not only was it stressful when the site went down, our host company had a menu of services that meant we paid fifty dollars per task rather than fifty dollars per hour (though they advertised fifty dollars an hour for support services). The total job should have been only an hour or slightly more, but we ended up paying one hundred fifty dollars – the equivalent of three hours of work for an hour of time.
We don’t remember what happened, but when Chelsea did some work on our site after arriving home, the site crashed once again. She spent many hours trying to get it back up, with no luck. We didn’t have an extra hundred and fifty dollars to put into fixing it, we were stressed and distracted, and we couldn’t face having to deal with the host’s support technicians, so we let it go.
Finally, when we knew we were leaving again, we got in touch with the support guys and explained our situation. Without charging us a king’s ransom, all they could do was restore a backup, so we agreed. Presto, an hour later our site was up again, after being down for over two months. We were hugely relieved; it seemed like a great ‘sign’ for the future.
Surplus fuse project
We were definitely interested in making some money from the fuse project, especially after all the work we’d put into it. My first job was to go online and look for fuse suppliers – potential customers to buy the fuses. I then had to figure out the wholesale prices on the fuses and add them to our spreadsheet.
After I completed those tasks, I needed to see what was currently available online, what current prices were, and who was selling what. After completing all the research I wrote a letter explaining the situation, got Dave’s approval on it, and sent it out to everyone on our list.
Dave assured us that we could expect to get ten to thirty percent of the wholesale prices on the fuses, and since that figure was over $54,000, we were pretty excited and willing to do all the work. It meant we had a good possibility of netting somewhere between three thousand and fifteen thousand dollars.
We got three responses within the first few days; a few days later we got several more, but no matter how low we set the prices no one was interested. The rather painful story was that we never did get any takers; all our weeks of work, time and effort went for naught. From what we gathered the recession was already beginning to hit, and what may have moved quickly a year or two earlier wasn’t interesting to buyers now.
We did learn a tremendous amount about the fuse industry though…
Downsizing
Downsizing took up the vast majority of our time. We brought most of our boxes home from storage over the few months we were home and carefully went through each one of them, item by item. We asked ourselves several questions: Does this have positive emotional or sentimental value to us? Would it be difficult to replace? It is valuable? Do we need it? Will we ever use it again? Is this who we are anymore? What would it cost to replace in a few years compared to the cost of storing it?
We went through every item of clothing, every “memory box”, every box of knick knacks, every box of paperwork. We aren’t packrats by any means, so we were absolutely astonished at the amount of ‘stuff’ we moved out.
The shredder ran constantly for a few days; we took bags of trash to the street on trash days; we sold things on Craigslist; we had a garage sale and then put additional things in our neighbor’s garage sale a few weeks later; we brought our better clothing to a consignment shop; we gave things away to neighbors; we posted items on FreeCycle.
After we finished going through the storage boxes, we started in on what we had left behind the first time at the house and in the shed.
When we decided to keep things, we took photos of each item, washed or cleaned it, then wrapped it, packed it, and labeled the boxes. We put the photos into Picasa albums labeled the same as the boxes, with a master Excel spreadsheet of the contents of each box.
We were astonished at how much time it took for everything. Just going through the boxes and making decisions was plenty of work, never mind taking the photos, doing the spreadsheet, and cleaning or washing everything. We had to buy boxes, wrapping paper, bubble wrap, plastic wrap, and packing tape.
We had to write all the ads and take photos to post in the ads, then we had to talk to everybody who was interested and make arrangements to transfer the goods and get the cash. We had to call around and find consignment shops for our items, and find out what the rules were for each shop. We had to get everything ready for the garage sale, advertise, get everything ready outside, then sit all day talking to people, and move everything that didn’t sell back inside.
We put in several months of really long days, often working until well after midnight.
Hanging out with Alex and John
Interspersed with all the work was time with Alex and John. They only had their jobs to think about, so when they were home, they were ready to kick back and relax or party. The weather was beautiful, so we went swimming almost every day.
After we got Alex the barbecue, he’d often barbecue something for us, and he’d frequently make something fun like sautéed green beans with fresh garlic. We’ve always loved movies, so we watched as often as we could, sharing drinks and popcorn. Alex was in training to become a bartender, so he’d practice on all of us, making something outrageous or unusual just for the fun of it. Sometimes he’d make a pitcher of margaritas to have with dinner.
Video games
Alex had recently gotten a PlayStation 3; one of his favorite ways to relax after a stressful day was to sit and play for an hour or so. Every now and then I loved stopping work to watch him play. Over the years I’ve staunchly resisted learning how to play video games (I spend far too much time at computers as it is), though I’ve been fascinated with why people are so addicted to the games.
One day as I watched, Alex insisted that I sit with him and learn how to play. What I remember most was how much fun it was hanging out together on the couch, just being quiet and focused. I also remember how surprised I was that it was quite fun. I’m not sure if video game skills are transferrable to anything else, but it clearly requires a lot of focus and spatial skills. It was enough fun that if I had enough time someday I may consider playing again…
Chelsea is much more inclined to play than I am, so she too spent some time with Alex teaching her. I’m sure she got farther than I did!
John’s tattoo
One of our many memories of John was his new tattoo. Already sporting several tattoos on his arms and other places, he decided on a new one for his back. He designed it himself; covering almost his whole back and wrapping up around his upper arms, it was too big to do in one session.
We’ve seen plenty of tattoos in our lives, but we’ve never seen one actually done, nor seen one right afterwards. We were horrified at the process; John would come home without his shirt, looking red and raw on each new section as it was done, with fresh blood popping up from the needle pricks. It looked as though it hurt like holy heck. He couldn’t sleep on his back till it healed; he couldn’t lean back against a chair or against the car seat; he couldn’t go swimming.
We had no idea of how painful it must be, how uncomfortable it is while it heals, and what a commitment it is to have such a large area tattooed! We will never look at large tattoos again without remembering John.
Hot sauce
We ate out a few times with John and Alex, usually just fast food places, but one morning they invited us to lunch at a real sit-down place. The food was great, but the most fun was the camaraderie with Alex and John. This particular day Alex ordered a certain hot sauce, and I mean HOT sauce. It comes in a medicine bottle with a dropper, complete with a skull and crossbones warning on the outside.
As the waiter brought our food, several other wait staff crowded around our table. Our waiter explained, “We’ve never seen anybody actually use this stuff! We had to come see what it’s like!” They watched carefully as Alex portioned it out of the medicine dropper onto his food. Typically for Alex, he didn’t bat an eye as he ate his food, laced with this deadly hot sauce.
John and Chelsea adamantly refused to try it, but I’m always up for an adventure, so I carefully dropped some on the edges of my French fries. Yep, it was HOT. My throat closed up, my eyes watered immediately; I couldn’t talk for a minute or so. But after the initial shock wore off, I realized that I really liked the taste; I reached for more, carefully dropping a bit more around the edges (though I could never match the amount Alex uses!)
John’s lack of transportation
Some months earlier John had gotten a DUI, not his first. Since it wasn’t his first, they really came down hard on him – no driver’s license for a long time, a stiff fine, special classes to take at his expense, probation meetings to attend, psychologist visits at his expense, and volunteer hours to complete.
Since he didn’t have a car, getting to work and making it to all these meetings was a challenge, especially here in South Florida where public transportation is only a dream. He had two jobs, one right up the street – about a twenty minute walk, and the other where Alex worked. The manager was kind enough to let John and Alex work the same shifts, so transportation to that job was solved.
The problem was getting to his other meetings and to the volunteer hours. Alex didn’t mind helping out with the afternoon meetings when he could, and John got some help from his mother for some of them. The morning volunteer hours were the most difficult, as Alex needed to sleep.
Since Chelsea and I were always here and always awake, we didn’t mind at all taking John to work and to his volunteer hours, especially since he volunteered at the beach in Delray (one of our favorite places).
We loved being out early in the morning driving down to the beach; we’d most often do errands, taking the six-mile beach route to Whole Foods. We’d roll down the windows and open the sunroof wide, letting in Florida’s gorgeous winter sunshine, luxuriating in the mellow weather and spectacular views of palm trees, white sand, and blue-green ocean waters.
It was a glorious break from our rather overwhelming work.
Slim Jims
Chelsea and I have a distinct preference for natural and organic foods; when we can, we try to avoid lots of additives and preservatives, and we try to avoid ‘mystery meats’. John came home delighted one day after running errands with Alex, holding a fistful of something called Slim Jims. “I love these things!” he told us.
Shocked that we didn’t know what they were, he insisted that we try one. I managed to eat part of one, but I could tell that I’d need to be pretty darn hungry to eat one, never mind looking at the list of ingredients. Chelsea agreed.
(Note from the future: Shortly after we left Delray Beach, John lost his job when the restaurant closed suddenly. Having decided to join the Marine Corps, he spent some weeks without work and without income as he waited for his paperwork to be processed so he could leave for boot camp. Times were really tough for him; he had very little food. Meanwhile Chelsea and I were cycling in south Louisiana.
A few weeks after we left Delray, we arrived at a plantation called Oak Alley. Asking around for directions, we got to chatting with a guy who makes regular deliveries of snack foods, water, and soft drinks to the small grocery store at the plantation. Delighted with the story of our trip, he gave Chelsea bottled water, chips, and an entire case of Slim Jims. We really laughed! We did eat one or two of the Slim Jims in the subsequent week or two, but we realized we’d never eat them all. Besides, those suckers were heavy to haul around!
At a couchsurfing host’s home a few weeks later we needed to send some of our clothing and gear back home to Alex. Going carefully through our things, we came across the Slim Jims, and remembered that John loved them. We put them in the box with a note to Alex that the Slim Jims were for John, with our love. Alex told us later that those Slim Jims we sent home were a lifesaver for John; they were nearly all he had to eat for over a week…)
Alex’s new job
Through all this Alex was getting increasingly dissatisfied with his job – the restaurant had been sold, and the new management clearly didn’t have their act together. They were losing business, rules kept changing, staff turnover was increasing, and he was concerned about how stable his future was in staying there.
One day, only about two week before we left, he announced he’d gotten a second job; he’d been hired by California Pizza Kitchen. The new place required a week of training before his hiring would be finalized, and he was required to wear dark slacks with a white button-down shirt. Alex was at Wal-Mart and Target at least three times before he finally got a shirt that management approved.
After finding the right shirt, he then had to learn how to iron it; management was very clear the sleeves had to have a crease. One afternoon Alex went looking for the iron and ironing board (we are a wash and wear household and have been for years); he dragged them out, hunted me down, and said, “Mom, would you teach me how to iron these?” He’s a quick learner, so it was easy to teach him, but I couldn’t help wonder how long he’d be able to put up with both the ironing and with a big corporate mentality. (He lasted a whole year!)
His decision to take the second job was very wise; within two months he and John showed up to work one day only to find the doors padlocked – the restaurant had closed with no warning.
Leaving home again
Throughout all the other things going on in our lives, Chelsea and I kept talking over what we wanted to do with the next leg of our trip. We didn’t want to go back to California; we’d never been that interested in going into Baja California anyway. We were disappointed at not cycling too much of the west coast, and we wanted more riding to get into shape before heading into Mexico.
After thinking things through and looking at maps a lot, we finally decided to catch a Greyhound bus to New Orleans (we’d already cycled across Florida in 2006) and ride the Gulf Coast before entering Mexico. We’d be off the Adventure Cycling maps, so our adventure would be more pronounced.
Alex had finally found a second roommate who wanted to move in, but she needed to move in by May 1. We weren’t ready to leave – we still had a fair amount of packing and moving to do. Since the date seemed pretty immutable, we ramped up the work hours even more and started looking at what wouldn’t get done. We had two mornings when we asked John and Alex to help us move boxes and big furniture to storage, but we still had a sizeable stack of furniture and boxes piling up in the living room as leaving time got closer.
I looked into Couchsurfing to see if we could find a place to stay in New Orleans, and found a guy who was listed on both Couchsurfing and Warmshowers. I made arrangements with him to stay there for a few nights so we could get our bikes put together and get our trailers packed; we agreed on an arrival time and day. Knowing that we were arriving by bus, he offered to pick us up at the station. He also agreed to let us have our bikes shipped from California to his house.
Once we had that settled, we needed to write to Dave in Mission Viejo and make arrangements with him to get our bikes, gear, and trailers shipped to New Orleans.
By this time we were exhausted and feeling a big sense of panic at leaving without being ready. When the day finally came to leave, Paul once again came to the rescue, agreeing to drive up to West Palm Beach to drop us off at the Greyhound station. Neither Chelsea nor I will ever forget that last hour – Paul showed up on time, but we were still frantically packing boxes and dragging them out to the living room, hot and sweaty and stressed.
He finally corralled us into his car and got us up to the bus station, almost an hour’s drive north. We hadn’t had time to get any food for our trip; it was a twenty-one hour trip with at least two bus changes. Paul and Chelsea went out to hunt down some food for us while I waited with the luggage, doing my deep breathing exercises to relax.
We teared up as Paul gave us big hugs goodbye; we had no idea what awaited us down the road or how soon we’d see our family again. We only knew it would be a big adventure, and that we’d make it work somehow.