December 2, 2009 - Community Connections

December 2, 2009

Today started out like any other around here, at least since we began to settle in our new environment. Waking up at 6:30AM in our hotel room, I thought about the work I had done yesterday and remembered our need for better safety basics. Today we planned to go purchase these and other supplies for the apartment we are remodeling.

It is common for me to start planning the day before coffee has been had, and today was no exception. I did, however, remember that my husband is not so ready. I made coffee and began to prepare breakfast. Quinn was prompted to get dressed, all the while complaining that he was hungry. Kaya was walking around with out any clothes on, and reality began to settle in.

Focus on the task at hand and the job will get done. The only problem is that sometimes there are just so many different tasks to complete, we are not always sure how to prioritize our actions to get the most done in a day. Note to self ; look for ways to set our goals in order and plain view (note cardssssss).

After feeding Quinn we sent him off to school, which is only six blocks away, we ate our breakfast and prepared for our walk. The coffee we began with was a bit on the weak side and we decided to visit the local Co-op. Kaya happily dressed herself and we went up the block. Point Arena is a small town with business mostly lined on one street, Highway 1, along the Northern Coast of California.

So there we are in the Co-op, Kaya happily sitting on the bench with her hot chocolate and JP standing by the condiment table waiting for our lattes. I walked over from the bathroom and stood by him while the server finished making our order. This is the moment our laughter began. As she handed us our cups, and upon setting them down, JP found himself knocking a tall stack of to go cups over onto the floor. As he attempted to pick them up, he rolled over backwards. Rolling back, he began to stack the cups back up on the bench, but he kept on knocking them back over again. We all had a good laugh as the comic blame game ensued. Perhaps if I hadn’t been so close to him in the enclosed space, the whole event would never have happened, but I am glad that it did, because JP and I, and the lady behind the counter, all needed a good laugh.

We were finally seated and enjoying our lattes until Kaya started grabbing for my cup. Not wanting to hear her fuss, I took her now empty paper cup and poured my drink into it. We then got up and were insistently lead by our two year old to come outside. We next headed to the post office to get our own postal box. This town does not deliver mail to anyone. If you are a resident here, you are entitled to have a box at no fee if there is no service to your residence.

While JP filled out the registration form, I took Kaya to the playground. The moisture was thick on the ground and I carried Kaya across the big field so that her feet would stay dry. Unfortunately, the first slide she decided to go down was so wet and she slid down so fast, landing on her back, and ending up with water all down her back and pants. Recovering without complaint, she watched excitedly as I followed after. Unable to stop myself, I landed on her leg and that was the end of our play ground experience for the morning.

Walking back to the street, I saw JP heading towards us and told him what happened. We met up and walked out to the main street adjacent to the animal feed store. There is a woman working at this store who we have been told we need to speak with before doing anything in the Community Garden, located below the play ground. She was there today and we got to talking about the garden. JP had to leave early though, because Kaya’s pants were very wet from the slide.

Ronda completed a business transaction and we got to talking about the garden, the environment, and our community. Upon hearing the efforts that JP and I have made so far in this community, Ronda was overjoyed and wanted to hand over the community garden project to me, feeling that she was failing. I was not so sure that I would be ready for this responsibility, but expressed that I would be happy to help her in any way that I could.

We got to talking about the environmental fracture which has been plaguing the environmental consciousness movement, and I expressed to her my belief that we need to focus on uniting environmentalists for community action for real change to happen. She agreed and seemed to feel relieved that there was actually someone else who feels as passionately about the environment as she does.

Being that Ronda was on the job, her phone rang again and she expressed her need to get back to work. We have plans to visit again tomorrow and continue our conversations. It was a great relief that I was able to make such an immediate connection with someone who, not only has a finger on the environmental pulse in this town, but also is connected with local Native American tribes.

This meeting was a great success and offered me an inside look into the town which me and my family find ourselves calling home. Tonight we plan to visit Surf Therapy Yoga and attend the global prayer group where we hope to meet others who share the vision of community sustainability through community involvement.

Until another adventurous day begins.

Lyra

Our Great Adventure: Lost in Time

Aloha Friends,

If the calender is blurry and you aren't quite sure what day it is, that is because neither are we. This is the way we have been living for the past two months. We started our journey with a dream, a hope, a little money, and many a prayer. It brought us across the country, through rain storms, hot sunny summer days (which lead to the water pump braking down in Williams, Arizona), and many a kind stranger to help us with gas, much need resting space, and food near the end of our journey. We made it but we have found no home to live in and our Section 8 is no longer valid. Everything fell through and we are left with nothing but our wits, skills, and crystals we dug in Arkansas.

We had planned on writing a daily log of our journey, but time never seemed to be convenient. We were so caught up in the journey that we were unable to focus on the retelling of it. It is my hope that in the next month I will be able to retell the trials and tribulations, as well as the empowering and exciting events which colored and prolonged our journey here. Everything happens for a reason, and even though we may not know what that reason is at the time, it usually is revealed before too long.

We are still on the road today, staying in a motel courtesy of the Ukiah Community Center, and we will be moving on tomorrow to a camping site. We have been spreading environmental education; selling and giving magnets away by the dozens. Our desire to continue is strong and we can only hope that our will is as strong. There is not much work out in California, and so we are making our own work. We have been going to fairs to sell magnets and share the vision, in the hope to find the right people to work with building the physical location of the school. In the mean time we have been camping at the state parks, but those are mostly closed now, some of the permanently from the word in the parks.

Upon arriving to Fort Bragg, we found ourselves surrounded by mystical forces which pulled us in directions we had not planned on. This has lead us to learn more about ourselves and those around us.


Many of the videos and photos are on memory cards with no readability, so we are not able to continue the video blog from beginning to end. We can get some video material, which I will share at a later date. For now, please add your rating to our video shares and spread the word.

Peace, Love and Life,

Lyra Jubb

Day 2 - Navigating to the Statue of Liberty

June 28, 2009

9:00 AM: We finally wake up from the first exhausting stretch of our journey. The cats are settled in the hotel room and everyone is hungry. We quickly get dressed and head toward the complimentary breakfast buffet. To our dismay, all of the dishes are Styrofoam and all of the eating utensils are plastic. For a family of four, this equates to a lot of non-biodegradable toxic gas and waste. And hotels all across the country use these products!!

We quickly eat and depart from the hotel, heading Southeast towards the New Jersey ferry, which will take us to Ellis and Liberty islands. Our time of departure: 11:30AM. New Jersey is packed from top to bottom with houses behind walls and trees. Every inch of it is covered with civilization. The air is sticky in the summer and all we want to do is get through it. It is not that simple though. You may think that there would be a street without stoplights at every block intersection on a highway. Not in New Jersey. There is a concrete island separating opposing lanes as well. If you miss your turn-off, you will have to find the nearest extra side lane to turn onto, turning right to go left and back again. It is all we can do to just get through to the docks.

After a series of left and right turns, weaving our way through the potholes of the industrial section, we have finally reached our destination. My, there are a lot of old trucks and box cars. Without our Navigon 2100Max we would have never found our way to the port of New Jersey through the warehouse district outside of Liberty Island. Our time of arrival is at approximately 1:30PM.

Finding what little shade we can, JP parks the van and trailer parallel to the curb. We roll our windows down a bit for air flow. Leaving a bowl of water and food for the cats, we lock the doors. Gathering our camera, diapers, money, keys, phone, and children, we head towards the docks.

Upon arriving to the gate, we find our place in line and wait for the ferry to let us on. Through the winding path we weave towards the dock entrance. As we walk, Quinn notices that the bricks are made of wood. This part of town is very old and we see that there are also deserted train tracks which used to be where imported goods were transferred onto rail cars for delivery across America. Much has changed since then and these rails are covered with rust and the ground is overgrown with weeds.

Finally our turn arrives and we board the ferry. The heat is intense and we seek seating on the upper floor to take advantage of the breeze. Looking across the bay we see New York City and all of its smoggy glory, minus the two towers, of course. This is the first time that I have been to New York since 1996, when I attended Pratt Institute, for a semester. For JP, it has been even longer.

Looking at the water, we certainly would not like to fall off the ferry into that murky abyss. As the ferry departs from the New Jersey side, we find four seats in the center of the top floor. Quinn sees people around us eating hotdogs and pretzels and JP and he decide to go down to the concession stand to get ours.

Kaya and I sit patiently, as the sun beats down from above. The wind picks up a little as the ferry begins to move, giving us some relief, and a man announces over the intercom that we will be first docking at Ellis Island, and then Liberty Island. Ten minutes pass by and I become worried that the boys have gotten stuck below, but soon we see Quinn weaving his way to us. JP is nowhere to be found, but Quinn says that he is coming up with hotdogs. He does not want to sit behind the Captain’s box, and stands dangerously close to the roped drop off on the left.

As we near Ellis Island, JP arrives with four hotdogs and some soda and water. “They are out of pretzels at the moment,” he says, “because the person in front of me ordered 10!” Better luck next time, I guess. We decide to stop on Ellis Island after checking out the Statue of Liberty. We first want to see the Statue of Liberty up close.

Another 10 minutes pass by before we see Liberty Island. There is a huge line of people waiting to board the ferry as soon as we get off. As we enter through the gates, we head towards the information center to find out what we need to do to get into the statue. Quinn has been waiting for this moment for the past two months. As we approach the desk, a man greets us with brochures about the statue. When asked about getting entrance into the statue, he states that we need to reserve a date and the soonest available date is in August. We will not be able to go into the statue after all. What a drag.

With spirits a bit deflated, we walk around the statue and check out the view from the grass at her front. Many people are milling around in the hot day sun, drinking water and other beverages. Quinn and Kaya balance on the lower concrete wall, looking longingly at the enormous statue towering above us. At one point group of young women sing “God Bless The USA” by Lee Greenwood, while standing on the lawn.

Quinn and Kaya run around on the grass, amazed at the sheer size of the Statue of Liberty, and Quinn can hardly find words to describe his impression. After recording a short video for his school, we decide to check out the gift shop. If we can’t get into the statue, at least we can buy a few souvenirs. The gift shop is not even in a building. The heat and humidity are so intense and the throng of people make it hard to navigate through the displays. Finally we pick up a replica, two T-shirts, and two small torches for the kids.

Thoroughly sticky and hot, we head back to the gates and the ferry. The lines have grown since we came. While waiting for our turn, Quinn and Kaya busily occupy themselves with their torches, spinning and whirring, with lights in their centers. After ten minutes, Quinn is bored with his and wants to play in the small dirt square beside our place in line. As is usually the case with children, Kaya wants to follow him.

Luckily, the line begins to move and our turn comes up. This time, we are not so fortunate to get seats; however, we are able to move around. We head for the top floor, finding our way to the front of the ferry, the breeze refreshes our bodies. Quinn cannot stay still though, and we head down to the lower deck. As we approach Ellis Island, we prepare to get off, only to learn that the ferry is not going to stop there after all. That attraction closes at 4:30PM. We are let down again.

Once we reach New Jersey shore once again, we head for the van, hoping that the cats have not escaped. When we get there, we let them out and sit on the grass divide, drinking water and talking about our impression of the statue and the gift shop. It is at this point that we take out our T-shirts and look at the labels. Yes, they are made with organic cotton and are died with natural dies, but they are not made in the USA. These shirts are made in (country?). The torches were made in China and so was the replica. In fact nothing in that store actually came from America at all.

Without further ado, we pack up the cats, kids, keepsakes and other items and head towards Philadelphia. Within minutes Kaya is asleep and Quinn is not far behind. We head out of the industrial district and attempt to get out of New Jersey. It is not as easy as it may seem. The roads are bumpy and confusing. As we pass through downtown Jersey, I take pictures of the abandoned buildings and dirty concrete blocks. At one point we see a man pacing aggressively beside us as we wait for the light to turn green, and JP urgently tells me to put the camera down and lock the doors. This is not the part of town you want to be caught with a camera in, apparently.

We quickly scoot out of town and head south. Back on the concrete divide, we pass more walls, restaurants, and hotels. Quinn wakes up complaining of hunger and we decide that we need to call it a night. We stop at a hotel advertising cheep rates, located next to an Indian restaurant. It is dark and everyone is tired. We quickly unload our stuff and try to get everyone into the hotel. Patches escapes from his harness and tries to escape but I catch him and put him in the hotel room. With food and a cooler in hand, we attempt to make it into the room without letting the youngest cat escape into the back parking lot. He is too fast and disappears into the forest block behind the hotel. Fluffer remains with us in the hotel room and we are too tired to go after the younger feline tonight. Maybe he will return in the morning.

After eating some of the food we have brought with us, everyone turns in for the night. Tomorrow we will be going to Philadelphia.

Day One - Escape from Vermont

Welcome to our video blog of our “grand adventure” (as JP likes to call it). Chances are that the fact that you are here now means you know something about us... at the very lest you know that this is the documentation of a young American family that chose to move from Vermont to California with little more than what their 99 Dodge Caravan (bought at auction) and a 5x8 U-Haul trailer could carry. Our income consists of JP’s disability from Social Security and Lyra’s ‘Reach-Up’ Grant through Vermont’s Department of Economic Services (aka welfare). That combined with a little (and I DO mean little) cash that we have saved up makes for what JP refers to as “the reason this is a great adventure”. Some might call it crazy, but let’s just say this is being done on a very thin budget.

(All video are accessed by clicking on the links below.)

Saturday, June 27, 2009 12:09 PM

"We thought that we could begin a new life there, but much to our surprise, it wasn’t so. Maybe a mirror DID get broken and that damn myth IS true, but after nearly six years of bad luck, it was time to leave. And so the next journey begins

Not a moment too soon… actually many moments too late, but that was then, right? The last week has been spent sleeping on a set of bunk-beds in a room barely big enough for them, at what otherwise was really a blessing for all four of us. I know that is not what many would call the John Graham Emergency Shelter in Vergennes, Vermont, though. No pets are allowed, so our two cats have been sleeping in the car. During the day we have been letting them hang out around the shelter home and the playground.

These last couple of days has really made it clear to us, though, that we need to make a break; and today is that day. Everything is sorted, packed or crapped, shrink-wrapped like you wouldn’t believe (another story altogether) and shipped. Once those pallets are on the truck, our path is set.

Not to back-track, but a little history never hurts. This ‘adventure’ really began six years ago, when Quinn was only four months old. We picked up our family and moved from Maui, Hawaii, to Bristol, Vermont. Not something you can do with a van and a U-Haul. This original move was work induced… (a whole other story).
So this time we are going with NO expectations, much less job prospects. We simply want to work on being self-sufficient, and that requires a real growing season to begin with. It is our hope that our Section 8 Voucher has been extended for a rare third time. That would be greatly instrumental in having a home when we arrive in Mendocino County. At the moment, we are in suspense on the issue because the notices are sent out to our mailing address, which remains in Ripton until we get to California.

So, back to the present…

With what money we have been able to save, we have now left Vergennes for the first leg of our journey. We had been planning this journey to California for months. Timing had to be right and the time abruptly arrived with the new knowledge that there are thieves among this group of wanderers, and we want nothing to do with that.

So, we have packed up the van and trailer with the remains of our belongings and are heading north.

North? Wait, I thought that California was west…

We decided to make a quick stop to get some fresh strawberries for the road ahead. We were heading to Charlotte to catch the ferry, when we saw the strawberry sign at Charlotte Berry Farm. We grabbed a few crates and headed towards the strawberry fields deep in the property. After about two hours, with full crates and tummies, we returned to our van and set off for the ferry.

Coming to the ticket booth, we found ourselves placed in the front center seat of the ferry line. This being everyone’s first ferry ride, except for me, we sat patiently in our car as the boat made a direct line from Charlotte to Essex. We left just in time to miss the violent thunder storms approaching Addison and Chittenden County. We landed in Essex and headed south, escaping the storms. Before we got too far, we discovered a rest stop wholly running off of solar electricity.

California here we come!!

But first we must make a few stops. Seeing as how we are taking a great risk moving across the country, heading out on our own, we plan to visit the Statue of Liberty first. Next we will go to Philadelphia to see Liberty Hall and the Liberty Bell, and then we plan to visit the White House, museums and monuments around Washington D.C. Quinn wants to meet President Obama. We will also be there to watch the fireworks on the Fourth of July.

Unfortunately, there are no camping sites along the path until just outside of the DC-Baltimore area. What a drag. From one metropolis into another we see many cars, trucks and vans, but still no camping. The strawberry picking stalled our plans of making it to Liberty Island today, so we will have to park in New Jersey at a Best Western for the night. It is 11:00 PM and we are tired…