After a fond farewell to Kansas, we proceeded southward to Dallas, Texas, where Dallas spent five years after college (that’s right, y’all…Dallas from Dallas). The trip from Kansas was the worst yet, as the engine just would not cool down despite having flatter terrain than on previous legs of the trip. This was especially odd given that I had had the coolant flushed while in Kansas. However, Dallas’ brother, Wes, diagnosed our problem as a faulty water pump and recommended that we purchase a thermostat, water pump, and timing belt from the auto parts store. So we took his advice and took the parts to a discount service station. It seemed a little sketchy, but we decided to take a chance on them since they were so much cheaper than their competitors. Initially they sent us away because their mechanic hadn’t shown up for a couple days (on a bender, apparently). But they called back to say that a cousin across town could do it. So we were in luck! I returned to pick up the car to find their KFC leftovers strung all around the small room with the 9” TV that could be considered a waiting area (hence, the low-overhead price). Haggling over the price was short and sweet, and I drove away with a much improved cooling system.

The Strip Mall Service Station

 Back at the ranch (actually just around the corner from Southfork Ranch where the TV show Dallas was filmed), we talked with Wes and Tiffany about our plans to sail around the world together and shared our progress with various related tasks. One such task was sewing a new sipper into the mainsail cover. It turns out that Dallas is the most talented seamstress of the group, but even with his assistance, we later discovered that we were feeding the cloth into the machine backwards! Looks like we have a lot to learn on the sewing front, but we’ll have many months on the boat to figure it out. I know Tiff can’t wait to become a master seamstress!

Southfork Ranch

Riding Sugar

Dallas after Felling a Tree

 

 

Next was Springdale, Arkansas, where Dallas spent several years of his childhood camping, hiking, and trying to find his way out of caves with his two brothers and their friends. Dallas’ mother is a fantastic cook, and we enjoyed sharing meals with she, Dallas’ stepfather, grandparents, and eventually, both of his brothers and their families as well. Naturally this led to rousing games of wiffle ball and endless entertainment playing with Dallas’ niece and nephew.

He Caught It!

The Gang's All Here

  It was a long trip from Arkansas to Florida, but reluctanly I agreed to take turns driving through the night to take advantage of daylight hours upon arrival to the boat. Rather than immediately crashing as I thought we might when we got to the boat, Dallas and I both became energized and wildly attempted to find space for all the containers coming off of the trailer. It turns out that finding space for things is a constant endeavor…

Thanks to Dallas’ thorough planning, each aspect of our trip has been carefully budgeted, including our journey to the boat via my ride, Bert, named after my grandfather from whom I inherited it. Bert is a 1990 Plymouth Acclaim, a car that was rarely coveted in L.A. (there was one elderly woman…) but that served me very well in the fast lane of the infamous 405 freeway. Bert also has a V6, so we trusted him to not only get us across the country but also to pull a home-made utility trailer purchased on good old craiglist.org (a lot cheaper than UHAUL!). The trailer was enclosed by a tarp of sorts, but since it had some small holes in it, we took extra precautions and wrapped our boxes up in pleasantly green plastic wrap to protect our stuff from the rain that was sure to befall us on our trip from coast to coast.  After every nook of the car and trailer had been completely stuffed, the hitch barely cleared the ground. Friends and coworkers gave us concerned looks and expressed doubt about our chances of making it out of the state, but we were determined to make it work, so we climbed into the small cavities of space that remained in the car and were off!

Almost ready to go

Although it was the end of September, it was still over 90^o in the desert as we crossed California and Nevada. And of course it was mountainous. This proved to be a nasty combo for Bert, who began to get really hot really fast. Our solution was to spend much of this leg of the journey with the heater on full blast so as to pull hot air off of the engine. And of course we could only manage about 45-50 mph on the major inclines, that is, when we weren’t pulled over to allow the engine to cool off. Initially, this elicited slap-happy, sleep-deprived laughter. But about 10 minutes after the first stop to let Bert cool off I was asking Dallas if we should turn around and find a flatter route to Florida. 

We pressed on, fueled in part by the gorgeous landscape in Arizona and Utah and by Bert’s ability to handle even the steepest inclines as long as he received a healthy dose of overheating cures at the right times. A mere 17 hours later, we arrived at our first destination in lovely Gypsum, Colorado. Sarah, one of my best friends and college roommates, lives here with her adorable sons and affable husband Ryan, who owns a coffee shop called the Red Canyon Café.  Sarah assured us that there were just three major mountain passes from there to Denver, and with a few hours sleep under our belt, some good conversation (Sarah likened our hooptie’s excursion to a Steinbeck novel rather than to the Beverly Hillbillies-how kind), and some excellent drinks and sandwiches from the café, we were back on the road.

Crossing into Utah

Sarah with sons Alec & Owen

The trip to from Colorado to Kansas starts out very beautifully, particularly with the Aspen trees beginning to change color.  Once past Denver, however, it is notoriously flat and desolate. Nevertheless, we arrived in Lawrence, Kansas, the home of our alma mater (Rock Chalk Jayhawk!), in time for last call with our mutual best friend, Julia. While staying up late trying to allay her fears about what might ensue on our trip, we successfully convinced her and her awesome boyfriend, Tim (a man who truly does Wisconsin proud), to meet us in the Bahamas in February. (It’s in writing now, Jules…gonna hold you to it J) The next day was gorgeous, and we took advantage of the temperate autumn weather by playing nine holes of golf. Dallas must already be getting the feel for retirement, as he played his best round ever with three pars. As for me, I was happy if I could get through a hole with fewer than the maximum number of swings!

Autumn in Aspen

Playing golf with Jules & Tim

From Lawrence, we ventured thirty miles to Lenexa, Kansas to where I call Home. (I always said it was just the right distance from college…close, but not so close as to be getting unexpected visitors, right Mom?)  Although it lacks some of the features that we have grown to love about California such as the beach and perpetual sunshine, Lenexa (and the Midwest in general) is a fantastic place to be raised due to the abundance of extremely nice folks who live there.

My parents, for example, rank up there as some of the kindest you could meet. They are also very goal-oriented and thus inspire a strong Protestant work ethic. It was great to spend some time with them at this point in their lives, as they are adjusting to being newly retired and developing new, more personal goals for themselves. I have to brag that my father is soon to be opening his own art studio, providing an example for us that with a heck of lot of planning and motivation, one can venture out on one’s own to pursue one’s dreams…

Relaxing with Mom and Dad

We burnt our candle at both ends during our final weeks in L.A. For me in particular, it was tough to say good-bye to clients and coworkers at the Child and Family Guidance Center where I have been working for two years. Oddly, though, it did not bother me too much to be taking such a long break from a very brief career thus far as a child psychologist. For Dallas, who has been successful employed as an electrical and systems engineer in the defense industry for the last seven years, it was easier to say adios to his current gig in order to pursue his dream to circumnavigate. Even so, there was much for both of us to do on a professional and personal level to prepare for our departure.

For example, since we were moving onto a boat, it was necessary to super-down-size our possessions. This was fairly easy given that neither Dallas nor I are too attached to material goods. However, I have to admit that I have an aversion to throwing things away, but I didn’t have to thanks to the popularity of craigslist.org and to the convenience of the Goodwill center nearby.

We also managed to spend some Quality Time with great friends (many of whom were fellow transplants from the Midwest) before we left. Highlights included Erik spending the weekend with us and helping us pack, heading up to Yosemite with our great friends Kopan and Julia, Lauren’s going away party at Lizzette’s house, and seeing our favorite local band, Fokushima (check ‘em out on www.myspace.com/fokushima), one last time. Dallas also ventured to Chicago the weekend before we left where he surreptitiously watched the Cubs clinch the National League Central Division championship.

Erik!

Dallas & Kopan in Yosemite

My favorite neighbors Allison & Brenna

Of course we had to hit our favorite local spots one last time and were fortunate to find our favorite regulars there — Jalil “the Rockin’ Moroccan”, Andy, and J-Dog at the Venice Bistro (on the boardwalk of Venice beach) and Liz from Jersey, who was running the pool table at JP’s (our dive in Santa Monica) as usual. While there, we met some new people with whom we enjoyed discussing our reasons for leaving L.A. We never tired of hearing people’s reactions. Some gave us incredulous looks, focused on potential dangers, and strongly recommended that we have guns on the boat so as to fend off pirates. Others became excited for us, shared their own experiences traveling, and suggested must-see locations around the world. The most interesting reactions were those in which others indicated that our plans inspired them to contemplate how they, too, could seize the day. In the course of writing this blog, hopefully there will be many opportunities to convince people that one does not need to be in their sixties or wealthy to pursue adventure…