Road Ghosts

Kentucky

2008-08-07T08:15:00.000-07:00

Though originally considered too far west for us, once we discovered some cool dudes who live there, Kentucky became a viable land option. So a night in a marginally creepy (but really not too bad) motel brought us within distance of said cool dudes. Darren of the Shrieking Shack agreed to meet us in the morning, so we drove to a bakery/cafe on the outskirts of Lexington. From the moment we saw his bare feet and beard, we knew he was the man for us. Over iced coffee and pumpkin muffins we discussed Lexington and Berea, KY, where Darren and his family are looking to buy land. We discussed the local scenes and what was cool and lame about the area. Darren was full of useful information, like impressing upon us the need to acquire the mineral rights of the land we buy (or else the very land could be pulled out from under us!). And we got to meet his wife and kids! All cool dudes in their own right.

Taking only pumpkin muffin memories, we followed his be-stickered pick-up to the Shrieking Shack, where we would be playing a show later in the summer,

and then continued on to the local food co-op, where we spent much of the rest of the day, internetting, eating, shopping and chilling with Darren here and there.

Finally it was decided, after much mulling and blogging. We would drive down to Berea and check it out! The drive was minuscule (only 45 minutes), the landscape rolling,

and the arrival sunset-lit.

Darren was working with some friends at MERJ (a meeting place/farmer's market/cool place representing the convergence of nearby counties)

to set up a music festival for Solstice weekend. They worked feverishly to get a tarp up over the stage,

which they succeeded in doing, and which we rewarded with leftover cinnamon buns from Tennessee.

Berea itself was a small college town and we didn't get to check much of it out, but we trust Darren and his assessment.

Thanks Darren!

West Virginia, wild and wonderful, followed Kentucky, as we began the end of the trip, though in truth, our trip would continue to continue.

The race began to get to a campsite before it closed -- a recurring problem we had been having, and the reason for so many motel stops. With only minutes to go, and miles ahead of us, we got confused and then enlightened so drove as fast as we could in the right direction and at 10 o'clock sharp, pulled through the open gates of a state park, where we spent our last wooded night in the presence of utter silence and tree-obscured stars.
Tomorrow -- Virginia...and Baltimore!

Tennessee-in is Tenne-believin'

2008-08-05T11:47:00.000-07:00

Asheville v.2

Boone kissed us on the cheek and our hearts fluttered, but we still had to press on over the mountains. Melanie's Minor Tissy led us in the complete wrong direction for the route we intended, but the complete right direction to get us back to Asheville for a re-visit and a Laughing Seed lunch. The Laughing Seed is closed on Tuesdays, so a walk through a new part of town brought us to Rosita's Kitchen,

another organic restaurant, this one serving southern cuisine.

Seeing Asheville again after being in Boone was illuminating and put both places in a gentle perspective -- Boone much smaller and less self-aware, Asheville livlier and more citylike.

We had no time to lose, however, as we continued over the Smokeys into Tennessee.

Cicada Season

We made it before dark to a State Park just north of Knoxville. First order of business -- a renewed calisthenics program,

and the collection of dead cicadas.

Though we haven't mentioned before, this year in Asheville and the rest of the Smokeys marked the return of the Seventeen-Year Cicadas, who buzzed extensively, flew into our faces, and scattered their bodies on the streets during our time in Asheville. A review of our campsite in Tennessee revealed many tiny holes in the ground, which we hypothesized to be cicada holes.

The collection of cicadas being complete, we set up camp while enjoying the fading light and cool breeze through the woods,

and set about collecting varying sizes and thicknesses of twigs, sticks and logs, creating a firewood collage. Heather built tents out of wood and spires of flames, which we looked at

and toasted our bread on.

The toasts were the base of one of several Road Ghost Road Staple Snacks. This one is suitable for breakfast, lunch & dinner:

Peanut Butter Banana Breads

1 slice stale Ezekiel 4:9 Cinnamon Raisin Bread
1/2 to 1 whole over-ripe banana

Several knife-fulls warm & chunky peanut butter

Balance a slice of Ezekiel on your lap. Take your already peanut-butter encrusted pocket knife and spread the peanut butter on the bread. Then, with the same knife, cut thin to thick chunks of banana, and place lavishly on the peanut-buttered bread. Eat!

"Better than an RC and a Moon Pie"

In the morning we met with Charlotte Branson, a real estate agent in Kingston, TN ("State Capital for a Day -- September 21, 1807"), who wasted no time in printing out more property descriptions than our little hearts could have hoped for. She asked us about our plans for the property, but then stopped abruptly and asked if we were "intending to start a com-MUNE". We told her "sort of" and she said she used to be a hippy herself.

There was only enough time to see a couple of properties, so we checked out one about 15 minutes west of Kingston -- 81 acres for $195,000.

Driving to the property, Charlotte regaled us with the kinds of festivals they have in Tennessee -- Corn Bread, Moonshine, Catfish, and RC & Moon Pies. Moon Pies are made in Chattanooga, and in Tennessee few things are "better than an RC and a Moon Pie." She also filled our heads with useful rural knowledge culled from her upbringing on a 600-Acre farm in just that neck of the woods. She told us to put clear nail polish on chiggers and never plant during a month with an "R" in it. She told us that raccoons will wash anything, even sugar cubes, and that ticks with white spots on their backs carry lyme disease. She told us tales of the area's coal plant, nuclear plant, and weapons plant,

and her houseboat journey down the Tennessee river to the Gulf of Mexico.

Arriving at the property, we discovered it to be lush and tick-rich,

complete with pond and woods.

Part of it was located under power lines,

but not too far from Kingston.

We were mis-directed to the next property and couldn't find it. We didn't mind riding around with Charlotte for a little while longer, as she was a gem of a guardian angel. Upon returning to her office (and allowing her to finally take her husband out for a birthday lunch of hamburgers), she offered us use of the shower to wash off our ticks, then filled our arms with bottled water, peanut butter crackers, cinnamon buns and a hug for each of us. What a woman.

The day was nearly done, but we had yet to see the city of Knoxville. So with the intent of finding the evening's meal, we headed into town. We were greeted by the Knoxville World's Fair Ball, which towered over the entrance to the city. Word is still out on whether or not it is filled with wigs.

Knoxville's old city provided us with not many food options,

including some New Jersey Style Pizza.

A disinterested waitress in a coffee house told us about an organic/vegetarian/vegan-friendly spot in the heart of downtown. We whisked ourselves away to dine.

Our dinner bliss was short-lived, however, when we got back in the car to leave town and discovered Melanie's Big Tissy -- a Peanut Butter Disaster of greasy & sad proportions. An only partially-closed jar of peanut butter tumbled and spilled all over many of Keith's possessions, including but not limited to Computer, Backpack & Pillow.

Clandestine trips to an Arby's across the street provided us with the napkins necessary to de-pb,

and the ants began work cleaning up the street.

We had done as much as we could, and the day was getting old, so out of Knoxville we drove and onward to Kentucky.

I love mountain. I love bird. I love Boone.

2008-08-02T07:00:00.000-07:00

The eating of eucalyptus continued into the morning. We had given up the eating of peanut butter bread for 8 hours as a sort of fast, and these new slices served us well to break our fast. With renewed vigor, we began sorting the food bags,

and blogging about it.

The 12 pm check-out time rolled around sooner than expected, so we checked-in out back and made the outside world our new hotel room.

From Greensboro's Cheapest Hotel, we traveled west, taking an exceedingly brief detour through Winston-Salem and a long and stormy road around mountains & through hollers.

We ended up in Boone, N.C., where we quickly found a suitable law firm,

a great deal,

and our new favorite hang-out, beansTalk, where we continued the morning's blogging and chilling.

The rain left wondrously misty mountains (later discovered to be some kind of "knob"),

and the evening found us in the home of Jeff Deal, a friend Keith had met in Mountain View, CA who works with Appalachian Voices, an organization in Boone whose mission is to stop mountain tops from being decimated for the purposes of coal extraction.

A former mountain in Logan County, West Virginia

Jeff graciously offered us the use of his house for sleeping, etc, and we accepted. Even more auspiciously, we arrived just in time for an elegant dinner party of friendly proportions. The food was delicious, and it was awesome to meet & talk to so many cool people from the area. Boone was already worming its way into our hearts.

After a lovely Sunday morning brunching with Jeff and his partner Jaime, we headed off to Elk Knob,

a newly crowned State Park and home to many wonders, including orange flowers,

their green blobbish fruits,

& plump bugs.

We reached the summit, 5520 feet above the base,

closer to the clouds,

and in view of neighboring mountains.

While on the summit, we discovered a tiny forest.

It was all downhill from there.

We took the long way back to Boone so as to feast our eyes on all that could be ours. Along the way we met 1 gopher, 2 vultures, 1 rabbit, 1 deer, plus 5 tiny chihuahuas walking a bulldog in the middle of the road. Colts & calves were mothered and abundant.

After dinner at the local favorite Coyote Kitchen, we returned to Jeff's home to settle in for some more blogging. But not before making use of his in-house kegerator refigerator tap

and toasting our fortunes.

"To getting wasted!" "To getting land!" "To getting us!"

We spent the next day also in Boone, meeting and lunching with Kent Hively who runs Appalachian Energy Solutions out of Jeff's house, and Caroline who works there with him.

Kent and Caroline were very generous with their time and information, giving us a real sense of what it's like to do the things we want to do out here. In fact Kent is buying 60 acres himself just 15 minutes from here!

We were able to contact a real estate agent with a degree in alternative energy who used to co-house in Santa Cruz. We also left a message for Mr. Conservation Easement, the busiest man in Boone, who buys large tracts of land only to preserve them.

Just as we were about to leave for Knoxville, TN, we received word that the fabled Matt Wasson, Conservation Director of Appalachian Voices, had invited us to his mountain home for an evening of beers and fireflies. We could not refuse.

Dinner eaten & brews procured, we previewed the firefly show that awaited us as we drove along the winding mountain roads. You see, these were no ordinary fireflies, but rather rare synchronous fireflies, who flash their bioluminescence in chorus after remaining dark together.

When we arrived at Matt's house (who, incidentally, wrote an article about the very phenomenon we were witnessing here), we grabbed the brewskis and some lawn chairs and set up shop in the middle of his road facing the woods. The lightning bugs glowed green and sparkling at regular intervals as Matt's husky, Cain, roamed and howled and eventually curled up in a ball next to us. It was magical. The four of us talked politics and music and future and past until the moon rose and midnight rolled around, which is the time when all road ghosts must leave their new friends' houses. Good night Matt!

We've found Boone to be a delight and very promising. A veritable home away from home.

Many thanks to Jeff & Jaime for their incredible hospitality and thanks to Boone for being super cool.

"I love mountain. I love bird. I love Boone."
–Ben O'Brien, age 1

Norfolk Excursion

2008-07-30T09:17:00.000-07:00

After browsing Edenton we headed for a short excursion through Norfolk

and to a Holiday Trav-L-Park in Virginia Beach.

We were supposedly among thousands of people sleeping there. We gladly paid $35 to pitch our tent among the wacky signs and silly toilets. We took a quick jump into the beach and headed to our guardian's office.

He showed us some property, much of it a bit too far from the tri-city area for our liking. We could not get in touch with the seller agents and had to rush back to North Carolina

to buy a new car

and to pick up a treat being shipped to us via freight.

We drove another hour to Greensboro

and settled, this time for good. We celebrated by eating more eucalyptus.

Elite Coastal Properties, Part 3

2008-07-29T13:30:00.000-07:00

On the way up to Virginia we stopped in the war torn town of Edenton, North Carolina.

We saw a sign after the tracks
Took our real estate to the MAX
With the help of Tina Slack's
Expertise in local tracts.

We sorted through the properties and picked our favorites in the mix.

Alec Holland, ABR, CRS, ePRO, GRI

170 acres for $350,000, with half a mile of frontage on a large river.

"Property has approx 3500 ft of frontage on the river. Great property for development. Near the Creswell city limits. Posibility of connecting to city sewage and water with formal agreement with city. Great opportunity for investers."

As a special treat, it appeared to be a short drive from the Albemarle Sound:

However, Tina found the price ($2,000/acre) to be suspicious, so she talked to Tim from the Mappings Dept of Washington County. In fact Tim had done the survey for that property, and his notes for us were as follows:

Almost entire area is a swamp.

Recommend a specialist to determine feasability of building 6 homes on this property.

Our hearts plunged and were eaten by a crocodile.*

*Crocodiles do not live in the US. You were probably thinking of Alligators.

Long Lost Faves

Next on faves was 112 acres for $285,000 ($2,500/acre), with several creeks and shooting lanes. However, it was in Rich Square, pretty far from both Edenton and from our final destination for the day, Norfolk.

We had to pass it up, along with another property in Lowland – 105 acres for $400,000 ($3,800/acre) which did not look very interesting.

Fruitcake

This left only one viable option. To get there, Tina sent us over a river

and through a woods

Grandma says:

Nature lover's dream home! Tucked in the midst of 50 glorious acres with access to the Albemarle Sound, this cute home offers an open floor plan & handicap access. There's a serene 3/4 acre pond surrounded by walking trails, wildlife, and appr. 12 cleared acres lovingly planted with a variety of Fruit Trees, Pecans Trees, Grape Vines & blueberries. Greenhouse, Large Workshop. County H20 available.

All that for only $275,000, not bad, except that's $5,300/acre. Not as mouth-swamping as those wetlands, but not bad.

After several minutes crawling up the driveway into the property, the place felt very open. A large cleared bushy area served as a several-acre front yard.

Hundreds of birds gave us the cold shoulder.

They didn't care one bit about our visit and would rather read the morning paper or live up to their lofty ideals, never speaking a word to humans.

Through detective work we deduced that fruit is everything to these people.

Passionfruit

Grapes

A medium quiet pond sat near the back.

Around it sat an unknown volume of woods (only unknown when measured in ping pong balls).

Since we didn't have a map of the property, we just pretended, and correctly prophesied that we would not get shot.

The house was acting standoffish, dodging questions about the war, so we left it alone. For the birds, we say.

Overall this property was nice. A field for frisbee, semi-mature fruit trees already planted, woods, and a pond. The only downsides were slightly low acreage / high price per acre, and a shallow pond teeming with stillness. And of course location: Edenton is a small town of 5,000 residents.

City	Distance	Population
Elizabeth City	45 min	17,000
Greenville	1 hr 45 min	75,000
Norfolk, VA / Virginia Beach / Newport News	1 hr 30 min	1,500,000

We moved on to the metropolis of Norfolk, Virginia Beach, and Newport News for a short visit with Guardian Miguel...

Guest Post: Emerald Earth Sanctuary

2008-07-14T09:38:00.000-07:00

LOOK OUT! This is a guest post from Home Ghost Erin Gleeson in Oakland!

Drew and I headed north to Boonville, CA. There's an intentional community up there that practices permaculture gardening, natural building and baby rearing. They are our kind of dudes.

Food
It seems like their diet was largely vegetarian. Most of their protein would come from beans. But now, as they're trying to eat more local foods, they want to shift away from beans grown in Mexico. It seems that locally raised meat would be the most bountiful source of protein for them. While we were there, we ate a lot of fruits and vegetables grown on-site (they have two pretty large gardens and a greenhouse), but the main things (rice, noodles, olive oil, etc.) were purchased. They also raise chickens for eggs.

They're drying cherries on a screen in the greenhouse.

One of their showers is also in the greenhouse. It's beautiful.

"The Shit Cooker." Every six months, they clean out the compost toilet and put the poop in here. After another six months, they use it to fertilize trees. They don't use the mixture with vegetables b/c some diseases (ie, hepatitis) cannot be broken down in the process.

Toilet. They used materials gleaned from the land in conjunction with a couple purchased materials. It cost them about twenty dollars.

Here are my notes on the place:

Location
Located just outside of Boonville, the Sanctuary is very similar to the model that we've been discussing for MV. 180 acres, 20 minutes from a town, 2.5 hours from San Francisco. Of the 180 acres, they use 20.

History
Twenty years ago, several friends from Berkeley decided to set up their own community. One of the members came into some money, so she bought the land, which at the time only had a plywood hunting cabin on it. They established a non-profit and called it Emerald Earth Sanctuary, after their hippie drum circle. Eventually, it disintegrated, and one guy was left on the land, holding onto the hope that it would all come together. The woman that made the purchase gave the land to the non-profit. About ten years later, four plucky youngsters with natural building experience approached the last remaining drummer and asked him if they could help revive it. He was down, and the Sanctuary grew into what it is today.

Non-Profit Status
They're a 501(c)3, which means they have a Board of Directors. It all appears to work just fine. It sounded really casual and not at all like Purchase Student Government, where people demand pizza and activities based purely on their own desires.

Monthly Fees
About $300, which goes toward food, power and internet costs.

Zoning
Everything is illegal, but no one has bothered them yet.

Jobs
No one works more than three days a week. Most of the members work in Boonville, but one guy said he works from home doing computer stuff. He commutes into Boonville one day a week to meet with his employer. His wife is an acupuncturist, and another woman is a massage therapist. They both have practices in Boonville.

Buildings
Most of the buildings are smallish cob structures, but they're all hybrids of several different styles. They're really beautiful and good at keeping cool in the summer. The biggest undertaking is their new community house, which is going beyond their means. They're having a fundraiser to help with the costs. I wish I had gotten pictures of the Community House site, but we had to dig fence post holes. In essence, it's effing huge.

They Need Cars to Get Around
To get to their property, you have to drive on a narrow, hilly dirt road that isn't bike friendly. One of the members said that's his biggest problem with the place. He would like to be able to bike into town with his 18-month-old daughter, but it just isn't safe.

Smoked Ghost

2008-07-08T12:22:00.000-07:00

As we entered the foggy city of Greenville, North Carolina, our angel shouted our names

and shook our snacky peanut butter hands with vigor.

Once we learned that the fog was not in fact fog, and we were in fact being smoked, we swam upstream to a property 20 minutes outside the city.

If you had sharper eyes, you would see Godfrey putting on
a small performance piece using a free limb.

Mrs. Real Estate sez:

Approx. 600 road frontage. Soil report on file, percs for 5 large tracts, plus 2 septic systems installed on old homesite. Cut over 3-5 years ago. County Water tap in place. Perfect for mini-farm subdivision, or build your private homestead on this beautiful tract with a short commute to the hospital and/or ECU. Small pond on site and bordered by a nice creek

The land was nice,

but cut.

And we quickly realized we were not alone.

Around the watering hole, adjectives made Heather feel something.

Word on the street is that they were murky, small, and still. Luckily we didn't get too down on ourselves and soon found a roller coaster.

Along the front, among six hundred feet of road frontage, sat an invisible home with septic tank and clean green coaltricity:

A long animal confirmed our suspicions of non aloneness, and raised hairs of Godfrey, former venom victim.

After exploring, the interim road ghosts shared the evening together,

and traversed our usual checklist of Guardian Angel Discussion Topics:

1. Shriners. White Masons have asked black Masons on a play date. Developing story.
2. The Confederate flag. According to Godfrey, not about hate, black people just have too much time on their hands. Debatable.
3. Flooding. Before Y2K, Greenville flooded 25 feet. Heavy rains and opened floodgates rushed water from state capital. No love for Raleigh.
4. Sweat rags. Essential.

As the sky darkened, we said goodbye and went on our way.

As we arrived at an RV resort some miles away, Godfrey and his bluetooth checked to make sure we made it OK. We had, and did, and our morning calisthenics around the lake ended with a surprise.

Overall Greenville did not impress during our short visit. We hear it's a nice place. But Northward we continued.

Elite Coastal Properties, Part 1

2008-06-19T15:07:00.000-07:00

We went down to Wilm-N-Tun.

There's a great health food co-op

in a minefield of non health food non co-ops.

We met with a man who shall remain nameless.

Twice we slept at a nice park.

A Pooping Heather Bear saw a respectable snake common to the area.

Luckily we were near a quiet Carolina Beach.

We made some friends.

With that man we saw some land.

But quickly looming clouds signaled a return to the car.

Possibly taking a cue from the pelicans at the coast, a wave of brave anarchist kamikazes dove through the hundred-degree sky.

A few dents and scratches may not be much, but they know it's a start.

On the way out we saw another plot as another guardian angel whispered in our ears.

After a self-guided tour, we were completely confused about where we were and what this land was.

We ventured on, this time to Greenville, North Carolina.

The World's Only MARRIED Couple

2008-06-19T13:26:00.000-07:00

After travails in Durham we found our own contractually bound local guardian angels, in the form of Tracy and Eric, the Triangle's only MARRIED real estate team. Only one property looked feasible to visit but it stunned us with its stunningly stun gun.

Here's what God has to say about it:

A SHINING GEM JUST SOUTH OF MEBANE! Basic home built as a schoolhouse in 1921. Nice kitchen & master bedroom expansions create a comfortable, personable living space. Marvelous secluded 33A lot includes lake of about 5 acre. Old hardwood floors, working FPs in living room & master, large decks on side &at back! A Must See!

At the outset, a winding woodly journey into the property revealed a great house. The windows were everywhere. We would have to avoid keeping stones in this place if you know what I mean.

We ventured out back. An anole anointed an anonymous arbor as all approached, and accelerated, avoiding attention.

Beyond, Eric warded off snakes with a special rod as we descended the cleared corridor through the rest of the long and narrow trapezoid.

This time we knew the shape of the land – rhomboid, sphere, and dodoctopod were thus out of the question – however finding the borders required more smarts than we could obtain, especially considering that the borders do not exist, while we certainly do. We stayed close to the middle where we knew it was safe, and soon we met a five acre pond.

Horseflies' hot hidden hands hummed, hungrily hiccuping hemoglobin.

Happily, hurting has hence hemi-healed.

Durham, North Carolina

2008-06-16T15:42:00.000-07:00

Question of the Day:

What is this person saying?

We saw Charlotte, NC!

We liked it, despite ourselves, as it flew by our windows for about 15 minutes.
It was clean and had a bunch of art around and statues of metal people we don't know, and flesh people of many colors.
It was intriguing upon this very first glance, and that's about all we know of it.

We happily arrived in Durham, NC to the house of our now-friend Kym Register, of the band Midtown Dickens, who was out and about being that it was her second to last night before leaving for India for a week. She was going to talk and learn from Hijra there, a group of transgender men and sometimes women.

So, she left the key in a secret place which clearly i will not divulge to you.
All of a sudden it happened, we had a house all to ourselves with even wireless internet and a kitchen to cook on!
Despite the indoorsness of it all, we found ourselves drawn to the one-degree-cooler front porch as opposed to the one-degree-hotter insides.

We called a Suzuki dealer, as for the past bunch of days, our trusty steed

had been popping out of 5th gear into neutral in a sudden and jarring manner.
While it was getting looked at for a couple of hours, they hire the nicest man named J to take you to 9th street, the part of Durham that has Whole Foods, an ice-cream parlor, and restaurants and shops you are sure to enjoy.

9th Street, however, did not hold our hearts.
It was ho-hum.
J, however, fondly holds our hearts.
He told us about the tobacco farm he grew up at, and how he missed the feeling of his hands in the dirt, and the fresh onions and potatoes they would eat from the ground.
He would direct a mule to pull the tobacco that had just been picked, and in the middle of the hot day he would sneak off to a shady grove to find the juciest watermelon and scoop out the pulp.
Our mouths were watering.

When we got back to Suzuki, Ronny was another charming character.
He told us about the Carolina Shag, which he teaches part time, and how if we moved to north carolina we would just have to learn it. He also told us they couldn't fix the transmission, that they'd have to put in a whole new or used one. So we went on our way with now Ronny too in our hearts.

We took Melanie to the train station in order to staten-island for 6 days.
We took the car to Frank who said he could rebuild the gear that was worn.
Before Melanie left we took to making whole wheat pasta with steamed broccoli, zucchini, chard, carmelized onions, tomatoes, basil, and parmesean cheese.
We also made the most delicious salad with lettuce, spinach, avocados, raw cheddar cheese, cherry tomatoes, onions, edible flowers, and blackberries.

It was 101 degrees in an oven house, a little stir crazy, but good.
I worked on some b'b'salmon songs on this here backpacker gi-tar,

keith stumbled a fan from Chris's room while he wasn't looking cuz it was dark (he said we could),

and we found relief in the most beautiful swimmin hole, which even itself was sweating.

The tiniest toads greeted (ran away from) us. And we caught many of all sizes.

Geo, a local boy who swims every day at the swimmin hole greeted us in a friendly human way, and told us that he doesn't like durham because it's boring and has gangs.
We swam long and good, and evaded bites from the looming (swimming) snappers.

On the way out we saw a fox!

We went and looked at land! Keith will soon tell you of the land and the fish on it that could be our future breakfasts.
This time, our guardians gave us plenty of paraphanalia, including 10 business cards in case we forgot to dream of their smiling faces.

Which we put happily to use with the most delicious frozen mango strawberry coconut butter and egg shakes while keith chatted up our next guardian.

We drove around Raleigh which was, as a big city can be at a first glance, undiscernable.

It looked like there was hardly anyone around, but Raleigh may just be the first place to employ city-camo suits making humans blend to the eye seemlessly with bricks and skyscrapers.

We did see something for a certain special Erin Gleeson:

We like this:

We went back to Durham and traded our car in for a new car for free!

Which means we rented one for the week and left keith's to be healed by Mechanic.

We decided to drive around Durham again to get a feel for it, mainly because we didn't quite like it, but didn't know why.

"Find Your Cool"

A strange mix of new developments and old forgotten buildings:

Back to our home in Durham where despite being lived in by Kym, Chris, and Chaz (of Chaz's Bull City Records in Durham), (3 of the friendliest folk), was empty almost the whole time, it was still hot at almost record highs and we were still trying fruitlessly to sleep.

At finally about 3am Keith and I both spontaneously arrose, as sleep was no where to be found. So we walked into the kitchen and stayed that way until the birds and sun started chirping.

The fruits of our wakefullness:

And after many moments of sweating and wondering in Durham, finally our time came to move on!
But not without capturing our new friend Chris!

Finals

Durham is like the boy next door who's kind of cute, but once you start talking to him you find out he smokes cigarettes and kills bugs for fun. You try hard to like him, because of the sheer convenience his proximity offers, and so you focus on his redeeming features, namely the Whole Foods he lives at and his friends Midtown Dickens, but that particular twinkle in his eye just isn't there.

From Madison County to Six Mile

2008-06-13T20:08:00.000-07:00

We began our first land search on Sunday, the first of June, with Eunice Pearson, our guardian realtor angel.

After browsing the racket that is the Multiple Listing Service (a.k.a. MLS), we came across four properties within an hour of Asheville that looked promising.

Slanty Plains

The first, 68 acres for $340,000, was about an hour away:

"Laurel community. Build your perfect mountain getaway! This parcel has it all. Borders Pisgah National Forest. Bold streams, big game, wildlife, and long range views. Private yet only 2/10 of a mile from highway 208. Two miles from the Tennessee border and only 15 minutes from Greenville, TN. Ideal for mountain retreat or for investment."

After a nice chat with Eunice, we found the place, but not until after several wrong turns, educated guesses, and phone calls:

This place was very heavily wooded and very steep. In fact we decided it would be pretty hard to build houses anywhere because of its stepth.

68 acres is about a third of a mile by a third of a mile (a 10 minute walk), but we couldn't see the whole thing because the seller agent hadn't posted a plat map / survey on the MLS – so we didn't know where the property started and ended. This will be a recurring theme.

What's the Rope For?

After seeing this property we went to the next - only to find that we couldn't make our way up the mountain because Eunice's minivan only had four wheels. We skipped it and moved on to the next.

Cowy Acres

This place was interesting but seemed small. It had a nice combination of woods and cleared pasture land. It appeared to be long and narrow, bordered by a small creek and a road. Again we didn't get to see much of the property because we didn't know the layout.

Asheville area summary:

GREAT	DUMB
lots of mountains & streams proximity to Asheville few / no zzzoning laws	very expensive - a house on the property is nearly out of the question, and living within 30 minutes of Asheville seems equally impossible Asheville is being developed quickly and we may be surrounded by Dairy Queens in 15 years

Greenville, South Carolina

Next we dove south to Greenville, which supposedly is being rubbed off by Asheville. We could neither confirm nor deny this during our fifteen minute walk-n-sit downtown, but it did look cute.

As health food stores currently comprise our only metric for cities, Greenville went from an F to an A+ when we found its Whole Foods. We happily gave it a merit badge when we found vegan soy-free coconut ice cream in its cold section.

Welcome to Pickens County

Our next guardian was Robert Mixon, whom we met in the small town of Seneca, an hour west of Greenville. He explained passionately that the counties of Pickens and Oconee would be our best bets - Greenville County is being developed very quickly and is already too expensive for us, due to its location between the two Hip Cities, and its proximity to the Asheville airport.

We found some props to check and made our way north to Six Mile.

A Land of South Carolina

The blurb:

"Old Homestead sold As-Is. It is a farm house that can be renovated and used as a vacation/weekender or residence until you build. There are several great building locations on this 80% wooded property. Tranquil and private, there are trails throughout the woods, over 3 streams, gentle rolling hills and abundant wildlife. Hunting and horseback riding haven!"

After several vicious rap battles we decided we liked this place. A sad turtle near a sad stream fought a citrusy magnolia. A lumpy kitchen fought a nice clearing with snake. However, 33 acres is a bit small, and we moved on to the next property.

Sunset before Sunset

"57.52 unrestricted acres located in Sunset. This property has a nice combination of mature trees and green pastures with clear mountains streams. Perfect land to build your dream home. Very private with rolling hills and great long range view of the mountains."

With this plot of land we finally met our match. It took so long to walk into the property that we even had time to stop for toads. A nice two-story house with a shed, a well, a septic tank, and grid electricity sat near a beautiful oak tree. A tiny stream rests on one border, and a larger stream lies at the entrance, very close to the road and at the bottom of the slope. We probably wouldn't live here due to the water location & flow, but the property was still very pleasant and we miss it already.

Fence Expenses

Finally we went to the last property - a lot of acres for some amount of money. Either way it was in a gated community and there were restrictions on what you could build (minimum square footage, etc.). We couldn't even get in the gate and so we called it a day and moved on.

Night Vision

We then headed off to Paris Hilton State Park outside Greenville, and after seeing a PETA truck,

we built our first fire using a cigarette lighter and our most precious future diary pages.

Coming soon on this here blog - our adventures further east in North Carolina, via Chapel Hill Road, Chapel Hill Blvd, Old Chapel Hill St, the Nelson Chapel Hill Highway, and Durham Chapel Hill Blvd towards Chapel Hill.

Missing Miss Melanie

2008-06-11T08:22:00.000-07:00

We miss this melanie!!!! If you've seen her at a wedding in Staten Island, please send her back to the road ghosts c/o Atlantic Ocean North Carolina. We will gladly scoop her back onto the road with us.
thank you.
and quick!

Asheville North Caroliny

2008-06-08T20:15:00.000-07:00

Question of the Day:

Raspberry Or Blackberry?

We walked out of New Orleans!

And on we went.

On the way away from Earthaven

to Asheville we saw quite the possibility in terms of naming the land on which we will soon eat most of our breakfasts:

Tada!

We went to asheville!
We did ititititit!
We saw them!
We did s'more!
We sunk in.
We turned about!
We climbed up, and slept at the Colonial.

We saw some friends! We sneakily snuck them a note.

But then we didn't have to! They asked us on a date in their beautiful home.

Before that, we learned how to wash our hands.

We washed our hands and then went out about into the town. We were climbing a tree

when all of a sudden we heard the most beautiful sound!

With the help of long lost purchase college allies Sara Kinney and John Ruso (over the mystery of the spelling of their names which no one seems to know) we learned about the abundance of beekeeping and permaculture classes in Asheville, and about how there are lots of people there who would be supportive and excited about us living in the way we dream of.

(The only picture we have of these wonderful people! (one of which here is posing as keith but is actually sarah))

Then we went to a river by the city and pretended to fish with a stick of bamboo.

There by the river some homeless people started gathering, because a Christian group comes there to hand out free meals around 7:00. As we were about to leave a man asked us if we wanted to see a baby raccoon. We turned around and sure enough, there on his shoulder was a ridiculously cute little creature.

The man told us a little about himself and the raccoon, then thanked us for listening, and we were on our way.

That night we stayed with the McNally Family Friend Susan the Camel, in the lovely home of her lovely family, where we cooked our first melanie-heather-keith-cooked meal of the trip, and it was delicious and satisfying indeed.

Susan told us a little about the vibrant contra and square dancing communities in Asheville.
She also told us that the people that live in the mountains around there are kind people.

Quickly again, we were on our way, this time to look at our very first properties!! We celebrated the occasion by saying we should celebrate this! and gazing at the fruit plants growing wild and free.

As soon as a whistle we will tell you more about the lands that we saw!

Mountain Havens

2008-06-01T08:19:00.000-07:00

From Evergreen, Alabama, a town formerly endowed with a movie the-ater, but now only populated by 3,600 of the kindest or rudest humans, we drove straight through Georgia and South Carolina to reach the outskirts of Asheville, North Carolina. A nice southern man wearing a nice southern hat tersely allowed us in the gate of Pisgah National Forest, but only after we promised to be quiet.

Our day having been shortened both technically and physically by our entrance into the final time zone, we each spontaneously awoke at 7am. (Alternatively, this may have been due to a gaggle of bees going ahead and mistaking our tent for some type of flowie.) The early rise gave us a chance to relax, sew buttons back on our clothes,

and also provided ample time to navigate the winding roads leading to Earthaven Ecovillage.

Sticks & Stones

A woman named Suchi showed us around Earthaven, introducing us to trees, water, buildings, and food. A hummingbird invited us into their conference hall.

Twice a month, all 40 members meet in this 13-sided round-pole timber-frame building for 4 hours to make decisions using consensus (rather than pseudoconsensus). Smaller committees meet more regularly.

This building also doubles as the school,

which children attend three days a week, to augment their parents' homeschooling. Clip-art demonstrates that the children are smart in 8 ways.

Many of the other buildings on the property were equally immaculate. This multi-story passive-solar timber-frame building houses many members, though we can't remember how many.

An abundance of windows on the South side and a dearth on the North side (pictured) keeps the building warm through all but the coldest days of winter, and keeps it chilly on the hottest days of summer.

Other types of buildings included stick-frame,

adobe brick,

cob,

and sword porch.

Recycled and salvaged materials were often used for flooring, insulation, doors & windows, etc.

This American Life

Many roofs at Earthaven sport photovoltaic solar panels, which provide a modest amount of electricity to human inhabitants.

Many buildings have refrigerators, laptops, and lights, and some have more energy intensive tools like blenders. Some members try to avoid the hassle and expense of inverters and batteries, for example using root cellars.

Some members' homes are powered by a 600-Watt hydroelectric generator fed via a 4-inch pipe from the creek running through the property.

In the future, the waste heat produced during generation may be piped into a hot tub.

Most cooking is done with bought propane, and wood stoves provide the heat needed to get through the mild winters.

Earthaven has accumulated an 8-10 year supply of of firewood due to the extensive clearing needed on the previously heavily wooded (though second-growth) forest. I suspect this is also why stick & timber frames are more popular here than adobe or cob.

Useful Plants

Surprisingly, growing food is a relatively new development at Earthaven. Peter Bane, editor of Permaculture Activist magazine, keeps a "state-of-the-art" Permaculture garden, including perennial fruit such as raspberries, figs, peaches, and kiwis (seen here smothering the front porch awning in the center).

One of the neighborhoods' themes is edible landscaping - every plant in this area is edible in some way.

This neighborhood also features the hotttest kitchen.

Many members keep small garden plots, and some members run a several-acre CSA farm, which provides produce boxes to other members in exchange for Leaps (the Earthaven currency).

Mid-Terms

Earthaven was beautiful and impressive. In less than fifteen years they have built a village where everyone seems genuinely cheerful and comfortable. Members' personalities, needs, and ages vary widely, but this appears to be a more of a strength than a struggle. The variety of homes, gardens, designs, alongside the natural diversity of the mountainous forest, make for a very charismatic and interesting place.

Earthaven seems like a great bridge between American suburbs and sane, sustainable living. As Red Moon Song said, it is a "transitional community," still using propane and importing food. In our opinion, however, many of the buildings seemed overly extravagant and expensive – Suchi told us that the adobe house pictured above might end up costing $80,000 or $100,000.

We mused that perhaps the complex buildings are intended to prove that urbanites can live sustainably in an environment similar to the one in which they have grown up & grown old. And of course this is a reflection of the openness and acceptance that Earthaveners have for each other – there are no rules for style or materials for new buildings.

Suchi mentioned that usually it takes centuries for human cultures to build a village, but at Earthaven they are trying to do it in one generation. Their plan for housing 150 members means Earthaven is a perpetual construction site. For me this really affected the tone & feeling of the place - tractors and trucks parked all over, orange spray paint on the ground, half-dug-up pipes, buckets and piles of garbage on the side of paths. This will probably change as Earthaven matures, but that won't be for many years.

The driving distance from Asheville (about 50 minutes) seemed to be a good compromise. Many members go into the city on the weekends or for events – but nobody commutes there. Members who work outside Earthaven do so nearby in the country - landscaping, construction, excavating, etc. Suchi also mentioned that many women at Earthaven are finding it difficult to find work.

Earthaven also seems encumbered by laws, both beneficial and good-intentioned-but-backwards, as mentioned in Creating a Life Together. For example, in North Carolina, greywater systems are illegal (along with midwifery and raw milk).

Also, last year, due to a mostly uneventful Hepatitis-A outbreak at Earthaven, the county health department placed limits on their use of the land's 14 freshwater mountain springs. They are now required to build several wells and designate "water districts" so each water source serves fewer than 24 people (this part is NC state law). In the meantime, all volunteers, visitors, and work exchangers must bring their own water, because Earthaven cannot legally provide any for them.

Finals

We really enjoyed our tour of Earthaven and learned a lot that might take a while to sink in. We are now having a pleasant, organic time in Asheville – more on that soon.

New Orleans

2008-05-30T09:20:00.000-07:00

Our Austin area morning started with a greeting from the park ranger who informed us that we were lucky, as the day before was so swelteringly hot, we probably wouldn't have been able to sleep in our tent. She proceeded to tell us that the reason we could stand there talking to each other without dripping sweat was a northerly breeze that came in before we did. Thank goodness for northerlies.
She was incredulous when we told her we were fixing to get to New Orleans that day, but we didn't let that stop us.

A delightful rest stop near the Louisiana border yielded plenty of lizard sightings and touchings,

while the Louisiana border itself yielded a fierce and pelting thunderstorm.

As we approached and eventually entered Louisiana, the scenery became even more lush. Swamps passed us on the right,

and frogs sang a chorus when we stopped to change drivers.

New Orleans

We got to New Orleans around 9:30 to stay with a McNally Family friend, John Flemming. John generously and graciously accepted us into his home (and his kitchen). John is an artist who makes beautiful leather masks,

and in the morning, he took us out to breakfast and directed us to New Orleans's points of interest. We are so grateful for John's help and hospitality.

Our first stop was the lower 9th Ward, which experienced some of the worst damage from Hurricane Katrina. The three of us agreed that seeing what really happened there was essential to our New Orleans experience. Three years after the levies broke, houses are still in disrepair.

The area is eerily quiet, and there are many spots where houses once stood which grasses and plants have reclaimed.

The sobering reality of the 9th Ward was followed by the surreal partiness of the French Quarter, where Bourbon street was loud and populated even at 4pm on a Thursday. Iced cafe au laits were procured at the Cafe du Monde and enjoyed on the banks of the Mississippi. Heather and Keith started out unimpressed, but soon warmed up to the murky water.

A toe in the Mississippi for Grandma Rycyk

Our search for dinner allowed us to walk around the French Quarter and Frenchman Street a little before heading off to Mississippi. Our first stop in Alabama was a gas station, where we discovered a would-be stow-away.

Our next stop was our first hotel - America's Best Value Inn in Evergreen, AL.

Now on to Georgia!

Texas

2008-05-30T08:19:00.000-07:00

3 ways to know you're in Texas

Texas started off on the right foot, with first a trip through Border Patrol (who determined we were not Mexican, but took our word on our American citizenship), then the sight of a coyote crossing the road, and finally being pulled over by a real Texas highway patrol officer! He was very sneaky, parking his patrol car in the dark facing on-coming traffic, then flipping on his brights and woop-woops as we drove by. It was terrifying, but we managed to lose him for a little while. We were going not too fast, but when he caught up with us, he asked us to slow down and we did. All in all, a not un-pleasant exchange. We slept that night in the Balmorrhea State Park, a sort of suburban camping experience, with campsites laid out in rows covered by cement awnings. We set up the tent by a little stream and fell asleep to the humming and chirping of myriad bugs.

Texas Wildflowers & Peaches

The sparse and scratchy desert of West Texas gave way to lush & verdant landscapes as we drove East.

We left the interstate for the road bound for Austin, and marveled at the number and variety of wildflowers on the shoulder, as well as the sheep up ahead of us.

Peach Country was especially lovely and reminded us of Upstate New York. The peaches were delicious and tart. A stop on a country road off the highway was the perfect opportunity for the day's physical activity.

Swimming in Austin

After a couple of wrong turns and a tip from our old friend Greg Zehenter, we discovered for ourselves Austin's Barton Creek.

It was too fun and muddy to take pictures, so you'll have to use your imaginations. When we arrived at Zilker Park in Austin, the wind was so large and howling as to rip tree branches off trees and slam the car doors for you. Melanie estimated at least 35 knots and certainly gale force. We questioned the wisdom of swimming in such wind, but pressed on and soon the wind had moved on as well. Eventually we found the rope swing Greg had told us about, and after clandestinely changing into bathing suits in a public park, we each made our way into the lovely blue water. Keith remarked how much we looked like a commercial -- three beautiful girls laughing and swimming in the heart of Austin. Some turtles were discovered on a log, and a rainbow appeared overhead. We were where we were meant to be. The rope swing provided endless opportunities for fun, and prompted Melanie to let her head go underwater.
The swimming and water-treading left us famished, so we GOOG-411ed an open organic restaurant. We got an open vegetarian restaurant with organic rice.

Camping took place in a spooky and empty state park in the presence of stray cats, white lurking creatures, and more bugs than we knew could exist in one place. In the morning, it was beautiful.

L.A. - Arizona - New Mexico - El Paso

2008-05-28T13:41:00.000-07:00

Leaving LA
Our LA Story concluded with a delicious and vegan Thai lunch, after which Greg directed us to the freeway and we were off.

We left LA on a high note, with a long-awaited glimpse of the Hollywood sign.

Melanie was finally happy,

and Heather decided her life's goal would be getting a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

Tinseltown sure left its mark on us!

Our first point of interest en route was the massive windmill city that has been constructed near Palm Springs. The turbines were eerily lifelike and strangely appealing. They were also everywhere.

Being in Arizona

Before too long we had made it out of California and into Arizona. The most cactuslike of any cactuses we had seen greeted us like butlers holding two glasses of wine.

There was no end of delight at the sight of these cactuses. We loved Arizona for its cactuses. Especially the little flowers on top.

Our Arizona night was spent at the Picacho Peak State Park, a relatively secluded and pristinely kept campground overlooking the interstate but nestled in Arizona mountains.

We got there late, with a full sky of stars to meet us. After the tent unsuccessfully attempted to be blown away, we settled into sleeping bags to watch a yellow half moon rise over the desert amidst Jupiter and millions of un-named constellations.

The night was periodically interrupted by brief but potent gusts of wind which grappled with the tent as if it were a sail. Heather was more than once startled out of sleep by the side of the tent folding in on her.

Tan and small birds with long beaks flitted around in the morning, and Keith and Melanie went running with tiny, fast and camoflauged lizards who didn't so much run as hover and zoom.

Tucson held the promise of hundreds of ostriches, more cactuses and a Whole Foods. It did not disappoint.

Car Talk
The days have consisted of long drives as expected, but we've been able to make the most of them. Snacking and knitting have been going beautifully.

Manifest Desiny 2: Sacagawea's Revenge, Erin's expertly crafted mix cd, pumped us up and mellowed us out through California and Arizona.

Keith turned into a book on tape by reading out loud Creating a Life Together, a book written specifically for people forming communities. It feels good to keep our eyes on the prize.

Calisthenics were carried out as usual.

"Thank you. It worked. Love, Gas Can"
Half-way between Las Cruces, New Mexico and El Paso, Texas, the car began sputtering and jerking, and we discovered it was out of gas. Luckily we were able to roll on the shoulder to about 3/4 of mile near a gas station exit. Heather and Keith took a stroll to the station and Melanie protected the car and rode the waves of shaking caused by the passage of moving vehicles. In the end, we decided it was the best possible way to run out of gas in the desert.

El Paso's Grande Burrito Adventure
Melanie was so happy to reach Texas, a place she's never been and has always wanted to be. As it was already evening, the search began for dinner, which became an epic quest for an El Paso burrito, which became a desperate need to find any open restaurant. We were satisfied by El Paso's own India Palace. El Paso itself was almost completely deserted, but we postulated that the string of dotted lights to the south of it was actually and in fact the Mexican border.

Now on to the next campsite somewhere in the heart of Texas, and then on to Austin. But first, two pictures for one Ben O'Brien:

Love,
Melanie, Heather & Keith

On The Road...

2008-05-25T11:14:00.000-07:00

We got to L.A. last night at around 10:30 pm, after a full day of packing and only 5 hours of driving! Our first stop was Tisselmann Rd somewhere in the Joaquin Valley where we parked in the dirt, switched drivers & completed the day's calisthenics.

After a brief and not-very-confrontational confrontation near a Circle K, we enjoyed the drive past Magic Mountain and got a taste of real L.A. traffic! The palm trees and Dodger Stadium welcomed us to the City of Angels. We may have even seen the back of the Hollywood sign.

Our dear friend Gregg Zehentner accepted us into his home, which smells of lovely coconuts and is blessed with the sweet singing of many birds. We watched Unbeatable Banzuke for hours and loved it, while Gregg prepared us a dinner of chicken bones, egg shells and M&Ms.

We talked about the Creation Museum in Kentucky, and might try to visit it. We've also decided to get as far as we can in the Southwest today, and stay in Austin tomorrow, which we're very excited about. Today we are planning on eating and procuring food for later eating, and then hitting the road (a la Amelia Bedilia).

Until Arizona/New Mexico!

Love,
The Road Ghosts