What's a Florida Cracker?

A "cracker" in Florida isn't a derisive terms by black people for white people. At least historically. 

As told by Mike McMonagle, fifth generation Florida "cracker" and my host on Amelia Island/Fernadina Beach (2 mins).

or if you can't access the video then click here

 Mike explains what a "cracker" is in Florida.

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Pileated Woodpeckers and a Death Spiral.

One of the prized birding sights in Connecticut is a Pileated Woodpecker usually high up in the canopy scratch around for bugs.

Today, I saw,  not one, but TWO Pileated Woodpeckers right outside the kitchen window in Fernadina Beach/Amelia Island Florida at my friend Mike's house, about six feet off the ground. I do not have a camera with a good zoom, so I did the best I could.

Mike said, "oh they're all over the place" as I ran screaming "oh my God, oh my God" for my camera. He said he thought I was having a heart attack.

I'm sending a still shot and and video because watching them "hunt" was great. The last video I sent of the hawk death spiral did not seem to be linked in email. So I'm going to try resending that also  and hopefully you'll get to enjoy it too! Try below........

PILEATED WOODPECKERS VIDEO

AND 

I saw this amazing thing on the drive down.

Two birds of prey, (I think they were hawks), locked in what is called a "death spiral" which is a courtship ritual. This is not my footage, I found something similar on Youtube.  It happened fast and at a distance heading south on Route 301 east of Baltimore. It was spectacular.

HAWKS IN DEATH SPIRAL

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The New Homesteaders.

Sign outside a tea shop in Fayetteville, NC.

Like my own home town of Norwalk, CT, many smaller towns and cities in the east are trying to revive their historic downtown areas. This isn't an easy task, it links public and private money together to try to draw folks to their once flourishing downtowns (killed in the 1970's or so with malls, now being killed by Amazon). 

I braved the frigid weather and took Choochi for a walk in Fayetteville NC's historic district. It was very charming. But like so many other towns, one peek down an intersecting road shows barren storefronts and disrepair. 

Fayetteville has a ton of history and there are some pretty beautiful buildings and obviously young energy coming in. 

Oooo...... Chakras! my favorite!

So I'm realizing that these shop folks, real estate renovators and preservationists are really the new homesteaders. They come to a place that is an economic wasteland and try to make something grow. It's a pretty big risk and can take decades of perseverance. One great success story I'm aware of is Hudson NY and now is quite the chic and posh world class travel destination it once was in the 1800's.

I needed to find a place to sleep, ended up here, and found Fayetteville. It's the way I love to travel. And I'm liking traveling alone quite a lot! Well, not totally alone, I got the pup. She's a great travel companion.

The "Market House" site where North Carolina ratified the US Constitution in 1789.

   Cool downtown theatre.

Fun groovy coffee joints.

Next to not so cool and groovy side streets.

More beauty that is coming alive.

Fayetteville statistics.

With an estimated population in 2013 of 210,533 people,^[7] the Fayetteville metropolitan area is the largest in southeastern North Carolina, and the fifth-largest in the state.

Fort Bragg is the backbone of the county's economy. Fort Bragg and Pope Field pump about $4.5 billion a year into the region's economy,^[24] making Fayetteville one of the best retail markets in the country. Fayetteville serves as the region's hub for shops, restaurants, services, lodging, health care and entertainment. Fayetteville boasts a low unemployment rate with a large labor pool of trained professionals.

The racial composition of the city was 45.7% White, 41.9% Black or African American, 2.6% Asian American, 1.1% Native American, 0.4% Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander, 3.3% some other race, and 4.9% two or more races. 10.1% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.^[19]

As of the census of 2010, there were 200,564 people. There were 78,274 households, out of which 36.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 41.3% were headed by married couples living together, 19.5% had a female householder with no husband present, and 34.6% were non-families. 28.7% of all households were made up of individuals, and 7.3% were someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.45, and the average family size was 3.02.^[19]

On September 5, 2008, Cumberland County announced it was the "World's First Sanctuary for Soldiers and Their Families"; it marked major roads with blue and white "Sanctuary" signage. Within the county, soldiers were to be provided with local services, ranging from free childcare to job placement for soldiers' spouses.^[15]

Five hundred volunteers have signed up to watch over military families. They were recruited to offer one-to-one services; member businesses will also offer discounts and preferential treatments. Time magazine recognized Fayetteville for its support of military families and identified it as "America's Most Pro-Military Town".^[16]

The city is built on the Cape Fear River, a 202-mile-long (325 km) river that originates in Haywood and empties into the Atlantic Ocean

Fayetteville is located in the humid subtropical climate (Köppen climate classification Cfa) zone, with mostly moderate temperatures year round. Winters are mild, but can get cool with snow occurring a few days per year. Summers are hot with levels of humidity which can cause spontaneous thunderstorms and rain showers. 

[hide]Climate data for Fayetteville, North Carolina (1981–2010 normals)
Month	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec	Year
Record high °F (°C)	81 (27)	85 (29)	97 (36)	96 (36)	102 (39)	105 (41)	107 (42)	110 (43)	106 (41)	101 (38)	88 (31)	86 (30)	110 (43)
Average high °F (°C)	52.7 (11.5)	56.4 (13.6)	64.4 (18)	73.5 (23.1)	80.5 (26.9)	87.4 (30.8)	90.3 (32.4)	88.2 (31.2)	82.8 (28.2)	73.7 (23.2)	65.3 (18.5)	55.6 (13.1)	72.6 (22.6)
Daily mean °F (°C)	41.6 (5.3)	44.6 (7)	51.7 (10.9)	60.3 (15.7)	68.5 (20.3)	76.7 (24.8)	80.3 (26.8)	78.6 (25.9)	72.5 (22.5)	61.9 (16.6)	52.9 (11.6)	44.3 (6.8)	61.2 (16.2)
Average low °F (°C)	30.5 (−0.8)	32.8 (0.4)	39.0 (3.9)	47.2 (8.4)	56.6 (13.7)	66.1 (18.9)	70.4 (21.3)	69.0 (20.6)	62.2 (16.8)	50.0 (10)	40.5 (4.7)	33.0 (0.6)	49.8 (9.9)
Record low °F (°C)	−2 (−19)	−5 (−21)	14 (−10)	20 (−7)	32 (0)	40 (4)	51 (11)	46 (8)	28 (−2)	21 (−6)	15 (−9)	2 (−17)	−5 (−21)
Average precipitationinches (mm)	3.64 (92.5)	3.16 (80.3)	3.83 (97.3)	3.06 (77.7)	3.32 (84.3)	4.42 (112.3)	5.37 (136.4)	5.56 (141.2)	4.13 (104.9)	3.03 (77)	2.94 (74.7)	2.96 (75.2)	45.42 (1,153.7)
Average snowfall inches (cm)	0.4 (1)	0.2 (0.5)	0.2 (0.5)	0.0 (0)	0.0 (0)	0.0 (0)	0.0 (0)	0.0 (0)	0.0 (0)	0.0 (0)	0.0 (0)	0.2 (0.5)	1.0 (2.5)
Average precipitation days (≥ 0.01 in)	10.8	9.2	9.5	8.0	8.9	9.8	11.6	10.8	8.2	7.4	7.3	9.8	111.3
Average snowy days (≥ 0.1 in)	0.1	0.1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0.1	0.3
Source: NOAA[17]

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The First Bit of Magic.

Took off today, Jan 2nd, at 6 am, drove to Baltimore, then scooted around Washington DC on a stop and go thoroughfare called 301. 

It was on that road that I saw this.

Two birds of prey, (I think they were hawks), locked in what is called a "death spiral" which is a courtship ritual. This is not my footage, I found something similar on Youtube.  It happened fast and at a distance. But it was spectacular.

Got off the road in Fayetteville, NC  at a Motel 6, warm shower and king sized bed very proud of myself that I drove 12 hours only to find that a nasty winter storm was barreling down just south of me right in my path. And it's only supposed to dump a couple of inches but this is like two feet to folks in South Carolina. They don't have a bunch of sand and salt trucks on hand to deal with this. Which means I might be spending another night in Fayetteville.

What's in Fayetteville?

Fort Bragg and a miltary museum. 

Hmmmm..........

Might spend the day binge watching HGTV, or something.

Chillin' at the 6.

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Tale of Two Dreamers

Christmas at the Biltmore Estate, Asheville, NC 2017

I met Pamela Ziemann (or as she likes to be called, "pam ELLE a")  in a Natural Vision Coach Training in Redondo Beach, CA in January 2016. We spent a week trying to shed our glasses with six other people. I found the work compelling because it so closely mirrored what I do to help people move through back pain. So I decided to become a certified vision coach.

She had an enthusiasm and vivaciousness that made me want to sit next to her. One day I said "I think we're birds of a feather" and she nodded in agreement.

I also said to her at the end of the program, "Wouldn't it be cool to be able to hop in my camper vehicle and travel up the coast to visit you in Oregon for a bit after this is done." Again, she nodded in agreement with a wide grin.

 Pamela in "If I Were Me I'd Know What I Want"

Pamela shared that she grew up on a dairy farm and this was the reason she was now a vegan. The suffering of the animals was torture for her as a child but was just the culture that everyone simply accepted in Minnesota. 

She is now a professional speaker and play write and wrote a one woman show called "If I Were Me I'd Know What I Want" in which she tackles the topic of dairy farming, in part, by recalling being forced to try out for the "Dairy Princess" contest on the night she wanted desperately to go see Alice Cooper.

And she's hitting the road.

In a car.

Like me.  At the same time this year. To take her show out there and spread her talent and the important message of how dairy is produced. It's not the Ben and Jerry happy cow story that you wish it were.  She's already performed around the west, in Manhattan and is heading soon to Tucson.

Which is very cool because sooooooo many folks dream of doing this, and she's doing it!

She bought herself and INCREDIBLE Chrysler Pacifica hybrid mini-van that gets (you ready for this?) 85 MPG.... She's used one tank of gas since August. She plugs in at night otherwise. That thing you see in there is her bed and storage.

Pam and I are sharing the sisterhood of small space living and of  cooking in our "Roadpro" luchbox 12 volt cooker (I've begged her to share her cooking experiences as a vegan, most of the videos on Youtube using the Roadpro  are very meat and potatoes).

This is what is very, very fun and cool about this community. We all want each other to succeed and we share our secrets gladly and effortlessly.

Some very funny moments below...... here's Pam ELLE a and "'If I Were Me I'd Know What I Want."

Watch Trailer of Pamela here

I'm heading to Fernadina Beach/Amelia Island on Dec 29th hopefully to watch the "Shrimp Drop" on New Year's Eve.

LOVE YOU ALL! and thank you for your readership.... and support. 

OH and BTW, Pamela has a sweet little French Bulldog named Ruby who is also going along!

Ruby

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Why Am I Doing This?

Why am I doing this?

I've always wanted to repeat the two month car camping trip I took in 1990 with my then boyfriend David. We had a pop up camper and a little Volkswagon Golf. And I had a small Cairn Terrier also. It was an amazing experience and I've dreamed about doing it again for two and a half decades.

Why alone?

Because I waited around for someone to show up for a long time to do it with and they never showed up.

Why only the car?

This is the question that I get most often. Last year, I almost bought a beautiful van camper. One with a kitchen, stove, bathroom, microwave, and so on. I had a deposit on it, then decided to back out.  Something inside just said no.

I wanted it simpler. As someone who is very concerned about over consumption, this was just another thing that I was adding to my already fairly large pile of things. And I don't want to have to care for another "thing".  So I bought the tiniest, ittiest bittiest pop up trailer my Honda could tow. And I have even decided that's too much and am going to sell it.

You camp in your car?

Yes. For most, sleeping in their car denotes the lowest possible place you can fall in this society. Not for others who choose to live a mobile lifestyle and totally get it! 

For me,
*it promotes the greatest amount of freedom and spontaneity, no booking ahead and showing up on time. Indulging in reverie is a top priority and not looking at the clock essential,

*the best possible gas mileage and best bang for my buck,

*the greatest ability to travel freely with my beloved pup,

*the highest level of safety as a woman alone (I can lock doors, blast the horn and just hop into the driver's seat and away I go),

*the most profound simplicity and minimal use of water and electricity (use solar lights and 12 volt chargers) and when I need a little heat, fire up the engine,

*the best way to get me outside of my comfort zone and talk to people and be in nature, because, let's face it, who wants to hang out in their car for too long,

*and actually, a fellow FULL TIME car dweller (see David in his Prius here) prefers sleeping in his car and refused a bedroom when offered because it's actually harder to move everything from one place to the other,

*it forces me to only  take what I actually need and will use. An extra sweater sometimes isn't even possible,

*it affords the greatest flexibility and stealth factor when I visit someplace. As a matter of fact, "stealth" camping is an art and it requires fortitude and guts and is part of the adventure and thrill of "not knowing" exactly what, where, and when.

*And you get million dollar views almost every day!

Is it safe?

That's the second most asked question and the one that I was most concerned about. 

I've camped in big box store parking lots like Walmart, at gatherings of hundreds of mobile dwellers in the desert of Arizona on BLM land and in the forests of Sedona, I've done Couchsurfing and boondocked in people's driveways, casino parking lots and stayed with friends. And it's all free.  I've rarely paid to sleep, and in a two month period, used a motel only three times when I was so beat I couldn't manage anything else. 




And YES, it is  all very safe. If you are thinking of doing this, learn how and learn how to be safe. Mostly common sense guides you. If it feels creepy, leave. And I can travel for longer periods BECAUSE I don't pay to sleep. Which I think personally is a waste of a good $100 bucks when you could have a whole lot more fun with $100 being conscious.

What's the downside?

The sleeping part is awesome! I've never had better sleep. I usually went to bed not long after the sun went down. Again, what are you going to do in your car for hours when it's cold outside? And the desert gets cold.  I was usually in bed by 9 pm. That's almost impossible at home. I'd wake up at 4-5 am and put in three hours of music practice first thing before I "got up." 

The worst thing is really the bathroom thing. Us "nomadics" aren't shy about talking about the how-to's of that, but I'll spare you. Gym memberships like Planet Fitness are really terrific for this reason, you can use it anywhere in the country. And when you fill up your gas tank, even if it's two dollars, you get to use the (hopefully not gross) facilities. But sometimes........ it's prreeettttyyy gross!

AND you can get busted for stealth camping. I got busted once in a casino parking lot and it's a horrible experience  (ok not HORRIBLE, but being in your pj's with security rapping on you window isn't that great). I dragged myself to a Motel 6 at 2 am and got three hours of sleep. Most mobile dwellers usually count this as the worst thing that happens. And it happens to everyone, hopefully only once! (fingers crossed).

This isn't just tiny living, this is "micro" living. And it has it's challenges. Dropping something in the middle of the night is usually irretrievable until morning. There are moments when you want to scream or cry, but those moments happen in a house too.

Are you going to keep doing the car?

For now, yes. I've wired "house batteries" to my car so that when I drive I can charge two large 75 amp AGM batteries that will power computers and even a 12 volt oven! I'm always looking though. If a larger vehicle comes along that gets decent gas mileage, then maybe someday. But I'm getting 30 MPG and most vans get half that.

What is your hope and purpose ultimately?

I want to move more into doing service work and teaching.  I'd like to write, compose, take pictures. I love playing my guitar and singing  and want to explore offering this also. I want to travel with my dog and do these things in places that I've never seen or been before and love. And I have always wanted to escape New England in the winter months. Living and traveling this way allows me to do this a couple of months a year now. And I'm very, very grateful! 

I'll be heading off sometime soon after Christmas!

Thank you for your interest, love and support of this project! xo Laura and Choochi

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