Dreams - what do they tell us?

Wednesday after a day of unpacking and finding places for the food in the fridge I just kind of relaxed and let my body catch up to my mind.

Went to bed at about 10 PM and it seemed that I started dreaming almost immediately even though I know that was not the case.

My handsome husband in 1980

A little background info to begin with.  Before I left on my journey I had several nights that I had dreams I didn't remember, yet seemed to have the feeling that Les was telling me all the things I needed to do or remember before I left.  Didn't have the feeling that he didn't want me to go just that he wanted to make sure I was ready to leave and have a safe trip.  I didn't dream at all while I was gone but did a few things he would have liked to do while I was gone.

On Wed the dream was very vivid and I remembered everything that happened.  I don't know where we were, but he was dressed in bright blue scrubs, was young like he was when I met him and seemed much taller.  We spent a lot of time talking although I don't remember the specifics of the conversation, but it was a very loving conversation.  We sat on a bench with his arms around me during this time.  I had this feeling of being safe in his arms and having this calm around me.

Can it be that he was welcoming me home?  Is he here still?  How do I feel about this?  Kind of freaked out wondering if he has not been able to pass through the door to the other side.  A couple of times right after he passed away I have heard someone walking the hall in the house and I have felt him put his arms around me so maybe he is still here with me.  I do feel comfortable with him being here and I have the feeling he will leave when I don't need to feel him close anymore although I can't imagine that day coming anytime soon.  I just wonder why I didn't feel him with me when I was traveling. 

I talked to my grief counselor on Thursday about it and she said she would not discount this as she had heard many similar stories over the years.  

Until next time..................

The ride home!

Tuesday I decided it was time to come home about 10 AM so packed up the camper and hooked up by 1PM hit the road.  Well my copilot promptly fell asleep so I was on my own for awhile.  To keep from getting bored I decided to start taking picture of the clouds.  It was rather easy, but had to keep an eye on the road so most of them are straight ahead of the truck.  The new camera was easy to handle and snap pictures while I was driving, but really did not concentrate of picture taking and trying to drive 65 miles an hour so they are just random.

Looking rather angry.

A spot of blue sky. Yea!

Mellow clouds.

Back to dark and angry.

As close as I got to Atlantic City.  Money safe in the bank.

Lightening up ab bit.

Massachusetts how sweet the sound.  Home just around the corner.

We were very lucky in that the rain either crossed our path before we got there or after we had gone through.  We had one spell of rain, but more a heavy shower than a down pour. 

Because of recent flooding in the town I live in I chose to spend the night camping in my friends yard rather than go the last 25 miles in the dark not knowing what kind of shape the road was in.  On Wednesday morning we made the final trek to the house.  Road was not great but passable with care so we arrived safe and sound.  Spent the rest of the day unpacking the camper and getting things put away.

Wednesday night dreams to follow in another post.  Freaked me out I can tell ya.

Until next time.........

What is a feeling?

Sunday and Monday

Sunday I spent the day at the campsite ignoring the black hole that was trying to swallow me.  It was a rainy day with some spots of sun.  Duncan and I went for a couple of walks and all I could think about was the time when Les could still walk with me.  I miss him so much and I can't seem to get past it.  I walked around the lake at the campground taking pictures and carrying on a conversation with him as I went.  Duncan kept looking at me like I was crazy as he knew I wasn't talking to him.  Good thing I was alone and no one was around as they would have thought me nuts.  Some pictures of our walk.

Mountain Laurel

Moutain Laurel Closeup

Campground from across the lake

Looks like a burial vault to me, but why here.

Lizard peaking out in the sun.

When I got close he pulled back under the cover.

Sun Setting between the trees

Perfect framing of sun on the water

Beach at the campground

Monday I couldn't get out of my hole and stayed inside again just taking Duncan out to potty.   I can see me becoming very reclusive if I don't watch it.  I started thinking it is time to go home and get started on all the things I need to go there.

One light note of the day.  Strawberries are ready here and I got some in Delaware so made a shortcake for dessert Monday night.  Using 3-2-1 cake it is easy to have your cake and eat it to.  This mix is great for the single person.  You need one angel food cake mix and one regular cake mix (any flavor).  Pour both mixes into a large ziplock bag and mix them together well.  You then take a coffee mug put three tablespoons of the cake mix and two tablespoons of water, mix well and pop into the microwave for one minute.  Walla you have a single portion piece of cake.  I used lemon cake mix and it was great with the strawberries.  Other travelers have used strawberry mix for it as well.

Yup that is real whip cream.  If I am going to drown my grief I am going to go down in style.

Cape May Painted Ladies

Saturday Continued

After leaving the lighthouse park I took a ride along the promenade.  Cape may does not have a traditional wooden boardwalk.  Across the street from the beach are amazing painted ladies.  For those who do not know about them, they are grand Victorian houses that are painted with three or more colors.  The only city in the US that has more of them than Cape May, NJ is San Fransisco, CA.   The entire city of Cape May was placed on the national historic register as a National Landmark.  In 1878 30 blocks of the oldest seaside town in the nation burned to the ground.  They wasted no time rebuilding in the then modern style later known as the Victorian Era with lots of turrets, gingerbread trim and gables.

In the 1960s  there was almost more damage than the fire.  A building boom to make way for the more modern was underway destroying many of these fine old homes.  In 1978 they fought and won the battle to put the town on the national historic register.  But what was to become of these grand old houses.  Many of then have been turned into Inns, Bed and Breakfast and restaurant.    Just a few pictures  of the many in Cape May.

It is a beautiful place to visit if you are in the area.

Cape May Point Lighthouse

Saturday was a beautiful day so after the walk through Leamings Garden off I headed to Cape May, NJ.   I wanted to see the lighthouse and the painted ladies (another post in the making).  The 157-foot-high lighthouse is still an aid to navigation. Visitors who climb the 199 steps to the top of the lighthouse are rewarded with a spectacular panoramic view of the scenic Cape May peninsula. The first known lighthouse at Cape May was built in 1823. By 1847 a new lighthouse was erected on a high bluff, however, due to the encroaching sea and poor building design it was eventually dismantled. Built in 1859, the current lighthouse used the original bricks of the 1847 lighthouse.

 World War II Bunker

Built as part of the Harbor Defense Project of 1942. The park was once a Military base, of which the Bunker was a part.   The Bunker was once 900 feet inland, surrounded by earth and covered by sod, it once looked as if it were a hill from the sea or air. The bunker historically represents a moment in history, and stands as a monument to all those, who in times of war, have come to find ways to protect this country from enemy attack.

Birding and Migration

The lighthouse pond is home to many birds.  On this day I saw many Canada geese and a couple of mute swans. There is another large white bird in the background, but I was unable to figure out what it was.  I don't think it was another swan.  The lack of baby geese surprised me as they were just getting out and about when I left home 2 weeks ago.  I thought I saw some in the grasses, but from the distance I couldn't be sure.  There are amazing viewing platforms from which to see the pond and the walk way to the beach over the dune is completely handicap accessible.  Cape May is right in the path of annual migrations  of many species of birds.  Spring and fall are great times to see large flocks of birds as they travel north and south.

Monarch butterflies also use Cape May as a resting place during the long journey to and from Mexico where they winter.

Until next time............

Peter Toth Carvings

I briefly mentioned Peter Toth in a previous post after seeing one of his statues in Bethany Beach, DE.  A little about him and his trail of whispering giants.

The following is quoted from an article written by Erika Papp Faber and can be seen in its entirety at Magyarnews .

"Peter Toth was one of 11 children, born on a peach farm some 20 miles outside Budapest, in 1947. His family left the country after the crushing of the Revolution and Freedom Fight of 1956. Peter watched his father whittle toys for his siblings in the refugee camp in Yugoslavia. That memory would become his inspiration later.

 

The family emigrated to the United States when Peter was 11, and settled in Akron, Ohio. His interest in Native American culture and history evolved into a very strong empathy towards this people who, like the Hungarians, were victims of injustice, and became refugees in their own country.

  

His series of monumental sculptures has been dubbed the “Trail of the Whispering Giants”. One explanation is that the mouth of each sculpture is slightly open, as if whispering. Another, and perhaps more likely reason, is that each is intended to convey a message. That is why Toth strenuously objects to calling his carvings “totem poles.” He gave many of the statues Indian names."

 Three years ago Les and I, along with our oldest son and daughter-in-law visited Cherokee, NC.  When we went to the Museum of the Cherokee Indian I was really taken by a statue outside of the museum.  I later learned it is of Sequoyah, the Native Indian who invented the Cherokee alphabet.  It was not until I went to Bethany Beach on Thursday that I had the pleasure of learning who the artist was.

The statue at Bethany Beach is of Chief Little Owl.  It is 27' tall and was originally carved in 1976, but was damaged by high winds in 1992.  The replacement was done in 2002.

This one is made of Alaskan Red Cedar and has a long life expectancy of 50 to 100 years.  The top depicts a bald eagle looking north and the back of the stature is carved to show the neck and feathers of the eagle.

A new quest was born.  I started doing research and learned that there has been one in every state in the US along with a couple in Canada and one in Hungary.  There have been a few lost, damaged and not replaced, but will be on a quest to see as many as I can.  There was one in Atlantic City, NJ, but unfortunately it disappeared and no one seems to know what happened to it.  One of those casinos probably took its place.  I think it would be a good thing to visit these statues as I travel and add as many as I can to my album. There are many in New England so these can become day trips from home.

Until next time..........