Road Trip North 2023

Greetings and here’s virtual postcard #1 of our Road Trip North 2023. But first, here is more info about this blog. This is a place where, each week, I share my paintings, road trip musings, inspiration, gallery openings, plus an occasional dose of art history. Whether this is your first or millionth visit here, hiya, hello and a warm welcome! I choose a theme to guide my paintings each year. To read about this year’s painting theme, check the description in this link here. To subscribe and get a weekly dose of color for yourself, subscribe here. Ready for more about this year’s road trip? OK! Here goes.

Grateful Caboose

First, I’m super grateful to be on this trip. July and August introduced me to modern day medical adventures, the fires in Maui and more.

As David and I navigated a pretty hilly hike this week, we met a young family. Mom came first with two hiker kids. Dad was behind with their youngest. She couldn’t have been older than four. He greeted us with a big smile and said “I’m the happy caboose!”

We smiled back and let out a “woot” and a good for you for raising a little hiker!

As David and Chloe dog wandered ahead,I realized, shazam I’m a grateful caboose. Why? Read on!

Virginia Vistas

Mighty Cool Maryland

We started our trip with VA-based art school pal, Kathy. Her front porch offers a panoramic view of Shenandoah Valley. Of course, we painted! We packed everything up and I forgot to take a pic. Stay tuned.

After feeding us like royalty for several days (thank you so much Kathyyyy!), we ventured northwest to Deep Creek Lake State Park in Swanton, MD.

As Raleigh, NC simmers through another heatwave, we drove into a delightfully cool camping spot. We slept with camper windows open and 62F night time degrees.

When we returned from our hike with trail sign reminders about “bear country,” we saw a young black bear! The camphosts “manage” the bears by chasing them in their golf carts. The young bear quickly ran away. Its den and mama are about a mile from our campsite, according to camphost.

Pretty Pennsylvania

Next up, Trough Creek State Park in Rothrock State Forest. Why? The hope is that this western route will help us avoid driving through NYC. We did that in 2021. Comical now! Not then ;-D

Here we are at Trough Creek just before sunset last night. What a beautiful spot. The drinking water is tainted with managenese so we had to bring in our own potable water. Oh and no showers either. But a small campground with a nearby creek? Doesn’t get much better than that, eh?

Help Maui

As I write this we’re relieved to hear our art school buddies, Sachelle and Damian, and their friends and family are safe. Here’s their pic

They are helping rebuild their beloved community, Lahaina, where there is such devastating loss. I’m spreading the word of a GoFundMe for Damian’s “painting dad.” Here are the details: https://gofund.me/f46706bf

If you have the means to make a donation, thank you!

How About You

How are you, gentle reader? Have you had some road trip adventures this summer? If so, I would love to hear about them in the comments below.