Oh, there's no place like home for the holidays...

The question is, just where is home? Is home a place, or is it a feeling? Or is it - a truck? A smallish, purple truck, maybe, with a few dents to give it that lived-in feel? Sounds cozy! And just look where it's taken me for the holidays...

Get your kicks - yes, Route 66

October 2002 - I've been down this road so many times, thought I'd catch some of the beauties on SmartCard (sounds so much less romantic than "on film"). But I got distracted a few times, and then strayed off the route. Nevertheless, there are kicks to be had. Pictures.

St. Louis MO 2002

September - This August and early September in St. Louis have been some of the most lovely I've seen in my years here. We've had several weeks of moderate temperatures and low humidity! Yow! And this is St. Louis? It just almost seems like vacation... So here are the pictures.

Austin TX 2002

August - Somewhat warmer than both March and December (1999, below). Yes. One might almost say hot. No dance this time, but what a treat! Instead Beth took me to a place called Flipnotics, and we heard the delightful Hedda Layne! Hedda sings, Troy Lee Warden plays guitar and arranges. Together they take those lovely old standards and make them hop. Hedda's voice is something like Aretha Franklin mixed up with Sarah Vaughn, and but her stage presence is more like Cyndi Lauper or - well, something. Troy Lee's guitar sings, and his arrangements are movement-inducing. If you ever have the chance, go hear these people! Also some great food at Curra's Grill. (Geez, everybody has a website these days!) Ever wonder what an Austin Bubba looks like? A really furry one? Here's the picture!

Arizona and New Mexico in April 2002

You want variety? You want scenery? You want history? You got it! All that and - yes! - lizards. Pictures, claro.

Tulum, Uxmal, Chichen Itza - Quintana Roo and Yucutan, Mexico

More Mayan temple sites than you can shake a stick at. Also, beautiful beaches and water, cenotes, caves, and - yes! - lizards. Pictures, of course.

Phoenix and Tucson AZ

Early April is a good time to go to Phoenix and Tucson.  Many of the desert plants were blooming, especially in the Desert Botanical Garden and the Desert Museum.  The ocotillo were particularly spectacular; photos didn't do them justice.  Nevertheless, I've included some.  Our trip included some surprise snowfalls in Gallup NM and Show Low AZ (rainbow there), a drive down the Apache Trail, Black Lodge in Phoenix, and sightseeing in Tucson.  

Palenque, Misol-ha, Agua Azul, Tuxtla Gutierrez - Chiapas, Mexico

Palenque is a Mayan ruin site as well as a town.  The temples rise up from the plain like the rainforest hills right behind them.  Pictures!

Misol-ha means waterfall, and, not coincidentally, is the name of a 100-foot waterfall.

Tuxtla is the capital of Chiapas.   The group leaders were told that the best restaurant in town was Las Pinchanchas, so we went there for dinner.  It was full of screaming children, marimba music and energetic folk dancers.  Every time someone ordered a "Pumpo," a drink for two served in a large gourd, the waiters would ring several (loud) bells and shout "Pumpo!  Pumpo!"  Good stuff.  But skip the shopping mall near the Hotel Flamboyant.  They play American music.  Come to think of it, the hotel did, too.  And so did the Casa Mexicana in San Cristobal. 

Horseshoe Lake - Shawnee National Forest, IL

Horseshoe Lake contains one of the cypress swamps in southern Illinois.   We took kayaks and paddled through the cypress and (we think) tupelo trees which grow around the edges of the lake, and indeed in clumps through the entire lake.   This edge-of-the-water forest contains plenty of dead trees as well as live ones, and so provides a great habitat for bugs and birds.  We saw red-winged blackbirds, kingbirds, some variety of swallows, grackles, a few robins, some birds apparently known as water turkeys (I felt a great deal of skepticism when I first heard that) or anhingas, bald eagles, gray herons, wood ducks, and a variety of others we weren't able to identify in the short time we were there.

There were quite a few turtles in the lake, too.  They don't like kayaks.

Austin TX 1999

March 1999 - Home of the South-by-Southwest music and film festival.  I, unfortunately, missed it by just under a week.  However, I did get a good look at a storm purported to harbor softball-sized hail and a potential tornado.  I also was fortunate enough to be in town for Club Skirt, a women's dance held near the university.   Normally the dance is held outdoors, since the weather in Austin is almost invariably clement; but this time it was cold enough that almost everyone danced indoors.

December 1999 - Somewhat warmer than March, and once again I happened to catch a women's dance.  In addition, due to incredible timing, I caught a play called "Sexotheque" which featured sexy dancers and evil - or perhaps just misled - scientists all working for the strengthening and support of the commercial state. Thanks to my brother and Beth, I found at Las Manitas one of the best migas breakfasts I've ever had.  Austin is a good food town.