Friday, November 11, 2011

iGoogle

November 9 and10, 2011 - Iowa / Illinois / Colorado

Well we’re finally out of the cornfields tonite. Now we’re seeing cattle and big, huge, mega ranches. Much of our destinations are chosen by the RV campsites we can find. We’ve found 3 State Parks, last night was a paid RV Park and we’ve also stayed at 3 or 4 WalMarts. Guess lots of people don’t know that WalMarts allow RV’s to set up in their parking lots. It creates an extra layer of security apparently that works well for them and is good for the public.

Last night was the Holiday RV Park and we loved it. Showers, laundry, wi-fi, vintage metal swings and lawn tables painted in bright colors all made for 2 happy campers. Back on the road this morning, $35.00 lighter we stopped to get gas at Sinclair. Sterling didn’t realize Sinclair Oil and Sinclair Lane in South Wolfeboro, NH were one in the same at one time. He liked the dinosaur.

So after we got yet another tank of gas, we were sucked in to the Gift Shop disguised as a free museum. But surprisingly it was a lot of bang for our buck. I loved the giant Buffalo Bill Cody statue and the story at his feet. Again, the LeClaire Iowa connection rears it’s head. Apparently, he is the king out here. Everyone wants to lay claim to him, and this town of North Platte, Nebraska was no different claiming it as his “home town”. LeClaire was his birthplace, and I suspect there will be shrines to him in Denver too as the place he peed or died or something.

Anyway, back to the free Buffalo Bill Cody Museum. Son Sterling and I enjoyed looking at the honest to goodness antique artifacts and fortunately for me they weren’t for sale because they truly were impressive. All sorts of taxidermy, cowboy chaps, Indian dress, 1950‘s kitch Buffalo Bill BB guns, and so much more. The real deal which was nice after all those crappy antique malls we’ve had to endure.

The most amazing part here was the hand carved and painted miniature circus made by Ernie and Virginia Palmquist. Made up of a whopping 20,000 hand carved pieces, all painstakingly hand painted this minature reproduction circus of the Buffalo Bill’s Wild West Show is simply astounding. It took more then 12 years for this couple to make it and then they toured throughout the US in the 1960‘s and 1970‘s finally making Fort Cody it’s permanant home. Check out the picture montage we put together on YouTube - it was very cool and a nice start to our day.

More gas, more miles today. Seems like we’re filling up often but we only have a 15 gallon tank and a short fuse for sitting too long so it’s ok. Between changing time zones and day-light savings we both are fighting to be the passenger so we can catch some extra zzzz’s. I won today. Sterling drove after we had a little mishap. Not sure if I hit a orange cone or if my holding tank nozzle got caught on something or what but BANG, the holding tank was gone and at 60 miles per hour it cleaned out quite nicely and we got to see a orange cone in flight.

Sterl got me out of the rolling hills of Iowa and the flat flat flat lands of Nebraska and right on into Colorado this afternoon. He found another Sterling on the map, this one in Colorado so our afternoon was spent in this town which was fun. Our first stop was a really terrific Antique Shop by the name of Eastmans. It was an old warehouse with tons of space all on one level. It was huge and filled with good quality Victorian era and newer antiques. Loads of Oak, glass, an extraordinary number of small decorative items. The dealer definately loved the period from the 1860‘s through the 1920‘s and had a wicked extensive inventory all clean, priced and for the most part pretty reasonable prices. I pointed out 3 or 4 things I would have bought, if I was in a buying mode but am starting to wonder if it might be worth it to be a picker out here where people don’t know me. Might be a good competitive edge. It’s refreshing to be myself and enjoy Son Sterling.

The draw in the Town of Sterling was a carver by the name of Bradford Rhea. They bill this town as the City of Living Trees and Sculptures. They have raised up their local son and embraced his work. The two sculptures we saw were the Skygazers which was located in a beautiful Town Park with a Veterans Memorial and a nice walking path with benchs and play areas. The Skygazers was a bronze of his original Tree Sculpture of 5 giraffes looking towards the heavens. It was beautiful so we sought out another of his works at the Welcome Center and found one called Metamorphosis which was also interesting, albeit a reproduction. Reading his marketing brochure and map the local prison prints for him, I found it wonderful that the Department of State commissioned a staff for President Clinton to present to Pope John Paul II in 1993. I wonder if that guarantees him a place in carvers heaven. It sure should.

We’re finding Colorado hospitable tonite. Cheap Chinese Buffet and free hook ups in a state park right at the road side in Fort Morgan. Everything is beautiful but it smells like, what else, manure. My allergies cleared up just in time for this evenings smells. Can you just imagine when we’re able to transfer smell over the internet?

The next few days we’ll be slowing down in Denver and then heading out into the Colorado mountains to see a friend and spend a few days while we wait for our new license plates.










Wednesday, November 9, 2011

ZigZagExpress.com: Zig Zag Express visits Brass Armidillo Antique Mall in Omaha, NB

Well we started our day again at free Wi-fi at McDonalds and was waited on by a women who had just returned to work after an 11 week sabatus for a hip-replacement. She was 80 years old and still working. Was it choice or necesity?

We got on the road today about 11:00 after researching and ordering our replacement license plates from the NH State website.
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We’re trying hard to put Route 80 through Iowa and Nebraska behind us. We have entered the land of giant wind turbines, tons of them dotting the countryside. Iowa seems to be quite proud of their energy stance, not only with windmills but also with ethanol and electric car docking stations. We stop every couple of hours to fill up the gas tank, get a bite to eat and entertain ourselves. Gas is running around $3.25 out here, occasionally lower for ethanol.

One such stop that sucked us in was an authentic Dutch Windmill in Elk Horn Iowa . The tour was $2.00 each and so worth it. Here’s a link if you want to check it out. http://www.danishwindmill.com/. I’m trying to concentrate on things that are undeveloped so much so I won’t go on about it.

We toddled on down Highway 80 towards Omaha and all of a sudden I remembered a conversation I had with Eric Moriarty when he was the head of the antiques department at eBay.
He mentioned that in the mid-west there is a retail chain of antique malls called the Brass Armidillo and for some reason it dawned on me we hadn’t stopped at any antique places yet so we veered off the higway and visited my first Brass Armidillo Shop.

There we found acres of people’s junk storage. There was very little that was homey, edgy, one of a kind, historical, important or really anything but it was “collectible”. Even that word is spelled differently out here. It is spelled collectable but that aside, it’s mass produced stuff people no longer want but can’t let go of, so they put it here in this second hand store. I’m beginning to see why people are so impressed to go antiquing in New England. It’s a look, a feeling, an atmosphere, history, nostalgia, just something different about New England.

Slept in a State Park the last two nights. Thank you Iowa. We’re on our way through Nebraska today.

Sunday, November 6, 2011

Google Maps

Google Maps

Dragonflies Antiques reporting from the nest. Fly on over and join us for the latest antiques buzz . . .

November 3, 2011 - New York

Our day started out once again at McDonald’s. They have free wi-fi, free re-fills, a clean bathroom and they’re warm. We still haven’t found a generator in this land of the Northeast which just had 3 million people out of electricity so we indulged in Breakfast out. Sitting beside Sterling this morning as he loaded video’s to You Tube, I noticed a picture on the wall which was an old menu board with 1970‘s prices. Since this trip is in many ways all about Nostalgia, I told Sterling about McDonald’s in our family.

I grew up in Melrose, MA in the 1960‘s. My family summered on Lake Winnipesaukee in Wolfeboro NH and on Friday nights we’d stop at the McDonalds near Pease AFB, in Newington, NH. My Dad would feed our family of 6 on $5.00 and get change. Cup of tea and 2 hash browns was $3.48. here in Kingston, NY this morning. Gas was $3.79 per gallon.

Kingston, NY is a fairly large city which has grown up in the center of an otherwise rural area. This region of NY is known as the Catskills. It was the birthplace of FDR and where his Presidential Library is located. As you drive through Ulster County the countryside is dotted with beautiful, antique, stone homes built by the Dutch who settled the Hudson River Valley during the early to mid18th century.

Set among the bucolic countryside and stone houses we drove down a back country, tree lined, winding road not far from Woodtock New York coming upon Kat O’Sullivan’s house which is situated on 16 acres and sticks out like a bright red, sore thumb among her neighbors who live in their monochromatic stone houses. Kat’s house is exuberant, fresh, exciting and exudes all her creative passion which just can’t be held back. Like the bright gem encrusted star necklace she wears around her neck, she is a brightly shining star.

When you you pull in, the yard, her two, fully decorated, art car, school buses sit. The larger of the two she lived in during her Dead Head period and then when she was in college in Santa Cruz, studying Anthropology. The smaller of the two buses is a shorter version she parks right outside the front door to her house. Her front door is painted bright green with faux oversize grains which are almost Flinstone like. The ceiling is painted in a round rainbow design.

Kat O’Sullivan greeted us at the door with a warm welcome hug and invited us into her inner sanctum. It was such a privilege and a genuine treat going into her environment. The element of surprise just goes on and on. Every surface is covered with chachkas. Her front hall is decorated with framed bug and butterfly specimens. Her refrigerator pantry is plastered with Luis Miguel paintings of Jesus. Her kitchen counters are covered with $100 worth of pennies. The morning glories grow in through her kitchen window which overlooks a pond. Every corner is filled with stained glass and guest beds with brightly colored crazy quilts. Her personal space which is shared with her mate Mason is high energy but she is very calm. She smiles when she shares that Mason indulges her impulses to be creative. The wrought-iron head board turned upside down and painted bright red shines like a masthead on the front of her house.

She developed her aesthic sense while following the Grateful Dead in the early 1990‘s for the 5 years just before Jerry Garcia passed away. Someone had asked her to a concert when she was 14 and she was so turned on by what she saw she decided to triple up on her classes and graduated from high school at 15. The daughter of a Long Island lawyer, she is well heeled and quite articulate.

I found Kat to be wise and compassionate beyond her years. Her sense of community, morality and hard work is well developed. She is very thoughtful and understanding about Outsider Artists and does not consider herself to be one, explaining that Outsider Artists can’t control what they do and don’t care about the “outside machine". She admits to having bought into the system when she and Mason purchased their home 2 years ago and their hard work is very evident at every turn. She did go so far as to admit to being obsessive when she starts a project and that she can’t or won’t let it go until it’s finished.

But all of this aside the most amazing detail about Kat is the totally awesome folk art, sweater coats makes. The are wonderful creations of coats, mittens or scarves made from recycled sweaters. She makes between 30 and 40 coats each month and lists them for sale all at once on the website http://www.etsy.com Search Katwise to see all her new sweaters on November 7th.
Priced between $250 and $400, they sell out within 15 seconds after they’re listed. She also has her own website at http://www.katwise.com/ which is cool but doesn’t provide a place to buy.

I saw a quote someplace I really liked which fits Kat like a glove “I’m an artist, I’m hear to live out-loud!”

For more information go to www.Katwise.com and don’t forget to watch the YouTube Video we’re posting in the next day or so.

Wednesday, November 2, 2011

Day Two - New Hampshire to Panama

ZigZagExpress.com

Day two under our belts, but it wasn't too fun or too easy. We realized by 4:30 am we desperately needed a heater and a generator so we spent the better part of the day looking at Lowes, Home Depot, Sears, Auto Zone, Etc. Etc. Etc. for a new tire, and a generator. We also needed a camera cord to download all the fabulous photos we were taking. We also needed a Verizon store to stop the FIOS account for $60 a month. When I signed up two years ago it was needed but now there is WI-FI just about everywhere.

I thought the women we were supposed to meet, Kat O'Sullivan of Katwise.com, lived in Woodstock, so we headed from Orange down to Woodstock, NY which was about 3 hours during which time Sterling passed out in the back of the RV because the heat finally came on. It was a beautiful, warm, sunny fall day and I enjoyed the boutiques, galleries, head shops, java stops and historical buildings. Great picture opportunities abound in Woodstock on a beautiful day.

Late in the afternoon we decided to skip Katwise and headed south to Kingston, NY which is a megatropolis in this area. Every store imagineable! It was actually kind of fun since we live in a rural area and don't get out often. I guess this will soon be the norm not the abnorm. Yeha!

For now I'm posting our photos on Facebook each day until I can figure out how to load them here. Keep tuned.

+Peace We lost our back plate today! :(

Dragonfly Cathy & Son Sterling

ZigZagExpress.com

Well our first day is behind us at last. We were so exited leaving Wolfeboro although we never made it until 2:00 so we didn't make it to our first stop until 5:30 but my friend Gary Moise of Orange Trading greeted us with a warm happy shop.

Orange Trading is located in a huge brick mill building right on the river in Orange, MA. It's a mill town with loads of brick buildings, men with long ponytails and Carharts and the liquor store opens at 5 am.

We forgot our space heater and we thought we had electricity from Gary but after he left we found out NOT! We froze! It was just 20 degrees and so we finally got up at 4:30 am and got on the road again.

We'll be posting lots of photos and a video of Gary Moise as soon as we can find some electricity again. The computer battery is only so good. Check with us again as we head to Woodstock, NY to see Katwise.com. who makes the most fabulous sweaters and is all about my passion - COLOR!

Although I'm no John Steinbock and my Son Sterling isn't the French Poodle in "Charlie and Me" I can fully feel his sentiment "
“We do not take a trip; a trip takes us” .

And so we're off for today.

Cathy & Sterling ZigZagExpress.com

Sunday, October 23, 2011

iGoogle

iGoogle

Dragonflies Antiques reporting from the nest. Fly on over and join us for the latest antiques buzz . . .

Spent the day happily packing the RV for our upcoming journey. Leaving November 1st with Son Sterling and starting out on an adventure.

We're looking for folk art environments, antique dealers, flea markets, shows, auctions, historical villages, museums, funky weird ecentrics, musicians and artists as well as geographic wonders all with a story to tell.

Anywhere we can go that trips our trigger along the route to Chicago, Mount Rushmore, Salt Lake City, Vegas, Slab City, right on down through Central America to Panama and home again to New Hampshire. 12,000 miles or 100 miles a day - depends on how things go.

We'll be keeping a Google Blog, Youtube videos, posting here, and keeping a travel website called ZigZagExpress.com

So the first day we're stopping to see my friend Gary Moise of Orange Trading Co. in Orange MA. The second day we will be stopping in Woodstock NY to see a fabulous new Facebook Friend www.katwise.com.

So come along with us on our journey. If you live along any of these trails and give us a place to park the RV and plus into your Electric overnight please don't hesitate to invite us.

Also if you know of any "can't miss" places please let us know that too. Many of our stops will be the inspiration of Narrow Larry of Houston, TX.

And Emerson - keep your eye on the Panama Prize for Christmas. Get that passport in high gear sweetie!
— with Emerson Sykes.

Cathy Swansburg Sykes

Cathy Swansburg Sykes

Spent the day happily packing the RV for our upcoming journey. Leaving November 1st with Son Sterling and starting out on an adventure.

We're looking for folk art environments, antique dealers, flea markets, shows, auctions, historical villages, museums, funky weird ecentrics, musicians and artists as well as geographic wonders all with a story to tell.

Anywhere we can go that trips our trigger along the route to Chicago, Mount Rushmore, Salt Lake City, Vegas, Slab City, right on down through Central America to Panama and home again to New Hampshire. 12,000 miles or 100 miles a day - depends on how things go.

We'll be keeping a Google Blog, Youtube videos, posting here, and keeping a travel website called ZigZagExpress.com

So the first day we're stopping to see my friend Gary Moise of Orange Trading Co. in Orange MA. The second day we will be stopping in Woodstock NY to see a fabulous new Facebook Friend www.katwise.com.

So come along with us on our journey. If you live along any of these trails and give us a place to park the RV and plus into your Electric overnight please don't hesitate to invite us.

Also if you know of any "can't miss" places please let us know that too. Many of our stops will be the inspiration of Narrow Larry of Houston, TX.

And Emerson - keep your eye on the Panama Prize for Christmas. Get that passport in high gear sweetie!