Marfa Texas

The abandoned Ozona Hotel  in the creepy town of Ozona the night before we went to Marfa.

Lily at Squeeze Marfa

Hotel at Marfa

Hotel at Marfa a perfect restoration

The viewing area for the Marfa Lights

Lily doing home work on the road to Marfa

Today we made a stop in Marfa, Texas. It is a town of 2212 people next to the middle of nowhere. For many years this little spot was known for the “Marfa Lights>” About 20 times a year (or so) basketball size spheres of light hover about 5 feet off the ground and slowly move laterally. They appear in numerous colors and have been photographed and video taped many times. The town has set up a viewing station for the possible viewing of the nighttime apparitions. We are not in town for the lights, though I would like to see them but we are here because this is the town that was re envisioned through Minimal Art.

The short story is that New York artist Donald Judd (1928-1994) visited in the early 1970’s and found the space and quiet what he needed to realize his sculptural vision (and he had one.) By the mid 70’s he moved to Marfa, bought the 60,000 Chinati ranch and that was the start of the Chinati foundation. The DIA foundation (Rothko chapel) helped him to refurbish some US Army buildings and turn them into museum spaces for his friends. Dan Flavin, John Chamberlin etc. People came, people saw and some people stayed. The foundation brought out interns and many of them stayed. The hotel in town has been renovated to a very high level; there are good restaurants, art galleries and  the feeling that Andrea and I experienced was inspirational. The place is a cultural oasis. We had lunch at Squeeze Marfa, a courtyard restaurant run by a Swiss guy and his mom and dad. We sat in the patio and had really good food (really good!) we talked with the owner who had been a resident at the Chinati Foundation and stayed on. He introduced his uncles Swiss chocolate and showed me articles in Gourmet about the company. The uncle’s shop happens to be across the road from a Museum that has two of my sculptures and is now thinking about a third. Mean while Andrea is talking to the couple at the next table that have come down from Austin to see the Judd studio and museum. The place was very friendly and we both felt at home. Art changed this town. Modern art of a rather difficult nature changed this town (the power of contemporary art is so often trivialized.)

Many years ago I surrendered myself to art. I guess some people give it up for God; I gave it up for art. My moment was in 1964 in a survey art history class. The Professor was very good and when he described Kurt Schwitters W poem I saw the light and heard horn. I understood this thing and moved toward it from that day.  When I experience the transcendent power that art can have, it re-exposes the protective place where I protect my belief and lets me experience it again in full. The other thing that I have mentioned before is that it sets Andrea and I on dream mode. This is our bond. To be able to dream with someone is big stuff.

Marfa was good to us and we had the best espresso’s we have had on this trip. My espresso would rank in the top 10 of all time for me.

New Orleans

The drive into New Orleans was flawless. No get lost – space in front of the hotel to un-pack the RV and then a secure parking space behind the hotel. Good start.

Before we took off for this trip our friend Robin offered to surprise Lily by flying herself and her Daughter Brianna to New Orleans and give Lily some needed friend time. We arrived in our World Mark (Andreas Mom time share) apartment about 4 in the afternoon and at 4:30 came a knock on the door. Lily and Brianna exploded with shrieks and tears (real girl stuff.)  I think this was the most surprised Lily has ever been.   In a couple of hours it was time for dinner and on a tip from people at Emeril’s restaurant we were sent to Herb saint. We walked about a mile and a half and fell into a non-tourist restaurant of very high quality. Everybody loved the food. I had a sweet potato soup with broiled and peppered peanuts; I didn’t offer anyone a taste. I followed it up with gnocchi in a wild mushroom ragout and it was also soooo good. We scored. 

Day two we walked the French Quarter with Beignets, We all agreed that the Just For You café in Dog Patch has much better Beignets. Lighter, airier and less doughy. But how can you go wrong with a donut thing covered in powdered sugar and 5 members of the rebirth brass band playing on the street (snar, bass drum, trombone, trumpet vocalist.)

We walked down Decatur St. to Esplanade. This is a beautiful street with amazing small homes that can only be found in New Orleans. We cross Rampart and walked around Treme and then back into the Quarter. Great walk but the 4 miles of waling in the sun kinda knocked me out so we take the streetcar back to our apartment and cool it for the afternoon. My friend Reid had come back from New Orleans raving about a restaurant/music venue called the Three Muses on Frenchman St.  So around 7 we head to the Three Muses. Frenchman st. is just a step over Esplanade from the French Quarter but it leaves the tourist on the other side of the street. The feeling changes immediately and the sense of a more real experience is there. The three muses is comfortable and friendly. The menu isn’t large but it does cover some interesting territory. The band was the Blues Gang a trio featuring guitar, harmonica and kazoo wizard who was also the vocalist who can whistle.

The Harp player was crazy good. Harp players in the blues vernacular can make a lot of sounds that are reminiscent of blues harp sound. But to actually play the instrument where individual notes are developed, shaped and bent without being buried in the mushy-sucky- reverb laden squall that passes for blues harp. The guitar player was very good. Confident without needing to always show you how hot he could be.

 The vocalist had a husky alto voice. She also played a Kazoo with great skill and could solo as a whistler. Her singing style was evident in her Kazoo solos. The band is very good and worth seeing when they come to SF. We gave them the name of the Red Poppy Art House as possible venue; they would be good there.

The Three Muses experience was a highlight of the stay for Andrea and I.

On our last day we all went for a airboat swap tour.  The swamp is the lower basin of the Atchaphalya (sp). The airboat ride is fun but the swap lands are stunning. Like the Bad Lands the swap is otherworldly. The moss dripping off of everything, animals everywhere and a clean smell from all of the water Hyacinths. For close to 2 hours we floated in tight little waterways with sunlight filtered through a Halloween canopy of vines, branches and hanging moss. Fun for everybody.

We left New Orleans in a drizzle on 10 West. The causeways start immediately and last all the way to Lafayette. It is a beautiful stretch of road – trees, swamps, rivers, canals, channels, bay and other watery stuff.

Andrea and I really are enjoying this visual treat. Lily is at the table singing   (she is always singing.) I find some music that I know Andrea knows and the moment she hears it she starts singing. Andrea is a natural singers. She is one of the fortunate few that can naturally express the joy they feel in the song they sing. Her voice is big and strong and cannot be contained by the confines of public places. Super markets, elevators, and malls, in the house in the car ANYWHERE. If she connects with the song it is going to be sung. I love this about her. My mom was exactly the same way.  If Andrea had a different family situation and had been supported in her singing, she would be it doing today. I have no doubt about this. Her sister was the chosen singer in the family and one singer was enough. Andrea was designated the Pretty One. She is the pretty one but she got short changed. My mom had a similar circumstance. She had been accepted into the chorus of the SF Opera Company at the same time she was about to get married (at 18) my grandfather forbade her from joining the company “ married woman don’t do that!”  She never really forgave him and a big piece of her died with this incident. Andrea has found her way but with a little encouragement music would have figured deep into her life.

Currently 100 miles east of San Antonio and headed for Ozona, TX.

Lily as Mr. Bean's daughter - Brianna hopes it isn't catching

Walking down esplande

We didn't have time to try this place but next time for sure

Swamp tour image

More swampy coolness

The Brianna surprise

One of the causeway's leaving New Orleans

Lily and Brianna laugh their way  down Bourbon Street after a night of fun

exit 57 off highway 10 Misissippi

MOBIL across the causeway

The Shed

In and Out doors at the Shed

Andrea and Lily under a ceiling of rope lights, forks and dollar bills with messages on them.

Lily adds here fork n dollar to the Shed

The stage area is directly behind white sign board. A mixture of tables and chairs litter the space.

The Shed out door bar.

The approach to Mobil, Alabama is unique. You come in on a causeway the hoovers over open water, bayous, marshes and swampy stuff. The view to the city is similar to Dorothy's first spotting of the Emerald City in the far off distance. It is a nice ride just in the air with the city slowly growing in scale. Mobil was a city that I had never really thought about but I now have a visual experience that I will hold on to.
We crossed the boarder into Mississippi and were ready for lunch and gas. We pulled off at exit 57 and just a bit off the road we saw a sign for a barbecue place called the Shed. I gassed up and Andrea and Lily went to see if there really was a place behind the battered, rippled aluminum fence. They came and got me and were smiling a good smile. I parked the rv and walked into a confusing jumble of stuff. I found two doors under a canopy festooned with things and many feet of rope lights. I went into the IN door and found a really great Bar - restaurant - and outdoor blues venue. This is my only experience with rope lights were I thought they were perfect. We ordered Brisket - smokey links - ribs - coleslaw - baked beans and potato salad and we were a happy crew.  The Brisket fell apart and wasn't over sauced. The beans were long baked and the slaw had more vinegar than sweet. All in all a great experience in a pretty cool place.
The ceiling is covered with dollar bills that are held up by being stabbed with a fork into foam board.
The place reminded me of The Bird House just out side of Anchorage, Alaska. My Friend Debra Brown brought me there. The place had a dirt floor section with the ceiling covered in underwear, bras and dollar bills. The exterior is gravel, cobbled together tables and a stage that must have been condemned  right after the Korean War. The place is great and a perfect place for the Ray Johnston Band to play.
 We arrived in New Orleans and are planning to forage for food along Magazine street. Tomorrow night the 3 Muses ( thanks RJ.)

West into the Florida Pan handle

Aunt Lily with her new best budy Nephew Montana

Ibis's in the Winn Dixie Parking Lot

Marcel's collection of remote devices

Amy - Marcel - Andrea - Max 

Cork - Marcel - Max

Lily and Marcel

A crazy dinner capped three days of family fun. Marcel (my son) had picked Tu Tu Tango for our final gathering and he choose well. The place has 3 artists painting and drawing amidst the patrons. There is artwork for sale on all the walls. Then you have live flamenco and Belly dancers. The food is world tapas and good. The place is big, loud, and pleasantly psychotic. We had a great time and plans were made to get the east coast family to visit the west.

We were out and on the road by 9 AM. It always feels good to get back in our rollin home and on the road. Now we are heading North and West. Andrea and I felt the directional shift with a bit of sorrow. We have learned to like it out here (where ever here might be?) The idea of the trip for me was get of the bus that I was on and let it take off with out me. It has become clear that when I (we) return home it is not going to be to the patterns we left. We can feel the change and as a couple know that a way of being is going into play. Leaving Orlando has been a powerful moment for Andre and I.

As we drove I plugged in the IPOD and left it on shuffle. The days when I am feeling tenuously emotional this mystery music selection can lead to a game of emotional roulette. The alchemical mix of wistful leaving and un clarified di3erctions open me up to the full import of a song. Kinda like being bush wacked.  You never know what’s gonna whack you across the heart. Sometime the Penguin Café Orchestra, Tom Waits, Glen Gould or  Nina Simone. Today it was Arlo Guthrie Singing Steve Goodman’s song Riding on the City of New Orleans. Maybe it was knowing about how Arlo got the song from Steve Goodman or show sad it was to lose Steve Goodman so early in his life or just the earnestness of the song ,whatever it got to me.  Goin West.

south

Lily and Andrea were so happy sitting in the waves at Kitty Hawk

Savannah

Savannah is worth seeing. 

the magical French Market in Savannah

The NC low lands were beautiful and full of critters.

This is Martins Beach that I mentioned a while ago. This is about 30 minutes from Half moon Bay.

Martins beach will more than likely go away in 2021 when all of the leases are up and the Denney family sells it off after 100 years in the family.

For the past three days we have been headed south. We found heat at Kitty Hawk but it cooled down at night and there was not much humidity. The moment we moved inland we found 97% humidity and heat and mosquitoes. I hate the heat and have always hated the heat. San Francisco and Pacifica are great places for me to work and live.  BUT we have appointments in Orlando, Fla. On the 21^st.

For me: My 44 year old son has been working for Disney at least 20 years and I don’t get to see him often. I will also meet his new wife and see my grand sons.

Andrea will meet her 2 sisters and celebrate Fran’s 50^th Birthday in the Disney Park.

We will have a hotel room for three nights because Andrea’s Mom has a membership in a hotel time-share and we get to spread out for a few days and use a real kitchen.

When we are done with Florida we start our westerly wanderings.  Lily has an event at the School of the arts in SF on Nov. 13 so we will arrive in Pacifica the Day before.

Lily met Montana, her 14-year-old Nephew for the first time and they were thick as thieves from the get go. We had a dinner last night with Marcel, Amy his wife and Montana. It was very nice getting everybody together and cooking on a slightly larger cook top.  Lily and Montana keep each other laughing and generally having fun.

On our way down here we stopped in Savannah, Ga.; what a beautiful city. From the moment we drove in we were all charmed. This was a good antidote after being depressed and assaulted by North Myrtle Beach. Va. (this place could have been the inspiration for Dante’s decent into hell.) In Savannah our spirits were buoyed by the human scale architecture and the sense of history in the air. We had a great lunch at Jacks on the River (amazing fried green tomatoes) and then wandered around the historic part of the city. We stumbled into a place called the French Market. I was looking for espresso and was told this was the spot. The bare wood floors and high ceilings were welcoming. The place was an eccentric gift shop that resembled The Tail Of The Yak in Berkeley. Objects that possessed strong identities filled the place. In the corner was an espresso bar. We got some coffee, cookies, sat down and let the place stain us. A good moment in a very nice town. Savannah feels like it is still has people as a primary concern.

 Sunday in Orlando. After 2 days of family stuff, I am having the luxurious experience of being alone for several hours in our apartment. I want to do nothing consciously. It has been good to see my son, meet Amy, Fran (Andrea’s Sister) and grand kids. Sometime over the next 6 months we will bring Montana out to SF for a weeks visit. We will try and get him surfing lessons.

One more family dinner tonight and then we hit the road headed west for New Orleans early morning.

53 days into our trip and I have lost track of time, don’t know what day of the week it is. My back feels pretty good and hasn’t needed attention, I have found a new hot sauce I really like (Texas Mikes) I don’t miss my phone ringing and I get along very well with Andrea and Lily. I have found that my professional life exists and does stuff without my pushing and prodding. So I will leave it alone and let it do what it does.

The one thing on the trip that has been consistent is the extremely common nature of the current upper middle class and upper class. The choices being made in housing all over the country expresses the fact that big is essential and bigger than big is better yet. Why bother with knowledge when scale and numbers are so much easier to understand. I don’t expect any of this to get better in my lifetime.

Infotainment has under-mind the value of intellectualism in America.

See what happens when  get a little time.

Kitty Hawk

What a great surprise. Kitty Hawk and the Kitty Hawk RV Park are very cool. From the moment we arrived here the family new this was a good place for us. The RV Park is a sandy area about 40 feet from the private RV park beach. We are talkin big time here.

Lily is always at her best at the Oceans edge. Any approaching teenage petulance or Hormonal temperament are gone. See plays at the waters edge and is the girl we have always known, such a beautiful thing.

I think the family may be considering a move to the waters edges. This is the first time our daughter has recognized the difference in her and she likes it. I have always wanted to be near the Ocean ands this trip may shake us lose of our SF home and move us some where we can experience the effects of big water on our lives.  If nothing else it is a provocative conversation.

 Martins beach is about 15 miles south of Half Moon Bay. This enclave of shacks, cottages, trailers on blocks and small homes is on a hillside and beach that is privately owned and has been in the hands of the same family for around 70 years or so. My Grandfather ( Nonno Roger) new a member of the family and we go to Martins beach and jump for Smelt. As  a kid I would be fascinated with the array dwellings that looked stacked like toy houses on the hill side. All of the residence of Martins beach own their little places but lease the land. The property has recently been sold and no one knows what the new owners will do with the unique---Pre-nice enclave. I only mention this because the Kitty Hawk RV Park has the same feel. Low key, un-pretentious, genuine and the people are friendly.

As you move south down Highway 12 creeping nice is all to evident. The need to make stuff look and feel the same escapes me?

As far as creating comfort through familiarity, the two chains that we have seen the most of are McDonalds and Dunkin Donuts with the Donuts possibly having an edge.

The rollin home parked in Kitty Hawk

Andrea watches Lily in her down ward sloth position.

Domestic still life on wheels

This is going to be big this year!

Bringing class to trailer parks across America.

This place was next to a gas station. As I filled up the RV the girls went in and got Pulled Pork and Brisket with corn bread and black eyed peas. Sooooooo good.

On the way to Virginia Beach.

Andrea with her Brandy Alexander

We spent a night in a Hampton Inn and out side our room was this image. I felt so at home.

Driving out of the Autumn Storm.

Yesterday was a full day of torrential rain. Cloud bursts; sheets of rain, buckets and pitchforks all beat the hell out of us. We have had a lot of rain on this trip but not like Cape Cod to Lebanon, Pa. About 20 miles from our campsite we could see out from under the storm that had followed us for 8 hours. Really scary driving. Andrea drove most of it and did a great job. At lunch we stumbled upon the Eveready Diner. For months Andrea has been talking about the absence or BRANDY Alexander’s

on bar menus. On the first page of the Eveready Diner’s menu was a page of 1940 – 1960 Fru Fru drinks. The first one on the list was Brandy Alexander. Brandy, dark crème de cocoa and then you can go in a couple of directions but the best is to blend with ice cream. We normally don’t drink at lunch but today was a rainy day exception and it was a good thing to do. Lily went with the Root Beer Float.

Evan though the driving was scary the gesture of nature was dramatic and inspiring. The fall colors waved encouragement as we pushed on through the storm.

In the midst of this I received word that Andrea’s cat Zoe was not doing to well. The cat is nearing 25 years of age. It lives at the studio in my office space and sounds like Tom Waits with bronchitis. She weighs about 8 pounds and is way off white. She has a coat similar to motel sheets that have been washed too many times with out bleach.

She is missing a front tooth, which allows her to drool on you as you pet her.

BUT we love her. You put 25 years in with your pet and that is a real investment in your family. This news created a little shift in me about our trip. This was the first moment I thought about returning. There has been a tremor in the groove.

We headed for what may be the Beverley Hill Billies RV camp in Kitty Hawk NC. It is on the beach and the place looks to have a funky charm that my family prefers to the polish of resorts. As I have mentioned before NICE is not really nice.

It’s sunny and warm we will get some propane and head for the Outer Banks of north Carolina.

Other drinks from the same period as the Brandy Alexander. Grass Hopper. Pink Squirrel, Separator, Singapore Sling, Rusty Nail, Between The Sheets, Whiskey Sour, Fuzzy Navel and all of the things that came in a Coconut shell with umbrellas.