Grand Canyon & Angie's Family Visit

It has been one week since Daniel and I returned from our trip to the Grand Canyon with my mom and sister. We picked them up from the airport on Friday, Dec. 16^th and drove straight to the south rim of Grand Canyon, arriving around 9pm that night. We stayed in one of the lodges in Grand Canyon Village, which was a great experience in and of itself since we were so close to the rim at all times. Despite the cold, it was a beautiful, snowy weekend to spend at the canyon. Even though only a few flurries fell while we were there, it had snowed heavily before our arrival so that the ground was white and sparkling. Unfortunately, this also meant that we couldn’t hike down into the canyon because the trails were covered in ice. However, we made up for that inconvenience in museums, animal sightings, beautiful overlooks, and wandering the Rim Trail!

On Saturday, our first morning there, we woke up bright and early to walk out to the rim and view the sunrise. As an official Grand Canyon artist said, with every change in light, the colors of Grand Canyon change too. It was amazing to see different crevices naturally light up while others fell into shadow, as well as to see the rock transition from a deep and seductive red to a light, playful pink. Aside from the beautiful colors, we also got to see some stunning animals. Our first sighting had actually happened the night before when my sister thought she saw a giant rabbit (it was actually a mule deer and they just have really big ears), but the most exciting one came after the sunrise viewing. We hopped in the car to drive around and see what trails we might be interested in trekking down (before we were cautioned not to by a park employee) but before we really got to any, Daniel saw something moving in the woods by the road. We stopped the car and got out to take a look, at first thinking it might just be more mule deer. When we walked a little closer and saw the female stand up, though, we realized it must be an elk considering how incredibly tall she was! As we got even closer, we counted about five more elk either just napping or eating little clumps of grass here and there. We were impressed with how big they were and surprised with how unconcerned they were with us approaching them. We made sure to take lots of pictures before we finally decided to get back on the road. 

The Grand Canyon at Sunrise.

Our first animal sighting, mule deer, aka "giant rabbits."

Hanging out with some giant elk... and yes, Daniel really did get that close.

The rest of the afternoon was spent going to various historic sites and walking a few miles of the Rim Trail, stopping at all of the beautiful overlooks and admiring one of the world’s most amazing natural wonders.  We stopped at one overlook and admired the sunset before heading back for dinner and a game of cards. While we were driving back to the lodge, we saw a coyote loping through the woods and smiled at our luck with animal sightings.  Our first day at the Grand Canyon was definitely a success!

The next morning we woke up early again to catch the sunrise. It seemed silly to be at Grand Canyon and not watch it! We said hello to some mule deer that were wandering around outside the lodge and drove to a beautiful overlook to watch all the different colors of the morning sky. On our return we had breakfast in a lodge restaurant with an immediate view of the Grand Canyon rim. It was probably my favorite meal spot of the whole trip!  After breakfast we drove all the way out to Desert View Watchtower and watched as clouds floated beneath us, moving across the canyon. We also went to the Tusayan Ruins and Museum, which is an exhibit that discusses the Native Americans who called Grand Canyon home and is also the site of the ruins of a small Pueblo village. When we arrived back at Grand Canyon Village, we decided to check out the geology museum at Yavapai overlook in order to try and understand the forming of Grand Canyon a little bit better. Adding to the awesome luck we had been having all weekend, we arrived just in time for a Park Ranger lecture on the geological history of the canyon. It was incredibly interesting and while I won’t attempt to retell his entire scientific story, I will relay to you that one river can certainly pack a lot of punch! While our last day came to a close and we were sad that it was over, we were all happy that we had a good time and that we were able to spend a weekend together.

Replica of Grand Canyon's different rock layers.

Beautiful Grand Canyon under cloudy skies.

On Monday, we made the long drive back to Albuquerque where we sadly dropped off my mom and sister at the airport to catch their flight back to Virginia. We will miss them very much but are certainly glad that they came to see us and incredibly thankful that they took us with them for a wonderful visit to Grand Canyon.

Angie, Daniel, Becca, and Sheri in front of Grand Canyon.

Through the Mountains of New Mexico

After 800 miles, snowy mountain passes, and heart-attacks caused by flying sparks, we finally made it to Albuquerque, New Mexico late Tuesday night. We left Austin on Saturday morning and spent several hours, well into the afternoon, getting our trailer ready and collecting vegetable oil from a fellow WVO user also named Dan. When we finally got back onto the road, we drove through heavy rain and only made it to San Antonio by nightfall. It actually worked out well for us, though, because in the morning we made our way to the historic Alamo, sight of the 13 day siege where the Mexican Army, led by General Santa Anna, horribly defeated and killed about 200 Texans led by the infamous Davy Crockett, James Bowie, and William B. Travis. While I’m not one for guns and battles, the sight was incredibly touching given that they frequently referenced quotes from Travis’s last minute pleas for help, signed with “Victory or Death.” While much of the Alamo fort has been rebuilt, the church and one long wall are original to the mission that founded the fort in 1744. Even though much of it isn’t original, the extensive timelines, videos, and exhibits definitely make the sight worth visiting. We are very glad that we stopped by. 

The historic church at the Alamo.

After strolling through San Antonio, we began our drive northwest through Texas on the way to New Mexico. Our goal for the day was to make it to Alamogordo, NM for the night but as the darkness set in, we decided that Carlsbad, NM was a more realistic destination. We crossed the New Mexican border and happily smiled to ourselves about how we made it so far in one day without a single problem. Unfortunately, we forgot to knock on wood. We were about 20 miles from Carlsbad when we went over a giant pothole/bump/bridge (both of us were so scared we couldn’t remember what happened) when all of sudden we heard a crash and saw an eruption of sparks in the rearview mirror. Daniel pulled over and went back to see what happened, fearing that the tongue of the trailer had snapped. Luckily, the coupler had just popped off the ball and the safety chains had held the trailer to the bus. Unluckily, the stand that holds the trailer up when its not attached to the bus had not magically dropped and the tongue of the trailer was flat on the ground. Given that it was laden with two 55-gallon drums full of oil, a scooter, and many other things, it was impossible for us to pick it up and put it back on the ball. So there we were, stuck on a country road in the middle of nowhere, in the dark, with no cell phone service. Fortunately, there weren’t any rattlesnakes, scorpions, or coyotes sneaking towards us, at least none that I saw and trust me, I had my eyes peeled for them. Our solution to the problem was to pull out the 2 ton jack and raise the tongue just high enough to be able to back the bus under the coupler. We did so slowly, with the trailer rolling ever so slightly backwards in conjunction with the increasing height. We were afraid the trailer was going to roll back into the road but luckily we got it just high enough that the trailer stand could fit back down before that potential catastrophe could happen. We then backed the bus under coupler, snapped it down, and crept our way to Carlsbad for the night. The next morning, we added a ratchet strap to the coupler/ball system and haven’t had any problems since. Hopefully it was just on at an awkward angle and won’t happen again. 

The trailer on the ground after it popped off the ball.

With our new homemade solution in tow, we started on the road to Alamogordo, the closest city to the White Sands, a place we really wanted to see on the way to Albuquerque. At first we were happy that we had chosen a back-road to get there because it was much more scenic than the boring old interstate, but we quickly realized why the GPS had repeatedly been telling us to get back on the major highway. We gradually began going up hill but we didn’t think much of it because our silly minds kept telling us “hey, New Mexico is a desert, there’s no mountains.” But of course, the higher we climbed, the more wrong we realized we were. The things we were driving up were definitely mountains, like ski-resort mountains. As the bus worked hard to pull that heavy trailer up-mountain, the engine began overheating. We eventually confirmed that there was nothing wrong with the engine, it was just being overworked. After stopping for repeated breaks and using lower gears, we eventually made it to the top and drove through the adorable little ski-resort town, Cloudcroft. The drive down the mountain was a bit scary considering how steep it was (we were going down about 5,000 feet in elevation), but the views of the mountains were breathtaking.

When we finally made it down the mountain and arrived in Alamogordo, it was getting too late to see the White Sands. We stopped in town for the night, and started out again in the morning. We drove the 20 miles to the White Sands and we were a bit disheartened at first because of the seemingly incessant rain. To our great delight, however, the rain began to subsist after a while and a beautiful rainbow appeared over the endless white sand dunes. It was an absolutely gorgeous sight and I feel very lucky to have seen it. We played in the sand for a while longer, ran up and the dunes until we were out of breath, and took in the awesome landscape as best as one can in terms of a thousands of years old geological wonder. The awe-inspiring sights continued for us as we made our way north to the Valley of Fire, a 20 mile long lava flow. It’s a very young lava flow, relatively speaking, being about 5,000 years old. It was so much fun to walk around, explore the cavernous lava rocks and ponder about what the Native Americans living in the area when the lava vents were opening thought about it!  In the end, it was a successful day of incredible sight seeing. 

Lava rocks in the Valley of Fire lava flow.

Beautiful rainbow over the White Sands.

Daniel and I in the White Sands.

We finally arrived in Albuquerque that night, and after meeting up with our friend Christina and her roommate Emiliana, we took a much-needed hot shower and hit the sack. The next morning, Christina drove us around to a nifty coffee shop and showed us the Co-op, a grocery store full of local and organic foods. We explored some more on our bikes for the remainder of the afternoon, had a lovely dinner with our Albuquerque friends. On Friday, my mom and sister will fly in to Albuquerque and we will drive to the Grand Canyon to spend the weekend. I am so excited to be able to spend some time with them in such a fantastic setting. We hope that you all are enjoying a lovely holiday season!

3 Cheers for Austin!

We have been having a great time here in Austin! Our first full weekend was a rainy one but it was hard to complain considering how needed water is here.  Daniel spent a large part of the rainy weather working on some projects that Lesa had for him. Just as in Baton Rouge, Daniel easily picked up a new skill, but this time with the backdrop to the furniture rather than the furnishings themselves. Lesa decided she wanted a faux finish on the walls of her dining room and Daniel knew he was up to the challenge. They went to the paint store together, picked out the colors and a how-to guide, and then went back home to get to work. After many different steps and a couple of days, Daniel was finished and the walls looked gorgeous. Lesa was very pleased with them and Daniel had a new picture to add to his portfolio.

The faux painting technique on Lesa's wall by Daniel.

The rain finally stopped just in time for my birthday on December 7^th so Daniel and I spent the day together exploring Austin. He treated me to a local breakfast and then we headed into downtown for a look at the Texas State History museum. The museum is very large, understandably, considering how big the state is. We spent a long time wandering from floor to floor, checking out videos, exhibits, and artifacts. We were both surprised at the amount of information neither of us had ever heard before, especially since I was a history major. Of course I don’t think I know everything about history, but at least thought I was competent in US history! Apparently not, according to the Texas State History Museum!  The museum led us through the lives of famous Texans such as Stephen F. Austin, William B. Travis, James Bowie, and Davy Crockett, for even those who weren’t born here but fought for the Lone Star State are Texans in these citizens’ hearts. We learned about things from oil to NASA to immigration and everything else in between. It was a great museum and one that we thoroughly enjoyed.

The Texas State History Museum.

After the museum, we wandered over to the “SoCo” district. It is just as trendy and cool as it sounds, believe me. There are boutique clothing shops and neat thrift stores and there is even a unique little candy shop that serves delicious chocolate bars. The area is even cooler if you know the history behind it and I’m sure what I know is just a small portion. The district used to be a depressed area just a few years ago, but with some much-needed investment and determined business owners, it has been transformed into the place to see and be seen. The best part is that some of the businesses who struggled when the area was in its darker ages survived and are thriving, hip stores and café’s today. After lots of window shopping and a nice birthday dinner, we headed back to our Austin home for a movie. Even though I was missing my family more than ever, it was a great birthday and I sure am glad that I got to spend it in Austin with Daniel and the Cox family.

The yummy candy shop called Big Top.

Saturday the 10^th will bring an end to our Austin visit and we will be sad to say goodbye to Lesa and her family. They have been endlessly kind and generous and we have nothing but gratitude for them. Despite having our fair share of technical problems, we have had more than our fair allotment of luck with the people we meet along our journey. We hope this continues as we make our way through the White Sands National Park and up towards Albuquerque this weekend. Send positive thoughts our way!

A block of veggie oil jelly... lets hope it doesn't get cold enough for this to happen again!

The Road to Austin

It’s been a while since our last posting but I’m sure by the end of this update, you’ll understand and forgive us. Daniel and I are now in Austin, Texas but we spent quite a bit of time working and playing in Baton Rouge before we left. During the week of Thanksgiving and even several days before, our friend Mrs. Theresa Dreesen was able to find Daniel a lot of work to do. Mrs. Dreesen is skilled at faux finishing forlorn pieces of furniture and making them look gorgeous again and she was kind enough to teach Daniel the trick of the trade. Daniel caught on right away and she put him to work painting several pieces. Furthermore, she put us in contact with her friend, Mrs. Phyllis Eyre, who also had plenty of projects for Daniel to do, whether it be painting furniture or painting walls! It didn’t even seem like work half of the time since we got to know Mrs. Phyllis and her husband, Byron, and enjoyed having dinner with them and getting to know them. Even though we planned to leave Baton Rouge before Thanksgiving, we were thankful for the jobs and new friends staying a little longer provided.

Daniel working on a distressed finish.

On top of being thankful for work, we were extremely grateful for the Dreesen/White family to invite us to have Thanksgiving dinner with them. This would be the first year that we weren’t around our families for Thanksgiving and, while we did miss them very much, we thoroughly enjoyed spending our day with our new Baton Rouge family. The only unpleasant part of the day was that my bike lock was cut during the night and my brand new bike was stolen.  It was a pretty rotten thing to wake up to on Friday and put me in a bad mood for most of the day but with the encouragement of Daniel and my mom via telephone, I accepted that it was not the end of the world. When Saturday, the 26^th finally came around, the aura was bittersweet as we said our goodbyes to our dear friends, especially my young amigo Jack. I will truly miss learning about fire trucks and hearing pirate songs all day long. We want to sincerely thank Bryan, Julia, and her parents for taking us in. You guys have huge hearts and we think you’re the greatest people in the world! When we finally got on the road, it was smooth sailing for quite awhile. We drove over bayous and past beautiful farmland. We scoured the swamplands with our eyes in hopes of seeing a gator, but alas, no such luck. Maybe one day!

It wasn’t until about 110 miles from Baton Rouge that Daniel happened to look down at the dash and notice that the temperature gauge was almost in the red. Of course, we were in the middle of nowhere with no one but cows to help us. We drove a few miles to the nearest exit and pulled over at an abandoned gas station with steam billowing from under the hood. When Daniel opened the hood, the entire engine and road underneath the front of the bus was soaking wet. All of the coolant had erupted out of the overflow tube on the reservoir. We called my dad, who was once a truck driver and knows a thing or two about engines, especially big ones, and told him what the problem was. From hundreds of miles away, he gave us different scenarios of what could have happened, the most feasible and easily fixed being a broken thermostat. We decided to try and drive to the closest town in order to find someone to help us. We only managed to get two miles down the road before the temperature gauge was in the red so again, we pulled off at the closest exit. This time the gas station wasn’t abandoned but it was still in the middle of a cow field. Daniel decided to call our roadside assistance, Good Sam, and see if they could have someone come tow our bus. Well first, they told us they wouldn’t send someone to tow us since we weren’t on the side of the road and we were in a safe parking lot. They said they would rather send out a mobile mechanic if they could find one. Unfortunately, it was Saturday on a holiday weekend and no one would be available until Monday. It seemed we were stuck.

We sat in the gas station for a few hours, on the phone every now and again with Good Sam or my dad. I finally decided that I just couldn’t spend the weekend in a cow field and we were going to make the 15-mile journey to the closest city, even if it took all day. Daniel called my dad and he told us to slightly unscrew the cap on the coolant reservoir to relieve some of the building pressure. We followed his instructions and hit the road, keeping the bus under 55 mph. To our pleasant surprise, Big Easy made it the whole 15 miles to Lake Charles, LA without overheating. On Sunday, Daniel called around to different auto stores to see if he could get the thermostat and install it himself to save money but unfortunately, no stores had it in stock. We figured a mechanic would probably have to order the part as well since it isn’t very common and we were disgruntled at the thought of camping in the Walmart parking lot for much longer. Then, with high hopes and a hint of desperation, we thought to ourselves, “since the bus didn’t overheat on the way to Lake Charles, maybe we can get even further!” We decided to try it and, with the cap on the reservoir slightly open, the bus made it 200 miles to Giddings, TX before it overheated again. We stayed the night there and the next morning we made it the remaining 50 miles to Austin, where we happily met up with Daniel’s cousin, Lesa Cox and her family.

We spent the evening chatting and getting to know Lesa and her family and went out for a delicious dinner at Chuy’s, a local tex-mex place that has delicious jalapeño ranch dip. We stayed the night with them and rode the metro train back to Big Easy in the morning. Big Easy is staying in the parking lot of PeopleFund, a nonprofit organization where Lesa works that gives loans to local businesses that have a hard time getting them from banks. The business is kind of enough to let us stay there since it is much closer to downtown than where Lesa lives. We have still been going back and forth to her house, though, where she gives us warm food and lets us take hot showers! The joys of family!

On our first full day in Austin, Daniel found the thermostat part we needed and spent the morning putting it on. Even though he is not a mechanic and has never been trained in automotive repair, he admirably pushes through and figures it out for himself, with a little help from the bus manual. Even though we never had the problem professionally diagnosed, we really think that this was the issue. Furthermore, Big Easy hasn’t overheated since, so keep your fingers crossed for us that we fixed it! After the repairs, we headed to 6^th street and had lunch at a local, open-air pizzeria. We wandered up and down the street that everyone told us to visit and explored shop after shop. My personal favorite was a musical store that had everything from guitars to music related paintings to guitar shaped toilet seats. It was pretty awesome afternoon.

The next day, my birthday came early in the form of finding a great vintage road bike on craigslist for only 60 bucks that my mom kindly gifted me, along with a heavy-duty lock. It might be a little rusty, but its just my size and rides like a dream. Needless to say, I was very happy with that early birthday present. Thanks again mom! We spent the remainder of the day riding our bikes through parts of Austin and then went back over to Lesa’s house for dinner with her family.

The following day brought us a new trouble. We began the day by driving about 30 miles south to Bastrop, a town greatly affected by the Texas wildfires this past September. We drove through miles of burnt woods and saw piles of rubble that were once houses. We saw tiny green sprouts trying to grow up amidst all of the devastation and two little squirrels chasing each other in what must have once been a lush, green home to them. Seeing all of this destruction was incredibly sad for us, but it was interesting to experience first hand what we had only heard about on the news. One of the most intriguing things we noticed was how one property was completely destroyed, yet the other was hardly touched. We drove back to Austin discussing the seemingly pure randomness of nature’s fury. 

Two squirrels playing in the burnt woods.

Remains of a house.

Melted fiberglass boats.

 

Little green sprout growing out of the ash.

Road through all of the burnt pine trees.

When we made it back to the city, we decided to transfer more vegetable oil over to the tank inside of the bus since we originally planned to leave Austin on Saturday, the 3^rd.  Unfortunately, what we failed to think about before we left Baton Rouge was that all of the veggie oil that had been sitting and separating while we were there would get mixed back up again during the journey to Austin. Therefore, when Daniel tested the oil, there was water in it. Needless to say, we were quite frustrated. Our only options were to travel on to Albuquerque using diesel or stay in Austin for longer and wait for the oil to settle again. Since we don’t have much by way of funds and because of the kindness of Lesa’s family and work, we have decided to stay in Austin for another week and hope that the water separates out of the oil during that time. Keep your fingers crossed for us! We decided to treat ourselves after such a frustrating afternoon so we made a trip to Spider House, an awesome restaurant/venue with a huge outdoor patio and fire pit. We went there at the recommendation of our friend, Christina, and we were not let down. Between yummy pizza and margarita specials, we thoroughly enjoyed dinner. Also, we got to hand out some cd’s by our number one Richmond band, ROMA, with the hopes that they will be invited down for a show some time!

With one more week in Austin, we have a lot more exploring to do and maybe even some green businesses to meet. Even though it was an unexpected change of plans, we are having a great time getting to know Daniel’s extended relatives. We will continue to keep you updated on the veggie oil crisis, as well as all of the fun we are having down here in Texas!

Honest to Green

When the green movement started gaining in popularity for my generation several years ago, I started seeing recycling bins, reusable water bottles, and bicycles around every corner. Every store I walked into had an item in new packaging labeled “NEW, ECO-FRIENDLY DESIGN!” It was hard not to resist purchasing these eye-catching products in order to help our Mother Earth and, lets admit it, for the cool factor. I was positive that by this point, everyone in the “green” business was making lots of green too. Because of this view, I was admittedly surprised when Daniel and I sat down with Michael Gatz, owner of The Green Building Shop in Baton Rouge, LA, and asked him how his business handled the “green boom.” His reply, “Business is pretty steady.” I found it odd that during a time when being eco-friendly is so popular and many people are theorizing that green businesses hold the jobs of the future, that his business wasn’t being completely overwhelmed. An obvious answer, and one that Gatz believes is a strong component of the problem, is the housing crisis and the decline in building. But there are people out there who are still building, or even just remodeling, and we wanted to know why those people aren’t waiting in line to get into Gatz’s shop and others like it. We also wanted to know why they should be and what changes could be made in order to get them there.

First and foremost, we needed to learn about the products that The Green Building Shop had to offer. So far, they have products such as countertops made from recycled glass and paper, bamboo flooring, and even chemical free wool carpeting. According to Gatz, these products are “greener” because they are made from fast-growing renewable resources or from recycled materials. For example, one of their products, PaperStone countertops, is made from post-consumer recycled paper and petroleum free resin. Furthermore, Gatz says that bamboo flooring is eco-friendly because, essentially, it’s a grass. It only takes bamboo about four years to grow to maturity compared to the twenty plus years it takes for an oak tree to grow to harvest height. These products sounded great but I had to ask, how much more expensive are they compared to more traditional goods?

Unfortunately, and this is one of the reasons people probably aren’t banging down the door, the answer can be quite a bit more. For example, speaking of the cheap prices for bamboo flooring found at Lowe’s and Home Depot, Gatz says, “It’s hard to compete with that. The price of our bamboo flooring is about one and half times theirs.” That price comparison might sound like a game changer but there is an important catch that you must consider if you think of yourself as a true green fiend. You see, people like Michael Gatz, those who honestly care about the “greenness” of their products do a lot of research into what items they offer.  They make sure their products have all of the appropriate certifications and endorsements verifying that the item was produced in an environmentally friendly way. Gatz continued by explaining why his bamboo is more expensive, “Now, what they [consumers] don’t realize unless they do the research is that our bamboo is certified by the FSC, which is the Forest Stewardship Council. It’s the way that its harvested, manufactured, and everything else to keep it green.” The Forest Stewardship Council is an internationally recognized non-profit that gives certification to those it thinks are acting responsibly on about ten different principles involving the usage of the forest. Unlike EcoTimber (the brand of bamboo found in The Green Building Shop), many of the bamboo flooring that megastores carry are “greenwashed,” or made to seem more eco-friendly than they really are. The manufacturers call their bamboo flooring “green” just because it’s bamboo, not because they are responsibly caring for the forests from which they come or using environmentally friendly harvesting methods. They also don’t take into account how far away they are shipping from (It takes a lot of fuel to get from China to here!). They are cheaper products because they are made in a cheaper way, by not taking full responsibility for the forest from which they come. If more people became aware of the age-new trick of “greenwashing,” I think they would be more inclined to shop at stores where all of their products are certified truly green.

Another reason people might not be flocking to The Green Building Shop is because they don’t really understand what “green” is. Gatz says that many people who come to his store are already educated and already know that they want something environmentally friendly. He also said, though, that there are many people who think they are using green products when they really aren’t. “Someone once came in and told me that granite was green because it comes from the earth and well, that’s not true. Are they putting more granite back in when they take it out?” he joked. These kinds of presumptions clearly come from a lack of knowledge towards what really qualifies as a renewable resource. Granite does come from the ground but it is definitely not a renewable resource! So why not leave what is left there and try something that we do seem to have endless amounts of… used paper! Unfortunately, some people don’t trust having a countertop made of paper because they don’t understand it. Wouldn’t it change if it got wet? Well, no, these products have been made to withstand regular kitchen wear and tear and are just as durable as other types of counters. Furthermore, its way cooler to tell someone that your counter is made from recycled bottles of your favorite beer or from recycled paper than boring old granite! In the end, it seems like education is the key to the success of this industry and to the success of the environment.

Finally, if there is one last thing I learned from talking with Gatz, it’s that there are little, if not zero, monetary incentives for people to purchase green products. “Some people come in and want their homes LEED certified but in the end, it doesn’t really do anything for them. Its just a certificate on the wall.” Frankly, I believe that the government can make a serious difference by offering incentives or tax breaks to people who purchase green building materials. I know, I know, she said more government intervention, that’s terrible! But hear me out, people can get all kinds of incentives for installing solar panels, so why not by installing bamboo floors or from buying a recycled glass countertop? Of course, there are obviously long term monetary benefits from having an eco-friendly house, like lower energy costs and a smaller ecological footprint, but in today’s economy, people want and need more immediate results. I’m not an economist or tax expert by any means, but it seems like by offering a homeowner a little break on their property tax if they have installed bamboo flooring (FSC certified by the way!) could really encourage shopping at local eco-friendly businesses like The Green Building Shop and maybe even help save a forest full of mighty oaks.

In the end, a lot of education and a little monetary encouragement can go a long way. Truly eco-friendly building materials are a great solution to aiding our declining environment while still allowing us to live in a comfortable manner. It’s time to leave behind the “greenwashing” and build our homes using real environmentally friendly materials.

Thanks again to Michael Gatz, owner of The Green Building Shop, for talking with us!

Have A Little Fun!

It’s been a whirlwind week for us here in Louisiana! From time traveling back to a Renaissance festival to dancing to jazz music played on New Orleans’ streets, we have had quite the entertaining week. The fun never stopped when we got down to business by having our first two sit-down interviews of the trip with The Green Building Shop and Baton Rouge Green! As we move into our last week here in Baton Rouge, LA, we are certainly excited to be making the most of our time!

This past weekend we traveled with our friends Bryan, Julia and Jackson to the Louisiana Renaissance Festival. While it wasn’t quite what I expected (i.e. not the real Renaissance) it was definitely an interesting experience. Between modern-day innuendos set to a pirate tune and comedic jesters juggling fire, there were always entertaining shows to watch.  There were also plenty of challenging games where unsuspecting (and slightly over-confident) visitors could attempt a nearly impossible feat, like climbing a sideways rope ladder, and epically fail (ahem, Daniel and Bryan)! For a more authentic taste of the 15^th century, there were jousting events throughout the day and glass blowing tutorials during which the artist gave an interesting history of glass through the ages. In the end, it was more like a state fair where it’s totally normal to walk around in pirate garb and corsets than an event concerning real history, but it was definitely worth going to at least once!

My friend, Jackson, the coolest (and cutest) knight at the Renaissance Festival!

Having such an entertaining weekend was like pre-gaming for the week to come. On Monday night, Daniel’s dad flew in to Louisiana for a business trip but came a bit early so that we could see him. We had dinner at a great local seafood restaurant where Daniel and I both had alligator for the first time and I had my first taste of crawfish. Both were actually quite tasty! The following day, we headed to New Orleans to do some exploring. We wandered along the “Mighty” Mississippi and admired all of the massive ships docked or floating at its edges. We then moved towards the French Quarter and sat down for some delightful beignets at the famous Café du Monde. Strolling through New Orleans truly requires very little planning because there are just so many sights and sounds to take in. Walking around in and of itself becomes the event! There are musicians stationed at every corner that draw you in with their distinct tunes, be it jazz, country or even folk-rock. We loved it so much we wanted to stake out a corner for our favorite Richmond band, ROMA, and have them fly down and join! After a little bargain and window-shopping at some of the famous boutique shops, Daniel and I headed to the bus stop to catch the last bus back to Baton Rouge. It was a beautiful day and we enjoyed our time with Daniel’s dad and with the City of New Orleans.

Daniel's dad, Steve, Angie and Daniel in front of the Mississippi in New Orleans.

 

Even though our “vacation” was over, the remainder of our week was reminiscent of Thomas Edison’s famous quote, “I never did a day of work in my life. It was all fun.” We sat down for two great interviews, the first being with Michael Gatz, owner of The Green Building Shop. He told us about everything from bamboo flooring to recycled glass countertops to authentic wool carpeting! Aside from the pure awesomeness of these products, we discussed reasons why these products have not yet become mainstream and what some possible solutions to these problems could be.

Later in the week, we sat down with Baton Rouge Green’s Executive Director, Diane Losavio and their program director Suzannah DesRoches. It was a beautiful day to discuss green places in Baton Rouge and that is exactly what we did.  We discussed the importance of trees in both economical and environmental ways. We also talked about the importance of city governments in making sure cities stay as hospitable to green spaces as possible. In the end, we left feeling very positive about the community’s desire to have and take care of the green spaces around them.

Coming Soon: In-Depth Articles about the interviews! (Possibly including video clips if we can get the technology right!)   :)

The Cost of Living Sustainably

Living sustainably has proven to be more challenging than anticipated. We know that in order to live a lifestyle based on that principle, you have to make an effort to purchase items that are produced in a sustainable way, such as organic and local foods. Purchasing products from huge, commercialized farms on the other side of the country does not help sustain your community or even your body in a healthy manner. Unfortunately, we have come across a couple problems in our pursuit to live in this manner.

The first predicament we have found ourselves in is the frequently cost-prohibitive action of healthy eating. Whether you’re at your local grocery store wandering through the organic aisle or meandering through the farmer’s market, you will typically find that the foods that you know are the best fuels for your body are frustratingly twice as expensive as the traditional product. When you absolutely have to save money but also desire the best for your body, what do you do? Do you give up the healthy food for junk so you won’t overdraw your bank account? It’s definitely a tough position to find yourself in and one that we know all too well. We don’t have all of the solutions and would greatly appreciate any other creative ideas to get around this problem, but here are some that we, with the help of others, have come up with:

First, think about the big picture. If you go to your local farmers market and buy some of their cheese, they will probably return the favor and come into your store to return the business. Don’t own your company? Well they still might come to your place of employment to do business, which will help to guarantee your next paycheck. The farmers need the business and will gladly deal with a friendly customer whenever they can. Secondly, Daniel and I stop using the “luxuries” as much so that when we do, we know we can splurge on the good stuff. For example, we love milk but instead of using it to make tomato soup, we will use water. It’s not as creamy but with a grilled cheese, it’s barely noticeable!  I also try and cut back on my beloved chocolate milk. Its something I definitely don’t need frequently and when I get it, it’s a real treat. Cutting back on the luxuries can save us a half-gallon a week, meaning we can afford organic milk since we aren’t buying multiple gallons of the store brand per week! Finally, and this idea came from our organic-minded hostess Julia, try and get to know your local farmers. Maybe if you go out to their farm, they will cut you a deal on their products. It saves them gas and they know that they will have a loyal customer in you. If none of these ideas work for you, just think about how much your body deserves this tasty, organic food and try to think of something unhealthy you can cut in order to purchase the good stuff. A block of yummy, handmade cheddar cheese is so much more scrumptious than a pack of cigarettes!

Angie buying Satsumas at the local farmer's market.

Lots of yummy and healthy foods available at the farmer's market!

Similar to the cost crisis of buying food locally and organically, we have found that buying non-edible products from local shops is unfortunately très cher as well. When you really want to support the community, it’s disheartening to find affordable products only at superstores like Wal-mart or Target. So, this is my plea to local specialty stores, please look into providing lower cost products to your customers. They don’t have to be new or fancy, they can be used or refinished, but please consider it. For example, Daniel and I have been bike searching for weeks and we really didn’t want to buy from a department store but we also had a small budget. We didn’t have fancy expectations and were completely fine with used but sadly, the bike stores nearby had practically nothing under six hundred dollars. Its not just bicycle stores, though. Specialty stores need to understand that there are still plenty of people out there who will gladly spend a small fortune on products because they take part in bike marathons or they are avid fine china collectors. I don’t think you will lose money by offering used or less expensive items; you will just win a whole new clientele. We really want to support you, so please give us the opportunity.

On a side note, the one way around this problem is a thrift store. If you do enough shopping and have Lady Luck on your side, you might find just what you are looking for and save a bundle! Plus, many thrift stores use their profits for charitable outreaches within the community and that’s definitely a bonus.

Living sustainably is not necessarily easy, but it isn’t really that hard either. If you prioritize your purchases and make an effort to go to local stores instead of just one giant one, you will usually find what you are looking for at a reasonable price. Furthermore, you will get the pleasure out of knowing you are doing right by your body and the community.

The USS Kidd & the Baton Rouge Green Crawl

First and foremost, we heard this morning that Daniel’s grandpa was in the hospital and we would like everyone to send their prayers and best wishes to him for a quick and full recovery. We are thinking about you Big Bill and we hope you feel better soon!

Over the past few days, Daniel and I have gotten to explore some great places and meet some even greater people. It all began a few days ago when we took a ghostly tour of the World War II naval destroyer, the USS Kidd, which served in that war on the Pacific Front as well as the Korean War, losing some of her men in the former. The USS Kidd is now docked on the edge of the Mississippi in Baton Rouge and has been rehabilitated to serve as a museum.  Being a history buff, I was excited to explore a WWII military ship so closely since I had never even seen one before. It was a self guided tour, which essentially meant that we were handed a map of the ship and then sent off to explore every nook and cranny without a chaperone to bestow logical explanations or even to pull us back into the 21^st century reality every time our minds began to wander. This time of year is the tourist off –season, so we had the entire ship to ourselves with the exclusion of the ticket-taker at the beginning. Having free range of an entire naval destroyer without another person in sight allows the mind to easily drift into the misty reverie of what might have been.  Daniel and I certainly began to drift away, but he to the North and I to the South. He began to imagine himself sitting behind one of the big guns, shooting away at the approaching enemy with flawless aim. I imagined apparitions of angry soldiers who had never gotten off the ship behind every corner and in every dark bunkroom.  In the mess halls, he saw brotherhoods of soldiers gathering around, excited to go off to war. I saw cramped, dark rooms at the bottom of steep, narrow ladders and wondered how two people could both make it up if they were running away from something sinister. However, we both agreed on how cool the deck was. Daniel loved the huge guns and 40s style helmets while I greatly enjoyed the rampant sunlight and listening to the Mississippi wash away the ship’s violent past and provide it with its new duty of teaching to whomever would like to learn. 

Daniel wearing a helmet behind one of the guns on the deck.

The USS Kidd from the shore.

Angie putting on a brave face... about to go down the hatch.

The following day we were lucky enough to be able to participate in the 3^rd annual Baton Rouge Green Crawl. It was a great event and we met some really awesome people throughout the evening. We began the event in downtown Baton Rouge at Dana Brown & Associates, a landscape architecture firm that Baton Rouge Green was partnered with for the night. It was intriguing to learn about how important good landscaping is to the environmental health of an area and how Baton Rouge is continuing to pursue more environmentally friendly regulations in this area. We also got to hang out with Suzannah from Baton Rouge Green, an organization that encourages and sponsors an urban forest in Baton Rouge. They also educate people about the importance of trees and how to best take care of them. Suzannah invited us to bring Big Easy to this stop on the event and we gladly accepted. It was so nice to have people so interested in learning about we what we were doing while we were so excited to see what they were doing. After about an hour, we decided to head out on the scooter and meet some of the other awesome people who were involved in the crawl. We got to meet some cool people from businesses like Gulf South Solar as well as stroll through some vintage shops like Noelie Harmon and Honeymoon Bungalow that use recycled materials to create new masterpieces of clothing and other neat things (Not to mention the adorable kittens that Honeymoon Bungalow lets you carry around while you shop!). Furthermore, there were some great organizations involved that ranged from doing great things for the community, such as ConserveBR , to expanding their helpful reach globally, such as Falling Whistles. We wish we had more time to get to know everyone and their organizations even better, but we did get some great contacts and plan to go back to some of these places again next week to collect even more information from these people who certainly have a wealth of it.

We finished out the week with a Halloween Parade and an afternoon in the kayaks on the LSU lakes. The parade was fun but apparently rather short compared to most Louisiana parades. Jackson, our 4-year-old host here in Baton Rouge, was quite happy with the parade though because of all the candy they threw! Also, the lakes we went kayaking on were really calm and seemingly alligator free. Maybe one of these days we will get lucky and run across a real Louisiana gator… hopefully not too close though!

The Beginning of Baton Rouge

On Sunday afternoon, around 1 pm, we celebrated as we finally pulled into our first destination, Baton Rouge. We were so excited to be done with driving for a while and even more excited to meet the family that we would be staying with. We were definitely not let down because Bryan and Julia are very friendly and helpful hosts.  We couldn’t be more grateful to them for letting us stay on their property and becoming our first friends in Baton Rouge.

Daniel making dinner!

When we first arrived, we were quite travel-fatigued and spent most of the afternoon getting settled and strolling around our immediate area. Bryan kindly took us on a little tour to show us where grocery stores and other useful places were located. We began the process of settling into our new, temporary home which included cooking our first meal. Daniel decided to cook cheeseburgers on our propane stove and they were actually very tasty. We are slowly getting into the hang of buying groceries in small amounts and only cooking what we will eat right away since we have limited storage space. It is a bit challenging but in the end, fresh is definitely better!

After resting up on Sunday night, we were ready to start exploring on Monday. Unfortunately, we did not get very far with that plan because our smaller solar panel system decided to stop working. We use that small system to power an inverter that we plug our electronics into, as well as the shower pump and inside lights. After running some tests, we came to the conclusion that the system’s battery was not holding enough charge. We were actually not terribly surprised at this because, instead of purchasing new batteries like we did for the system running the refrigerator, this smaller system just used an old car battery. We were hoping that since none of the electronics or lights would always be plugged in, the solar panel would have enough time to trickle charge the battery between uses. Sadly, we were wrong and it was just too old to hold enough charge to power the above-mentioned items. Thus, we grudgingly spent the entire morning on the hunt for a new battery. However, on the bright side, everything works now! 

After fixing that problem, we decided to stop by a coffee shop so that Daniel could use the Internet to purchase and download his favorite zombie show while I grabbed a much-needed coffee. Well, my coffee was long gone by the time his show was downloaded (I’m talking hours…) so by the time those two errands were done, our day was mostly gone. As a reward for so patiently indulging Daniel’s zombie obsession, I decided to take us to a great Baton Rouge pizza place for dinner called Schlittz & Giggles. Their motto is “Silly name, Serious Pizza” and it was definitely some serious pizza! Overly full, we made our way back home to Big Easy and curled up for some zombie watching with the promise of a full day of exploring awaiting us.

Daniel in front of Schlittz & Giggles, the pizza place.

We finally got to fulfill that promise today and it was a blast. Well, most of it at least. We had a potential catastrophe this morning when we found out that according to Louisiana law, ALL scooters must be registered and have a license plate, no matter what size it is. In Virginia, a scooter like ours that is below 50cc does not need those things. We never really thought about checking other state’s laws since we figured the South was just a generally more lawless place anyways. (Actually, we just forgot, but why does the one thing the South want to regulate have to be scooter law?!) In the end, we decided to just go to the DMV and ask what we should do. They told us to just not worry about it since we are only visiting. Let’s hope whatever police officers we pass feel the same way!

After our midmorning scare, we decided to get down to business and go exploring. It was about a two-minute scooter drive to get to the end of downtown where the Mississippi River is located. I was so excited to see this majestic river that everyone speaks of with such awe. Once I climbed up over the bank and looked down, though, I found myself a tad bit disappointed. I was expecting something at least the size of the James River where it runs through Newport News, but it did not seem nearly that large to me. Daniel assured me that I will be much more impressed when I see it in New Orleans. Nevertheless, while I may have expected bigger, I didn’t expect to be able to stand so close to the infamous river or see such beautiful, sparkling water courtesy of the afternoon sun.

Daniel and Angie on the observation deck at the State Capitol building.

The view of Baton Rouge and the Mississippi from the observation deck.

After visiting the river, we stopped and had an excellent meal for quite the deal at Downtown Seafood & Grill.  We even left with the offer of vegetable oil and a potential mural client! Feeling productive, we trekked through downtown a little further and toured both the State Capitol and the Louisiana State Museum. The Capitol was awesome to tour because Congress was not in session, meaning we got to go inside the two chambers, take pictures, and wander along the sides of the rooms. We also went all the way to the 27^th floor and stepped out onto the observation deck, overlooking all of Baton Rouge and following the Mississippi River as far as the eye could see. The museum was also a neat place because it mainly focused on Louisiana culture, cuisine, and its boating history. Neither Daniel nor I knew much about any of these topics so it was quite the learning experience. We especially loved all of the Mardi Gras costumes! When we finally got home for the day, we were very happy with all of the things we got to see. We are even more excited about all of the things still left to explore, especially the Naval Destroyer from World War II that is docked in the Mississippi. Lastly, our upcoming event where we get to meet all the “Green” businesses in Baton Rouge is on Thursday so stay tuned to hear all about how it goes!

Daniel and Angie at the Louisiana State Museum.

Southern Hospitality

We are excited to let everyone know that Big Easy has safely made it to the deep South! It may seem like a long time since she was “cleared for take off” but there were quite a few people who we wanted to stop and see before we left, as well as slowly ease Big Easy into long highway driving. We spent Monday and Tuesday performing the “Long Goodbye,” as Daniel’s grandmother titled it, bidding farewell to family and friends as we journeyed slowly south through Virginia. Finally, Wednesday morning, we started off for Canton, Georgia and the home of Daniel’s sister, Suzanna. We were feeling confident with the bus’s performance when we left because on the 100 mile journey from Fauquier County to Petersburg, very few things had gone wrong. In fact, one of the only problems we had was that the shelves in the trail fell (literally) victim to the bumpy highways around Richmond. This was easily fixed with some metal strapping to help hold them in place. Since that was the only problem, we were finally ready to begin our journey and enjoy the ride.

It was a rainy drive through Virginia but once we got into the North Carolina, the weather calmed and we were able to enjoy the sunshine and the beautiful autumn leaves. We were slightly discouraged about how chilly the weather was even in the Carolinas, but we still hoped that it would get warmer the further south we drove. We noticed three problems with Big Easy as we drove towards Georgia, and two of them have already been resolved. The first issue was that Big Easy was having a really difficult time maintaining speed as we were driving up hills. We assumed that this was just because of the weight she was pulling, but once we got to Georgia and realized that the tires had only half of the correct amount of air, Suzanna’s boyfriend Josh kindly filled them up and Big Easy now happily speeds uphill. The second problem we discovered was that Big Easy was mysteriously low on oil even though Daniel had recently changed it before we left. We checked multiple times for oil leaks but, finding none, it was safe to assume that Big Easy just simply burns oil from all the work she does and we would just have to be diligent about frequently adding oil. The last and only unresolved problem is that there appears to be a coolant leak coming from where Daniel teed into the existing coolant line to run another line to the vegetable oil tank. We think we will be able to fix this by using a different type of T and we plan to as soon as we stop for good in Baton Rouge. So, finally, after a long Wednesday of driving mostly problem free, we stopped to spend the night in Charlotte, NC once it began to get dark. We cooked on the bus for the first time and after a few burnt pancakes and some fire alarm outbursts, we had a lovely breakfast-for-dinner meal. Unfortunately, against our previously described hopes, it was freezing in Charlotte and we shivered through the night.

Thursday morning we woke up bright and early to finish the drive to Canton. It was a lovely drive through the foothills of the Appalachian Mountains but we were happy to arrive in Canton and give Big Easy a rest. We parked the bus at Josh’s moms house since it wouldn’t fit in Suzanna’s driveway and spent the afternoon finishing up some loose ends while we waited for Suzanna and Josh to get off work for the day. One of those loose ends was hooking up lights to run of the solar battery bank so now we don’t have to turn on the bus to have light! We really enjoyed spending time with Suzanna, Josh and his family as well as taking in the mountain scenery. We got to see Suzanna’s new house and all of the work she and Josh have put into it so far. It was definitely impressive. On Friday, they took us over to Josh’s dad’s house where we played with adorable baby goats and attempted to pet a soon-to-be momma cow. Daniel and Josh also went squirrel hunting but (to my secret happiness) didn’t get the chance to shoot at anything. We also received some great looking canned veggies and fruit from Josh’s dad. We are very appreciative for the truly Southern hospitality we experienced! We had such a great time that we almost didn’t want to leave, but Saturday morning, we pulled ourselves together, said our goodbyes, and headed out of Georgia.

We are now on the road to Baton Rouge but will break up the trip with an overnight stay in Mobile, Alabama. Luckily, it is much warmer down here! We are so excited to finally reach the city and spend some time exploring. Please continue to send us your well wishes!

Josh, Suzanna, Angie, & Daniel in front of Big Easy near Canton, GA.