One Time When I got Laid Off, I Got in my Car and Toured the East Coast of the USA for 5 Months...
The High Points of this Trip was Disney World, The Rainbow Gathering in Pennsylvania and The Maid of the Mist Boat Ride at Niagara Falls... I was on a Quest to Find the Best Beach on the Atlantic Ocean... It Was Fernandina at the Northern End of Florida.
Starting at My Condo Outside of Washington DC...
I drove North on Indian Head Highway, Took a Left onto the Washington Beltway, Crossed the Woodrow Wilson Bridge and Entered Virginia...
Map of Oxon Hill, Maryland
On the Woodrow Wilson Bridge over the Potomac looking at Alexandria VA. The Tall Building is The Masonic Lodge.
Then I Left the Beltway and Took a Turn onto Highway 95 Heading South towards Florida...
It's Boring Freeway Driving for Hundreds of Miles...
The Next Interesting Place is the "South of the Border" Fire Cracker Store... Many People Drive across the South Carolina State Line to Purchase Legal Fire Crackers that Fly Up into the Air and Explode... and M-80s... I Remember that in Washington DC Those Fireworks were Popular... and The Fans of the Grateful Dead Shot a Lot Off after the Concert in Columbia, Maryland... So Much that the City BANNED the Grateful Dead from Ever Playing Merriweather Post Pavilion Again... They Were Worried that Symphony Woods Would Catch on Fire...
This is a Classic "Tourist Trap" - There are Many Strange Exhibits... Like the Reptile Lagoon... and Gift Shops with Bizarro Products... Like these CAT Sculptures...
Coffee Cups with the Image of Pedro... The Patron Saint!
Day of the Dead - Dolls - South of the Border Giftshop
The Next Place of Interest Was EPCOT at Walt Disney World in Orlando Florida. I Camped Out for FIVE Days and Went to the Park... I went Early in the Morning and then took a Break at the Campsite and Went Back at Night... The Campsite was Packed With Mosquitoes!
The High Point was the Space Mountain Ride... A Roller Coaster in a Dark Building with Animated Movies all over the Place to Simulate a Journey thru Outer Space...
Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f_cQz7nPaV4
The Giant Sphere next to the Lake was Lit Up at Night with Lasers so it Looked Like Planet Earth...
.jpg "the Kraft Dancing Food Show EPCOT")
I have a Tendency to Pick Up Hitchhikers and a Couple of Fellows Offered me a Job Building Apartments... Oh How Different my Life Would Have Been if I'd Said YES...
And then The Next Adventure Was John Pennecamp State Park on Key Largo. We took a Boat Ride out to a Great Place to Skin Dive and Swam with Hammerhead Sharks, Barracudas and a Million Other Tropical Fish... Since it's a Park, Removing Coral is a Crime. Therefore, The Reefs are Still There! Unlike Most of Florida...
We went to a Bar and Asked the Guitar Player to Sing "Margaritaville" by Jimmy Buffet... He Grimaced because at least once a night he was asked to sing that song... But we made him sing it anyway... and we Drank Margaritas Too.
On to Key West and the Hemingway House.
His writing Studio was above a Carriage House... I recall that the only way to get there was to cross a Rope Bridge... and that was a very difficult thing to do... so it made sure that he was not disturbed by visitors... or his wife... people could stand on the ground and shout to try and get his attention but if the door was closed... he would not be disturbed!
My brother Went With me and He can Verify That This Story is true!
Later We Ate Fried Plantains at a Cuban Restaurant in Miami... They Are Great... Similar to Bananas but very Tough in Texture... Can't Eat them Raw... only Fried!
~~~~~~ (~);-} ~~~~~~
I went home for a bit of a Rest and then on to the Rainbow Gathering in Pennsylvania and Niagara Falls...
What IS the Rainbow Gathering? To me, it is Woodstock with amateur musicians and I’m in the band…
Thousands of people go backpacking for a couple of weeks… Every year during the end of June and the beginning of July… The location is different every year but it is always in a National Forest… It’s an intentional temporary village…
Pennsylvania Rainbow Gathering Memories:
I was driving around the East Coast of the USA on Vacation and...
I was driving around the East Coast of the USA on Vacation and...
My hitchhikers said the Gathering was at the intersection of 6 and 666 in Pennsylvania. I drove there by myself and was greeted by a man that said "Welcome Home, Brother". I parked and walked in carrying a backpack and sleeping bag... no tent... so the entire time I was sleeping in random different locations... When I arrived at the main campfire circle I noticed that the Gathering was located on a creek and so I wandered downstream to find a nude swimming hole... There by the creek side was a sweat lodge and a group of bathers. I went swimming and waited for the opportunity to go into the lodge. By this time I had been approached by someone's child who recommended that I not smoke tobacco during my time at the Gathering... I took that advice and soon was feeling the withdrawal symptoms from my addiction... A group left the sweat lodge and I went in... a person asked me to leave as there were two couples that wanted a private sweat and I was a fifth wheel... I got angry because I had no knowledge of a queue waiting for the sweat lodge... and I was freaking from the tobacco "JONES"... I left after arguing a bit and later got to sweat with many other men... The sweat was very therapeutic and helped with my nicotine anxiety. I wandered up to the main circle and met a fellow that manufactured plate glass xylophones and wooden marimbas. I borrowed one and played at the main circle. Then went over to a stage near the entrance and joined a group performing there. I was not wearing any clothes... It's the one time in my entire life that I have performed on stage nude... We mostly played songs like "JINGO" by Santana... that classic beat...
And the song "Infinite Sun"
Lyrics:
We are all one 'neath the Infinite Sun,
forever, forever, forever...
I will never forget you,
I will never forsake you,
forever, forever, forever...
Later that day I met some women and retired to their blanketed campsite for a back rub... One was named Terri and we became friends... Traded phone numbers... She decided to leave the Gathering Early because she wanted to go to the Bob Dylan and The Dead concert at RFK Stadium in Washington DC.
I selected to not go because the Gathering was a better event... In my opinion...
On July 4th at the main circle I found a bowl of Peyote unattended... It had a sign saying Sacrament, Help Yourself... and I did... For the entire day I ate small bits of Peyote... Just a small amount and then wait a half an hour, then another small amount and wait... after about 12 hours I had eaten a LOT and truly got the Mescaline High without barfing. The flavor of Peyote is quite bitter and many people find it to be so bad that they barf... I prefer the slow, steady approach.
I wandered over to a stage made out of hay bales and enjoyed the music. There was a cable slide built into a tree and I rode that often. How it worked: there was a steel cable leading from a platform about 15 feet up in a tree stretched tautly to a stake in the ground... A person sat in a leather seat that was attached to the cable by a freespinning wheel and chain... Jump off the platform and ride the cable to the ground... whee! swing the seat back up the cable for the next rider... That was an amazing ride, home made by Rainbow Gatherers just for our own amusement... Thanks!!!
Then I started dancing with a lady that had coarse brown hair... we became friends and were kissing on the ground when she suggested we go on stage and sing for the rest of the tribe. By this time I was very high on Peyote. She gave me a choice of three songs to perform... the names of the first two songs were incomprehensible so I selected Kumbayah, the third choice. We did go onto the stage and sang for the rest of the tribe... by that time she selected to go to her campsite and we parted ways... I located my sleeping bag and found that another lady was in it... I told her to not worry or leave and we slept together like spoons...
In my reading about the Native American Church, one of the things that happens is that a person high on peyote meets Mescalito and is taught their song... then they perform it for the tribe... My experience was similar... I felt as if the woman with the coarse brown hair was Mescalita and we did perform my song...
A couple of days later I drove home and went out on a date with Terry. We had a fine time and she and her girlfriend wanted a ride to an Ashram in rural Virginia. So the three of us went to visit Dar San Singh near an army base on the Potomac. We could hear the explosions of the warriors practicing with their weapons. The sound provided contrast for what was happening at the Ashram.
The Spiritual Study of Indian Religion.
I didn't quite grasp the message of this GURU (mainly because I could not understand a word he said-heavy accent, talked quietly) so I and the Terry's girlfriend came back to DC and I dropped her off at her house.
Maid of the Mist Boat Ride at Niagara Falls...
Since I Had a Bag of Marijuana in the Car, I didn't want to DRIVE into Canada. So I walked Across the Rainbow Bridge and Had a Labatts Beer in the Hotel. Walked to the Cave BEHIND The Waterfall and Returned to the USA.
The Border Patrol Person asked me What was my REASON for Visiting Canada and I Said "To Get a Beer" and Started to Explain that Labatts Has Two Different Types of Beer... One for Export to the USA and a Different type for Canadians...
She was not Amused or Interested and for a Moment there was Doubt IF I was Going to Get Back in the USA... Remember This, Kids: Always tell a Border Guard what they want to Hear!
and that's how I spent My Summer Vacation!
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