California Gurls

"California Gurls" by Katy Perry

I feel that Katy Perry is personally taunting me. This song has played non-stop since I've arrived in Pennsylvania. You can travel the world, but nothin' comes close to the golden coast... WHATEVER, Katy Perry. So, you're right. NOTHING comes close to the golden coast. But you don't have to remind me all of the time. So, needless to say, California has been on my mind a lot.

I am a rotten, no good blogger. You all know how I feel about catch up entries, too, so, it should be in my best interest to keep current! Alas, I have not.

So, the last time I blogged I had just arrived at Galer. Two full months have gone by since then! I'm a year older and slightly wiser, but more like...more aware of all I do not know. This acknowledgment is beneficial, of course, but not fantastically helpful.

I think I regret leaving California three times a day, at least. But in those same days, I learn and do things that I would have NEVER done in California. And I have to consider: career-wise, what was there for me in California? Close to nothing. Here I am in PA, not ideal, but, I'm doing what I have to.

So, instead of droning on, I'm going to give you a glimpse in the form of a list into life. Then I can hopefully blog away at a more regular interval. (Not likely....harvest.)

Here are my favorite things about living in Pennsylvania:

1. Proximity to friends and family-- I drive home for weddings. I drive to Gettysburg to fish. I can drive to DC to see my girlfriends. Joy.

2. Thunderstorms. Eastern thunderstorms are one of a kind. Beauty.

3. French Bread -- For whatever reason, the person in the house next to mine periodically baked beautiful loaves of french bread. She indicates that there is fresh bread for sale when she puts out a french flag. That's all. No cash register, all honor system. No advertising, no store front. It's just her side garage. And, this is SERIOUSLY the best bread I've ever had. And I walk to pick it up!

4. Fireflies -- Every night, the vineyard outside of my front door gets blanketed in thousands of fireflies. It always happens before dark but after dusk. It is one of my favorite things about living here.

5. My Commute and perks -- (Note: I HAVE A WASHER DRYER on site. I will never take this for granted again!) In the morning, I wake up, put on some winery clothes, brush my teeth, wash my face, go make some french pressed coffee, eat some breakfast and check my emails, make some phone calls, go work in the cellar for a few hours. Then I take off at mid day to run, then shower and resume working. I LOVE running in the middle of the day. I love walking across the way to my workplace.

Things I dislike about living in Pennsylvania:

1. Humidity. Hottest summer on record. 'Nuff Said.

2. Working from Home -- This appears in the above list as well as this one because it is a double edged sword. I never leave work. I feel like I'm on guard all of the time. I'm always answering emails. I'm on the phone. It's not ideal and will only get worse at harvest. It has certainly been an interesting learning experience.

3. Not being able to plan -- I NEVER know what a day holds at Galer. It's always different from what I plan. I'm always stepping over contractors (who make a mess, btw). I hate talking on the phone because I never know what the conversation will blow into my path. Adventure? I guess so. My style? Not just yet.

4. Being ALONE at work -- I spend most of the time hoping I don't fuck up. I'm smart, but I've never done about 65% of this stuff, and there's no one here on sight to help me. So, I spend my days doing my best and praying I don't fuck the hell up!

5. Philly area DRIVERS -- OMG. These people are nuts! I can't even describe. TOTALLY different environment then Gettysburg, and it is not that far away. Odd.


Here are some pictures of my winery, as I don't have many others to share with you.






The tank room is unfinished here. It is still unfinished, actually.

The round window is a new addition. So nice from the inside.

The furry looking thing, that's my assistant, Chance.

Alright, time for bed!

Love to all of my dear friends, near and far!

Cheers
Catrina

Day 6 to PA!

Day 6 and Arrival in Kennett Square

Rocky Mt, NC, to BWI, to Frederick MD, then to Kennett Square, PA: about 465 miles



So, Ben and I left Rocky Mt. around 8:30 am to take on 95 N and have him to BWI for his flight by 1:30 pm. We made it. There was a great deal of DC traffic...which sucked, but, was expected.



Sitting in traffic in our nation's capital! Very sexy.

I dropped Ben off (sniff, sniff) and he was home in NY by dark.

I went on to meet up with my BFF and spend the night at her place in Frederick, MD. We had a nice dinner (sushi) and a few adult beverages. She even took me out for breakfast the next morning...knowing that I am broke! She took very good care of me. :-)

Onward, and anxious, I moved my way up to Kennett Square, PA. When I arrived, I noticed that the roses were in full bloom in front of my place! These roses are my favorite color...bright pink! Oh, amazing. Here's a snap.



That's my cabin! You can see my poor tired car in the background.

Here are some more shots of my joint:






This guy jumped up on my lap within moments of being there:


Here are some shots of my "view". Not exactly like my view in Cali....




That's our chardonnay block...they're also ripping out the cab in front and replacing it with chardonnay. Woot!



I've decided to keep you all in suspense re the winery...you can wait. ;-)

My first official day was today, I suppose, although I did work for 2.5 hours on Sunday. I tasted all of the barrels and cleaned up a bit, it is under construction! The consultant comes tomorrow to set me straight and in the right direction. Scary!! What an adventure. More to follow, sorry this is semi-lame.

Day 5, "None of Your Damn Business!"

Day 5: Nashville, TN to Rocky Mount, NC via Asheville, NC: 619 miles



I am officially back in Eastern Standard time! But in true Catrina-PST fashion, my brain is switched on and LATE!

Ben and I slept in a bit this morning and took off from Nashville a bit late. I met an absolutely charming gentlemen (with very few teeth) who wanted to know all about San Francisco while coming out of breakfast, and he held up up a little longer.

We blew out of TN rather quickly. Knoxville was the "last stop" in TN. There must be a very strong pro-life presence in Knoxville, there were a number of (reasonably offensive) billboards along the highway. I snapped a picture of a G-rated one. Grrr. We also passed a church with a sign that said "Eternity: Heaven or Hell: You decide." WAY WAY too aggressive for me. I guess Knoxville is out for me!





We got to where we would have been catching 81 N to head north on the final stretch. We realized it was a short day, and Ben said he really liked Asheville, NC, which was only about 100 miles away. Why not, right? I knew we would get to drive through the Smoky Mountains NP, so, I was in. Instead of staying on 40 E, we took 70/25. 2 lanes only and very curvy...but TOTALLY BEAUTIFUL! We got to wind through little towns. It was a great drive and I will definitely be returning to this area.

I had a moment when I thought: You would NOT see this in California. Don't get me wrong, the west is stunning. But there are things to be said about this area. Full, lush, vigorous (aka well watered) vegetation in late May covering beautiful rolling hills. Welcome to the east! I snapped some photos as I was luck enough to be the passenger.






AMAZING. I'm going back. STAT.

Ben and I went to Asheville, NC for lunch to a restaurant called The Mellow Mushroom. We split a ten inch pizza and a local brew. I'm in a serious love affair with beer, so I am obviously totally willing and excited to try local brews. I had the St. Terese's Pale Ale from the Highland Brewing Company in Asheville, NC.

The beer was refreshing and amazing. AND THE FOOD! Awesome. The crush was perfect...thin with a chewy crust that was light and fluffy and obviously fresh baked. Oh, and, did I mention that it was from whole wheat flour? AMAZING. Ben is a pizza adventurer, so we tried a pizza with beef, provolone, feta, artichoke hearts, portobello, kalamata olives, mozz, and GARLIC. It was tasty. We then walked around downtown Asheville for a bit so we were good to drive (1 hour one beer) and hit the road. Asheville is a cool little liberal mecca, similar to Berkeley or Ithaca, only less smelly. :-)

Some snaps from the Mellow Mushroom, which I will be yelping later...


A reasonably amusing bumper sticker!

6 page alcoholic beverage menu. I dig it!



We had to revise our route a little, so now we are in Rocky Mount, NC. We have 5 hours of riding time to get Ben to BWI tomorrow to fly home. Then, I will do the rest of the journey solo. Ben and I are separated just enough in age that we were never in school together. While this trip hasn't been as much fun as a real live vacation, I'm glad we've had this time together to know one another much better. Who knew we both loved music so much? Good stuff!

I'm starting to get anxious thinking about what awaits...ooohhhh boy.

Back on the road tomorrow, time for this girl to hit the hay! Cheers, all!

Cannonball Run 2010: Day 4: "Get the fuck outta the left lane!"

Day 4: Oklahoma City, OK to Nashville, TN: 677 miles

Today's route was also reasonably basic. 40 E the whooolllleee way.


Let me just start by saying, Ben and I got into Nashville tonight around 6:30 CST and we had the best god damned two beers of our lives!! I sent this to my mom:


The morning started early-ish in OK city with rain. Rain is double bad for this trip because my tires are gosh darn bald, but I'm gosh darn poor, so, here we have road trip on bald tires. Not my best idea, but, we can manage.

My customer service experiences in OK looked up. Ben and I stopped in a pretty darn shady gas station in eastern Oklahoma. The woman asked me where we were going and I told her from San Francisco to Philadelphia. She asked us how we were finding OK. I said hot and humid. She said "Oh, it wasn't always humid. The old timers say that it only got humid when they put in the lakes." I looked over in the corner, and there sat one of the "old timers", who nodded. I was perplexed, as I personally didn't know anyone who "put in" lakes, other then large glaciers. Hmmm. I'm in the process of researching, but, old timers are generally right, somehow.

Onto Arkansas. What a funny place! We didn't stop, except at a Walmart in Clarksville. I thought this was going to be especially climactic because Walmart originated in Arkansas. Not so much. Except for the occasional cowboy, it was much the same.

I knew we were nearing "the east" when the scenery started to look like this:


Lush green....everywhere! And lots of trucks.

I rode most of the day today while Ben drove, and I cannot appropriately capture the sunburn on my right arm. My college friends would call it "a lobster claw". Ouch.

Ben and I decided on the title for this entry due to the high number of fucking idiots who were driving slow in the left lane. At least some of them were moderately humorous...


I know I'm officially in the east now because we crossed the mighty Mississippi today.



Cool thought...I crossed the Mississip in Minnesota on the way out West and in TN on the way back. What a giant force this river is. No doubt!

We are, however, most definitely in the south. I'm having a hard time understanding people if they speak rapidly. The ratio of billboards that are Jesus related have increased 10 fold. If you're into Jesus, that's all cool, but, I'm not so much, and I don't appreciate the shouting! Thankfully, I don't live here.



I borrowed this one:



Heck yea he does! God loves all music, right? ;-)

Got a call from Wente today, I felt my heart sink a little. Just missin' y'all! And the California weather, even if it was raining. !!!

We're a bit ahead of schedule, so we'll be going to Lexington, VA tomorrow. Shortish day, followed by a shorter day so I can get Ben to BWI on time, and then get to Frederick to see my bestest! Then on to K Square the next day. I'm starting to have moderate anxiety about my increased responsibility level the closer I get to Philadelphia. Oh boy, what an adventure!

Time for bed. Beer is making me sleepy!

Back on the road tomorrow. For those of you who think this would be a nice vacation or that I am on vacation, don't. This is really hard work...driving and running around. For real! This is business, baby! I am making the best of it and seeing cool things (who wouldn't!), but I am traveling out of necessity for a job.

Anyway, signing off.

Day 3: Hauling Ass

Day 3: Winslow, AZ to Oklahoma City, OK: 809 miles

The route was pretty darn basic today. But long. Ben and I did this route in about 13.5 hours with a lunch stop. And several Diet Coke breaks!



I didn't take many pictures because it appears I have friend my camera, in addition to the battery AND two fuses in my car. Thanks for that charger, Walmart, it was swell. Mmmmm, now accepting donations for a new digital camera.

The morning started out in AZ and it was COLD!! The debit function was out at the gas station in Winslow, so I had the pleasure of going in to the inside of the gas station and listening to an old cowboy recount his heroic tale of "saving some Yank" in the wind storm last evening. I was not the "Yank", btw.

We headed on 40 E toward Albuquerque, where I decided I could never live because I am unable to spell it without referencing something. It was nice to see all of the red mesas all the way across on 40 E, but I can tell you, the southwest is not for me. I was completely dried out.

And here's another reason the southwest is not for me....



Come on. I'm no Obama junkie, but...anyway.

After a lunch of burritos and homemade tortillas, we soldiered on. (I'm going to MISS good mexican food!)

We crossed the border into the Texas panhandle, which could have been messy. My favorite part about driving in Texas was this sign:



Other than that, it looked a lot like New Mexico and Arizona. About 50 miles in, it started to flatten out. And when it flattened out...this meant the wind picked up. I was pushing the gas pedal down with the intention of going 80 mph, but the car was only going 72 mph. And I was burning gas 33% faster. Thanks, wind. My mother was relieved though.

On to Oklahoma, where I've never been. I must have something on my face because I was seriously wrong about the southern hospitality coming to the plains here! The two interactions that I've had with the sales clerk and the hotel registration gentlemen were both very odd. They were both kinda mean! Maybe it's my turquoise shirt. Also, I'm feeling some pressure from the extremely frequent signage about Native crafts and clothing. Like, if I don't buy Cherokee jewelry, all will perish. Sheesh!

Another interesting note, 4o runs alongside route 66! Gettin' my kicks! J/k. I did drive on Route 66 very briefly today when I got off of the highway in search of petrol. It was narrow, and vaguely pink. I had guessed that they had used some of the surrounding soil, which was beautifully ferrous red!

Here's a pic of route 66 (from the blackberry, in motion=not ideal):



And here is a pic of that beautiful Oklahoma soil. Lucky I'm in soil science now, so hopefully I'll know all about it soon! :-) Passed a winery on the way through all of this soil, so...anything is possible!




Oh, and did I mention that as soon as we started to "flatten out" in Texas...it got FRIGGIN' HUMID. I was warned about humid. I grew up in humid. But I was not ready for humid. Yuck. I felt like I was swimming through the air. Awesome move, Catrina, moving to PA!

I was hit with a seriously bad case of cold feet/regret/I-miss-California today, but, I know I made the right decision. I'm way like cheesy right now, so, I had to think of this (probably bastardized) quote: “You never really leave a place or person you love, part of them you take with you, leaving a part of yourself behind.” I'm going to a good place...I hope. Change is SCARY!

On a brighter note, we're clocking miles to Nashville tomorrow. I'm pumped! I've never been.

Catch you kids on the flipside!

Canonball Run 2010, Day 1 and 2

Hey All!

As promised, I'm blogging from the road. The first night was a bit hectic, so, don't shoot me for not writing!

Day 1, Livermore, CA, to Yosemite NP, to Las Vegas, NV.

The plan: 580 E to 120 E through Yosemite NP, south to Vegas on 395.

So here's what ACTUALLY happened on day one:


Here's my sweet ride, all packed! Ben and I kicked off around 10:30 am.




So, we get to Yosemite after a beautiful drive, and they're like...oh yea, 120 E is closed because there is 5' feet of snow over the pass. And....so is every other road going through the park that way....annndddd it was snowing at the visitors center. And, there I am in my flip flops!



I'm not the best granola in all, I was just passing through after all!

So, we had to exit on route 140 and go back out to Merced, CA and down 99 S. Awesome. And 4 hours out of the way.

On a happy note, "Running Down Dream" by Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, was playing on the stereo as I crossed the state line into Nevada. How appropriate!

Anyway, We didn't get in to Vegas until about 11:30, so it was not ideal, but we ended up walking around and staying out until four am anyhow. It's freakin' Vegas!


My comments on Vegas are this: I really dug the atmosphere and the attitude. Dude, they have buildings that they designed to lean because THEY COULD. They made Venice...BECAUSE THEY COULD. Vegas was populated by bootleggin' gangsters and it's held up today. It is one big NEW adult playground. I did NOT dig the slutty looking girls all around and the SMOKING. Everywhere. Cigarette smoke literally gives me a headache (sad, I know I'm a wimp), and this was just not good. Yuck. My camera took a poo (battery) when we got to Vegas, so I have 0 pictures. Boo.

Day 2. Las Vegas, NV to Winslow, AZ via the Hoover Dam

This day started off slowly because Ben and I were out until 4:30, hence, I said, let's aim to leave Vegas by noon.



Short Day, this day. The original plan was to loop up and see the Grand Canyon, but it was just not in the plan today!

We did drive by Lake Mead in NV/AZ, which actually ended up taking us an hour because of the traffic build up at the Hoover Dam security entrance.

Here's Lake Mead



Which was followed by the Hoover Dam. We just drove through and I narrowly escaped with reasonable blood pressure. I can't imagine having to drive that road all the way to work everyday with all of the "dam" tourists (Yes, HA!).

Security was tight at the entrance too. The guy made us pull off to the side so he could search my car because Ben and I look like we're actually the Griswald's. And he removed my tarp which I had worked very hard to get down and NOT be flapping in the wind, and he almost made me take my bike rack off the back (would have take like 20 min to get back on) to look inside the back hatch. Ben nicely asked him to look through the window, and he obliged. He was looking for firearms, so he said!

Ben and I tried to remedy my dead camera battery with a somewhat unsuitable charger and ended up blowing a fuse in my car. The fuse controls the cigarette lighter...so can you guess what other essential piece of equipment chews on this power supply? Yep! The GPS. Uh-oh. Thank GOD I have Ben with me...he was able to change out my fuse with relative ease. What a guy! And, he even got me prepared for driving through the desert.



I am SO thankful I am not driving alone.

So, beside the snow and the fuses, it was really ridiculously windy the whole way across AZ. Since I am driving an extra heavy car with a trillion things tied on top, this is challenging!

Ben and I decided to push through a ways tonight and go to Winslow, AZ. ("Standin' on the corner in Winslow, Arizona, such a fine sight to see...) Well, we cleared Flagstaff, AZ, and on our way out of the city we saw a sign that say "Road closed 34 miles ahead due to severe dust storm." We're New Yorkers and have lived through snow storms, so, soldier on we did.

Well, turns out they weren't kidding. Traffic was stopped for miles in both directions and we sat there among hundreds of semi-trucks for hours. NOT that fun, let me tell you! We were 36 miles from Winslow and saddle sore. Ben has developed a bit of a cold this week, and he needs his rest, so I was trying to get him there as fast as possible. No dice at 3 mph. the storm had "blown" over and we were moving, albeit slowly!

I will try to give you an idea of the magnitude of this stop. I saw the AZ State Police starting the line of traffic moving in the western direction (opposite of me) after the storm had passed through. I saw this start to happen about 34 miles from our exit in Winslow. When I exited at Winslow, I was still watching the line of dense traffic move along. Holy cow!

More tomorrow! On the road! Trying to put the gaping hole in my heart at ease at leaving everyone behind in California. It's a strange feeling to feel the earth going on spinning and the people you care about still all being together in one place, but you have to hope that they throw you a thought every once in a while and miss you a bit!

Miles to be covered tomorrow. Keep on rockin'! See you soon, Oklahoma!

My Favorite Things...

I couldn't win a game of chance if I stacked the odds 100:1 in my favor. I will never win the lotto, I'll never gamble in Vegas and win big. But I have won big, and I am the luckiest girl.

How am I lucky, you ask? I'm lucky in the people that I manage to surround myself with. I'm lucky because I meet these generous, loving, beautiful people who fill my heart to the brim.

Where I'm from, well, it's amazing. My family starts there with the many wonderful people I've come from and come to know. Then, Gettysburg. My family continues with the people I'm priveldged to cherish from there. Onto my international family, and my Washington family, who are few, but strong.

Then, enter new cast. Enter biological family who care for me as no others and who are incredibly generous and who truly have allowed me to enjoy the lifestyle that I do enjoy in California today. People who had no obligation to take care of me, but did so without hesitation. Gratitude beyond measure.







My California family. How can I express what I'm feeling right now. I'm leaving. I'm leaving them all behind. I feel a mixed of excitement and the shredding of my heart muscle. A feeling a dread that I won't be able and see these people who I love so much on Monday or Friday or the next Monday, but I'll be headed elsewhere, into uncharted waters.

But I can't stop this overwhelming feeling that I am absolutely the luckiest woman in the world. The people I love are truly my wealth. And I couldn't ask for anything more.

Shortly before I wrote my last blog entry in March, I spoke with a gentlemen in Kennett Square PA who wanted me to come out and make his wine. Long story short, I'm leaving California on Saturday on a cross country road trip to terminate in Kennett Square, PA. More details to follow for you all, but, before I depart, all me to take you through my favorite things about California.

























I'll have you know, California family, I have a philosophy. As well as taking you all with me in my heart, I take you with me in physical manifestation.

With the help of Jesse Tuesday in Ocean Beach, I'm taking you all with me in memento form as your state's flower, the California poppy. And yes, it is poppy orange, but my blackberry just doesn't do it justice!



This way, I can surely carry you with me everywhere and you can bet you'll never stray far from my heart.


Love to you all. All of the pieces of my heart. <3