The Search Begins!


AS I WRITE THIS, it's Wednesday morning, and I'm sitting in a hotel lobby in Elkhart, Indiana. On On Monday, I drove from our house in Wachapreague (that's Dave and Lulu in the window below, and beautiful Bayview Avenue on Monday morning) to deliver a painting to Warwick, NY, and then over to State College, PA. 

Carol Baney, my friend and frequent traveling companion, suggested this trip as a celebration of her 60th birthday. She is going to participate in an archaeological dig in Belle Fourche, SD, and I'm going to paint - sunflowers, or whatever else we find out here in this big, beautiful country. 

Dave and Lulu, saying goodbye

Bayview Ave.

Packing is always more involved than I think it's going to be! I have three boxes of paints - the biggest one, above, all the yellows. Yes, we might be too late for sunflowers, but maybe not. 
 

And canvases! My intern and I blackened many, many, many - mostly small ones, as we are driving not in my big van (Bella, behind me in the photo above), but in Carol's car, which gets 29 mpg as opposed to Bella's 17. So while I miss having the space, I do appreciate the lesser cost of gas. It took $130 to get me from Wachapreague to Warwick, NY, to deliver the painting below (the lower one - funny that it was a sunflower painting) and then on to Carol's house! 


Above, the first yard art of the trip, in Lincoln, Delaware.


I DID NOT EXPECT to find the Center of the World on this trip, but I did! 
Turns out, it's a town, on the way to Warren, Ohio, where we detoured in hopes of seeing the world's largest drumsticks, which were supposed to be in the Dave Grohl Alley there. We found the alley but no drumsticks. Dave Grohl, I found out (I'm sure I should have known this) was a drummer for Nirvana, among other bands, before founding Foo Fighters. 



WE DECIDED to make the first day somewhat short. Monday had been long for me, and I was tired. The day'd drive was pretty and uneventful. On the way to the RV Hall of Fame, we got off I-80 to see if I could find a nice farm or landscape to paint, but nothing announced itself, so we cut back to the highway through LaGrange, Indiana, where we saw this beautiful mural.

***
RV Hall of Fame


The RV Museum and Hall of Fame is just off the highway in Elkhart, Indiana. I've been there before and was eager to return. It's such fun! The earliest RV ever made is there, as are the ancestors of many current RVs, including my own Sweet Caroline. One of my very favorites was parked outside, the little Dodge above. Isn't she sweet? 

Here's Carol, making time with an RV enthusiast. He was a little wooden...

Above, an early motor home, one of my very favorites! Below, an early Airstream


***
Dog of the Day

It's the Coachman Dalmatian! 


***
TODAY, A LONG DRIVING DAY, should end us in South Dakota. And there, I hope to start painting! Thanks for coming along for the ride. 















 

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