Apples on the Road

Well today is the day...... Julia, Pam and I are all ready to leave for New Jersey. We are driving to London Heathrow today and flying first thing tomorrow morning.

We are all SO excited (and a bit apprehensive). Julia has never flown before, Pam has flown twice and me just a few more times.... but never so far as the States!

The next time I write in here will be from the other side of the pond!

It really is interesting, before connecting with Johanna through iChat I would never have considered flying to the States, let alone staying for a holiday of 2 months!

What is the difference? The difference is that with iChat I have seen where I'm going to go, I have met many people who I will now see in "real life" And it all now feels so familiar. It will be so interesting to actually be there and see how well I really know where I'm going to go!!

Ohoowoohoowor!! We are off!!

See you State Side!

I am so lucky to have just gotten the Mobile broadband card from Sprint when I did!!

In the past preparing to leave for a trip of 2 months would have entailed making sure you had organised everything at home so that you could be away for several weeks. You might be busily writing lists of who you need to speak to before you go, organising your finances so that you had money for the trip and pay the bills at home, making sure you pet-care is adequate etc etc.

Not so in this New World..........

It began to dawn on me as I have been preparing to leave for New York in 4 days time...... oh this is different. I don't have to sort finance anymore than to have a linked PayPal account, I don't need to say my last good-byes to the lodgers as I will see them on iChat not long after I land in the States, I don't have to worry about what might come in the post because, Vic and David - the lodgers will just scan our post in everyday and upload it to my .Mac Account!! Superb!!

But most of all... I have never really contemplated an extended trip anywhere because I have dogs!! And I would find it very difficult to be away from my dogs for so long. (Don't worry - they are awaiting their Pets Passport!!) However, this time of course I will still be able to see them and hear them. I can check out in real time how their health is and actually see them as they go about their lives.

So for this trip, rather than put "this life" on hold for 2 months I just need to press a couple of links and it's all organised - here and there!!

And of course, there is also the people that are left at home. Now, instead of worrying if you are ok or not having any idea of where you are or what you are doing... there is iChat. Via iChat or Skype, our loved ones can share the trip with you and know what you are doing and that you are safe. You can send back data and information in real time as it happens.

Ummm... did I say that I think this technology is changing the world.

Well it has certainly changed my world. I have a completely different perspective about this planet now compared to even 2 years ago. Going to the USA would have seemed like something other people did - not me! The whole world now seems close and accessible, first through a video cam and then in reality! And the absolute wonder of this is that all you need is a computer a microphone, speakers, a web cam and a broadband connection....... the rest is free. The calls/connection over iChat is free!!



Who and where will be next after the US? Is it you and your home - where did you say it was in the world?

Well here we go on trip No 2!!

Leaving Johanna's house, going down her drive and out onto the road, really was an amazing experience for both Julia and I. We were literally seeing in real-time where we would be staying in just 4 days time.

I really could wax lyrical on the amazing-ness of this technology all day and just for a little while I will, because this technology is world revolutionary.

For me the implications and ramifications are completely staggering. Doing this type of thing will completely change how we as humans view this planet!

It is changing how we do business in the world..., how and who we connect with and when.., who we have a relationship with..., how often we connect with someone many miles away..., how we have meetings... and how we hold them... and of course - where. Where - virtually of course!!

Imaging you are going out on a blind date and with you you have your buddy in a box to make sure you are safe. Imaging meeting someone 2000 miles away and you both want to be in business together - no problem.... you can be buddies in the box! And imagine your child is off for her/his 1st trip without you...... no problem..... you can be their "mom" (buddy) in the box. And imagine you are an elderly person living alone and you could connect up with other people and have as many buddies in the box as you would want! In fact talking about "dating" you can even meet up with each other well before you reveal to the other person where in the world you are!!

Now that's a revolution!!

What an amazing new world it is!!

Our individual roads are going to converge very quickly. The two apples, Alix and I, are soon to meet in the USA!

Here is a picture of me on my first mobile trip for Apples on the Road!

The trip was from the store where Johanna bought the USB modem until we lost connection.

I videoed the trip and the video below is what I saw through my MacBook screen in Scotland.

This is amazing technology! It really is both mind blowing and revolutionary!

I mean....... think about it........ here I am in Scotland, driving down roads on the east coast of America...... - in real time - 3333 miles away.

So ok....... not so amazing for CNN or the BBC to achieve with all their resources........ but this is us.... two 50 odd year old woman each with a personal computer achieving connection and communication that 10 years ago was pretty impossible for anyone or any organisation, and only 5 or 6 years ago had been achieved only by the major TV stations...... and now...... in June 2008..... with just a couple of Apple MacBooks we have done this!

Now that is revolutionary!!

Well, Johanna has been here in Scotland for 3 weeks and the time has flown. We have no where near done the things that we intended to do.... but no worries.... even after we are separated by thousands of miles communication and collaboration is so possible with all this new technology. 

Yesterday was a powerful day. We went to Belfast, Northern Ireland to the US Embassy. I have wanted to go back to Ireland several times since my first trip 5 years ago, and this was a wonderful excuse for us all to have an adventure together. I had no idea what an intense day it would be.

As a prelude, I will share that I have a love affair with hands. I love mine, those of other adults, artists, performers. old people, babies, certainly those of children. They evoke a myriad of emotion in me, from laughter to wonder. I have spent many hours watching dancers, musicians, and sculptors perform their art. As a child, I spent countless hours at my kitchen table, doing homework and watching my grandmother's hands as she kneaded homemade bread. It is a fascination that is almost subconscious now. I always watch hands, as much as I watch people's eyes. I love the creative energy so often expressed to greater and lesser amounts, by the way someone moves their hands.


We started off with a wakeup at 2:30 AM to catch the earliest ferry from a lovely little town at the southern tip of Scotland, called Stranraer.(pronounced strahn-rhah) The sound of the word has been mesmerizing my ear since the first time I heard it said.... it felt entrancing somehow. It was my first time on a large ferry, and I was as excited as a child going to a circus. We were lucky enough to have many hands together to help us get ready.... to make coffees, iron clothes, wash the car, and hug us on to a good day.

The ferry crossing was an adventure. Alix, who does all of the driving at this point, did her usual marvelous job of getting us there in record time. Driving with her has been a grand adventure since my first time in the car with her. She delights in mischievously telling the story of how much I was affected by driving on the opposite side of the road while first here. It was most obvious with a truck in Edinburgh coming up the road, and me thinking it was going to hit us. Alix still laughs about how I almost ended up in her lap, trying to jump away from it!

We are off!!! After meeting me outside of the baggage pickup, we went for the car. It was wonderful to be together, laughing and hugging and falling back into our silliness from my last visit a few weeks ago!! I had missed them so much, even though Alix and I spent so many hours on line, it isn't the same as being able to reach over and hug in person.

I was on a magical mystery tour... these amazing women had planned the way home to include a sightseeing tour of places that they thought I would love... and they were so right!

Our first stop was Hebden Bridge. It is a lovely little town about 45 minutes from Manchester Airport. It reminded me of New Hope, Pennsylvania USA. Alix drove us through a few neighborhoods that she knew from the past, and then parked the car so that we could enjoy strolling around in the lovely air. The town is very hilly and had quaint, (to me), brick and stone walkways. ... and lots of beautiful homes tucked away among the steep alleyways. Stone is used for homes and walkways so very much more here than it is at home in the States. I love the feeling it generates in me... somehow deeply rooted, like an old and proud tree among the saplings that surround it.

We ate lunch outside of a sweet little coffee shop at the edge of a stream that runs through this section of town. It was so lovely catching up with each other, feeling the breeze, and sharing different foods. The parade of people going by was eclectically varied, and great fun to watch. It is a town I could easily see myself living in.

After we explored a few more streets, we went back to the car and on to my next surprise... we were heading for Blackpool, UK. It's a well known seaside resort in Britain and a must-see destination for this American!! I love my friends. The care and thought that had been put into planning the day's events was so touching. I always know I am blessed with amazing people in my life and days like this fill me with gratitude and appreciation.

When we arrived, I had to laugh again at how similarly places have evolved on both sides of the Atlantic. Blackpool reminded me so much of Ocean City, NJ USA!!! There were definitely more signs advertising fish and chips, for sure, but if I transposed them with the Pizza signs in Ocean City, I could feel as though I was back at 'the shore' as we call it, in New Jersey!



We walked and prowled along the boardwalk, with Alix, Julia and Pam telling me stories from their past visits to Blackpool. As we rambled, Alix saw the Louis Tussaud wax museum, and bought us all tickets. I haven't ever been in a wax museum...and was amazed at how lifelike a lot of the figures were.... I had to run back to get a disposable camera so that we could have a photo of Pam with "Harry Potter"! Goodness knows I missed my digital camera where I could have just downloaded the photos into my trusty MacBook and printed a copy off for her. Now we have to wait to develop film, which I haven't done in such a long time!

My next cultural experience was after seeing a figure of an older woman outside of what looked like a bar entrance. I was about to enter the world of Coronation Street...a soap opera that has been running in the UK for a very long time! The figure was one of the characters, and the bar a main set where a good deal of the show takes place. I loved the very lifelike wax figure of the bartender and a few other characters. The museum had cleverly set it up so that their snack bar was part of the set, and we had tea in what was set up as one of the booths in the TV show.

Okay, I'm about to make the mouths of a LOT of people water...I had my very first authentic fish and chips!!! We ate it walking along the street, smelling the sea air and laughing and chatting.

I was and still am feeling quite delighted to have this uniquely British experience. Sharing friends, life, caring...and of course, telling you all about it on this blog.

More later...we are off to Scotland again!

I'm back in Scotland!! I actually only was home (in NJ ) for 2 weeks,yet it felt as though I was away for much longer.

I learned a new phrase while I was here..to get something "sorted"....It is pronounced more like "sawrt-ed" and is used to convey getting something fixed, or arranged.and that was what I did when I was home. It felt wonderful to see my friends and my dogs, and to plan my return...and I could hardly wait to come back again.

While I was home, Alix set up both of her computers as as well as both of mine so that we could not only keep in touch with my friends in the US but also so that I could see into my house. Though it specifically watches the room with my desktop iMac computer, it allows me to hear my dogs.

It was so much fun watching her via my laptop, as she spent the day figuring out how to have my computer automatically open its video at our invitation from the UK. I went out shopping for gifts to bring back as well as some neccessary items for home. I left my laptop on my kitchen counter, facing my door. It was delightful to check in and say hi as I walked back and forth doing my fussing (scottish term is fettling) as well as having her there to say hello and welcome me home as I came in the door! It was like she was sitting in my kitchen with me, working alongside me to help me get ready to visit her.

Again, we delighted and were awed all over again, knowing that she was 3.333 miles away, setting up a computer in NJ, so that when I was in Scotland I could feel at home!
We are consistently amazed at the incredible capabilities these Apple Macs have and give us! By the time I was up in the air, Alix had created the links so that we also could activate our sharing and video to home as well as laptops, wherever we were! EXCELLENT!

The trip was fun. I was flying into Manchester UK this time, so did not have the change of flights to deal with in Edinburgh.

I love people-watching, and had ample opportunity during my 3 hour time period of waiting for my flight...I am chronically early when I fly!

I enjoy trying to figure out where everyone is from. There was one classic, elderly couple who I really enjoyed observing.

They were of the era when one dressed to travel. She was head to toe in bright red, with matching little red shoes. He had a waistcoat, starched collar and softly wrapped - over shoes, built for the comfort of a man of his age. She had accessorised with gold jewelry galore, and was very perfectly coiffed and made up. He carried a little bag that had books and snacks for both of them, and the polished air and accent of someone who was accustomed to traveling and being in control.

They were in delightful contrast to the tall, pony-tailed man dressed totally in Harley Davidson motorcycle regalia. His leather vest declared his home state as North Carolina. He had his own unique poise... not so much unlike the elderly couple's as one would imagine by the difference in their presentation of themselves.

He too was perfectly accessorised for his world. Some of his leather was polished, other bits were artfully worn-looking. His hair was perfectly twisted in a leather tie, and he had boots that declared him loudly as an American.

The flight itself was made more delightful because of my travel-mates. I had filled my iPod and was prepared to snuggle down for a bit of sleep as I had on my previous flight. This plane was much fuller than the prior one had been so there was no extra room to stretch out in. I am short so I tucked myself in and dozed all curled up in a ball. When I smelled coffee, I cracked open one eye and my lovely seat-mate asked if I was all right. She was somewhat amazed at how I had contorted to get comfortable!

We started to chat. She and her partner were from Liverpool, UK and on their way home after spending 3 weeks in the US, which they had loved!

I told her that Alix, and her (now mine too) friends Julia and Pam were going to be coming over for their first visit at the end of June. She told me to send them her reassurance of how much they would enjoy their visit! Our conversation started to roll all over, collecting topics that ranged from the reputation of Liverpool as the home of the Beatles, to the spiritual connection she had felt in Sedona, AZ. She wasn't at all shy to pull out her photos and I enjoyed a vicarious visit to Joshua Tree. We chatted the whole rest of the trip, which went very quickly. By the time our landing was announced, I was truly delighted at the depth of the connection we had shared. We hugged as we stepped away from the plane and back into our separate realities, acknowledging our time together, and the gift of having been 'well met'.

It was marvelous to race as quickly towards my friends as I could. I saw their faces and grabbed them into the biggest of hugs. I am back in my second home in Scotland......

b