Country Mouse Visits City Mouse

Earlier this week, I presented Faces of Israel at an invitation-only event in Tucson.  The program was held at a private home…  at a visually stunning and magazine-perfect home to be precise.  Each female guest arrived with beautifully-coiffed hair, a carefully selected outfit and matching accessories – including a groomed man at her arm.

As the hostess introduced me to each guest, she half-jokingly remarked that “She didn’t have pink hair when we met her last year!”, perhaps making small talk or perhaps to distance herself from inviting them to a program where the speaker might be a wild card.  We sipped wine and socialized prior to the program, and several of the guests handed checks or a one hundred dollar bill to the organizer at the end of the night to subsidize future programming.

Home? (In The Pool On Our African Safari Honeymoon)

Here’s the thing:  Both the hosts and the guests were friendly and welcoming, literally opening up their home to me and my work.  And though I didn’t grow up in a fancy house like the one that I found myself in that night, I was always somewhat at ease interacting with all sorts of people – including wealthy “Englewood-types” and international diplomats.

Yet, that night, I felt a profound and quite surprising discomfort during the social part of the evening.  It felt foreign to be socializing with upper-class Jewish couples in a private community.  How much should I share with them about my life?  What would they think of me and my RVing and van-dwelling friends?  How much would we have in common?

Or... Home? (In A Renovated and Redecorated Tank At The Slabs)

I would like to be able to weave in and out of different communities with ease.  I wouldn’t mind being gifted a masterpiece home, but practically I have become used to a much more informal environment for myself.

My first choice for a chevreh (social circle) are fun people who share a passion for bettering the world and who inspire one another.  But beyond that passion for service, if I needed to choose between your average RVer / van-dweller and your average mansion-dweller, I would likely choose the former.  Without making any value judgments, that crowd is just so much more ‘me’ right now.

posted by ayo

Ego Boost

My mom always said that I didn’t need an ego boost (thanks, mom), but I totally got one tonight.  Let me set the stage…

We’re in Tucson for a Faces of Israel lecture series.  The community has me presenting four programs in three days.  It’s about five minutes before the start of tonight’s program at the JCC.  The room is packed with mostly senior citizens and the turnout is impressive with over 200 in attendance.  I am introduced to a woman standing beside me.

They Gave Me A Stage. I Love Stages! Tonight's Program At The Tucson JCC

Woman:  You’re Amy Oppenheimer?  How incredible!  I don’t know what to say.  I knew we were having Faces of Israel in the community but I didn’t know that the director herself would be here!

Me:  Thank you!  I’m so glad that you could join us.

Woman:  You know, I’ve heard so much about this program.  I read your bio and looked up articles on you.  We’re so lucky to have you here – it’s really an honor.

Me:  [Gracious yet downplaying response]

Woman:  In this day and age with media everywhere, everyone is trying to make it as a speaker and make a name for themselves.  But you know what?  People can try, but not everyone can be an Amy Oppenheimer.  Indeed very few people can be an Amy Oppenheimer.

Quasi-Related: Honing Our Presentation Skills At Today's Astronomy Program in Tucson

Holy sh**!  ”Not everyone can be an Amy Oppenheimer”?!  When did I become a noun? I don’t delude myself into thinking that I’m actually anything special and I have more faults than fingers and toes to count them on, but damn!  Last night, at a private Faces program, someone asked me to autograph a DVD for them.  And tonight, this!

I am often really hard on myself when reflecting on how I use my time and how – if at all – I am contributing to the world around me. The bar in my family is set way high and I too frequently feel as though I should be “doing more” and contributing far more – whatever that means.

But to every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven (Ecclesiastes 3:1)… and tonight is the time to savor this totally unexpected yet so kind ego boost.

posted by ayo

Quartzsite – RV Mecca

The year-round population of Quartzsite, Arizona is somewhere around 3,400. In the winter months, the population swells almost 300 times to around one million. That’s greater than the population of eight individual states in the U.S.! And the snowbirds? They’re almost all RVers, and right now we’re two of them.

Sunrise Behind Arvie (Photo Credit to Brent, Link Below)

We pulled in to one of the 14-day camping areas (Dome Rock) on Thursday late afternoon, and immediately happened upon our friend Brent walking on Dome Rock Road. Things were looking up. We found a spacious and level spot to call home and settled in quickly in a desire to hike Dome Rock before sunset. The hike up is fun and quick, and we returned twice on Friday with friends.

99% of Quartzsiters Are Senior Citizens, So All Of Their Strollers Contain Small Dogs

Our group here has a nightly campfire and hosts a wide variety of folks, from van dwellers to people in monster fifth-wheels. When looking out at Quartzsite and its LTVAs* from Dome Rock, the massive scale of this RV city is apparent. And little did we know that we would be in town on the busiest day of the year. Saturday marked the beginning of a huge RV show, with plenty of brand new RVs to explore and have sticker-shock over, and hundreds of vendors selling miscellaneous products. (We easily spotted the one Israeli guy hawking a hair product. Our Israeli-dar is pretty refined.)

Ayo With Fellow Campers Johnny and Jen

Barbara, Ron, Yair and I With Surprise Guests Diana and Phil

The afternoon in town was fantastic. We roamed around gem shows, RV gadget dealers, and a general merchandise store with ridiculous discounts – which Ayo swooned over. We listened to live country music, were recruited for jobs at Amazon.com’s workcamping program, and met up with Barbara and Ron from The Road Less Traveled.

Quartzsite ain’t bad, but we’re heading south toward Phoenix and Tucson this week.

Look For Us Down At The Bottom Of This Photo ((Photo Credit to Brent, Link Above)

*The Long Term Visitor Areas are where the huge “RV Cities” are. They allow stays as long as seven months for a fee of $180.

posted by yair

MOOP-ed Sand Dunes And Cotton Encounters

On the morning of our departure from Imperial Sand Dunes Recreation Area (Glamis), I took a final walk through the dunes for a bit of solitude.  Yair challenged me to scoop up one piece of MOOP (matter out of place / garbage) along the way.  By the time I made it up to the main road, I was huffing and puffing while carrying a giant bag full of debris and a towel filled with cans.  I’ve always been a sucker for extra credit!

On the drive toward Quartzsite, we passed by thousands of cotton plants and Yair hopped out of the RV to get me a handful of cotton balls from an already-picked field – definitely one of the best presents that I’ve ever been gifted.  How romantic and awesome!

Here’s a quick photo montage:

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posted by ayo

Science With Our Golden-Aged Friends

Yair was a source of inspiration to thousands of people in 2011, setting up telescopes across the country and offering free views of the night sky.  But I kept thinking that we were missing out on a really important demographic: senior citizens.

Seniors often aren’t out past dark, but that doesn’t mean that they shouldn’t be exposed to Yair’s excitement about and knowledge of the universe.  I made some calls and booked what I hope will be the first of many free astronomy programs at senior citizen centers in 2012.

Yair Prepping For His Astronomy Presentation at the San Diego Senior Center

The program was a tremendous success and Yair is a natural educator!  We (yes, we!) gave a talk about Pluto’s Planetary Identity Crisis and presented a second interactive program called How To Survive in Space.  I played “Vanna White” by taking notes on the oversized white board and walking around the room to display relevant photos from Yair’s laptop to attendees.

We received such positive feedback and Yair got a taste of how great it is (and how great it feels) to contribute through volunteerism.  Program number two is scheduled for a senior center in Tucson this Wednesday – can’t wait!

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posted by ayo

Mission Trails and King Day 2012

During our last week in San Diego, we joined the local Young Israel for a scholar-in-residence weekend with famed Maggid Hanoch Teller and managed to squeeze in some quality time at Mission Trails Regional Preserve.

Cowles Mountain is the highest point in San Diego, and I hiked it three times over the course of the weekend.  On Shabbat morning, I hiked the trail solo and befriended Ernesto.  We reveled in how good it felt to have made it up the mountain and ended up dancing bachata and merengue on the peak.

Ernesto and I Atop The Tallest Point in San Diego

On Shabbat afternoon, Yair and I made our way up the trail and spotted a shiny turquoise hummingbird flying and hovering over a bush full of flowers.  On Sunday morning, we joined a group of friends from the local Jewish community for a final climb before descending to find this adorable little girl and her father at the trailhead:

"We Are Giving Away Free Water In Honor of Martin Luther King Jr. Day"

We closed out the weekend with a visit to the San Diego MLK parade with fellow RVers Sam, Tracy, Karen and Ben.  Perhaps most fun of all, Yair and I participated in an interfaith MLK park clean-up event on Monday morning in Balboa Park.  By the end of the morning, we must have cleared at least thirty beer cans and over 200 cigarette butts between the two of us and it felt great to be keeping the park clean for kids (and adults!) at play.

Yair spoke brilliantly when interviewed about the event by Channel 6 local news and we enjoyed a post-service potluck lunch with a group of Unitarian Universalists.  We are now enjoying our first visit to Quartzsite  where we have been adopted by the Rubber Tramp Rendezvous.  More to come!

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posted by ayo

Stranger in a Strange Land (and a Psycho Adrenaline Rush)

Holy sh**!  Holy sh**!  F!  F!  F!  WOA.  Adrenaline rush extraordinaire.  Rewind:

It’s 4 PM.  Yair is in the driver’s seat, navigating us toward Quartzsite.  Ayo is on the sofa, working like a mad woman to book Yom HaAtzmaut gigs.

Y:  Check out those sand dunes!

A:  Awesome.  Let’s find a place to pull over and play.

Ay, Check It Out!

Let's Go Play in the Dunes!

Fast-forward 20 minutes:

Yair and Ayo are running around the sand dunes barefoot when Ayo proposes that they chase the sun over the next hill.  Yair hems and haws, laughs at the absurdity of the idea and ultimately tells Ayo to continue on toward the road and he’ll meet her with the RV at the yellow tractor in 25 minutes.

Ayo explores the silence of the dunes, running up and down the endless pyramids and kicking the sand into oblivion with each step.  The sun is setting and Ayo realizes that she won’t be able to catch it today, so she heads toward the road.  Ayo arrives at the yellow tractor, but there is no RV in sight.

Stranger on a Quad (ATV):  Ayo!

Ayo (thinking she misheard him): Excuse me?  [Walks closer]

Stranger:  Come for a ride.

Ayo:  Sorry, I’m waiting for a friend!

Stranger:  He sent me to get you!  [Proceeds to waive our Dave’s Killer Bread bag with my stuff in it]

Ayo:  Okay… either you’re telling the truth or you’re a kidnapping murderer.

Stranger:  We’ll see.  But I’m supposed to make sure that you put on your boots and orange sweatshirt so that you stay warm.  [Hands me items in the bag]

At this point, I realize that even if he’s not telling the truth, he’s at least a benevolent kidnapper and I hop in.

ADRENALINE!

Holy freakin sh**!!!!!  The next half hour was the wildest time of my life.  I can’t even process if it was fun or terrifying or exhilarating because of all the adrenaline still in my system, but – armed with the knowledge that Jeff (Stranger Man) is a firefighter and paramedic and has never flipped an ATV in his life – we took the sand dunes with crazy speed, steepness and agility and stopped at the tallest one to take in the brilliant orange sunset.  It was absolutely surreal and almost felt like we were in a video game.

My God!!!!!!

Yair, Ayo and Jeff After a Crazy Ride in the Quad

When we got back to the RV, Yair took a turn on the ATV and we decided to overnight by the sand dunes for some potluck dinner with Jeff and his sons, followed by star gazing together.

Talk about an unexpected turn of events.  Wowzaa!!!!!

Jeff's Sons, Travis and Andrew

Doesn't Come Close to Capturing the Magnificence of the Sunset

posted by ayo

Our Last Week In Ocean Beach

The past couple of weeks have left us with a lot of new friends. Some friendships came about through people we know, while others were a bit more random, like my playing guitar and drums with street musicians named Joe and Gemini.

An Astronomy On The Road Event I Did In Ocean Beach

Matt and Bree being in town livened up the “through people we know” category, introducing us to a number of their San Diego friends like Cody, Brin, and Jenna. We also got to know Bree’s super-cool mom, who is a nutso exerciser and does a daily ocean swim. We toured San Diego together and found this guy in Balboa Park. (Watch until at least 23 seconds in. That’s when things really get started.)

We befriended Lisa, one of our readers who is on a journey toward fulltime RVing. She recently started blogging here. Lisa took us out to a wonderful lunch at the People’s Food Co-op in Ocean Beach, and we had some great conversations about life and RVing.

With Lisa - Our Blog Reader, Friend And Aspiring RVer

Finally, I spent a night prowling around town this past week. I struck up a conversation with two street musicians named Joe and Gemini. Joe was a pro at bringing in the tips, while Gemini was a busker-in-training, a  bit drunk, a bit high, and gently being educated by Joe that he’ll get better tips if he doesn’t yell at people.

Gemini got progressively less sober over the few minutes that we were hanging out, and somehow I ended up taking over the Middle-Eastern hand drum. Eventually Joe and I swapped instruments, and I was jamming away on guitar.

Final conversation of the night:

Gemini: Hey Joe, I think that he’s better than I am on that thing.

Joe: Yes. Yes, he is.

We got a couple of bucks tossed our way while I was playing, but I left them in the jar for Joe and Gemini to split.

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posted by yair

Glitz And Glam In Vegas

I was in Las Vegas for 26 hours this week, and what a fun whirlwind it was! Two Faces of Israel programs, one hotel stay in a gigantic king-sized bed (I’ve never felt so small!) and a personal tour of the strip.

The large-scale art and architecture was awesome in the literal sense of the term.  Yair has never been to Vegas and I only made it to four of the hotels (Wynn, Encore, Venetian, Aria), so I will definitely be returning with the beau and the RV.

A fun fact: The owner of the Wynn and Encore is / was vegan, and therefore every restaurant in the two hotels has a full-on veg menu with vegan appetizers, entrees and desserts.  Sweet!

I had a great time overall, though I don’t think that I would want to live in Las Vegas… There were many beautiful, wealthy and bejeweled people parading through the casinos and channeling the glitz and glam of the city.  I don’t think that my core values are reflected by Las Vegas (or at least by the strip!) and I know that if we lived there it would be really easy to let those other values “sink in”.

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posted by ayo

High School Clothing and Sentimentality

I can be a bit of a pack rat.  Ironic, I know, for someone who downsized from an apartment to 24 feet of RV.  But last week, I realized that I had way more clothing than I needed or had room for, so I spent three hours scrutinizing my closet to see what I could give away.  I wrapped the session with three bags filled with donations, but was surprised at how totally and completely connected to physical objects I still am…

That was the dress that I wore to Teicher’s house for the summer pool party! And those were the pair of short-shorts that I wore to Ariella Gutin’s BBQ that Gil Schwartz liked!  And this was the first mini-skirt that I ever got during my senior year of high school!

So Long, First Mini-Skirt of Mine!

The stuff is in good condition and technically still fits, though the clothes are totally not as comfortable as they used to be.  So long, high school clothing!  May you find a good home with some person at Goodwill.

posted by ayo