Charlene's Birthday Party–May 16, 2014 (b. 1944)

My flight is booked, I AM going to Hawaii. I won't eat for the next two weeks, until my next payday 2/19, but I AM going to Hawaii and will be staying at Kahana Beach Resort, 4221 Lower Honoapiilani Highway, Maui part of the time.

My 70th Birthday is May 16, 2014. Please join me for this epic event. The only reason this event is epic is that I was shopping for a wheelchair in 2006 because I could not walk and weighed 300 pound. Since then I got new knees thanks to David Swankie and a boat… than a new life and have kayaked 49 states, only leaving Hawaii to kayak, our 50th state, my 50th state to kayak and on my 70th Birthday.  No I don’t feel 70.  I feel better than when I was 40 and that truly amazes even me.

The maiden voyage of my new Kayak was on Lake Tahoe in the company of Ellie Beals who paddled with me that day in 2009.

There is time if you care to join us... to make your own arrangements.
Hope you can join me to celebrate this great day and great achievement.

My Schedule:

5/13 - 8am depart San Jose, CA, arrive in Kahului, HI at 10:20am
5/13-15 staying with Matt and Cherrish
5/16- at Kahana Beach Resort, 4221 Lower Honoapiilani Highway, Maui
5/16 - KAYAK HAWAII - my last of 50 States to Kayak
5/17 - at Kahana Beach Resort, 4221 Lower Honoapiilani Highway, Maui
5/18 - at Kahana Beach Resort, 4221 Lower Honoapiilani Highway, Maui
5/19 - check out from Kahana Beach Resort, 4221 Lower Honoapiilani Highway, Maui
5/19 - staying with Matt and Cherrish
5/20 - depart HI at 12:30pm and arrive back to San Jose, CA at 8:30pm

Paddling with me will be son Richard Bailey, Matt and Cherrish Beals, and hopefully others.

CREAM of the Crop… L-R: Richard Bailey, Elle Beals, Matt Beals, Chris Bailey, and Andy Beals.  (Their initials spell CREAM).  Beals children are children of my best friend of 40plus years, Betsy Beals Stafford.

It's gonna be a grand party. A once in a life-time happening.  I sure wish all five could be with me, but 2/5 of the gang will be swell.

Can’t go, but want to help????

Anyone who helps will receive a post card from Hawaii after the paddle and I hope it will be a photo of me in the kayak, if I can arrange that there.  If you donate, order art work or buy from my store and want a post card, be sure to send me your mailing address to charlene.swankie@gmail.com. 

Wishing everyone I love could be there with me
for my 70th birthday party.

By helping a friend, Possum Hunter, out after he lost all he had Christmas night in an apartment fire, and having a front tooth break off and needing to have it extracted and an implant in last week, I am very very low on funds.  I could sure use some help making this dream come true and in accomplishing the goal I set out on in 2009, of kayaking all 50 states. See Index of States Kayaked.  Click on the donate button in the upper right corner of this site, if you can help a little bit, even if only a dollar or two.  Or click on the Art Work tab above if you would like to commission me to do some Art Work for you. All art work will be completed before I go to Hawaii.

You could also help by buying through my Amazon Store http://astore.amazon.com/kayakin-20
- a portion of your Amazon purchase will go to supporting my kayaking
adventure or for my next adventure, hiking the Arizona Trail in 2015 (820 miles from Mexico to Utah).

Thank you for your support and Aloha
Charlene Beaty Bailey Swankie

--
"It's not the destination that is important, it is the journey. It doesn't
get any better than that, until tomorrow." Swankie

A Month to be Thankful For

Thanksgiving Day, 2013

I woke to the most beautiful sunrise which I viewed from the warmth and comfort of my own bed, with my head on my own pillow… with a 180 degree view of the incredible desert, all natural (no other campers in view). ...I am thankful for that view, for my bed, for being able to leave the passenger side rear door open at night to watch the stars from my bed and let the sun shine or my forehead first thing in the morning.

Rachel visits Camp Swankie

I am thankful too for the moonrise I got to witness at about 3am… out that same door. I saw a bright light on the horizon… and took my binoculars to see what it was… and it was not a star. It was a crescent moon just peaking up over the horizon of mountains… and there were rays of light like sun rays though the clouds, but the rays were coming from around the moon. I tried to memorize how it looked so I might be able to sketch it. I could see the dark side of the moon in shadow… and watched it lift off from the horizon. Amazing. I am thankful for the moon, and my bed and my pillow and my binoculars, and the sky and stars and moon and then this morning a sun so bright and clear I could not even glance at it for a split second. I have never seen the sky so clear and bright.

I am also thankful for the amazing sunset I witnessed last night. My photos do not do it justice. I didn’t know which way to look or what to photograph… 360 degrees of awesomeness. I wish my camera was better. It’s beyond my verbal abilities to describe that sunset. And I was thankful for the fresh clean air last night and the moderate temperatures which gave me a really good night sleep.

		Vandwellers VIEW SLIDE SHOW DOWNLOAD ALL

And today, it is warm and the sky is clear and blue… and I will be spending the day with some vandwellers in the desert East of Quartzsite, enjoying a good meal and good fellowship. I am thankful for vandwellers (wherever they are), and the desert and Quartzsite (… oh, and rocks tee hee). And I am thankful it won’t be cold at dinner today like it was last year.

Jerry and a couple of his dogs I sketched.

And far away in California, I am thankful for the old clients and dear friends I can’t be with this holiday, but I am there with them in spirit. I wish I could be in Monterey kayaking the Bay or even better in Morro Bay, kayaking there. I wish I could spend this day with all the people I miss and love.

And lastly, I am thankful for my family, Richard, Rhonda, Tori, Chris, Jenelle, Zoey and Will Bailey and all the other Baileys who are my in-laws. I hope you all have a great day this day, and know that I love and miss you all. I am especially thankful for being the Mom of two such great young men as Chris and Richard Bailey.

And I am thankful they have given me three beautiful grandchildren… and I’d be even more thankful if I could be the Grandma to them that my dear Grandma Smith was to me.

My angelic grandmother with my sons in 1968.

That would truly be heaven on earth and the only thing that could possibly make today any better than it is already.

Left: Granddaughter Tori, and
Right: Jenelle, Chris, and grandkids Will and Zoey.

Happy Thanksgiving to each and everyone one of you… even if you don’t celebrate this holiday.

Just before a three day rain hit, the ranger at the Long Term Visitor Area where I had sat up camp, came by and said I had to move closer to a vault toilet since I didn’t have a 10 gallon holding tank.  So I moved within a few feet of one… before the rains began then I just kept loaded up to wait out the weather.

In a different Long Term Visitor Area, I found a great site with a huge tree, and a 180 degree view eastward of the wide open desert.  That night as I was getting comfortable for my first night, a test run to see if I like the spot, a large bird landed in my very large tree.  I could not make out what it was, but am sure it was a bird of prey.

The sunset was very nice and I felt comfortable in this location, so next day, I began setting up camp again.  I pray I am not asked to move again.  I am about .03 hundredths of a mile too far from the vault toilet, but I use my portable anyway, so it should not be irrelevant.  I like this location, I’m on the edge of the area where people camp.

Out out comes the rug, and the rocks… and I begin getting organized for working with rocks, the reason I am in Quartzsite.

This will become a bolo tie for a friend.

Here are some other rocks I have trimmed down to begin grinding and polishing.

And of course, out comes the solar oven at every opportunity.

There just doesn’t seem to be an end to the beautiful sunrises and sunsets out here.

One week, I got to help Rachel Smith with her van… making dark curtains to replace the light daisy pattern curtains.  LaVonne Ellis came to visit while we worked.  Doug Begley came by a couple times to visit as well.  Here I sit in the middle of the desert and it’s like Grand Central Station.

And I am grateful for being able to make Rachel’s van warmer and more comfortable.  Before she left we visited the Indian Petroglyphs and she sang Annie’s Song for me again, while we watched the sunrise.  Below the crest of the hill were grinding holes the Indians used for nuts and grain.  Also there was a rock shelter behind the trees where Indians may have taken shelter from the intense desert heat and strong winds. I want to learn more about these people.

But the very best part of living in a van, is being able to watch sunsets and sunrises from my own very comfortable bed, looking out the back door of my van.

It just doesn’t get any better (or more beautiful than this) until tomorrow.

I invite you all to follow along on this website or on Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/swankie.wheels).  I will be going to Hawaii in May 2014 to complete my 50-state kayaking adventure. You are invited to come along.  Contact me for details.

Beautiful Grandchildren

I have been spending time with my beautiful grandchildren. My little angel Zoey just told me I was her very best Grandma (mission accomplished).  These past five years have been very difficult for me, not being a daily part of their lives.  I don’t know if they will ever know and love me, as I knew and loved my Grandma… so I’ll settle for them just “remembering” me.

After swimming lessons, I got to braid Zoey's hair... while she warmed up with hot cocoa. Then I got to read them a story, AFTER they came out and explored my van home. This one remembers EVERYTHING (and I hope me).  Next week they begin swimming lessons each weekday morning.  I am going to get a Pool membership and swim laps in the morning, before their lessons, or maybe during their lessons.  Its about to get really hot in Wenatchee, and $44 for the rest of the time I am in the area, a place to exercise and keep cool and spend time with them… not a bad deal at all.  They live nearby.

Yesterday was a great day. In the morning, I WON a new Global Sun Oven, in the afternoon I spent time at a wading pool park and my little granddaughter was coloring a picture, so I showed her my sketchbook… now she introduces me as “This is my grandma, she is an artist and kayaks everywhere.” At one point she reached over and hugged me and said “You are my very best grandma! I love you.” Well, there just isn’t any way a day can get better than that. When the solar oven arrives, I will be showing them how to cook in it and that too will be a fantastic day.

I won a Solar Oven – this was the winning photo.  I can’t believe it.  There are five more ovens being given away over the next five weeks.  Check out the Contest. Just enter your email address for a chance to win.  For the rest of the story about what was going on with this little critter, see my Facebook Album on the Sun Oven Contest.

I'm thrilled. In Jan 2014 at the Rubber Tramp Rendezvous in Quartzsite AZ, I will be drawing tickets to give my old Sun Oven to another vandweller. I never won anything before, but others have helped me along the way, so this is my way of paying it forward a little. There are other photos in this series... and I wish now I had video-taped it... it was so funny watching this little critter trying to get into the Oven.

Will has an engineers' brain... a real problem-solver. He is also kind of a loner. I watched him happily play with water for a very long time, very capable of entertaining himself.  Very very smart.

This is where I took the kids kayaking the other day – Walla Wall Park in Wenatchee.  You can clearly see the little alcove if you click on that link… an ariel view.  I could not get photos myself, but my dau-in-law took some and I'm hoping to get copies to post here.  Nice little alcove with an island, which had Mulberry Trees on it.  Columbia River is behind the island.  Zoey and I picked Mulberries from the kayak.  Neat.

June 28th, I joined them at this small park for water splashing and climbing on the playground, and coloring.  Nice little park with Recreation Staff keeping a close eye on all the kids, making sure they Play Nice in the water.

Zoey in playground jail.. she is trying to look worried and afraid.  Will, or Buddy (Grandpa was nicknamed Buddy and his dad was called Bud… so cute), being his devilish self.  Look at those sweet faces.

How the heck can it get better than this?  If it does, my heart might explode.

Payday… two days away.

I’ve been camping around Elko NV at various store parking lots… just waiting out the two weeks before payday… and day after tomorrow is it.  Yahooooooo!  I think I gotta go over those mountains to get to Salt Lake City, UT.  It’s been so cold here.  Uggghhh!

A couple of days ago, I splurged and bought Frosted Flakes (see photos below). Last night I splurged and got dinner from a Chinese place… rice, sesame chicken, and seafood combo, and two egg rolls.  Oh boy, did that hit the spot.  And I got a couple fortune cookies:

1) You’ll accomplish more later if you have a little fun this weekend.

OK that fits.  I had fun this weekend, sleeping in each day, doing two sketches for pay (total $100.00), listening to music, watching some t.v. shows, and going to bed early.

I’m ready for MORE accomplishments.

2) Next full moon brings an enchanting evening. 

Gotta go look that up, just so I don’t miss it.  Hum, May 5 will be the next full moon.  That is the day I am suppose to arrive at my summer job/home.. at the campground.  Ya think I’m a’gonna meet a fella????  Maybe not.  Maybe I’m just going to feel really enchanted when I reach my summer home.

Today I will finish the two sketches I’m working on and then do an inventory of all the food on board.  My plan for Colorado is to only come down off the mountain about once a month.  That takes a bit of careful planning.  Anyone interested in seeing the food inventory and the one-month plan for food purchases???

Today is my eldest son’s birthday… he is 46.  WHAT?  How can that be?  Happy Birthday, Chris.

Chris in 1966, Teheran, Iran.

Chris’ daughter, Zoey in 2008, Wenatchee, WA.

Chris in Tehran Iran, 1966.  So that made me hungry for Frosted Flakes… something I haven’t had for years.

Chris and his girlfriend, Jenelle, hiked the entire Pacific Crest Trail together… this at Crater Lake.

When I got my Master’s Degree, Chris drove back to Indiana from Maryland with me for my commencement.  Thanks, Chris, that meant the world to me.  Wish your brother and Tori had come too.

Chris and Jenelle hiked the whole Pacific Crest Trail in five months.  Guess they figured they were compatible after all that and so they got married by Elvis in Vegas.

Once a backpacker, always a backpacker. 
This is their first child, Zoey.  Too cute.

Zoey and mom on left,
Mom and Dad with son Will and daughter Zoey on right.

Beautiful Zoey at Christmas.  Reading and books are their favorite activities.  They get two stories read to them each night before bedtime.  They’ve asked me to only send books as gifts.

This is the first time I ever saw Will… and isn’t that the greatest smile.

Will and I had matching haircuts.

Zoey really loves her baby brother and is so gentle with him.

Grandma really loves Zoey’s little brother too, but wasn’t so gentle with him… first time I picked him up out of his car seat, I caught his finger in the buckle and made him cry.  Made him cry???  I made myself cry!  Thank goodness he won’t remember it.

It doesn’t get any better than this.  Not even tomorrow.  Chris and Jenelle, you are beautiful and are great parents.  Thank you for the wonderful gifts you have given me… Will and Zoey.