My Polka Dot Princess and Unicorn Puppy
Prelude
Kindness of Strangers
From 1987 to 1989, traveled around the world with OIM, living on faith, with an interfaith, international intercessory prayer ministry
Cici and I met in Las Vegas in February 2007. I was living in the second home of a former landlord and he asked me to take care of this puppy for him. She was about six months old.
Cici and I Met in Vegas, ohmydog
Cici and I traveled to 29 Palms and Joshua Tree and then Sequoia National Park and came back to Carson City, Nevada where we lived on a farm. The farm had chickens, cows, horses, llamas and sheep. After several months, we traveled to Ashland, Oregon and eventually found a new home in Gardnerville, NV.
Our adventures continued in 2008. We left Gardnerville, NV for greener pastures including Bullhead City, Green Valley, Sedona and Tucson, Arizona, and Jean and Primm, NV outlet malls and Laughlin and Mesquite, Nevada. The summer of 2008, we spent ruffing it camping and stayed in motels and yurts in Ashland, Crater Lake, Eugene, Florence, Klamath Falls, and Medford. The summer of 2009, we camped out and stayed mostly in Mendocino and Monterey. The summer of 2010 was spent at a horse ranch in Vacaville, Ca. We stayed at the Ritz Carleton, Hilton, Best Westerns, Luxury Spas, LaQuinta and Motel 6’s and all types of pet friendly hotels in between.
In California, some of the places we traveled to included Ahwanee, Bodega Bay, Calistoga, Cambria, Carmel, Crescent City, Eureka, Garberville, Guerneville, Half Moon Bay, Healdsburg, Huntington Beach, Idyllwild, Indio, Irvine, Jenner, Lake Oroville, Mendocino, Menlo Park, Monterey, Napa, Nevada City, Newport Beach, Orick, Pacific Grove, Palm Springs, Paso Robles, Philo, Rutherford, San Diego, Santa Rosa, Sebastopol and Sonora, CA… So many places to list!
Cici played with more than 600 dogs at dog parks, dog beaches and at homes… her favorites dogs were Golden Retrievers, Australian Shepherds and Labs and Labradoodles, ok, Jack Russells and Boxers, too, but she also had fun with Blue Heelers, Border Collies, Cairn Terriers, Dalmatians, Daschunds, German Shepherds, Golden Retrievers, Goldendoodles, Great Danes, Hound dogs, King Charles Spaniels, mutt mixes, Poodles, Queensland Heelers, Shiz Tsu’s, and more…
Cici visited deserts, redwood forests (Armstrong Woods, Avenue of the Giants and Jackson Forest), lakes, rivers, ocean beaches, stayed at an RV Park and listened to Elks mating in Orick, met and took a photo with Santa Claus, and so much more !
She thought she was the welcoming committee and official greeter at Borders book store, Best Buy, Home Depot, Lowe’s, pet friendly wineries such as Navarro’s and Toulouse in Anderson Valley, as well as many other venues.
In 2008, left Carson City, Gardnerville, NV with Cici and spent a month in Mendocino at B&B’s, inns and went back to Carson City, got a car, then camped out at the Egg Take near Fort Bragg for 1 month or so
Had a rental car then my Subaru station wagon, then my Jeep, then two vans
NomadLand : Women in Wheels
Drove to Florence, Oregon, camped out, stayed at various motels in Grants Pass, Medford and drove to Crater lake with Cici, scenic, always met people along the way
Churches not much help, nor organizations that are supposed to help
Drove down the 101 to Orick, Elk mating season
Visited Bodega Bay
Stayed in Orange County, Cheryl, Motel 6 and LaQuinta, at The District mall there were a whole lotta rabbits … Cici loved to chase rabbits, squirrels, lizards, cats and other dogs
We ended up at a horse motel in Vacaville for the summer, smashed my hand and finger and front winshield of my car
Lived for 4 years in Seaside, CA with creepy, a hoarder of books and garbage
Moved out Sept. 2014, lived at the Motel 6 in Marina, ca for a month
Traveled back and forth to Rancho Cordova/Sacramento and Gilroy, Monterey
Found a lump, had breast cancer operation, local newspaper interviewed me (Monterey Herald), raised money, my computer died, got a new one, Donna and Tim of BadRap helped raise $$$ donations
New home to rent in Vallejo and then Washoe valley
Went to Paso Robles, got ripped off from a meth addict, Jeep died
Did not know what we were gonna do without a car, rented one for a week or so
Cici always made friends everywhere and we hung out at Lowe’s and she thought she was the welcoming committee… she made me laugh with her antics, felt safe, companionship, online doggie mamas and papas helped us too
Wrote an email to a guy online who lived in Napa and drove a rental U-Haul truck there, he gave me his mom’s van to live in
Drove to Oxnard, Whole Foods area
Indio- pastor we camped out at his back yard, Desert hot springs, Palm Springs, 29 palms and goat guy in Joshua Tree
Went back to Carmel, in and out of the hospital, Starbucks
Wanted to work no jobs
A very kind couple (Brandon and Velvet) offered us a camper to live in near Blythe, CA
Met Elvis Summers in LA online. He has been building tiny homes for people in LA
Met Kelly Doran in NY and Margot Kushel in SF online at Twitter, 2 ER doctors
Back on the road to Barstow, Las Vegas, Mesquite, Kanab Utah, St. George
In the hospital at CHOMP, nurses let Cici stay in my room, then got in trouble and Mark Anderson, Managing Editor from the local weekly newspaper took care of her, gave her a big bone, the staff called her their unicorn puppy
2015 after Christmas my friend, mentor, coach and teacher R. Nicholas died
Co-wrote article for Vox media about being 66 and not having a home.
Finally got a job with Freedom Collaborative and Liberty Asia, from 2016 to 2018
Donor funding went away unexpectedly.
Had another breast cancer operation after I lost job due to donor funding loss
Friends without homes
Sheila and Steve, Debbie, Janie, Sarah and Huggy Bear
Dr. Dani and Dawgoneit helped me with Cici
Blood clots on my lungs, congestive heart failure diagnosis at Stanford
Cici got real sick in Sept 2019, had to let go of her, Peace of Mind Dog Rescue C. Broecker, helped us
Felt suicidal a lot
Had bacterial pneumonia, in the hospital most of Nov. Dec. 2019
Got into a low income for seniors apartment complex thanks to Lindsay and Whole Persons Care program
COVID
The Good, the Bad the Ugly
When life was good, it was very very good. When life was bad, it was very very bad.
A week after my father died, I was invited to travel with OIM for a few months around the world. I had accepted Jesus Christ in 1982 much to my family’s chagrin and disapproval. I had been participating from afar in Florida for a few years, learning to hear that still small voice of God, praying for other people and experiencing miracles.
The night my father died
I did not know what I was doing most of the time and yet, God still answered my heartfelt prayers.
Finding my friend in Miami, was led straight to her door
The divine haircut
Now, in 1987, a week after my dad died, I was to fly off to England and who knows what would happen. My friend Angela had a travel agency and she was off to Australia for vacation. I was to be in the office and offer prayer support to Beverly, the office manager.
Met my ex-husband
Eventually for three years, I traveled around the world to Bangladesh, Canada, France, Germany, Greece, Holland, India, Israel, and Thailand.
Car Camping
Finding Internet Service on the road
Generally, I would find it at Starbucks, Denny’s, McDonald’s and hotels, even outside in their parking lots. Anywhere that offers FREE WIFI.
In remote areas, I had a difficult time finding places to do this but I did not stay in remote areas, except for sleeping overnight so that was not an issue for me.
I am not a big cell phone user but some people are and can get online that way. My aide and I recently went to the beach and she was able to get Internet service, songs and videos and so was I. We were at the beach and not near to any of the usual spots for WIFI (no hotels, restaurants or Starbucks) nearby.
Basic Essentials
For me what seemed ideal was an Rpod camper (used about $12,000) or to get a hitch (about $350) for my van, a trailer ($2-3,000 aluminum one) and a tiny home from Tuff Shed to make a cozy little home. Or to somehow build a Hobbit camper.
I would need a comfortable easy to climb into bed, a portable potty, small fridge, a stove, a lot of storage space, a table, chair, and a hose/portable shower would be nice. WIFI and a practical and organized space.
Resources include Ioverlander app, Faroutride and TheVanual, for more info about how to do, what to do, things to think about and how to get started Ioverlander.com
Where to park
I have stayed at all of these-places
Free Hotel parking lots
Park toward the back, no parking permits, not where people can see you park where you see RV’s and vans
Go there late and get out of there early, blend in
Churches
24/7 grocery stores, restaurants like Denny’s, cracker barrell, McD’s, and IHOP
Rest areas
Near truck stops? Noisy and lights
Casino parking lots? Stay away from cameras
Business/industrial areas? No place that has a gate
Car dealership service area?
Hospitals, near the emergency room
Cemetery? Golf course?
Comments say GO TO POLICE STATIONS… I disagree. Although several police officers were very kind towards me and Cici, I don’t see any reason to involve the police. Most places make it illegal for people to sleep in their cars, vans and RV’s and there is no reason for them to be involved.
celiasue words 