The Geezers are underway!

Greetings from the road, Geezer followers. Thanks to all of you who have “officially” become a follower of Geezers Go South. If you haven’t done so yet, click on the “Follow” button on the lower right side of the page. Go ahead, do it now before you forget – we can wait. Done? Great, thanks. You should start seeing your dividend checks any day now.

The Geezers got a leisurely 6:20 AM start this morning and have spent the day mostly on I-81 as we head south through Pennslyvania, Maryland, West Virginia and Virginia, finally stopping for the night at a Motel 6 in Athens, Tennessee. The day’s totals: 897 miles and 17 hours on the road. It’s been a long day of utilitarian driving with stops only to take on fluids (gas, coffee) or eliminate used coffee. The only non-utilitarian stop was at El Ranchero, a nice little Mexican restaurant in Dublin, VA. Lotsa driving, but we have a goal in our sights – 4 weeks of fun and, hopefully, sun in Mississippi, Louisiana, Florida and Georgia! It’s not looking balmy yet – we are 700+ miles south of home and we are still seeing snow on the ground and it’s colder than it is in Albany. Snow in the forecast for tonight! Not a problem tonight, but we are camping tomorrow.

All this hard work with no play is very ungeezer-like . Since our first post of the trip is “Ungeezer-like” maybe we had better explain what a Geezer is for our newer readers (and those whose memories, like ours, can’t span more than a trip to the fridge, much less a year)

What is a Geezer?
Some would imply that you reach Geezerdom after living a certain number of years. Well, it’s not that simple. Geezerdom is more of a state of mind than a tick on a calendar. It is marked by a real lack of concern over status, style, and schedule. A true Geezer can savor a quiet moment in the campground, take pleasure from the aching muscles following a good paddle, or stand a shift at the wheel when his buddy can’t drive another mile. He (or she) adopts a “get-along, go-along, sure, let’s try that” attitude.

Geezer-Speak
GST Geezer Standard Time – whenever we damn well feel like doing something. Usually get up around 7:00, go to bed around midnight – flexible on everything else. There is no word for “hurry” in Geezer-Speak. The pointing of a bird, a tide change or closing time for a restaurant implies haste is necessary – no additional word needed.

Sanschain Eating – Avoiding the suburban blight of chain restaurants (Micky D’s, TGI Fridays, Chilis, Applebees, Dennys etc) Our criteria? Good food is a must - local speciality food preferred.! A small joint, off the beaten path is good. Cheap is preferred.

Geezer Road Speed - When towing the camper on the highway, traveling just enough below the prevailing traffic speed to be really annoying.

E-GAD! Erratic Geezer Avian Driving – Eyes on the skies for feathered conquests, ready to pull into the ding-weeds on the side of the road with no advanced warning. Accepting that it’s OK when both the passenger and driver are looking through binoculars at the same time! “Hey Mike! Are you steering?”

Geezer Drinking Behavior – See Sanschain eating for the basic criteria. No ferns, matching wallpaper or extensive menus of cute sounding drinks with fruity names like “peach fuzzy almond blast”. Preferably a beer selection that goes beyond “we got Bud, Bud Lite and Miller. What all ya want?” Pool table preferred, barmaid preferred (but not too cutesy – teeth optional). Talk to the locals if they seem approachable and safe. This year we are going to seek out local microbrews – support the local economy, you know.

Geezer Wardrobe – Casual is too formal a word. Old T-shirts & jeans by day, fleece pants and shirts at night. The sniff test to determine cleanliness doesn’t work – If the pants don’t come when called – they’re OK to wear another day.

Geezer Car Organization – It isn’t. However, certain standards apply. Binoculars on the dashboard, cameras within reach, wires all over the place for the GPS, i-Pod, 2 cell phone chargers and power inverter for the laptop (Hey – you think we waste valuable birding/eating/drinking time on this blog? We write on the road!) The back end has a pile of dead clothes, camping gear, paddling gear, fishing gear, snorkeling gear and whatever else couldn’t fit in the trailer.

Geezer Music Selections – Usually we just talk and don’t listen to anything. When we do have music playing, it usually involves a banjo.