The Road to Diamond, Day 316: To Vienna and Back

Posted by Sagittarian Seeker on October 17, 2025 in Historical, impediments, Inspiration, Matters of Faith, Social, Spiritual, Striving, Travel

October 9. 2025, Salzburg- The world does not stop spinning for any one person’s agenda. That, and other people’s agendas, or lack thereof, can lead to quick changes in plans. I have had at least three hoped-for meetings with my fellow Baha’is come to naught, because of late trains and lack of WiFi.

Both situations are improving, but taking no chances, I headed back to Vienna for a few hours, this afternoon. There, after a false set of instructions from Google Maps, I was guided by a neighbourhood grandmother to the Baha’i Center of Austria. That she gave me instructions in German, and I got the gist of them, is progress.

At the Center, I was met by one of the staff, Sasha, and given a brief tour of the building. He also had positive news of our Faith in this country-which goes along with every other account I’ve heard on this trip, at least on phone conversations, if not in person.

The building itself was originally a haven for the Austrian Army, in the days before World War I. Theodore Roosevelt visited it, in 1910, after his Presidency had ended. He was given a royal welcome, almost as if his was a State Visit. With that level of honour in its energy field, the edifice is well-suited for a national Headquarters of the Baha’i Faith.

Great Room of the Baha’i National Center, Vienna

Garden and play area for children, Baha’i National Center, Vienna

Sasha, a staff member at Baha’i National Center, Vienna. The poster celebrates 200 years since Baha’ullah’s birth.That anniversary took place in 2017.

Thus went my whirlwind visit to Vienna. I caught a train back to Salzburg, with little trouble. Before and after my visit, it was delightful to capture some of the essence of my host city. While descending 327 steps, I found these scenes:

Glimpse of Hohen Salzburg (Hapsburg fortress)

Once this was a moat, near Salzburg Cathedral

The above photos were taken on my way to the Salzburg Hauptbanhof. By the time I got back, it was dark, so I focused on climbing the 327 steps and found these night views of Salzburg, from Stadtalm Naturfreund’s patio.

View of Salzburg by night, from Stadtalm Naturfreund (above and below)

So, even with my self-imposed dash back and forth, Salzburg presented its essence in a fine way. I will have a bit more time to check out the public squares tomorrow, on my way to the Hauptbanhof, for a train to Munich.

Rain and Heartshine

Posted by Sagittarian Seeker on December 23, 2023 in Assistance, collaborating, Community, distraction issues, impediments, Inner Struggles, Inspiration, Personal Values, Service Activities, Social, Spiritual, Striving

December 23, 2023- Whilst drumming under a canopy, last night, our little circle felt drips, then trickles and after a bit, the maintenance volunteer announced that water was pooling on the canopy. Mindful of the safety hazard, as well as the discomfort of being showered, we moved under the wooden-roofed porch of the small ”omnivore’s” restaurant, at Kelly’s Cottage Ranch. (The other eatery here is a vegan establishment.) I thought of the old Three Dog Night song, “Never Been to Spain”, written by Hoyt Axton,and added my own lyric to its musing: ”Well, I’ve never been to Woodstock, but I’m here at Kelly’s Cottage…”

Drum and Didge circle, “Reconnecting the Soul”, at Kelly’s Cottage Ranch, Tolleson

Some of us then adjourned to the basement of the Main House, for a Cacao Ceremony, which I described in the last post. Here is a photo of that scene.

“(Hu)Man Cave”, Main House at Kelly’s Cottage Ranch, Tolleson

I turned in, upstairs in Main House, making a little sleeping space for myself, behind a couch in the living room. The lights stayed on, as a gamer was in his element, on the couch, and the vegan chef was prepping his breakfast fare. Being me means going with the flow, so with a blanket covering head to toe, I drifted off.

This morning came, quietly, as non-work mornings do. I found that the ranch is close to the foot of South Mountain, Phoenix’s great southern boundary of old. (It’s been circumvented, and surrounded, by the spreading community), still retaining its majesty.

South Mountain, from Kelly’s Cottage Ranch, Tolleson

After helping the “Man Cave” ( I call it Human Cave.) crew move some furniture around, I headed back up to Prescott, so as to stop in at Zeke’s, for an early lunch and to wish the ladies a Merry Christmas. Then, it was over to Farmers Market, for quick grocery shopping and helping to put the tents, weights and furniture away. Lots of hugs came today, including from a couple I hadn’t seen in over a year. I found out why they had been distant: Child # 6 was in Mama’s arms, serene and already cautious about strangers-at four months. Wishing one and all a Merry Christmas, we finished breakdown at 2:10, and I promised to be back for the New Year’s Eve day market.

This evening was spent at Rafter Eleven, listening to renditions of several meaningful tunes, including back-to-back love songs- Lonestar’s “Baby, I’m Amazed by You” and Garth Brooks’ “The Dance”. The first reflects how I feel towards someone now and the second, always evocative of Penny and our time together. Of course, back when the first song was released, I was definitely amazed by her. It was 1999, and we had every reason to think our time together had years to go. Once the music was done, I wished Dawn, her daughters and the baristas Merry Christmas, and a safe holiday week and back to Home Base it was.

It’s foggy tonight, and very dark. Coming out of a store, after picking up my last holiday gift, it took a while to find my car, in the fog and darkness. The Google Maps application was no help, just going around in a circle-upon which the spirits took over , and guided me to Sportage, in seconds flat. All ends well with their assistance.

GPS Goobers

Posted by Sagittarian Seeker on December 4, 2023 in Assistance, collaborating, Community, impediments, Inspiration, Personal Values, Service Activities, Social, Spiritual, Striving

December 4, 2023- Dutifully programming my Google Maps, for a friend’s medical appointment, I picked up friend and headed towards the designated locale. When we got to the spot, we found…….a gated community, a cul-de-sac and an overpass above a desert wash. A call to the provider earned us grace-and the names of cross streets,- 20 miles away, on the other side of the city. The algorithm interpreted the directional point in the street address, literally. It just got the wrong city. I double-checked my entry, to see if I had given the wrong information. No, the goober was AI.

We got to the proper location, after 30 minutes, and friend was seen by the gracious provider. All worked out well, and I got us back to Prescott, in time for me to help out at the soup kitchen. That was fortuitous, as they were short-staffed. It wasn’t that hard, though. I was the white rice guy and there was no need to wipe the tables afterward.

Goobers are a nuisance, though, and it would be a good idea if there were a feedback mechanism for Google Maps. This is not the first time that I’ve been steered wrong-and I know that others have gone through the same rigmarole. Of course, another option is to research the location from home. I did this before going to the Philippines, Newfoundland, Vancouver Island and Florida-after finding that I should have done so, before going to Paris and Brussels, nearly ten years ago. I will definitely do my homework, before next Fall’s international journey.

Crossed signals are not just limited to GPS and maps. Sometimes, in the past, I have gotten ahead of myself and not even been grounded in my feelings, before opening my mouth-or writing a message. Nowadays, checking my facts and emotional intelligence before speaking or writing, has generally made life a lot easier. In a few situations, this is tricky, but if I have to muddle through, that’s just how it has to be. I have a few friends who want to be given space, and they get it. When they are ready, I know they will reach out. Others are always happy to connect, and they bring me joy.

Gooberism can be avoided, with healthy self-checks, first thing in the morning, and periodically throughout the day.

Expanding Home, Day 3: Transitory Headaches and The Homeopathic Telephone

Posted by Sagittarian Seeker on October 12, 2023 in Assistance, collaborating, Community, impediments, Personal Values, Social, Striving, Travel

October 12, 2023, San Diego- Columbus may have ended his first voyage across an ocean, on this day. I begin my twelfth such journey in less than an hour. Transitions have invariably included at least one headache. Today’s involved finding the auto park where Sportage will spend its time, while I am on the other side of the Pacific. You have to love Google Maps-three times directing me to a man’s welding shop, and all because CalDOT re-named a road and Google didn’t pick up on it. After the third time, I found the shop owner and learned that he gets five or six people a month stopping at his place and inquiring as to the Auto Park’s location. It was then that I called the Auto Park’s parent company, got the Auto Park’s local number and within minutes was securing my vehicle’s safety for the duration of my time away. Cell phones can be homeopathic.

The other thing I realized was that I did not want to leave Samesun Hostel. It was time, though, and the Sowellian trade-off is that I will make several new friends along the way. The desk clerk at the hostel, as I checked out, was officious,but courteous. Her slightly standoffish nature is perhaps the result of dealing with hundreds of relative strangers who come and go each day. It just was a tad different from the other desk clerks I have encountered at Samesun.

I stopped briefly at San Diego Baha’i Center, to pick up a newly-printed study guide. Then it was lunchtime. In the interests of not running out my time on the crotchety parking meter, I stopped in at Carnivore Sandwich, a spot on the edge of Little Italy that is popular with sailors from the not-too-distant 32nd Street Base. Taking the Philly cheese steak to the waterfront was a refreshing idea, sitting on a park bench, greeted by a cyclist who wished me a nice lunch and by a pair of dogs, who were eager to sniff the remnants of my meal. After their owner gave a stern “No” to that idea, the trio went off to their motorized raft and on to her sailboat.

A short time later, after walking along the harbourside, near the Coast Guard complex, I headed towards the Auto Park, and worked through the above-mentioned challenge. A short shuttle ride later, it was time to visit Alaska Airlines. The check-in process was not complicated, with the comical incident of my camera falling out of the TSA bin, while it was going through the screening. When I asked an agent for help in finding it, she wondered whether it needed to be screened further. Nope-it was found, sitting by its lonesome, in a slight dip along the belt.

San Francisco- The flight from San Diego was smooth, but for mild turbulence over Big Sur. I found that the folder containing secondary copies of my flight arrangements and letters of introduction had remained behind, at the gate in San Diego. I have all I need on phone and laptop, so it is just a zing to my pride and a small life lesson.

An occasionally squawking toddler, and a trio of small dogs, yipping one in a while, from their mesh kennel, were the only interruptions to in-flight silence, as my seatmate and I read our books and admired the slender line of sunset, about forty minutes into the flight. I last saw her, intense in thought and trying to figure out the map to the International Terminal. Feeling it prudent to leave her to her own resourceful mind, I made the walk to this terminal, in ten minutes.

When I got to China Air’s ticket counter, a small group of Taiwanese elders pointed to the empty counters, then to their mouths- as in ” Go eat, then come back”. It was a good idea, as once I had supped on chicken salad and a cup of coffee, the ticket counters were fully in business. It did not take long, though, to get my boarding passes for T’aipei and Manila, then to undergo a second security check. Now, a small group of us are at comfortable Gate 11. It’s close to my customary bedtime, but sleep will come on the plane.

My account of this Friday the 13th will be brief. When we leave San Francisco, it’ll be 1:05 a.m., the International Date Line will be crossed, and it’ll be slightly after 5 a.m., Saturday the 14th, when we land in T’aipei. It will be quite a life, these next two days.

Two Sides, Same Team

Posted by Sagittarian Seeker on June 18, 2022 in children, collaborating, Community, impediments, Matters of Faith, Personal goals, Personal Values, Social, Striving, Travel

June 17, 2022, London, ON- The DEA squad carried out a seamless check on our line of traffic, at a contraband check on the U.S. side of Ambassador Bridge (between Detroit and Windsor). The agent who was checking my vehicle asked to pop the “trunk” and was given the go-ahead to open the hatch on Saturn Vue. His dog-partner found no contraband, and I was on my way to the Canadian side, where a thirty second query as to my travel plans sent me en route to this Ontario namesake of the Titan on the Thames. (There is a Thames River here, as well.)

I left my friends, the Schroeders, around Noon, having tended to laundry and a couple of errands at establishments near their home. Saturn Vue got an oil & lube, a new air filter and scrubbed headlights, at a Jiffy Lube nearby, then I was off in search of I-94, which for some reason was unknown to Google Maps. A kind librarian in Buchanan, MI, directed me to the only entrance she knew to the Interstate-which was in Benton Harbor, on the eastern shore of Lake Michigan. Out of the way, yes, it was, but I sensed that a full drive across that beleaguered state would at least unleash some healing energy. At least, that is my hope, having said a bunch of prayers at a Rest Area, outside Battle Creek.

It took four hours to cross the Wolverine State, and another forty minutes to go through the border crossing, most of which was the security check mentioned above. The process made me glad that I had done laundry before crossing-if only to not disgust our canine friend.

Once on the 401, I looked for a place to pull off for the night. I did drove from Tilbury to Chatham, on a back road, taking in the small town Friday night scene of a small group of teens, making the best of a weekend evening in Tilbury. They looked happy, at least. In Chatham, I spotted a small motel, with one car in the lot (a red flag of sorts, this being Friday night and all. The proprietor apologized, in advance, for the room he was letting me check, prior to lettting it out (another red flag). I found it was flea-infested, though the lights, TV and shower were all working. The final red flag was that he had no credit card reader, but he would gladly do an “e-transaction”, if I would just tell him my bank account information. Hmm, where have I heard this before? I bid him good night, and drove clear to London, where the Super 7 Motel had a fine room available, and there was a jacuzzi. I enjoy a bit of luxury, every so often, and this spa was made of marble, working perfectly.

Tomorrow, I will hopefully connect with a group of friends online, and look about London further, before heading towards Ottawa. Friends in Toronto have already said they are unavailable, so I will stay away from the metropolis this time. On both sides of the border, though, we are one team.

Round and Round I Went

Posted by Sagittarian Seeker on May 14, 2022 in Community, impediments, Personal Values, Social, Striving, Travel

May 14, 2022,San Diego- It took 45 minutes to locate FOUND Hotel. The address is 505 West Grape Street, which is easy enough for those who recognize that the east-west surface streets in Little Italy are often bisected by Interstate 5, and its entrance/exit ramps, which feed large volumes of traffic onto Grape and Hawthorne Streets in particular. Add to that, the train and trolley tracks, with which I am at least a bit familiar, and locating a small hostel becomes an adventure in perseverance.

The other “fun” part was that Google Maps has the old phone number for FOUND, which loops ad nauseam and does nothing to connect. Hostelworld has the new number, which I called, and connected with Gabrielle, the office manager, instantly. Thus, 45 minutes did not turn into an hour. I am set for the next two days.

The day’s drive from Blythe to San Diego featured three traffic-tying accidents along California Highway 15, between Murrieta and Mira Mesa. Once past those, my air conditioner stopped complaining and worked just fine. (In traffic tie-ups, I have learned to turn off the A/C and open the windows, which works just fine in anything less than the blast furnace of a Sonoran Desert summer.) A return to an old favourite, Gramma’s Country Kitchen, in Banning, brought a fine Frisco Burger and Cole slaw. I also enjoyed pleasantries with Donna and Karen, who have greeted me at the counter, on various visits over the past eleven years. Donna is “Gramma”, running the establishment with her husband, who stays mostly in the office.

Going up and over the hill through Hemet and Menifee, then inching along, through the above-mentioned accidents, I still got to the hostel before 5. This evening, after grabbing a couple of slices at Mr. Moto Pizza, and a few words of greeting to two of my hostel mates, it was time for a visit to the Harbor. Here are scenes of sunset, in “America’s Favorite City”.

Star of India, at sunset, San Diego Maritime Historical Park

I walked back up to Little Italy, on the way back to FOUND Hotel, and came upon a lively crowd, enjoying the presentations of a DJ. Here is the fountain, around which little girls ran and shrieked with delight and different young people tried their hands-and feet, at somersaults.

Fountain at Little Italy Food Hall Plaza, San Diego

Harbourside and Downtown were walls of sound this evening, thanks to the mid-Spring music fest. I am destined, it seems to happen upon such revelry, no matter where I go. Yes, life has its moments, but it’s generally sweet.