I can confidently state that while Electrify America charging stations may not be efficient or reliable, the people (attempting) to use them are way friendlier than the folks at Tesla Superchargers. Maybe adversity unites us? One afternoon in Paso Robles, Guy tried to figure out a charger while Pepper and I stretched our legs. We …
Bodily Functions
Guy has asked me to please clarify a comment from the last blog post. He did NOT pee on his truck’s tire in the Walmart parking lot. He peed next to it. He would have peed on the charger, he said, if he weren’t worried about getting electrocuted. Because he wasn’t upset with his truck; …
Hitting the Road
This is an actual photo of Guy's truck. (see below) Happy Holidays! We’re taking a road trip! Thanksgiving is a complicated holiday for parents whose kids go to college in another state. It’s hard to justify the cost and hassle of a plane ticket with Christmas coming only a few weeks after. Guy and I …
Learning to Speak
We’re spending the month at an Airbnb apartment in the pocket-sized northern town of Pollenca. Our landlord’s name is Jaume. The name Jaume is the Catalan version of “James”. It’s a popular name in Mallorca–ever since 1230 when King Jaume I “The Conqueror”, brought 15,000 soldiers and hundreds of cocky Knights of Templar to the …
Veracity
During our ten day China trip, we had three different guides in three different cities. Olivia was the first. You’ve met Oliva. Of all the guides, Olivia was the most fervent at finding western toilets. “Here!” she would say. “This one!” I didn’t have the heart to tell her the squat toilets are cleaner than …
Notes
A FEW NOTES: Dumplings are delicious for breakfast, lunch and dinner. The older and shorter a Chinese woman is, the harder she will shove you out of her way. This theory includes, but is not limited to, old women in wheelchairs. Every Chinese city is the “Best” at something. As are Chinese museums, roads, trains …
Olivia
Oliva collected us promptly on the morning of our first day. She bustled us down the alley and loaded us into our emperor’s van. This time she wore a long dark wool coat with a felted shapes on the back, mostly a rather menacing and undernourished Santa Claus-like figure holding a scroll that said …
Arrive
We landed in Beijing at 7:00 on Friday night, and even though I had sent the budget tour company the wrong arrival time, our guide met us anyway, a tiny young woman in the shouting airport throng, wearing a bright red hat and scarf and smiling a smile that took up most of her face. She …
Borneo: Profiles in Courage
I DID see a leech. I found one in my pants during lunch. I stood up to get a cup of coffee and my thigh itched. When I scratched it, a soft tootsie-roll-thing slid around under my fingers. I thought at first it was the spare toilet paper that I keep tucked in my wasteband …
Borneo: Belief
Even on vacation I struggle with goal-setting and achievement. I love to bird watch. But what sort of spotting should give me the most satisfaction? A half- glimpse of what what might possibly be a rhinosaurus hornbill or a face to face conversation with what definitely is a common sparrow? And if I see …
ICEBOX PLUMS: Moments, sweet and cold 