Seldom do you think of cosmic disaster when reaching for the bread flour, but today, I missed all the omens that my attempt to make focaccia bread was doomed. Earlier, my cookbooks on the counter had fallen over (they are usually against the wall, and that is usually enough to stop them from falling over). I put them back, shook my head, and ignored this sign. Omens! Later, my antique sugar bowl, set on the back of the stove, fell but landed safely on the counter. It is made of Vaseline glass and is slightly radioactive. Signs!

Aside: Corwin accidently broke the previous sugar bowl, which was also made of the same uranium glass. This loss sent us to ask the local recycling authority to learn what to do with ‘used’ uranium. Do you just trash it or put it in the glass recycling? Or do we need special handling? I figured radioactive trash would cause some reaction that might involve folks with guns and warrants. No, just trash. On Sunday, I was relieved not having to call the local authorities and check if any policies on radioactive waste were updated. Being a liberal in Oregon and asking government folks about nuclear products seemed unwise in the new climate (back to people with guns).

The morning seemed blessed, and I rose slowly, knowing I had time before church at 11 to write my blog and enjoy breakfast with coffee, toasted homemade bread, and a banana. It was the last one. Thus, I had planned to stop at the veggie place at TV Highway and 185th on the way back from church.

Deborah called me, and we chatted briefly as I had time. She had already done some teaching (she still has some students online). Today, we would talk in the morning and then late (for Deborah). It is always a pleasure to start and end my day (or her’s) together.

I spent all my spare time chatting, doom scrolling (what liberals like me call reading the current news, unavoidably soaked in politics), and writing the blog. I rushed into the shower and did the usual things to get ready for church. Today’s tie was the whale fluke tie that Deborah bought at the Aquarium of the Pacific in Long Beach, California, to remind me of our whale watching and seeing orcas together.

Air VW the Gray was at 78% charge, which is good (about 1/3 of tank in gas engine range), and I boarded with my laptop. I might decide to have lunch out and write. Traffic was light, and I soon arrived at the church. The folks were still leaving the previous service. We rented the church to another church that met before us.

The service was the usual process. There was a tapping sound in the mics, and we checked that there was no electrical short in the huge amplifier for the organ. The organ is digital but connects to an old (like WW2 old) amp that takes enough power it could be used to weld. There was no smoke or smell (some of this old stuff is made to last forever when only used for a few hours a week). So no mouse or worse fell into the warm electronics (a repeated pulse can be an electrical fire). I reminded one of the younger folks NOT to use the fire extinguisher on an electrical fire unless they know it is safe for electrical fires (C02). Turning off the power and calling the fire department instead is best. None of that happened. It was a bad connector to a mic.

The songs were bright and happy. It is spring now (though often gray in the Pacific Northwest). The Greek scriptures of John’s Revelations were dark and some of the meanest stuff in the New Testament (at least, I think so): The Letter to the Church at Thyatira. Ken focused on the letter’s function and mostly ignored the darker parts of the text. He pointed out that the church must listen and correct its mistakes. He reviewed the connection of this letter to Old Testament commandments and made a good case that God often demands correction.

I must admit that I Googled the translation and looked at the underlying dark words while Ken spoke. I think it is incorrectly translated into English even in the New Revised Standard; it seems a modern usage and not appropriately sent in context. The reference in the text to Jezebel is, like most of Revelations (again, in my opinion), meant to create a mind-picture and not to be taken literally. The death of the offspring of sin is not meant to be killing, but the loss of faith and hope–this is how I taught this text before, and I think there is strong evidence for my direction (Jesus never says “Stone the sinners,” for example, but had dinner with them).

After the service, I gave Z the stuffed animal Deborah had sent her and a Paramount Studios portfolio. Dondrea got a pen from Battleship Iowa and a shot glass from The Olive Pit. Jack got a challenge coin from Battleship Iowa (and I finally remembered to return his memory stick). With that done, I headed out feeling off from too much coffee.

I stopped at the veggie store. They asked about my trip in the EV, which involved driving to LA and back. I told them it was interesting and enjoyable, a new way to do trips with stops for charging. I got two bags of veggies. I had tossed old veggies when I got home. I meant to eat them, but the trip with Deborah snuck up on me for cooking. Now restocked, I loaded the goodies into the cargo hold and returned to the now heavier traffic.

At home, I washed the mushrooms from the market and baked them. When they dried a bit, I added them to a hot pan with oil and stir-fried them. I added water twice to the pan and covered it to let the hot steam cook the fungus. I had not sliced the mushrooms, and the large whole caps looked excellent. I heated pasta sauce from The Olive Pit. I microwaved and then boiled three chicken thighs (bone and skin removed). Lastly, I salted and peppered the chicken and roasted it until it was done.

Pasta in salted water (I forgot to reserve a cup to add to the sauce) was next cooked (now that the mushrooms were put aside and a burner and pot were available). I steamed asparagus in a large pot with a metal strainer. Dinner was delicious. The kitchen looked like it had exploded.

Afterward, I did the dishes (I admit I returned for seconds; I had no lunch). I packed the leftovers in glass containers (thanks, Gene and Glenda, for those). I went back to writing my story and even read part of the story to Deborah (we tried to watch Matlock together, but our previous watch party setup did not work). Deborah, it was getting late, meaning we ended our Zoom meeting to sleep, and I started on the recipe for Focaccia. Doom soon followed.

I bought cucumbers, dill, and more garlic at the 185th Corner Market (the aforementioned veggie place). I heated vinegar, salt, and water until just boiling. I peeled a cucumber (wax on the skin) and sliced it to fit the pasta jar I had cleaned for this experiment. I was following Joshua Weissman: An Unapologetic Cookbook recipe for dill pickles. This is not canning, but simple frig pickles. I added dill, garlic, and peppercorns. I poured the hot liquid (there was some left over) into the jar and followed directions and when room tempature, but in the frig. I am hopeful.

I went outside and collected fresh rosemary in the rain. I did have to brush off a tiny slug that seemed to want the rosemary flowers. It is blooming.

I chopped garlic, used kitchen shears to cut the rosemary leaves into tiny bits, collected warm water, bread flour, salt, and yeast, and loaded the bread machine with all this goodness. I put it on the dough setting, and it started in. I did not notice how close the machine was to the edge of the counter, and I did not push it back to a safer location, which was a terrible omission.

I went back to writing. When I checked, the dough seemed heavy, but I was unconcerned. I continued to write.

There was a loud thud, followed a moment later by a loud crash, an explosion of glass, and an unseen electrical short. The ground fault protectors I put in the kitchen twenty-plus years ago prevented a test of how much power is needed to set off the electrical box breaker (see previous comments about fire extinguishers). The short was immediately shut off; I had to reset the plug.

The coffeemaker and glass pot were crushed on the floor. The electrical guts of the coffee maker were exposed. Thin glass was thrown across the floor and into the next room! I got the heavy metal dust pan from the garage. I made three passes with the broom until no more glass was shown. I carried the dust pan to the garbage outside each time, not wishing to risk it in a trash bag. I vacuumed the floor and carpet. I checked multiple times, and no glass is showing.

The coffeemaker joined the glass in the outside trash. I recovered the dough. But before I tossed it, I tested, and the bread machine restarted in the proper place (it is supposed to survive a short power failure and restart where it left off). But the would-be focaccia might be poisoned with glass, too, so I removed it, and it joined the rest of the items in the trash outside. My dreams of focaccia bread were unfulfilled.

A bit spooked, tired, and frustrated, I went to bed. I read Joshua Weissman: An Unapologetic Cookbook and decided I would not be stopped. I will finish my Focaccia and even some more items for this cookbook. With dreams of homemade ketchup, I turned off the light and slept until the morning.

 

 

Now that I am home and have handled all the laundry and bills, it is time to return to writing and drinking local products!

Air VW the Gray had me back at the house just before midnight. The drive proved I was in the Greater Portland Area, not California. The general traffic was just above the speed limit, with other pockets of drivers going 5 or more under for reasons that were not obvious. Then, a blur would pass on the right, dodge between cars, changing lanes and sliding by cars somehow going sideways at high speeds, then disappearing into an exit, going too fast to safely enter Portland’s streets, sort of a ghost rider of Portland’s highways.

I had dropped Kathleen off at her house outside of Portland to the northwest after we had met at Richard’s to play games. I retraced my trek back towards Beaverton and arrived safely—though haunted as I described, having spent only 10% of the charge. We had met at Richard’s for our usual Saturday night board game.

Lauren and Richard met us there, and Kathleen took the bus to get there. Tonight, we played another new board game, Autobahn (2022), that Richard has meant to get on the table for some time. The game is set in Germany and themed on Germany’s post-war and post-Cold War rebuilding and commerce.

The game is an efficiency race without engine building and a minimal scoring system. It is hard to score as it uses a strange election system and promotion system for scoring. This kind of game, without extra goals and scoring systems, is my favorite. Richard would beat my score, knowing a few more things than I did, but only by less than 15 points. Lauren and Kathleen tried to be generalists, which was a good strategy for an engine-building game or a game with various scoring systems, but this game was just a race, and their scores reflected this. You go with your strength when learning a new game.

The components did not fit together well. The map was busy and could have been 20% larger. The use of money was limited, but the cash generation was complex and required maintenance and calculations. Various superpowers could be earned but only provided small changes, usually only once. These were represented by small cardboard squares (cards with explanations would have been better). I spent the game upgrading and building roads and nearly took the game. While I like efficiency race games, this one seemed unfinished. I would play it again. I would like to see if I could do even better or if I like it. I try not to decide about a game that I only played once.

Before heading to Richards’s, I spent the afternoon at The Lucky Labrador in Portland’s Hawthorn area. I was happy to get parking in their lot instead of risking the EV on the streets. A backgammon tournament was ongoing (with a cash prize, I saw later when the winner was declared–a shy-looking woman), and the strange keyboard group was meeting. They had various old and/or decorative keyboards on display with cards describing the hardware and its owner. Mainly, folks were displaying their personal collection of keyboards, drinking beer, and having a good time. I have seen the group before.

I drank a few beers and ate a bowl of peanuts. I spent the afternoon writing my SciFi story in Scrivener. I managed to get a 1,700+ word total for the first chapter. I am looking for about 3,000 words for the first chapter. I am not sure how many chapters yet. I am still reading about how to compose more extended works. I usually finish between 500 and 8,000 words for a micro-story or a short story, and I have never tried 100,000 words!

I do not rewrite, but I add more descriptions (I am guilty of the software engineer’s proclivity in writing the minimum features for the product) and smooth the transitions (again, software engineers always have issues with interfacing). There is no deadline, and I want to build an image in the reader’s mind of the magic and main characters in the story. I have a general storyline in my mind, but I know the power (and risks) of stream-of-consciousness writing; I let the writing carry me along, edit out repeats, and fix mangled thoughts. When writing, I create some parts of the story, mythology, and magic system.

I spent the hours writing and drinking two beers. A group of folks were playing chess, and one game went on for over an hour. I peeked at it a few times and saw that black had started to win. The black finally exchanged out most of the pieces and overwhelmed the remaining pieces for white. I wrote, edited, and polished the story.

Before this, I woke up at around 7 a.m., found coffee (making it too weak again), made toast from the milk bread I made in the bread machine, and enjoyed a banana. I wrote the blog, doom-scrolled (reading the news as a liberal), and updated my transactions in Quicken. The last bills from my California trip are coming in, and my new bills for the upcoming Michigan trip (April 10-17) have started to appear.

With the blog done, I clean up, shower, shave, dress, etc., and soon board the VW, which is now at 100% charge, and head to Portland.

And that, dear reader, brings me full circle. Thanks for reading.

 

I am always worried about writing a boring story. Today, I will mainly cover mundane travels and unpacking. I hope you will, dear reader, forgive me if this story is unexciting.

(At the start of my drive, looking at Black Butte in California in Weed).

The day began with me trying to get back to sleep at 2ish. The room was in the same hotel I used on my way to Long Beach more than a week ago.  It was cold last time, so I started heating unit and now, as usual in hotels, the room was stuffy. I got up and turned off the heater/cooler unit and tried to sleep. While I probably nodded off a few times, I was up before my 6 alarm and felt I had little sleep. No matter, I was excited to be traveling home.

I showered, shaved, and all that. I put the few items I had gotten out back into my gym bag and was ready to reboard Air VW the Gray. My shoes felt odd on the carpet. This is a first-floor room and likely a poured cement floor; the patterned carpeting is cold. The flooring covers little bumps and is slightly uneven. Yikes!

Breakfast was industrial, and I am always surprised by the number of kids at these hotels. The little kids were experiencing information overload and running all over this food-filled wonderland. Other kids, usually older, were wary, only took cereal, and tried to be invisible in this stranger-filled kitchen. I smile, nod, and enjoy the chaos while eating industrial eggs, surprisingly good and not crunchy bacon, and coffee.

I checked out, and they offered me paper. I demurred and suggested an email. They did not have my email (despite this being an online reservation), and I said, ” Never mind, I will call if I have questions.” I had parked the EV with no cars next to hit. I was boxed in now. Ugh. Later, I would find a dent in the passenger-side back door. F**k! I have not had the VW for only a month or two and already have to door marks!

I added my few items back to Air VW the Gray, ensuring I left nothing behind when I left my room. Black Butte looked impressive but would soon be in my rear view as I was headed north this time. While I left after formal time for sunrise, I did see the sunrise over the hills and low mountains of my trek in Northern California. I love the drive and promise I will soon return in the summer or fall to explore; maybe this year.

There are six or more, and I lost track of passes, with Mount Ashland being over 4,100 feet, to climb and descend. The traffic at first was light, but soon I am packed in with other 70+ drivers passing trucks, flashing lights, and crawling the passes. It is uncomfortable driving, but my quick glimpses of the terrain put any postcard of mountains to shame. Wow! I never saw the stateline signs, and soon, I was in Oregon for more passes, most less than 2,000 feet, and hard driving.

I stopped at Seven Feather’s Truck Stop and charged the EV to 80%. I then purchased some bananas for a few bucks (why these were not included in the complimentary breakfast in California was a surprise to me) and found the restroom.

Southern Oregon is full of mountains and high hills, and the roads are busy and often twist in the passes. Deborah and I frequently talked when the driving was easy. We are still getting used to being separated by most of the USA again.

I stop at a few rest areas and reach the only charging location on my plan (the previous charging was a fortuitous discovery when looking for a rest area). I needed only to charge a few percent to be above 10% when reaching home, but I still did 80% since I was there. I backed into the only space and soon was charging. My free use of Electrify America is over, and I pay $7 for the charge (42 cents–the going rate–a unit for about $37 for a 10% to 100% charge). This is the same Dairy Queen I visited on my way to California. When I leave, topped-off, there is a line to get a charge, two cars deep.

I have done the rest of the drive through Oregon many times, and I often drive at 70+ and in high traffic. I saw the crazy lane changes that even California drivers eschewed. I was tempted to stop at Garden World, but I resisted. I hit the usual slow places and soon was in Beaverton and then home with more than 20% charge left. I unpacked the car. I saw the new dent and attempted to summon terrible fates for those that caused this insult to my EV.

My final payment for vacation is a day of laundry. The Machine was ready, and soon it was washing and drying my first of three large loads. The house needed to be aired out. I opened the doors and sprayed Febreze, and soon the house was feeling friendly and welcoming. My previous day’s stop at the Olive Pit goodies were unloaded and put in the frig and pantry. Four bottles of my favorite couscous sauce had arrived, and Corwin had put them in the house for me. They, too, were placed in the pantry.

I was going to cook a late lunch but found my enthusiasm lacking once the unpacking was done and laundry was started. The house was clean and ready for my return, and I was not prepared to mess it up. I also left the EV to change and ordered GrubHub and my favorite local Chinese-style food. I over-ordered and had dinner, too.

I put on Disney+ and tried some Star Wars brain cookies. Andor, again, started with episode 1 while I enjoyed too much food. Laundry was put away. I made milk bread (I use milk powder from King Arthur Flour Company) in my bread machine. I don’t buy bread anymore, but use the technology I have (an Amazon cheap but functional bread machine) and buy good ingredients (King Arthur Flour, but Oregon’s local products are good–I know Jack is saying that Bob’s Red Mill is excellent when he read that, and yes they are).

I am tired but not sleepy. I started the writing app, Scrivener, and added a few more paragraphs to my story. I continued the story by describing part of the magic system in my new fantasy world and the main characters. I managed a few more details and some revisions. I am nervous, as these are the first words that must be good.

I get sleepy after forty minutes of writing. I save it (it saves automatically) and head to another shower (going back to my Spring of washing off the pollen before getting in bed). I read my new magic book that I got in Seattle when traveling with Deborah, Dondrea, and Z at the fun magic store in the Pike Street Market. The introduction was fun, but the first trick was detailed enough to have me put the book down and sleep. I managed to only wake once to prove hydration.

Thanks for reading.

 

It is just 7 at night here in Weed, California, named for Mr. Weed, who built a sawmill there. The area is windy, and he believed it would be perfect for drying wood. I decided to stay near the hotel and just walked with my hat pushed down on my head to McDonald’s for something basic and cheap. I loaded the McDonald’s app (I had let it get out of date on my new iPhone), which gave me a code to scan into the touch screen. The screen froze. I touched it, and it was warm. Touch screens primarily work by detecting heat. When the screens are warm, they cannot detect touches. I moved to a screen that was cold and was able to order.

I then went to find a table. All the tables I wanted were used and uncleaned, but someone had left the cleaning rag, still wet with cleaner. I cleaned all the tables that were not in use and those near the windows. Deborah thought it was nice, but I said that was a passive-aggressive Portland reaction. Imagine the online review I could give them! But I did not do those things; I did it because it needed to be done. Not really passive-aggressive. A very friendly gal brought me my dinner, and I smiled and thanked her.

I spoke to Deborah now that I was checked into my hotel and Air VW the Gray was charging (for $37+ for 100% and fast via ChargePoint at the hotel). When the charging was completed, I finished my meal, rang off, and walked back in the heavy wind. I unplugged and moved the EV to a regular parking spot. If you don’t unplug quickly, you are charged for non-charging use. No, just leave it plugged in all night. I also checked, and it won’t freeze tonight, meaning I can leave the olive items in the cargo hold.

I arrived at about 5 in Weed with an 11% charge left, and the VW told me to find a charge soon. I charged the EV three times on the trip. There are fewer chargers on the trip from Fresno to Weed, and many are not fast. I had sat in a hotel parking lot about two hours away from Weed for twenty minutes to ‘top-off’ the charge to ensure I would reach Weed without more charges. I traveled up the mountains into the 4,000+ passes on one charge.

Before this, I had charged at a few free places as I traveled. I was connecting the fast chargers and only slipped to 25% on the trip before charging. I would have preferred only two charging sessions, but again, to get the last cheap ones, I had to take a few ‘top-offs.’

The fast charging stations are often at Walmart or hotels. There is usually no food or restrooms nearby, so I had to stop at rest stops between charges. Not very efficient! ChargePoint, CalTran, and Electrify America do not seem to share my to-go good food restaurants and fast-charging idea.

I am retravelling the same path, and seeing everything in reverse from my initial trip is strange. I started on a hot morning in Fresno, sneezing from the dust to cloudy skies as I reached passes to the north. In the passes, the rain began to pour, and I switched the mode to Traction on Air VW the Gray and slowed down as it was hard to see. The temperature fell, and the wind pushed the EV sideways if I was not careful. My hands grew tired as I had to control the EV closely, as it has tight steering. The traffic was never light, and the truck filled the right lane. I tried to stay no more than 10-over and was often passed, even when ten over was 80!

I stopped in Corning, with the Olive Pit store as my target (and was disappointed that their EV charger was malfunctioning). I considered getting an early dinner there but passed on dinner since I could not charge while eating. I wanted to get to my hotel and rest.

They had reasonably priced olive products and oil. They had racks and racks of olives with various flavors and stuffings. They had a little tasting bar where you could try the olives. They also specialized in other oils and vinegars. I filled a box with my purchases. I was happy I fit it in. Recommended: Olive Pit, off 5, Corning, California.

I rose in Fresno and missed my alarm. I hit the road at around 7:40 without shaving (as I was running late) and stopped at McDonald’s looking for a charge location (it was not open to the public). I had the leftover cheese and meat from the day before I had kept in the room’s frig for a snack instead of lunch.

I talked to Deborah often today. We are again getting used to being apart after so many perfect days together. Deborah heard this song at Parker’s Lighthouse and sent it to me. It seems to fit us: here.

And Dear Reader, I think that is the full day. There was just lots of driving and occasionally holding on for dear life in flooding rains in the passes, dodging surprising lane changes, and avoiding trucks both fast and slow. Traffic was always busy, and I look forward to putting Air VW the Gray in the garage at home on Friday.

 

 

It worked out that I would again do this as a two-day blog. Both days were focused on resting and traveling, and they were quieter.

Tuesday

As usual, we rise with the sun at just after 7. Deborah was already wide awake as she still living in East Coast Time to a degree. I am on local time and wish the sun would give me a break and return to standard time! F**k that is early! But I made coffee, and we spent time drinking and enjoying each other’s company.

We walked uptown to the Potholder 2 breakfast joint I had tried before. It was good the second time, if a bit of a standard breakfast, but the omelets were good. I had the Mexican and Deborah the Californian omelets. They are great, with a different taste and feel to each. Our waiter was kind and interested in us having a great experience, something you do not always see.

We walked back towards the shops. I was surprised to see a G.A.R. statue in the Billy Jean Public Library park. The Grand Army of the Republic (G.A.R.) was the joint North and South troops of the Civil War. They had encampments for years, combining both sides, enjoying camping, and meeting every five years or so. The last meeting was in 1949. The statue was of President Lincoln looking down and smiling. President Lincoln was the last President to lead troops in battle, yes, he even did that as president. Lincoln agreed with the Union General’s good treatment of the surrendered troops at the war’s end and was, from what I read, remembered with affection by the G.A.R. It is likely that after the ACW (American Civil War), many former army folks headed to California to make their fortune (or not). So the G.A.R. was here in Long Beach and put up the statue.

After the park, I needed to find the bathroom. My colon was fighting back and wanted attention. Also, the burger the night before was soaked in grease, which did not improve the situation. Deborah headed to the Columbia discount store in the Pike Street Mall (all discount stores) while I attended to matters. There, I met Deborah; she found the gifts, and I found a new coat I needed. It was on sale and fit; I bought it. With our investments in discounted Columbia (I have never shopped in a Columbia store before), we tried a drink at Gladstones. I visited the men’s room and attended more to my colon. But the wine was good, and the staff not very attentive, except when we went to pay. Strange.

Next, after a break at our room after walking back, we returned downstairs and found a large table to play the board game Concordia I had brought in Air VW the Gray. This is an efficiency race with deck building and resource management elements with simple turns. However, the strategy and the sequencing are complicated. Deborah started to get the game about 1/2 through, and she nearly caught me, but I managed to get some more colonists out just before she ended the game (gaining 7 points). I felt I was running to keep ahead once she got the game. Deborha said she liked the game but needs a few more plays.

We finished the night watching more Matlock episodes and enjoyed the multiple storylines. We commented often on the set since we stood there and even ‘rode’ the elevator, which got quite a lot of use the next two episodes.

Wednesday

Our travel day and the day ran through our fingers like water or sand (or tears). We rose with the sunrise, even earlier today, as we could already feel the day running away without us. I made coffee, we chatted, and we had one more enjoyable morning together. Then, we cleaned up, packed the rest of the room (having started packing the day before), and headed for breakfast. Deborah ordered online for the local Starbucks; it was crowded. We waited until we got a notification that it was ready and then took our coffees and food to the hotel lobby and finished it there.

We got out the last bits, took a photo to remember the room, wished the cleaning lady who gave us extra coffee well (Deborah left her another tip), and descended to the lobby. We checked out and waited a moment for Deborah’s taxi. There was always a taxi waiting, but Deborah waited for the one she ordered, which showed up in a few minutes. With a kiss, we are separated again. It was hard. We were brave. We will see each other again soon.

With my new travel companion, I headed out: a stuffed animal axolotl that was a gift for buying items at the Aquarium of the Pacific (Deborah got me a new tie with whales on it to remember our whale-watching together). This one is headed to Z.

Travel in the LA area involved some stop-and-go around LAX and again in the pass. It was not cold and snowing this time when I broke over 4,100 feet! I stopped at a Walmart to charge, and nobody was there. The charge was Electrfy America, which is still free for me (I have six months of free charging). I got a set of cheese and meat with some pita chips for lunch. When I was nearly charged, going for 100% as long as it was free, an EV Porsche awaited for my spot. They can easily read the charge time (and cost) on the screen.

When I left, I saw four more stations to use for Electrfy America! But my app only had me go to the 350W (but my EV handles only 178W). Strange.

The rest of the trip was the same as before (but on reverse, which was strangely disconcerting), with some crazy driving and aggressive lane changes at 70+ speeds, which surprised me. It was like fast Michigan drivers going Fast and Furious. Later, I stopped at one rest area, found a working CA Trans free charging and put 20% on Air VW the Gray. This will improve Thursday morning (I will have more charge to drive).

I heard from Linda after I stopped that Mom Wild was having a tough day. Details cannot be published here, but Mom Wild is safe and in her room as I write this. I was in contact with Linda and others and even looked at flights. But all is calm for the moment.

I reached Fresno, enjoyed a traffic jam, and finally found the hotel after circling around. The room is nice, but the bar is closed for remodeling. Instead, I went out to find food after a shower. I was sticky and tired after the drive, and the shower helped.

Coming to the end of this story, Deborah has landed in Detroit and will soon be home with her dogs. I am at the Fresno Cheesecake Factory bar, only a few miles from my hotel. I had pasta and a drink, and I finished with coffee. Linda is headed home, and Mom Wild is resting. So maybe for a few moments, it will be quiet. And perhaps the Trump officials can resist making headlines tomorrow. Let’s hope for an easy day on Thursday for the world (“Dear God, just one day of Peace for the Earth, please, just one!”).

I’m headed out early tomorrow to Mount Shasta, stopping at the olive oil places (if I remember). It will be six hours of driving and an hour or more of charging.

Thanks for reading!