I'm baaaack...

Yes, it's a spring, summer and most of a fall later.  So sue me.

Over the next while, I'm going to throw some serious effort into sharing my comments and observations of the things that have happened to me in the last while.  Nothing astounding, and nothing that hundreds or thousands or millions of other people haven't already done or will do some time in the future, but more about the interesting way things come about (interesting to me, at least).  Others have made reference to connections and such; I'm going to give some examples.

Aarghh!!!  The Lightroom plugin for this blog and my website just crapped out, so I have to go into troubleshooting mode.  Sorry if I got you all excited for nothing, but please stay tuned.

Road Trip 2010 - Last (sniff) day

Well, here I am, sitting on the edge of the bed at the Marriott in Bourbonnais, IL, trying to steel myself to pack up and head back to KW. 
Side trip - I have to say that the sheets at the Marriott hotels are the best I've every slept on.  They're super high thread count cotton, but heavier and smoother than any I've come across anywhere else.  I have to find out where to get some.

I'm going to head into Chicago first, though, as it is St. Patrick's Day, and I'd like to see the green river (apparently they dye it each year).  It's well past checkout time now, so I have to leave it at this.  I will do at least one more update, likely after I get back.

This last week has been blurrier than the rest.  It seems I just left Flagstaff, AZ and suddenly I'm outside of Chicago.  I slept in the car for a few hours on Friday night at a Flying J truckstop, then drove to Santa Fe.  In case you were wondering, yes, I did go through Albuquerque, but I did not stop and I did not "make a left toin" as I had planned (for over 45 years).  This was intentional, and it has some significance, to me at least.  I'll be glad to tell you about that if you ask. 

Rather than poking around in Santa Fe, I drove north a bit, around Jemez Springs and Los Alamos, NM (Anna, you look a lot like your dad).  What a ride down that hill.  I have video of the drive and I will post it once I edit it down.

I stayed in Santa Fe on Saturday night, hoping to check out the culture and buzz of the downtown area, but by Sunday morning, it was below freezing and snowing again.  Figures.

So, I headed east and drove straight through to Kansas (about 750 miles).  OK, I did stop and sleep a few hours on the side of the road.  Volvo seats aren't quite a queen-size pillowtop mattress with Egyptian cotton sheets, but they are indeed more than adequate, and a lot more comfortable than some of the beds I've crashed on recently.

And, I detoured into Dodge City to get some gas and a bite to eat.  I almost stayed, due to this little creature:

He/she was so friendly, and so hungry (I bought a two-pack of tuna; they disappeared in seconds).  If I didn't have a car full of crap and 3000km to go, I would have had a passenger.

I arrived in Kansas late morning, and found my way to a small farm in Berryton, just outside Topeka.  As I made my way up the rutted and potholed drive, I was greeted by a very inquisitive and rather protective "guard dog", who turned out to be a very friendly puppy dog named "Cash".

I get to the house, and this nice lady, dressed in a housecoat, comes out of the garage to see what all the barking was about.  I introduced myself, and apologized for just showing up unannounced.  Her name is Vicci, and she apologized to me for her appearance (like that matters).  She said they were in the middle of doing their taxes (Oh crap! Another thing to do when I get back).  She was having a fine time with the computer, and her husband, also in his housecoat, was busy trying to get things sorted, but she would tell him I was here, and that he would be out in a minute.

A short time later, here I am shaking like a leaf, and shaking hands with my musical hero, the one and only Kerry Livgren.  He graciously invited me into the house, and also apologized for the clutter (as if!), and showed me around a bit.  No matter that he is a musical genius who wrote some of the most magnificent songs of the progressive rock era (the majority of which you've probably never heard... Icarus, The Pinnacle, The Wall, Miracles Out Of Nowhere, Hopelessly Human, to name a few), his home is really just like anyone else's home.  Except, that is, for a few gold records, the original cover art from Seeds Of Change and get this - the handwritten (in pencil) first draft of the lyrics for Carry On Wayward Son. 

Whew.

A gentleman, and such a gentle man; true to the term.

Other than this one, no pictures; not needed.

Road Trip 2010 - Takin' it easy...

Well, I'm a...

Road Trip 2010 - Friday, March 12

Oh, that same big hill again...

With the right size hub centric rings, the car rides as smooth as glass up to (and well beyond)...

It's about time, and though I am very pleased, I must say that it is rather ironic that it's only now that I'm on the "coming back road".

Road Trip 2010 - Last week (the last week, not last week...)

Well, it's getting down to the wire.  Hopefully I can start heading home today.  I'm back in Flagstaff, AZ.  I got here late Tuesday evening after a very slow and intermittently bone-jarring ride from Phoenix.  It turned much colder on the way up, and though it snowed overnight, it was melting in the morning.

I got my car in to Discount Tire late Wednesday morning, and guess what...  The hub centric rings I ordered and FedEx'd overnight are the wrong size.  Aaargh!  Oh well.  I wonder how many times have I said that out loud or to myself over the last seven weeks.  I searched and found the right ones (or at least they better be) and they'll be in by Thursday.

No point wasting time sitting around again, so since I was already here, I might as well at least set out for the Grand Canyon.  I figured another couple hundred km's (versus four thousand from here to home) is going to hurt.  So I head out of town, and of course, it the sun disappeared and it started to get a bit gray.  No biggie; it's still winter, so I stopped to get some gas - here's a shot of a big hill in front of the gas station as I pulled in:

Can you guess what this picture is?

Yup.  Same hill, one tank of gas later. 

Two blocks and two minutes later:

Ahh, what the heck.  It's only 65 miles up to the canyon, and I can't go above 80km/h anyway.

Fifteen minutes out of town, it's another world.

I found myself distracted by the scenery and ended up in the wrong place Thurdsay night, but it turned out to be the right place after all, consistent with everything else this trip.

There's too much to document right now, as I'm heading west today (boo, hoo, hoo...).  I have to get back to Discount Tire now to see if my car can go fast, so more later.  Lots more.

Sneak preview:

Road Trip 2010 - Second last week

It's been a long while since the last post.  I don't blame you if you gave up following this.  Sorry about that. 

Since the 27th, I've gone through Mississippi, Louisiana, Texas and now New Mexico.  I'm going to attempt a night run to Phoenix, Arizona, and try to get to the Grand Canyon by Wednesday.  I was going to extend my trip by a week or two to make up for the delays, but the bank account says otherwise.  So, California and Utah will have to wait until next year.

I have taken a few pictures along the way, and hope they're enough to keep you interested a while longer.

Galveston, TX - driving on the sand at East Beach, Crabcake Caesar and a Shiner Bock at Joe's Seafood, sunset at the west end of the island

Carlsbad Caverns, Carlsbad, NM

On the highway between Deming and Silver City, NM and the Backroad Scenic Parkway near Gila National Park, NM

Road Trip 2010 - February 27

I finally left Jackson, MS around 5 on Friday, but it took over five hours to get to New Orleans. It was too late to get an ffordable hotel, so I slept in the car. A bit chilly, but no biggie. This car is really comfortable. Of course, still no decent Internet access or even anywhere to sort and convert files, so no pics again, sorry. OK, here are a few, just so you know I'm still using my camera...

The gal in the doorway of the European Jazz Club is Kate; she's from Czech Republic, and puts a new spin on the concept of bouncer. The two getting prepped for fun on Bourbon Street preferred anonymity. The couple is Adrian and Camilla (pronounced like "Pamela" - she's from Iceland). They're very much in love (more mooney, lovey-dovey pics later). They came into the bar (Harry's) about 1:30 a.m., and Adrian bought the house (all five of us) a round of Jameson's and we all had some good laughs.

New Orleans is very different in the morning (really?). I walked around the French Quarter for another couple of hours, talking with people and snapping pics like this one:

I was going to stay over Saturday night, but the weather channel said it was going to rain, so I headed west mid-afternoon. And indeed, it started raining just outside of NO. And it rained, and rained and rained. It was supposed to be a band of rain travelling west to east, so I thought I would go to Avery Island to visit the Tobasco factory. By the time I got to the area, it was raining too hard to even think of getting off the highway. So, I ended up staying in Lafayette, LA for the night. I got a $200 room at the Hilton (for $46, thanks again to Capt. Kirk), but there was no Internet access - their network was down, and tech support was not available. I offered, but no go. So, I watched some TV and dozed off. I slept in (again); they finally kicked me out around 1:00.

Anyway, I'm heading for San Antonio, TX now, and just stopped in to McD's to check messages and log this (three hous later...). I will be staying in San Antonio for one night; two if the FedEx place accepts the shipment of car parts for me (it's against the rules, so I might be SOL). The car is good, but needs an alignment (hence the parts).

Otherwise, all is well.

Road Trip 2010 - 24 February

Well, I'm just about on my way outta Jackson.  The car is finished*, and they've done a nice job.  I'll let you know a bit more once I've had a chance to drive it.  I'm feeling much better, though my left side ribs are really sore.  It must be the midway ride in Chapala.  It only took more than a week to start to ache.  I don't recall if I mentioned that ride in an earlier post, so I'll elaborate later on.

I'm heading for New Orleans (again), and plan to be in San Antonio by the weekend.  The * is for the one missing piece of trim that's meeting me there.  It's a little cap that fits on the end of the drip rail at the back of the car.  The Volvo dealer ordered and sent the part for the other side.  The body shop had to overnight the right part, they're going to paint it tomorrow and overnight it to Texas.  I've ordered a few other front end parts that need replacing; hopefully we'll all be in San Antonio at the same time.  Gotta love cars.

I want to get moving, so that's about it for now.  I have a lot to say about what's happened so far, and will try to get it recorded asap.  As Matt at Enterprise rent-a-car said "Huy myan, that's purty deep".  And they say I've got an accent.  No doot aboot it, eh?

Later, all.

Road Trip 2010 - February 23

Zoiks. 

More than half-way through  my trip (time-wise) and I'm still in Jackson, Mississippi. 

The car had to go to the local Volvo dealer when the body shop found the dash display was insisting the tailgate was open, when in fact it was not.  They even replaced the lock mechanism, but it turned out to be nothing more than a pinched or broken wire. And, it's not a simple replacement - the car is networked, and harness is almost $2K on its own, so they had the dealer go at it with a meter to find the break.  God bless the troubleshooters who know how to do things the hard way.  Makes me proud to be an old-school techno-wienie.

So the car comes back this morning, and goes off to the nearby tire/suspension specialist for a 4-wheel alignment.  And guess what!  The steering wheel is a few degrees off center.  No big deal, a simple adjustment.  Nope.  The lower tie rod on the passenger side is frozen and/or bent.  It's likely a result of "Ohio Hammering Incident".  The tech has put penetrating oil on it and is leaving it for the night.  Worst case, they'll have to cut off and replace the tie rod.  The good news is that the dealer has one in stock.

Auto Body America has to do a final inspection and get their subcontractors' paperwork sorted as well, so it'll be tomorrow morning before it's ready to go.

So it's one more night in Jackson.  I sure wish I felt like doing something.  I've been here long enough to have hit all the high spots, but with the weather (it's getting cold and they're calling for snow tonight), and this head/throat/chest thing, I just haven't had the energy to do much of anything. 

I did go to a real blues club (The 930 Blues Cafe) on Friday night (pics real soon), but Saturday morning I felt like someone had put a garbage bag over my head, tied it off at the waist and went about beating me about the head and torso.  Fever, aches, pains, the grippe (anyone know what that is?).  Good thing Dr. Beam (fondly known as Jim) is easily reached.

My tablet PC has been acting up as well, overheating and shutting down, so I broke down and picked up a new laptop (like I can afford it now).  I guess I'll finish setting it up tonight, and maybe get to uploading some images.  Gonna need a second job to get caught up.

Enough rambling; the shop is about to close, and I have to get hold of Captain Kirk again to see if I can score another deal on a nice hotel (BTW, the Marriott chain leads in quality so far - high thread count sheets, real pillows, etc.).

RoadTrip 2010 - February 19

Fast forward more than a week...
I miss Mexico already.
Back in Jackson, MS.  My car was supposed to be ready yesterday, so I flew back early.  I wanted to check it out before leaving for another 10,000km.  Well, now it won't be ready until Monday.  Bad weather, short staff, damaged replacement parts, more damage than realized, things missed by the adjuster, etc., etc., etc.  Oh well.  I have a nice rental (a big Kia Borrego SUV), so I think I'll head back to Memphis for the weekend.  Maybe Arkansas (remember those nurses?).  It's nearly 3:30 (it took forever to get the rental sorted out), so I better get moving one way or the other.
Jackson nightlife is apparently non-existent, or shuts down at 10 p.m.  I drove around for more than an hour last night looking for anything to eat other than fast food, but no luck.  Three surprisingly good tacos at Taco Bell later, and that was it for the night.  Whee!
Not even a bit discouraged.  It's rather fun doing nothing.
Oh - upload speed is almost zero, so pics will have to wait.  I'm going to see if I can poach a signal at a Kinkos or somewhere else.  Y'all have to wait until then.

Road Trip 2010 - February 10-11

OK, I've lost track of which day it is.  Apparently it's Thursday, but I don't feel like figuring out which day number of the trip any more, so we'll go with the date.

Still in Nuevo Vallarta; we're leaving tomorrow.  I could stay here.  It would take me a few more days to get used to the heat, but I think I could handle it.

We took a bus into Puerta Vallarta yesterday morning.  That was indeed an experience.  The roads here have, in addition to potholes and other wear-related road hazards, thin but high speed bumps and these yellow things (I'll find out the name and get a picture) nailed into the pavement.  They're not exactly everywhere, but they are intended to keep traffic at a reasonable pace.  Cars seem to deal with them nicely, likely because the drivers are also the owners and have to fund the repairs, but the buses are another story.  I'm pretty sure we were doing 60-80km/h or even more whenever possible.  As we passed across those speed bumps, the bus, or at least the rear end became airborne.  And more than once.  Much more than once.  I was standing, so it wasn't that big a deal, but the folks that were sitting, particularly the ones at the back row were jolted out of their seats.

A fellow got on the bus with a guitar, and proceeded to serenade us.  He's playing at the Hard Rock Cafe on Saturday night, but sadly, we're leaving tomorrow (Friday). 

I have video; I'll upload it to YouTube when I get a better connection.

I do see why Puerta Vallarta is so popular, and it would be very interesting to live here, for a few months at least.  Of course it is very touristy, and the hotels and resorts are nothing like life even a block off the main drag, but it is quite the place.

My new friend Vince and I walked almost almost most of the way back (actually maybe a quarter of the way).  We took some back streets, walked along the beach, hit another resort for a few cervesas, and once we ran out of gas, took a taxi back to Samba Vallarta.

I met a fellow named Jesus here at the resort.  He is a local photographer, and works here at the resort and around the area.  He has been shooting couples and families, weddings, etc.  I don't want to compete with him, but I did have an idea.  I'm sure it would be relatively easy to set up one or two week tours, set up specifically for for photographers.  It could be based here at the resort, with day trips into the surrounding mountains and villages and into PV.  Having a guide with both camera skills and familiarity with the area, lighting, weather, etc. would provide a terrific opportunity for amateurs and pros alike.  There is such a variety of landscapes, ocean views, including whale watching, not to mention the small towns and villages nearby.  This resort would definitely need a better Internet connection, as well as some additional computer support and printing services, but I'm sure it wouldn't be that hard to set up.

I have a lot of pictures to upload; I'm not sure if this blog can handle them.  I'll save the text for now and give it a shot (can't resist using that...)

Road Trip 2010 - Day 21-22

Sorry no pics; the Internet connection here isn't the greatest, and is only available in the lobby.  Also, my cameras are acting up, but it's likely the memory cards or readers.  I have them checked out when I hit a city with a Canon dealer. 

However, the here here is pretty nice.  We're right on the ocean (see below) and the sound of the waves crashing on the beach is very relaxing and calming.

The bus trip I mentioned earlier brought us to Samba Vallarta, just north of Puerto Vallarta, on the coast of Banderas Bay (not sure if it's that Banderas).  The hotel/resort is very nice, all inclusive and not terribly busy (that's nice, too).  We had a bit of a hassle with rooms, but it's all sorted now.  The food is plentiful, though it's gringo, and libations are available pretty much non-stop.  Mostly gringo as well, but apparently a good selection of Tequila, which I don't touch (we had a fight when I was 19 and we've never reconciled).  So far, I have to stick with my earlier comment about being in a non-resort area.  I'm not feeling the greatest (some folks say it might be the altitude), so I haven't done any roaming beyond the boundaries of the resort.  Apparently there's a bus into PV every 20 minutes; maybe I'll adventure out tomorrow. 

More soon. 

Oh - no word on my car yet.  The body shop has ordered the parts, so I'm confident everything is being taken care of.  If it's sorted by the time we get back from this little trip, I may leave for Jackson a bit earlier.  I do have several days of driving to make up if I want to get to the west coast.

Road Trip 2010 - Day 16 - 20

Ahhh... Mexico

After a little bit of hassle (very little, actually) with the car, I hopped on a plane for Guadalajara, and am now relaxing in Chapala.  Relaxing is a relative word; the folks I'm staying with don't stop.  Particularly eating.

I'm staying with Bob and Wendy.  Wendy is Chris Malleck's mom (Chris = "Junior" Malleck; harp player extraordinaire for Daddy Long Legs); Bob is Wendy's fiance.  They are two of the coolest, craziest, most welcoming and friendly people I've ever had the pleasure to know.  They live here in Mexico for six months of the year, in one of several small communities of other seniors (more about that bunch later) in the town of Chapala, just about a half-hour outside of Guadalajara.

Photos and posts for the next while will be somewhat scattered and out of order.

This past week has gone by in faaaasssttt forward.  It's very hard to get anything done when you're doing so much nothing.

When I got in late Tuesday evening, it was raining.  Wednesday it rained, and rained, and rained.  Apparently, it's been raining for days.  More rain than they've had in nearly 20 years.  Photo ops have been limited.

The sun broke through on Thursday morning, and man oh, man, is it beautiful here.  I'll be adding more pictures on a later post.  Now that the sun is out, my trigger finger is very busy, and I haven't been able to keep up.

Suffice it to say, for now anyway, I have a feeling that those of you who have visited Mexico but have only been to resorts or stick to tourist areas are missing out.  I could be wrong, but I can't imagine that they can compare to the local places I've been taken over the last few days.  Then again, I will find out.  We are leaving on a bus trip to Nuevo Vallarta in a few minutes, so I'll let you know.

Road Trip 2010 - Day 15/16

Thought it was a bit late in the day, I decided to go to Nawlins after all.  Getting there took a bit more than three hours, but I sat in traffic for another two.  I finally got to my hotel room and left to go exploring around 10 p.m.  It was near freezing, and everyone I spoke with seemed to think it was my fault, being from Canada and all.

After walking around for about an hour, I found myself in the French Quarter.  Not quite Mardi Gras, but it was very busy and the general mood was drunk.  Very drunk. 

I will have to remember to bring a costume next time.

Wandering up and down Bourbon Street, I thought I'd get a beer and a bite to eat.  Nope.  No cash, no wallet.  I wasn't ripped off; I left it all sitting on the bureau at the hotel when I changed my clothes.  Doh.

Oh well, it was interesting anyway.

Slept in a bit Sunday morning, then went back downtown to get some lunch.

Well. I thought it was busy last night.  Suddenly I'm surrounded by thousands of people, including hundreds of the ugliest women I've ever seen. Who dat? Oh wait - they're New Orleans Saints football fans dressed in drag. Most of them would look better after being dragged.

Oh, I get it.  The big game is next week.  I'm glad I won't be here. If the Saints lose, they'll tear the place up. If the Saints win, they'll tear the place up. I didn't say anything about not liking football, so I made it out alive. Oh - no lunch either. Not a single seat anywhere, and even if there was, the smoke, particular cigar, was almost unbearable.

 

The day disappeared quickly, so I headed off toward Baton Rouge, hoping for some gumbo or jambalaya.  Unfortunately, it was closed.  9:30 p.m. and nobody on the street (really - nobody), not a single open restaurant, nothing.  Hmmph. 

Maybe I can get some nachos in Natchez...

  

Road Trip 2010 - Day 13 - Interrupted Journey

Highs and lows, ups and downs.

Anyone know whether Johnny Cash and June Carter were referring to Jackson, MS or Jackson, TN?

There was still vibration in my car, so I stayed in Jackson, MS last night.  This morning I went to another Volvo specialist, as the dealer couldn't fit me in until a week Tuesday.  The guys at Allen Enterprises were really nice, authentic southern folk, warm and friendly.  The mechanic not only re-balanced my tires and wheels, he had a quick look under the hood, and fortunately (potentially anyway, as you'll see) noticed the serpentine drive belt was cracking and could give way.  So I had them replace that as well, again thinking that better today than on the road to Guadalajara.  That must have been the reason I went there in the first place.

So, once that was done, I thought I'd grab a bite and head down to Nawlins.  By then it was raining pretty hard, and I couldn't get across the lanes to a restaurant, so I decided to drive up the road a bit and turn around. 

As I approached a train trestle, I saw the cars driving underneath kicking up serious rooster tails of water.  There were no cones or barriers visible, because they were all shoved over to the one side and lying flat, and only there in the pictures because I moved them back.

As I got closer, I could see that the water was easily more than a foot deep, and with my air intake down low, behind the bumper under the headlights, I thought it might not be such a good idea.  You don't want water sucked into a turbocharger that runs at well over 500 degrees.  So I stopped and waited for an opportunity to turn off to the right and go around.

I was only stopped for a few seconds before I heard a screeching noise.  I looked in my mirror and noticed this car coming up on me from behind, and though I tried to drive ahead to the right to get out of the way, he was going way too fast and BAM!

His car is a mess, but the damage to my car appears to be relatively minor. 

That is, if you consider a bumper, tail light, tailgate (fibreglass - who knew?), a brand new tire (less than 2,000km) and a hard-to-find wheel, and possibly some mechanical damage to be minor.  I just hope the structural integrity of the car isn't affected (and that the subwoofer still woofs).  I don't see any sheet metal distortion anywhere beyond the "crash zone", but the wheel looks to be on a weird angle, now that I look at the pictures. 

The good news is that I'm OK, and so is the fellow who hit me.  No airbags deployed, so nobody's car will be written off (I hope).

The bad news, other than the car is that I am in Jackson, MS for a week, possibly more.  I was supposed to be in Mexico by Monday, so unless I just leave my car here and fly to Guadalajara, I'll miss the bus trip.  I don't think my insurance will cover plane fare or an extended car rental. 

Then again, that might be better there than hanging around here.  If I do fly, I will have to carefully sort out my luggage situation, as I have too much crap to carry on a plane.

C'est la vie, eh?