Bend is everything I’d hoped for, the people are friendly, everything is close, and just a few miles to the west there are fields and mountains covered with snow. Mt Bachelor, the sixth largest ski area in the U.S., is only 21 miles away. I’m thrilled about all the outdoor recreation available here. All day [...] Read more »
A Journey Ends, and A Journey Begins.
Twenty days ago on, January 2nd, I loaded up my battered up Mitsubishi Montero, said goodbye to my cousin Michael, and drove off into the sunset to a new life in a place over the hills and far away. That place is Bend, Oregon. It’s been quite a journey traveling to Bend. There was exhilaration. [...] Read more »
Oregon or Bust!
The one time cry of thousands of pioneers traveling across the American frontier is beginning to have new meaning for me as I limp North along the California coast. Yesterday my faithful Mitsubishi began making a horrendous noise. After all the work that PEPBOYS have done I’m hoping it will be something they can take [...] Read more »
An Alternative Alternator Reality
Everything was going really well on this trip. My mileage was better than expected, I was under budget a little bit, and I was making great time. Visiting new friends in Carlsbad, NM, seeing new countryside, and relaxing with my cousins Peter and Sharon Lebeau in Gilbert, Az near Phoenix. I was looking forward to [...] Read more »
Life is a Highway… and I want to ride it!
At the end of my second day on the road my trip planning appears to be quite accurate… My Montero is performing at about 19 miles per gallon. Fuel prices have been very close, and miles traveled just about spot on. Yeah, I’m pleased. Here’s the official breakdown: Town Miles Gallons MPG Price Total +/- [...] Read more »
2008 Year of the Nomad
I’ve been a nomad this year. Three months in Malibu, two in Ashland, one in Arkansas, one month in Louisiana, and five months in Texas. Then there was the month I spent traveling from Oregon to Arkansas… The year has been filled with wonderful adventure, a bit of disappointment, new insights, and longing dreams. Of [...] Read more »
KFC Challenge?
The first time I saw this commercial I thought to myself Does KFC think we’re stupid? If you go into the grocery store to buy all the ingredients required to make this meal then yes, you’re going to spend more than $10. That’s not what you’re going to spend to make that meal though. With [...] Read more »
A shriek of panic on the Comal River
There was a shriek of panic on the Comal river. The kind of sound that silences everything else, and makes the hairs on the back of your neck stand on end. It was Sunday afternoon. I was swimming on the river with my cousin Michael Lebeau. We were at a place called “the tube chute,” [...] Read more »
What the World Eats Each Week on The Skinny Gourmet
Erin of The Skinny Gourmet recently posted a great story about the food that families around the world eat each week. Her post What the World Eats Each Week gives an excellent synopsis of the book Hungry Planet. She lists several photos like the one up top of the Ahmed family of Cairo, Egypt. If [...] Read more »
Over the hills and far away.
I was in Louisiana for awhile to visit my Mom. She had a stay in the hospital just before our big family reunion in June, and I though it would be a good idea to go home for a little while. It’s hot down here in the summertime, hot, humid, and sticky. It was good [...] Read more »