NORTH AMERICAN ROAD TRIP PART III

Kittens on the Porch

AirBnB in Savannah

 

Having visited all of my family, the rest of my trip was a voyage of exploration. I planned stops in cities that piqued my curiosity. My first such stop was Savannah. I had booked a room in an AirBnB located in a Victorian house decorated in a skeleton theme. I felt like I had stumbled into a Day of the Dead celebration. The owners were cool. The husband was a studio guitarist and he and I spent the evening playing music together. His wife sang a few numbers when she finally got off work. To top it off, there was even a litter of kittens on the front porch.

Catholic Church in Savannah

Riverboat in Savannah

In the morning, I got up early and went downtown to explore a bit and eat breakfast in a cafe by the river. I was charmed by the old buildings and oak trees hung with Spanish Moss (although I was warned that they were infested with ticks.) Savannah was a river port and the river was lined with old brick warehouses that had been turned into businesses and restaurants catering to tourists. It would have been fun to have spent more time there, but I had driving to do. I finished my walk along the river and then headed off towards Mobile, AL, another port city I had longed to explore.

Riverfront Warehouses in Savannah

Mossy Oak Trees in Savannah

I

Marina in Mobile

In Mobile, I stayed in a suburban home that had been converted into a three-room AirBnB. The other two lodgers were young men who were in town for work. The house was charmingly decorated and very clean. I went out to dinner at a nearby Popeye's Chicken and then went back to the house to take advantage of the internet to watch some Netflix.

Mobile Bay

It wasn't very far from Mobile to New Orleans, my next stop, so I had plenty of time to explore in the morning. I grabbed breakfast at a nearby McDonald's and then headed for the Mobile Yacht Club. I knew the club would be closed, but I figured I would find the marina nearby. I did. The marina was a somewhat ramshackle affair with old sheds for the power boats and a West Marine store that was closed on Sunday morning. I parked by the bay and wandered the docks, getting a feel for the place. It was very quiet.

Downtown Mobile

Downtown Mobile was so small that I had trouble locating it on Google Maps. There were two high-rises, a museum (closed), and a cruise ship teminal. It was very difficult to park. By the time I found a place to leave my car and walked back along the shore to the terminal, I had gotten a workout. It was very hot. I needed to stop for drinks and ice as soon as I left Mobile. Dollar General became my stop of choice in the south. They were conveniently located along the highways and stocked drinks, ice, and snacks.

The Beach in Mississippi

Gulf Islands National Seashore

From Mobile, I drove along the Gulf Coast through Biloxi and Gulfport, MS. I was surprised to discover that Biloxi was crowded with hotels and casinos. On a summer afternoon, the traffic crawled. Things improved when I got to Gulfport. There, the casinos gave way to stately homes raised on stilts and the beach became more visible. I had hoped to see more of the coast, so made a detour to visit Gulf Islands National Seashore. It turned out the park was in a swamp, so I still didn't get to see the coast. I did enjoy the scenery and the visitor's center and it was a nice spot to eat my lunch. Finally, I crossed the causeway over Lake Ponchartrain and entered New Orleans.

The House Where I Stayed in New Orleans

My Room in NOLA

I stayed in a mother-in-law unit behind a shotgun house in Mid City New Orleans. The room was comfortable enough, but the only window was in the transom above the door. It was a little claustrophobic. It was hot, but there was air conditioning. Even the street cars were air conditioned. I got there early enough to hop a street car down to check out the French Quarter. It was a bit much for me. Not being much of a drinker and being by myself, I just found it crowded and noisy. Every bar was trying to drown out the music from all the others. Even if I had found music to interest me, it would have been louder than I could stand. I was hungry, though, so I ordered a slice of pizza and a small pina colada. Small turned out to be 20 ounces and they hadn't stinted on the rum. It took me quite a while to consume it all. I ended up walking the two miles back to my lodging because I couldn't take the drink on the street car and I was too stubborn to throw it away.

The Lively French Quarter

French Quarter Architecture

The Mississippi River in New Orleans

Cafe du Monde

The next morning, I got up early and walked back downtown to start my day with coffee and beignets at Cafe du Monde. Breakfast came with a side of jazz. The musicians were out early. 

Jazz Band Outside Cafe du Monde

 

Beignets and Coffe at Cafe du Monde

Jackson Square

United States Court of Appeals

Lafayette Square

WWII Museum

As it promised to be another steamy day, I decided to visit the World War II Museum. I walked across town past the U.S. Court of Appeals and Lafayette Square. The museum was fascinating and took much longer to visit than I had expected. There were many multimedia exhibits that went into the details of each theater. I was very surprised to learn just how far the Nazi and Japanese influences had extended.

Immersive Exhibit

The Extent of Nazi Influence in Europe and Africa

Japanese Influence in the Pacific

Airmen Being Briefed Before a Mission

Crayfish Etouffee & Red Beans and Rice

It was mid-afternoon by the time I finished with the museum. A friend had recommended a restaurant called Mother's. It was on the way home, so I went there for lunch. I had red beans and rice and crayfish etouffee. It was very good and, on my limited budget, would turn out to be the only Cajun food I ate while in New Orleans.

Typical New Orleans Cemetery

Graves Were Often Close Together

After my late lunch, I took the street car all the way to the end of the line to visit the cemeteries. I got there just before 16:00. The cemeteries close at 16:00. I didn't get to go in, but got a pretty good idea of what they were like by looking through the fences. I was able to visit the Katrina memorial that had been constructed in Potter's Field where the unclaimed remains were interred. The street cars were few and far between at that hour, so I walked part of the way home, admiring the architecture.

Some Monuments Were Impressive

Monument to Firefighters

The Katrina Memorial

Streetcar Interior

New Orleans Architecture and Oaks

There wasn't much in the way of restaurants near my lodging, so I picked up some frozen Indian Food at Whole Foods and stayed in to enjoy the A/C and watch Netflix.

William Frantz Elementary School

On my last day in New Orleans, I had signed up for a tour of the areas most affected by hurricane Katrina. My guide was a young man from the area by the name of Hollis. He had been a teenager at the time of Katrina. He was very involved with the community. Aside from the fact that he drove like a maniac, he was a good tour guide and gave us a very local perspective.

Our first stop was at the William Frantz Elementary School where, in 1960, Ruby Bridges became one of the first black students to attend an all white school. It was such a controversial event that she was escorted by four U.S. Marshalls. The school has been closed in the wake of Katrina, but the monument to Ruby Bridges remains.

Ruby Bridges Monument

Industrial Canal Monument

The Industrial Canal Flood Wall

The 9th Ward, Today

Hollis then took us the see the Industrial Canal Flood Wall which failed in the wake of Katrina, flooding the Lower Ninth Ward. Hollis was convinced that the wall had been breached on purpose to drive out the mostly low-income, people of color who lived there. It was uncanny how the flooded areas all seemed to be inhabited by non-whites. His theory was further bolstered by the fact that almost all of the city's public housing units were condemned after Katrina, even those such as Storyville, that were largely undamanaged. They were, however, located on prime real estate near the French Quarter. The high-quality construction of the original units was replaced by lower density buildings that looked nice on the outside, but were more difficult to maintain on the inside. Most of the displaced families were forced to leave New Orleans as the new units were allocated to the elderly and single mothers.

Community Center Mural

Some of the Few Remaining Public Housing Units

Replacement Public Housing

The Lower Ninth Ward remains a wasteland after nearly twenty years. Most of the residents owned their homes outright and couldn't afford homeowner's insurance. The few that were rebuilt were done so with shoddy materials and already appear dilapidated. We visited a former community center that has never been reopened, but was the site of several murals depicting the area's history. We had trouble getting out of the Ninth Ward because the bridge over the canal was opened to let a ship pass. We detoured through East New Orleans, which had also been flooded after Katrina. Hollis ended his tour on Claiborne Ave. Once an Oak Lined boulevard that was the beating heart of black New Orleans' cultural scene, now it runs in the shadow of the 10 Fwy. Only a few of the oaks remain and a few businesses cling to life, hoping for a resurgence (or maybe redevelopment.)

Community Center Mural

A Few Businesses Cling to Life on Claiborne Ave.

Anne Rice's Home

Garden District Mansion Under Renovation

Garden District Estate

Garden District Home

After my tour, I wanted to visit the Garden District. I took a self guided walking tour and stopped for lunch along the way. It was hot, but the Garden District was shady, so the temperature was bearable. I caught the street car back to my lodgings, only venturing out into the heat to grab a pizza at a local restaurant before hitting the hay.

The next day, I left early and drove from New Orleans, through Houston traffic, to San Antonio. I stayed in an AirBnB in a quiet, suburban neighborhood. I arrived around dinnertime, but couldn't be bothered to eat. My room was crowded with so many personal items that there was barely room for me and one bag, but the bed was comfortable and all I need to do was sleep.

San Antonio was a much bigger city than I had expected. I got up early, hoping to check out the Riverwalk before it got too busy. I was surprised to discover that the Riverwalk was basically a shopping mall in the middle of downtown. There was a lot of construction going on and no available public parking, even at 7:00 AM. I circled the area and then gave up and drove out of San Antonio before stopping for breakfast.

Approaching San Antonio

It was a long drive from San Antonio to El Paso, but the scenery was greener and more varied than I had expected. I arrived at my AirBnB in the late afternoon. I stayed in a little casita behind a suburban home in Sunland Park, NM. I was about 50 feet away from Texas and actually had to go back into Texas to get out of the subdivision. Once again, I couldn't be bothered to go out to eat and just snacked on whatever I had left over.

Driving Across Arizona

Sunset in Joshua Tree

The longest day of my whole trip was the drive from El Paso, TX, to Joshua Tree, CA. It was hot and tedious and I was very thankful that my air conditioning was working. I drove across New Mexico and Arizona and then into California, arriving at my friend Larry's place just in time to take a sunset stroll around his desert neighborhood. Larry cooked a nice dinner of lentils and barley with a big salad and then we had time to chat before retiring early, as we both needed to get going early the next day.

Larry's Tame Roadrunner

In the morning, Larry made me breakfast and I enjoyed watching his tame roadrunner dash into the house to snag bits of hotdog. He was volunteering at a charity breakfast and I had lots of driving to do, so we said our farewells and went out separate ways. I drove into Los Angeles and stopped at Marina del Rey to have lunch with my friend, Greg, on the sailing vessel Scout and collect the phone charger I had abandoned there early in my travels. Then, I hit Highway 5 for a long, slow drive back to Benicia in heavier than usual traffic.

Back in Benicia, I had a lot to do in a short time. While financially unfortunate, it was convenient that my house still was not rented. I was able to sort through the items in my storage and start the process of wrapping everything in plastic so I could load it into my truck for the possibly rainy drive back to Mexico. My first mission, however, was to prepare my car for sale. I took it to the new, fancy carwash in my neighborhood to get it cleaned inside and out. I took photos and posted it on Craigslist. I got a lot of inquiries, but I still didn't have the title in hand, as I had forgotten to return from Los Angeles via Paso Robles to pick it up. I had to wait for Midori to FedEx it to me on Monday and Tuesday was the Fourth of July, a further delay. This was frustrating because I was in a hurry to get back to Mexico to help my friends move their boat from Mazatlan to Ensenada. I was running out of time. It all felt very stressful.

Homes in Georgiana Slough

The extra days in Benicia did give me a chance to have dinner with a girlfriend and get my packing done. I was far enough along in the process to take the Fourth of July off to go boating in the Sacramento River Delta with my friend, Barbra. Barbra needed to move her boat from one slip to another and we thought we'd take the opportunity to take her little power boat out for a spin. No sooner did we get to open water and try to open up the throttle than we heard an engine alarm. Water was coming out of the motor and the temperature wasn't high. The boat operated normally at low speeds but wouldn't go faster. The RPMs increased, but the prop didn't turn any faster. Eventually, it would redline and the alarm would go off. We poked along and explored a nearby slough. Then we beached the boat on a sand bar near the marina and ate lunch. Mostly. the day was relaxing, at least for me.

Barbra's Boat Beached on a Sand Bar

Once we finally got the boat loaded onto its float in its proper slip and figured out how to secure the cover, it was getting dark. Satisfied, we drove back to Benicia. Unfortunately, when I went to unlock my door, I discovered that my purse was not in the trunk of Barbra's car. We didn't know where it was, so we had to drive back to the Willow Berm Marina through the post-fireworks traffic. It was a long. slow drive, but we did get to see fireworks all over the area. Fortunately, my purse was in the dock box which was the first place I looked. Someone must have put it there for safekeeping while we were working on the boat. I had just assumed it was in the trunk of the car. It was midnight by the time Barbra returned me to my home. What had started as a quick boat ride had turned into a very long day.

The title for my car finally arrived on the afternoon of the fifth. I spent that day preparing the manifest for the load of items I was taking back to Mexico. I needed to present a list of every item, with its value, in English and Spanish. The list was only eight pages long, this time. When I drove down the first time, the list had run to 22 pages.

The most promising of the potential buyers for my car came to look at it in the late afternoon. He wanted the car, but it was too late to go to the bank that day. We agreed to meet at the bank the following morning.

My Former Kia Niro

The buyer met me at the bank and we transferred the money from his account to mine without incident. With that major hurdle passed, I was free to start loading my truck. None of my friends had good enough backs to help me load the furniture. I tried enlisting help through the neighborhood Facebook page, but the moderator took so long to approve my post that I had to load it all myself. It probably wasn't good for my poor, defective spine, but I managed to wrangle a china cabinet, large cedar chest, three tables, and ten boxes into the truck without breaking anything. By the time I got everything padded, waterproofed, and tarped, it was bedtime.

I left early in the morning on the 7th, headed down Highway 5 towards my goal of my friend Chuck's house in Indio. Google thought the Grapevine was closed (I think it was just reduced to one lane.), so sent me east, over the mountains. This turned out to be a great call, as I managed to avoid all of the L.A. traffic and arrived at Chuck's place just in time for us to go out for dinner. We had another nice visit.

In the morning, Chuck drove me to find an ATM and fed me breakfast before I hit the road, again. My goal for that day was Green Valley, AZ, just north of the Mexican border crossing at Nogales. I stayed at the Best Western there, not having had any luck finding an AirBnB. I managed to back my truck up to a wall. With the plywood sides on the truck, the load was quite secure.

I crossed the border on the morning of the 9th. After paying my duty to the National Guard gentleman manning the customs station, I continued on to kilometer 21 where I checked back in at immigration and obtained a temporary import permit for my truck. Two years before, I had been given only six months and had had to renew the TIP every six months. This time, they gave me until my temporary residency expired (811 days.) I was stopped four times before I got home and the officials were all quite impressed by the length of my TIP.

Beer and Tamale Dinner

I drove all day. It was hot and humid, but didn't rain. Everything was pretty green, so it must have rained at some point. It got greener as I headed south. I stopped for the night at my favorite no-tell-motel in Guasave. They recognized me at this point and were quick to offer me beer and tamales. It was the best 70 peso dinner I could have found.

The drive from Guasave back to La Cruz didn't go so smoothly. It started out well enough. The scenery was beautiful and the Nayarit jungle was rainy season green. Google directed me around Tepic, routing me out to San Blas and then down the coast to Las Varas. I had never seen most of that coast before. The road was narrow and poorly maintained, but the scenery was stunning. It was slow going and only got slower once I rejoined Highway 200 at La Varas. The heavens opened up right overhead and so much rain fell that I couldn't see anything but the emergency flashers of the car in front of me. So much water was bouncing off my hood that the windshield wipers couldn't keep up. Eventually, the traffic stopped and we just sat there for about an hour. My load got very wet despite all the plastic and tarps. After crawling from Las Varas to Sayulita, we sat still, again, at Sayulita until the road workers went home at 18:00. What would normally have taken an hour had taken three. It was hot and wet and dark, but I was finally home!

NORTH AMERICAN ROAD TRIP 2023 PART II

I finally left Benicia on June 1st and drove my Kia to visit Aleks and Michelle at their sheep ranch in Fiddletown. Their border collie, Polly, had had puppies and two of them were still unsold. They intended to keep one of them to help with the sheep, but were looking for a home for the second one. Sharkey, as he was called, really needed his own person and attached himself to me. He was adorable, but I really couldn't have a dog. I spent several days with Aleks and Michelle. It had been too long since I'd seen them. I helped them run the farmer's market on Sunday morning, collected eggs, and wrestled goats that had got their horns stuck in the fence. It was a relaxing interlude.

Fiddletown Moon

Near Carson Pass

On June 5th, I left Fiddletown and drove over Carson Pass and into Nevada. There was still a lot of snow on the mountains and I had plenty of time to admire it while traffic stopped to allow equipment for road work to be delivered via helicopter. I was headed to Meadview, AZ, to visit my friends, Jan and Ramona. I had expected to drive down 395, but Google took me a more direct route through Nevada. It was very hot. It had been chilly in Benicia, so I didn't realize my air conditioner wasn't working until I drove across the desert. It got so hot in the car that I had to put my phone in the ice chest to keep it from overheating. When I got out of the car to buy gas, it was 100 degrees outside and felt refreshingly cool. It had to have been 120 degrees in that car.

Driving Across Nevada

Meadview, AZ

I drove all day through the heat and finally arrived at Jan and Ramona's just in time for dinner. My mission for the following day was to get my air conditioner fixed. The Kia dealer in Kingman, AZ, agreed to look at my car that afternoon. They told me that the driver's side condenser had leaked and needed to be replaced. It would have taken five days to get parts to Kingman. I took their parts list and decided I would order the parts when I managed to make a repair appointment somewhere along my route. By the time I got back to Meadview, it was too late to call around. I spent another pleasant evening with my friends.

Ramona and Jan

Sunset in Meadview

The morning of the 7th, I left Meadview and drove across Arizona and New Mexico to Albuquerque. It was hot, but at least I was prepared and had remembered that my car had ventilated seats, which helped to cool the phone. I had agreed to meet my cousin in Oklahoma City on Friday, the 9th, so had booked two nights at an AirBnB in Albuquerque. My hosts were friendly and accommodating and I enjoyed talking with them and their other guests. They rented three rooms in their suburban home. It was comfortable and the air conditioning worked.

My AirBnB in Albuquerque

I spent a large part of the next morning calling Kia dealerships along my route, trying to make an appointment to fix my A/C. All of them reported being booked up two weeks out. I finally managed to make an appointment in Durham, NC, during the time I would be there. I ordered the parts to be delivered there so there would be no delay, or so I thought. With an afternoon to kill in suburban Albuquerque, I went to see Disney's live action The Little Mermaid and visited Trader Joe's to buy a salad for dinner and snacks for the road. I spent the evening watching Netflix. It felt good to be alone for a change.

Driving Across Oklahoma

Tiffany Collects Great Pyrennes

My drive to Oklahoma was uneventful. I hadn't seen my cousin, Tiffany, since she visited me in La Cruz in 2015. I had never met her partner, John. He was also a west coast liberal and I could see how they had gravitated to each other. Tiffany, who is a social worker, had agreed to take care of client's three-year-old for a few weeks a year before. The child was still living with them and Tiffany had petitioned for custody. Between the active little girl and four dogs, Tiffany's house was a busy place.

The Cowboy Museum in Oklahoma City`

Inside the Cowboy Museum

Saturday, we went to the Cowboy Museum in Oklahoma City. Tiffany had never been there and it was the only suggestion she had for entertaining a visitor. We arrived on the day of the annual art show and all the artists with pieces in the exhibit were present. The place was packed. Each year, one piece was selected from the annual show to be included in the permanent collection. It was interesting to look at the selection and compare it to the pieces in the permanent collection. It was apparent that some of the pieces in the collection had been selected during slow years, as some of them were quite mundane. There was a lot of Native American art and I was surprised to see a Huichol Darth Vader included in the display of Native American beadwork.

Huichol Darth Vader 

Tiffany and I went out for salads after the museum and had a chance to talk. It was good to see her and I enjoyed meeting John, but I felt like I was in the way. John's three children were due to return on Sunday night, so I left a day earlier than I had planned and continued on to my brother's house in Henderson, TN.

Abigail, the Parrot

My brother, Jim, lives in a rural area with his girlfriend, Diane and his parrot, Abigail. Abigail dominates the house as parrots will. She is quite the talker, although she never deigned to speak to me. My brother had just bought a new Corvette the day before I arrived. There is not a lot to do in Henderson, TN. We cruised the Corvette into town to pick up the mail and do errands. One day, we took Jim's offroad vehicle for a drive around Chickasaw State Park. It was very green, since it had been raining.

My Brother's New Corvette

Chickasaw State Park

My Brother in His Polaris

My brother feeds the local birds, squirrels, and even a young raccoon he calls Bandit. We spent an entire day sitting on his deck, watching the animals, and talking. Diane worked during the day, but we spent time together in the evenings, eating dinner, and watching TV. I hadn't seen my brother since Christmas of 2015, so we needed time to catch up. I realized that I should visit more often.

Me, Diane, and Jim at Brenda's Kitchen

Saturday morning, we went out to breakfast at the local cafe and then I took off for Asheville, NC. It was a pretty drive across Tennessee and up into the Blue Ridge Mountains. My friend, Cynthia, had nowhere to put me, so I booked a hotel for the night and agreed to meet her in the morning. I needed to visit an ATM. I walked to the nearest one, about a mile from my hotel, and found it closed for repairs. I backtracked to a Chipotle, ate dinner, and then returned to the ATM. Fortunately, it was then operable. I got cash and walked back to the hotel. It was the most exercise I had had in weeks.

Sunday morning, I met up with Cynthia. We visited for awhile and then took her dog, Zia, for a nice walk around downtown Asheville before eating a delicious lunch at a vegetarian restaurant. It had been many years since I had seen Cynthia and there had been many changes in both our lives, so it was good to catch up.

My Niece's Guest House

I was going to North Carolina to see my niece, Renee, but she had gone on a cruise and wasn't due back until Monday night. I had arranged to spend the intervening time with my former sister-in-law, Gaylene. While we had always maintained a family connection, any time we had spent together had always been in the presence of Renee and/or my mother. This was the first time we had ever spent any time alone together. While Gaylene is five years younger than my brother, he and I are 16 years apart.  This has  always made him seem like an older generation and I guess I had lumped Gaylene together with him. Left to ourselves, Gaylene and I felt more like peers and had a good time. Gaylene installed me in the guest house on Renee's property. Gaylene lived in a charming remodeled house on an adjoining piece of property. The establishment's thirty acres and the rain made it necessary to drive from house to house. I was given the use of Renee's car.

My mission on Monday was to deliver my Kia to the dealership in Durham. After charging me $299 for a diagnostic, they informed me that the trouble with my air conditioner was not a leaky condenser, but a damaged air conditioner radiator. Repairing it would require four days to get parts and another $600 in parts, not to mention $1100 in labor. They did not want to refund the $600 I had already paid for the parts recommended by the dealership in AZ. I pitched what I would describe as a very quiet and polite fit, eventually convincing them to exchange the parts I had already purchased for the correct ones and to expedite their delivery. I needed to leave Durham by Friday because I had non-refundable reservations further down the line. Gaylene and I spent the afternoon touring Renee's impressive home and going through the photos I had mailed to Renee before I left for Mexico in 2021. She made me a nice salmon dinner and we enjoyed a glass of wine and relaxed. Renee's flight home from Miami was cancelled due to bad weather and not rescheduled until the following night.

Walking Path at Duke University

Tuesday, it was still raining and we decided it would be a good idea to go to the North Carolina Museum of Art in Raleigh. When we got there, we discovered they were closed on Tuesdays. It rained so hard that we were trapped in the entry until the cloudburst passed. We headed back to Durham and ate lunch in a roadside cafe/specialty grocery store that served up delicious chicken soup and grilled cheese sandwiches. We took two slices of quiche with us to have for dinner, but the lunch was so filling that we just ate a little salad when dinnertime rolled around. Later, it stopped raining enough for us to get in a nice walk around the Duke University grounds.   Renee's flight was, once again, cancelled.

Wednesday, Gaylene took me to her excercise class on the campus of Duke University. Renee and her husband, Ralph, employ a Mexican couple to care for their property. I had met them the day before and they were surprised to meet a family member who lived in Mexico and spoke Spanish. The wife, Silvia, and her two children picked me up from the gym and took me out to lunch at the local Mexican grocery store and cafeteria. It was a little early for lunch for me, but I couldn't resist ordering one lamb taco. We chatted away in Spanish and the whole experience felt like a little slice of home after having been away for six weeks. Silvia returned me to Gaylene's house and we all agreed to meet for dinner at my house, later that night.

Gaylene and I paid a more successful visit to the art museum that afternoon. The featured exhibit was Ruth E. Carter's Afrofuturism in Costume Design and included the original costumes from Black Panther as well as other films. The costumes were amazingly detailed and some elements had actually been 3D printed. We were very impressed.

a

The Family in "My" Kitchen

Back at my place, Silvia, Rafael, and their two children arrived bearing chicken mole and rice. We contributed a salad and sorbet for desert. Silvia even made a pitcher of Jamaica to drink. We had a boisterous family dinner and then I played some music for everyone on my guitar. Renee was still trapped in their condo on Fisher Island, but we were making do without her.

We drove Renee's car to the airport to fetch Renee and Ralph on Thursday morning. Ralph had managed to step on a piece of wire while on their cruise and it had become imbedded in his foot. We left him at the Duke University clinic and took Renee home. We collected the quiche we had never eaten and shared that with Renee for lunch. She needed a nap, so we left her, picked up my poor car from the Kia dealership, and reconvened later to go through the family photos with Renee and Ralph. Renee, Gaylene, and I went out for a Greek dinner.

Me, Gaylene, and Renee at Dinner

I had originally intended to drive to Wilmington on Thursday to see my nephew, Philip, but Renee's flight delays made that impossible. He and I both had other places to be on Friday and so we had to scratch getting together, which was a disappointment.

Renee and I got together for a walk on Friday morning before saying goodbye to everyone. I hoped it wouldn't be another eight years before I saw them again. Durham wasn't any farther from Mexico than California and I urged them to visit me, also.

NORTH AMERICAN ROAD TRIP 2023 PART I

Judy Jensen

I usually only write when I am traveling, so my silence might have been interpreted as my not having done anything interesting, lately. That couldn't be further from the truth. I drove about eleven thousand miles over two months, from Mexico to California, across the United States as far as Georgia, back to California and then back to Mexico. Then I turned around and sailed from Mazatlan to Ensenada.  Unfortunately, on the day following my departure, my dear friend, Judy Jensen, suffered complications from spinal surgery, fell into a coma and ultimately succumbed to the cascade of organ failures that played out over the next month. I just couldn't bring myself to write about my adventures while this was happening. Instead, I was glued to my phone, praying for hopeful updates. It was difficult to be so far from my home and circle of friends during this time. I couldn't bring myself to write about the situation, either. Her husband Fred's eloquent and anguished posts said it all. It seemed wrong to suggest that my own sorrow even mattered in sight of his tremendous loss. I remained silent.

I didn't realize it until she was gone, but Judy was the person with whom I spent the most time. We saw each other at the gym, played cards and dominoes, and raced sailboats. Her smile dominated a room. I can still hear her unique voice in my head. Being away from my every day friends just made me miss her more. Judy always let her friends know that she loved them and I loved her, too. She was irreplaceable.

Ollie in My Truck

Ironically, my trip started out as a mission to see the friends and family I hadn't seen in years because we are all getting older and tomorrow isn't guaranteed for any of us. I also needed to register my truck and wanted to bring another load of family heirlooms back to my home in La Cruz. I drove my truck north, ferrying a load of personal belongings and a silver lab named Ollie back across the border for an acquaintance who had just sold his boat. We spent the first night at my now favorite Mission Motel in Guasave where we were able to park the truck in a garage between our rooms. We couldn't shut the garage door, but backed the tailgate up against the wall, successfully preventing access, as I had reinstalled the plywood sides on the truck. We had to pull the truck out a few feet to get our luggage back in. As we were driving up the steep driveway that led directly to the highway, we noticed an elderly man madly bicycling after us. We had left the tailgate down! We were very grateful for his notification. Our gear could have easily been spread all over Highway 15.

On the second night, I left Mike, Ollie, and the truck at a hotel in San Carlos

Marina Real in San Carlos

and spent the night with my friend, Marie-Pierre, on her boat in Marina Real. It was Mother's Day in Mexico. Marie-Pierre and I shared a lovely dinner at the somewhat fancy restaurant in the marina and then went for a walk along the beach. I had never been to Marina Real before and the setting was lovely. I could see why MP liked it there, although it was pretty deserted at that time of year. MP was glad to see a friendly face. Ollie, the dog, greeted me enthusiastically, the next morning, and we continued on our way, crossing the border at Nogales. It was the day that Title 42 expired and doomsayers were predicting crowds of migrants at the border. We saw no one and were across the border in under 15 minutes. 

 I drove Mike to the Tucson airport where we somehow (barely) managed to cram all of his things into a rented Toyota Highlander. He set off for California and I continued on to Glendale, AZ, where I arrived just in time to have dinner with my college friend, Diane. I spent two nights with Diane, resting, visiting, and shopping. It was nice to take a break from driving.

View from Tom & Cary's Patio

My next stop was Cathedral City, CA, (near Palm Springs) where I stayed with my friends, Tom and Cary, from Dragon's Toy.  I wanted to get my truck legal before heading into the Los Angeles area. I had started getting hassled by the police in Mexico because my registration was two years out of date and I did not have a front license plate. Unfortunately, neither of these problems could be corrected without returning the truck to California for a smog check. I arrived on a Saturday. Because my truck was old, it had to go to a special testing facility that was not open until Monday. I spent the weekend visiting with my friends, Trish and Charles, who both lived in Indio, and accompanying Tom and Cary on a drive to Idyllwild and Lake Hemet. It was nice to get out of the heat. We ate lunch at an outrageously overpriced ($84 for two lunches and three drinks) outdoor cafe and listened to live music.

Lake Hemet

Monday morning, I was at the smog check station when it opened. The truck passed with flying colors and I proceeded to the DMV in Palm Springs where I was able to renew the registration, get new license plates, and order a replacement title for my Kia. I had paid off the loan on the car months earlier but the title had never arrived at my mailing address. I needed to sell the car before returning to Mexico, so acquiring the title was crucial. I hoped that it would arrive before I completed my circuit of the Southern United States.

Having completed my tasks at the DMV, I was then free to drive to Marina del Rey and meet up with Greg on Scout. Soon, we were joined by Sally and Adrian, some English friends who were visiting on their way to Hawaii. We all went out for dinner at Killer Shrimp. In the morning, we were joined by our friend, Brad, and the five of us set sail for Catalina Island on Scout. It was always a treat to see my Mexico sailing friends during the off season. 

Cat Harbor from the Top of the Hill

We sailed to Isthmus Cove and picked up a mooring, there. The following day, Sally, Adrian, Brad, and I went for a hike and climbed to the top of the hill overlooking Cat Harbor. Later, we met Greg for drinks at Doug's and then made dinner on the boat. On our last morning in Catalina, we conducted experiments to determine the best method for preparing one-eyed jacks, our gang's favorite breakfast item. We investigated different shapes for the hole cut in the center of the bread and learned that a "B" shape, rectangle, and random "Blair" tear were all equally successful. We agreed that future investigation should include the use of larger bread and/or smaller eggs. We took careful notes to share with the absent members of our gang. Our sail back to Marina del Rey was uneventful. It had been chilly and overcast for our entire time at Catalina. We saw a huge flock of cormorants on our way back to the mainland.

Sally, Brad, Greg, and Me at Doug's Harbor Reef

The next day, I said goodbye to my sailing friends and continued north to Paso Robles to pick up my mail and visit my friends, Midori and Curt. It was a weeknight and they had a busy schedule. I was whisked off to their choir rehearsal. I hadn't sung in a choir for decades and was reminded how different that is from singing as a soloist or duet. I had to pay much more attention to my breathing because it would have been very noticeable if we had all breathed at once. I spent the night with Midori and Curt and then continued on my way to Benicia in the morning.

Both of my rental properties were vacant, so I was able to stay in my former home. There was no furniture, so I blew up my air bed and dragged in a couple of resin chairs. Fortunately, I had left my barstools for the tenant, so I had somewhere to sit and eat or use the computer. My first mission was to call AAA and get my Kia started. After sitting in the garage for a year and a half, the battery was quite dead. AAA didn't carry the type of battery I had, so I drove straight to the dealer to purchase a new battery and get my oil changed.

Where Was My Gravel?

My townhouse was in good shape except for a window that had been broken when a tree fell through it during a storm. The property manager had already ordered the window, so all I needed to do was to scrub some mildew off the ceiling in one of the bathrooms. The big house was a different story. While the interior of the house was in good condition, the landscaping and irrigation had been completely destroyed by the tenant's supposedly calm and well-trained "emotional support" dog. Neighbors described the dog as "mean" and "a tornado." It had knocked over the elderly fence by lunging at the neighbors on one side. I had re-landscaped the yard just before I left, removing the lawn and carrying yards of decorative rocks and gravel up a ramp built over the stairs. When I returned, the large area under the big tree, which had been covered in pea gravel broken up by a faux stream of river stones, was nearly completely bare. All of the river stones and most of the gravel were gone. I was horrified. I no longer had the lumber for the ramp or the wheelbarrow. I had no idea how I was going to replace the rocks.

My Irrigation Was Toast

My sprinkler system was a total loss. The dog had torn up the drip irrigation system, gnawed off the sprinkler heads, and chewed through the electrical wires controlling the valves. It also turned out that the dog had been a digger. I eventually located my rocks. Rather than returning the dirt the dog had excavated to the holes, the tenant had filled the holes with my rocks. It took me ten days to sort the rocks from the gravel and painstakingly reconstruct what I could of the landscaping. Many of the plants had died, since nothing had been watered for at least a year. I pulled up dead shrubs and did not replace them. It was apparently too much to ask tenants to water, so my property manager suggested I not bother to repair the sprinklers or replace any plants. I bought a truckload of rubber mulch to cover the dog's earthworks and the bare spots left by removed dead bushes. It looked tidy when I was finished and I guessed that would have to do.

It Looked OK After I Was Done

The other unpleasant surprise I received upon my return was the fact that my wooden garage door had sort of melted in all the rain. It had been made of wooden panels glued to frames. It faced south and had suffered from sun exposure. I had kept it well painted to try to extend its life, but the glue had dissolved in the rain and the whole thing had sagged. I couldn't put it back together and had to order a new garage door. The state of California, in its wisdom, had decreed that garage doors couldn't be replaced without replacing the garage door openers with one containing a battery backup, so I had to shell out an additional $675 for a new opener. I had planned to paint the house over the summer. I met with the painter and got a bid but, between the houses not being rented for a few months and having to replace the fence and the garage door, the painting would have to wait.

Gover, Mark, and Me Reunited

Not all my time in Benicia was wasted on house repairs. I got to spend time with friends and even got

together to play music with some friends from my high school mountaineering days, one of whom I hadn't seen in over 40 years. I also got a chance to play Celtic music with the Benicia Session. It was very good to see everyone. I spent more time in Benicia than I had intended, which put me a bit behind schedule. I still had 9,000 miles of driving to complete and many more people to see.