Linda Steve and I have just returned from our week-long trans-peninsular road trip, meaning we crisscrossed the upper 2/3s of this wonderful spit of Baja several times. It is quite a bit longer (length-wise) than the state of Florida; miles of almost uninhabited desert with unfenced ranges and lonely ranches. As we drove farther southeast (and southwest) the landscape morphed into different plants in the mountainous terrain. We camped directly on Pacific beaches as well as beaches on the Sea of Cortez (Gulf of California). Since this has been an El Nino weather year the west coast has been getting a lot of rain. You may have heard about the January rainstorms that hit the fire-damaged hills around Los Angeles causing terrible floods. San Diego and the Baja coast got those big rains too, so we ... read more

After a few warm days in Big Bend we got back to winter’s business… We treated ourselves to a night at the Paisano, a fine old hotel in Marfa Texas, and then headed north to Fort Davis to camp and visit the McDonald Observatory. If you listen to national public radio you may have heard a short program about the stars called Star Date, which is sponsored by the University of Texas’ observatory at Fort Davis. Our afternoon tour was great, but when we went back for their nighttime program “a Star Party” the clouds had moved in. Bummer! A cold rain battered the van’s roof all that night, and the next morning we drove through 2 inches of snow to get through a remote pass. Yee-hah, the van did great! A few months ago, when ... read more

New Orleans Parts 2 and 3 During our 3 nights in the Big Easy and music and food were some of the highlights. Since we were staying in the east end of the Quarter and the nearby Frenchmen Street area in Marigny had been recommended to us (thank you Loy), we concentrated there. Although our visit was Monday-Wednesday, there was still good live music to be found. One night we saw Charlene Neville at Snug Harbor, another night I went to a bar called d.b.a (drink better alcohol) where I saw Walter “Wolfman” Washington a seminal New Orleans guitar player, singer, composer and band leader. He had a great 6-piece band with killer horns, sang original songs and N.O. standards while I drank world class beers. Cover charge-5 bucks. One night we (mistakenly) went to the ... read more

It’s been soooo cold even in the far south. I hate it! I dreamed we would leave on one of those mild winter days that we sometimes have in the Carolinas in January. We would travel south where we would be warmer still. I thought we would camp in our new van, which we worked so hard to equip. But no... Friday night was our last night in Fairhope Alabama in the comfortable shelter of Pinky’s house. We’ve spent a few hours every day at the Fairhope library right around the corner where we could get internet access. We bundled up for the first Friday gallery stroll, where a woman asked me where we came from. That was easy to answer, but the next question made me pause. What are you doing here? We’re on sabbatical ... read more

We are slowly getting the van ready for the trip with storage bins and trials of where things fit best. Borrowed a Coleman Campstove from Emily and made the first reservations-January 6-7 at Bahia Honda State Park on Big Pine Key. So that means we will need to leave on the 3rd or 4th of January. Entered emails and will send this message as a test. Give feedback please... read more