We’ve spent these past few days in Bloomington, Indiana with my grandmother, Anne. We ate more Laughing Planet burritos, which I was so happy about. We ate Turkish and Ethiopian food, which were both super tasty! We got to see my Aunt Amy and my Uncle Joaquin, and little baby Iago is adorable. One day, Anne and I went to go to the movies and saw the new movie, Bandslam, which was good, and we also saw an opera performance by some Indiana University students. Most of the songs that they sung were in French and Italian, but the last mini [View Full Entry]

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Daddy & Judy drove all the way from Northern California to Knoxville and then on to Atlanta for a visit. We had a great time. Enjoyed seeing their pooches Ginger & Kelly (although our cats Marcel & Spooky weren't thrilled). [View Full Entry]

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Day One - Charleston to Knoxville TN It was bittersweet leaving Charleston. Despite only having the 17 and the 526 as my last sights of the city - the sun was rising over the river marshes and despite myself, I let the memories come swarming in. I still can’t believe I am doing this. That said - once I got past Summerville, I set into driving mode. It was a synch of a drive and I found it somewhat beautiful as the flat plains slowly turned into undulating hills. There is one point along the 26 that you drive around the [View Full Entry]

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The shows I have attended while on the road have really brought me back to my formative years. First, seeing Willie Nelson performing ‘Angel Too Close to the Ground’, ‘Whiskey for my Men, Beer for my Horses’, ‘Always on my Mind’ and of course, ‘On the Road Again’ under a picture perfect sky in Louisville, Kentucky brought me back to those years when we used to visit my grandfather and my mom's family in San Jose. That drive to San Jose from Auburn seemed like an entirety back then. The whole grueling 3 hours of it. Back then I thought San [View Full Entry]

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3 July Crossville, Tennessee “Come to think of it, Rich, we’ve never been to a game over there”, Zack reflected when I firmly broached the subject. Whether he and Penny decided to join us would never sway my plans to drag Phillip ninety plus miles to a AA baseball game. “Good, the you’re in to come?” “Yeah, we’ll do it!” Under other circumstances, I’d mention that he should ask Penny, but instincts told me she would be on board. “We just have to make a stop at a Lexus dealership to pick up a garage door opener t [View Full Entry]

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We stumbled into a big 4th of July celebration at the World's Fair park. Took a nice long stroll thru Fort Sanders area close to University of Tennessee. [View Full Entry]

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We were so glad to have Sister Sandi come stay with us. Her and Richard cleaning the porch. [View Full Entry]

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Today we ventured on the freeways trying to find "Long's Drug Store" which we learned isn't "really" a Longs. Reminded me of Woolworths that had a dining area. I looked for custard pie but alas there is no going back. Richard took Makai to Gatlinburg for rehearsal and I sauntered to the co-op for fresh ingredients for supper. Am set for some Apple trainings later in the week. Spooky helped me. Marcel was recovering from a midnight brawl with a neighborhood cat.... she held her own pretty good! [View Full Entry]

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We've landed and are settling in to our humble abode in North Knoxville. The kitties traveled fine and love playing with firefly's. Richard makes the trek every other day to rehearse at Sweet Fanny Adams Theatre in Gatlinburg. Anne is discovering farmer's markets and local co-ops, yum! [View Full Entry]

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So my next leg was another four days of riding, but only ~275 miles this time. Elaine got me prepared by taking me to an art/wine fair the night before I left, and I has happy to oblige her. Southern IL and and KY have been nice and hilly, and forest took over what in most of IL was endless cornfields. I also got on to the Trans Am (a popular cross country route with many cyclists going coast to coast) so I ran into many other folks traveling by bike, though most were travelling west. I spent some time on [View Full Entry]

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