She rolled down her car window as I stood in the parking space next door, guiding Bill and Abbey Road between the lines. “Hey,” the woman said, resting her forearm on the sill. “Good luck with your marriage.” I turned, my arms still outstretched. “My parents almost divorced after a week in one of those,”Continue reading “A Farewell to Abbey Road”
Tag Archives: travel writing
Life is Good if You’re a Lab
Our vet said once that in her next life she wants to come back as a lab. Motivated by food and fetch, they wake happy, joyful at the prospect of another day of kibble, Kongs, belly rubs, and head scratches. Most would include walks on the list. Not Maisie. Let me clarify: leashed walks. AtContinue reading “Life is Good if You’re a Lab”
When Maisie Met Frankie
Love at first bite. Oh, there had been others. Sunny in Oregon. The border collie in Utah. Ruby at Huntington Beach. But only to Frankie did Maisie attach like a barnacle. A 4-year-old black lab, Frankie wooed her with pool leaps and hors d’oeuvres snatching. Unnecessary; he had her at the first tussle, as theyContinue reading “When Maisie Met Frankie”
Equipment Superior to Operator
Google Maps. Apple Maps. Punch in the address one more time. If, as the sign says, we are in the Sequoia National Forest, where pray tell are the giant trees? Beside us roars the Kern River and we just passed Isabella Lake, wild with white caps in this wind. In front are layers of brown,Continue reading “Equipment Superior to Operator”
A Little Humility
The green plastic spatula disappeared yesterday. It dated back to camping days with small children so its loss wasn’t financial but convenience. How would we flip the salmon, the pancakes? The good news about living in a space this tiny is that missing items inevitably turn up. We found the spatula resting in the deadContinue reading “A Little Humility”
Parking Lot Slumber
Things are pretty quiet here in the Bass Pro Shop parking lot just off CA 120 in Manteca. Eighteen minutes until closing. With luck a security guard will not knock on the door and ask why a nice couple and their lab from Newburyport, MA, in a rented Dodge RAM camper van, are spending thisContinue reading “Parking Lot Slumber”
Camping Wherever
The woman with the broad face by the door at the Kayenta, AZ Chevron station smiled ever-so-slightly. “Camping?” she said, pointing up the highway from where we had just driven. “Utah. Or maybe the Grand Canyon.” What she didn’t say was: “Idiot. There is no camping on tribal lands.” And tribal lands – Navajo andContinue reading “Camping Wherever”
Helmet Required
The sun is bright, the skies are clear, and the wind howls with a gale force on this remote spot on a fire road in a National Forest just outside of the Grand Canyon. Denver Son recommended this site and we are grateful – grateful that we didn’t have to drive another hour in theContinue reading “Helmet Required”
Hotel Redemption, Cultural Failure
What’s not to like about Nebraska? The drivers for one. The speed (75 mph). The weaving. The blocking (that’s you Ms. Ponytail in the SUV with the YOLO sticker). Bostonians are meek in comparison. Off the road, however, people are congenial, the terrain more rolling than Iowa, a state so flat you can see fromContinue reading “Hotel Redemption, Cultural Failure”
Hotel-Stay COVID Style
And we thought that the highlight of yesterday’s 438-mile drive would be the RV Hall o Fame in Elkhart, Indiana. In truth, it might have been if we had arrived more than 6-minutes before closing and didn’t sprint from the first rolling home – a covered wagon – to a 41-foot Winnebago complete with sofa.Continue reading “Hotel-Stay COVID Style”
Driving Miss Maisie 