Highlight Reel

After many crazy days on the road and having fenced backyards and free food and cocktails galore and 2,500 miles on the truck and having slept for three days, we are here. Sorry for the lax publishing. The seven regulars will receive something nice for the holidays this year. It sounds lame, but I was either huddling in front of a space heater or driving or busy telling my dog to stay. The high/low lights/key learnings:

  • Discovering the beauty of self-ratcheting tie-downs. I’ll never use rope again. After purchasing four, I purchased four more in Seattle, because, well, you can never have enough self-ratcheting tie-downs.
  • My boy Kent cooks amazing ribs.
  • His wife Micheala balances the scene with a wicked salad.
  • While really nice, Highway 1 isn’t a way for modern, internet addicted, A.D.D. sufferers to travel.
  • Having my brother act as Internet Travel Consultant saved our asses in Ukiah.
  • Lakes are beautiful. Particularly in the morning. Particularly when it’s foggy.
  • If you don’t have enough tie-downs, your tarp will shred in the wind like dandelion seedlings and cover every piece of luggage with a fine, particulate matter that may or may not be toxic.
  • Crate train your dog.
  • Fenced backyards are the most wonderful thing in the world if you are a dog owner. Chuck ran 700 miles of backyard on this trip and slept great in the truck. We only gave him the doggy downer drops once.
  • Seattle was sunny every single day we were there. There were 4 stunning sunsets. By the seashore. With seashells. Sold by Suzy. Sorry.
  • Seeing Santa Claus in street clothes, perched on a crapper, in a stall without doors, in a public restroom at Lowell’s in Pike’s Market can kill whatever buzz you have working. Add sounds and it’s not pretty, people.
  • People are damn nice and outgoing in Seattle. Not that Los Angeles people aren’t friendly. But everybody really does drip of at least one major psychosis in L.A.
  • Families kick ass. Their dogs also kick ass. Talking dogs kick ass as well, particularly if they are teaching your dog who is boss.
  • Doing a mass shoveling is better than doing individual poop bags.
  • My wife is a rocker.
  • We are now, officially, broke.