28 December 2024
Heartfelt appreciation for hot coffee this morning. We may be in high dessert, but it is cold out there. We pack up the “Prius mule team” and head east into the Mojave Desert.
The railroad tracks across from our hotel acted as the final destination for the 20-mule teams traveling some 165 miles from the Death Valley borax mines to our north. Our drive will be considerably more comfortable and speedier.
(more…)27 December 2024
A road trip is an anonymous freedom on four wheels! Radial tires humming along open roads with endless horizons stretching out before me. Every mile brings a potential discovery of an unexpected gem of Americana. Along with my travel buddy, we are hitting the road set on discovery, relaxation and fun.
(more…)27-29 September 2024
There exists far more to Rio than sandy beaches, Carnival, and volcanic plugs. The city is a jumble of wide chaotic streets, a fusion of colonial and modern, and a population of 6 million. Colorful favelas (slums) crawl up the hillsides.
But Rio is also surrounded by bays, hills and forests of natural beauty. Rio looks a mosaic from a distance but up close its heartbeat is robust, loud and lively. Exploring Rio represents a definite real-life experience.
24 September 2024
Life is good. I sit in the hotel bar in Rio de Janeiro, enjoying a cold Antarctica Original Cerveja, catching up on writing, watching YouTube, checking out news, hearing English around me even tho sometimes drowned out by fire alarms blasting.
The bartender goes about his business. I do too.
It has been a very busy 3 weeks. Time to collect my stream-of-thoughts. So many impressions, experiences, feelings. To answer the muzac piped into the lobby, yes Cindy, “girls they wanna have fun.”
(more…)23-24 Sept 2024
No rush this am, yet the birds don’t know – or care. I am awakened at the first light of dawn by the raucous Curicacas. Their antics act as my avian alarm clock. Mouthy little guys are a pain in the ass this morning.
(more…)22 Sept 2024
I awake to an opera of birds. One cannot describe it as a symphony as it is too discordant, too raucous. The Curicaca’s endless squabbling as they chase about the grounds and into the trees will wake the soundest sleeper. It begins at first light and continues for hours. The beautiful pair of blue Hyacinth Macaws and the Taco Toucans cannot compete.
Also in the yard is Eddie. I call him this because I cannot look at the floppy long-eared jackass and not think of Shrek, the movie. Eddie silently stares, calmly ignores the monkeys and scurrying birds at his feet, and continues to search for a blade of grass.