This Blog Thing

I enjoy driving, taking photographs, exploring, hiking, and talking with people. These activities and the normal housekeeping associated with traveling leave me little time or inclination to blog. And it takes time and is not always easy to get access to the Internet. I would also like to write something of interest, if at all possible, which for me requires some thought. I know: excuses, excuses, excuses...

I have had a number of conversations with people with a wide range of opinions, some I agree with and more I disagree with. As was my plan, unless asked (not often), I have kept my views to myself. I really haven’t learned anything I didn’t think I already thought I knew, but listening to the vehemence with which some people have expressed their dislike of Obama is pretty different from anything I have heard in Berkeley. So far there haven’t been many specifics. The usual feeling is that Obama lacks substance in his call for change. I have suspicions that some of the strong feelings have a component of racism, but not once has this come up explicitly and I could easily be wrong in my suspicions. I have not yet spoken with anyone who is enthusiactic about McCain.

As much as a memory aid for myself as anything else, I set out below where I have spent each night since I left and for some dates a brief comment or two. When I get back, I might expand some of these notes and add some photos. Using Point A to Point B logic, it’s usually pretty easy to determine my route.

Monday, July 7, 2008 – Cliff Marchetti’s new home near Tuolumne, California

Cliff retired as Berkeley Waterfront Manager about the same time that I retired as Legislative Aide for Berkeley Councilmember Linda Maio and as her appointee to the Berkeley Waterfront Commission. Cliff and I had become friends over the years and occasionally compared notes about how we would spend our retirement years. Each of us is following our plan: Cliff by building a retirement home near Tuolumne, California and me by traveling, sometimes on a road trip as I am now and other times by traveling to different locations to stay for a while. Building or moving to a retirement home makes sense to me, but I also want to move around and see different places. I enjoy all the freedom I have to pretty much do as I please around the house – there is, of course, the honey-do list – but I also can feel myself drifting into a routine that borders on boredom. I don’t want too much stimulation, but neither do I want to be bored. I notice on the road there are more unpredictable events like finding a place to spend the night when the campgrounds are full or making minor repairs on the Class B, which makes me feel more alive that working on the many enjoyable projects I do at home. I also find stimulating to talk with people who hold a greater variety of ideas about what’s real and correct than I do in Berkeley. Cliff and I plan to compare notes on our retirement strategies in the coming years. I’m looking forward to those conversations.

Tuesday, July 8, 2008 – Fort Churchhill State Historic Park, Nevada
Wednesday, July 9, 2008 -- Elk Flat Campground, Cave Lake Recreation Area, Nevada
Thursday, July 10, 2008 – Wheeler Peak Campground, Great Basin National Park, Nevada
Friday, July 11, 2008 – Lower Lehman Creek, Great Basin National Park, Nevada
Saturday, July 12, 2008 – Lodgepole Campground, along Hway 40, Utah
Sunday, July 13, 2008 – Red Canyon Campground, Flaming Gorge National Recreation Area, Utah
Monday, July 14, 2008 – Dinosaur National Monument Campground, Utah
Tuesday, July 15, 2008 – Ranger Lakes Campground, State Forest State Park, Colorado
Wednesday, July 16, 2008 -- Ranger Lakes Campground, State Forest State Park, Colorado
Thursday, July 17, 2008 – Fort Collins Lakeside KOA Campground, Colorado