Mobile, AL Yes, we’re still in Mobile. The truck is requiring a good bit of work, which keeps Berck occupied and gives me time to sort through my life as I pack up my room. Berck thinks he’s found the source of the clacking in the engine. One of the rod tips had nearly broken off. We were lucky; if we hadn’t replaced it, it could have mucked up the engine pretty good when it dislocated completely. So hopefully a five-dollar part will solve that problem. Berck is also worried about the radiator. It doesn’t seem to be cooling as…
Portland, OR — Tacoma, WA On Tuesday we continued up the coast, cutting over to Portland, OR. There we parked near Powell’s Books and walked till we found a pub for some local brew and a burger (for Berck) and fish and chips (for me, but which even Berck admitted was tasty). Then it was on to explore the biggest bookstore in the world, both used and new books. We managed to escape with only two books latched onto us, primarily because we can’t afford to buy or carry anything, but mostly because our 90 min parking meter was up.…
Tacoma, WA We’re in Tacoma, WA just south of Seattle staying with Spirit and Jenifer Meller, although Spirit is TDY this week, so we missed him. They are moving to Las Vegas in about a month, so we got here at the right time. They’ve sold their guest bed, but they have a lovely dry guest room in which we can roll out our sleeping pads. We got lucky yesterday and drove into the area with a shining sun and a clear day…clear enough to see Mt. Rainer! Today it’s raining, and it’s supposed to keep doing that all week.…
Lake Arrowhead, CA — Oregon Coast Today is March 2nd, as opposed to March 3 (as I mistakenly wrote in the gas log) or February 31, as Berck’s watch thinks. I haven’t journaled much because we’ve been heading up the left coast, generally a windy way. I can’t type very well when it’s curvy because the laptop flies out of my lap. But now we’re heading inland into Oregon, and the road is a much straighter. We just stopped at a McDonald’s to use the bathroom. My policy is usually that I’ve eaten a bunch of McDonald’s hamburgers without having…
Lake Arrowhead, CA It started raining here in Lake Arrowhead today about noon. Then the rain turned to snow. It’s coming down in thick, wet flakes and has actually started sticking to the ground. I’m glad we got here yesterday!