Made it to California!

I was hoping that I could make it in two days of driving, but 2,300 miles really should be four days. I spent the first night somewhere around North Platte, Nebraska, after hitting a serious snow, rain, and sleet storm that iced up everything. I didn't take this picture until after most of the ice had fallen off, mostly because until I got clear of the storm there wasn't a dry place to stand.



Driving through the west was gorgeous - after the Rocky Mountains begin in Colorado, there's not a scratch of boring all the way clear to the ocean.

Long drives are a wonderful way to contemplate life. It's so incredible to be able to span vast distances while encased in total comfort, with concert-quality sound blasting on the speakers, good food, a thermos full of coffee or tea (I alternated), and good weed. That does make the time fly by, and everything so much more interesting.

I said goodbye to Munchkin in Fort Collins, CO, where he'll be staying with Elena and her dog Athena. He loves them, and it'll be great for me to not have to worry about where I'm going to live while I get my job situation figured out. Munchkin loves to chase anything small, furry, and fast - Tiffany's got a cat. I'll be staying with Tiffany and her roommates while I document what it's like to try to live the greenest, healthiest, and most sustainable life possible.

That'll be quite a change from the way I've been living. When I got to Fort Collins, I was just in time to accompany Elena on her way to work at Lil' Nic's, a restaurant/bar where she adeptly runs an upstairs room from behind the bar. It's the kind of place where people go to feel classy instead of drunk, but a bar is a bar is a bar. Everyone's a lush, or else they'd be doing something else. I happily dug into the ribs, chicken wings, and potato salad - and damn, after two days of driving in blizzards, that beer was good. Okay, those five beers. We ended up hanging out with the rest of the bar staff after an early close, and went to a Thai restaurant where they cooked up an amazing feast, complete with coconut-wrapped fried bananas with coconut ice cream. Mmmmm.

I'm in the attic room of Deb and Matt's house, a narrow room with slanted ceilings running perpendicular to the orientation of the overall structure. It has the effect of segregating the room, isolating it as an oasis from the baby, who dominates the lower level. He is an amazing child, as most babies are, awakening slowly to the world around him. Maxwell communicates through subtle tics, minor gestures, and piercing wails that lead us to tiptoe around him. The only bathroom was apparently built as a second larger closet within his bedroom, within this floorplan where the occupancy and use of a human family was considered only as an afterthought. It is quaint and charming, and ideal for a childless couple, horrific for a new family attempting to work from home with a guest. That's a strong word, but I have to pee right now. This morning when I woke up at 5a to join Deb in the kitchen, she asked me to relieve myself outside on the lawn rather than risking the disruption of our prince's slumber. This kid owns the house already, and he's only 4 months old.

I love them all, and Maxwell is a joy to behold. It's a really great gift to be able to participate in their lives, and they are infinitely welcoming hosts, smart, charming people, and fantastic friends. I do love them, and life is great in California.