Pandemic Update #2

It's a month later. We're still just fine, parked in our North American RV, Le Sport, in daughter Rebecca's driveway, Menlo Park, Bay Area, Middle California. Bubbled with Rebecca, husband Jeremy, and our grand-daughter, Penelope. Our work on the camper continues, replacing the striping, washing, waxing, applying preservatives to various plastic, vinyl, rubber, and so on. We take daily long walks (with interval jogging) in the neighborhood and have even ventured out on family hikes at the Pulgas Ridge open space reserve (see illustration). Rebecca does nearly all the shopping. She and Penelope continue with their on-line educational endeavors, Rebecca teaching, Penelope learning. Both are much looking forward to the end of school in a couple weeks. We Zoom with Rachel and Will from time to time. They're fine, if bored, working from home in DC. Yesterday Vicki and I ventured out, cautiously, to have some needed brake work done on Le Sport, and, while waiting, took an enjoyable short drive up in the hills and redwood forests west of here. Nice to get out. Nice place to get out.

Of course, it is difficult to plan in the present environment. Future-oriented Vicki is particularly frustrated about not being able to scheme nor dream. (I rarely think beyond what kind of beverage ("careful, man!") will be appropriate with dinner (Veal picatta...a Pinot Grigio?)). In any case, we are presently thinking about breaking out in mid-June and driving to our former home, Missoula, MT, where most of our remaining belongings are in storage. Perhaps a few weeks in someone's driveway there while we go through our things and attempt to winnow them down further. Hopefully the Goodwill will be open by then. Then some slow travel, maybe inland, maybe on the coast, back down south. Perhaps by then things will have clarified.... In our dreams we're thinking of returning to the UK and Europe for the fall, then maybe New Zealand for the winter. In our dreams. Please, Jacinda....

Students and astute readers of this blog will notice a change in its style/format/theme/ whatever Google calls it. Blogger (Google) sent out a note yesterday saying that such styles/etc., would have to be updated by end of June. (They've been asking clients like me to update for some time now). I was beginning to look at the options, starting with "Travel/Road" (what else?) and then discovered that the option to revert back to my old-fangled style/etc., ("legacy"? "classic"?) would not work. For a few eternities, it looked as if I'd lost the blog entirely...12 years, 3500+ posts, 1,000s of pix, not to mention the time and effort and emotional investment. Blogger Help, like other "help" centers, is nearly worthless in solving such problems. All that came up when I tried to go to roadeveron.blogspot.com was a dense page of HTML (my former "style"). I haven't done HTML since the early 00s and am not about to learn it again. I was in despair. Then, casting and surfing desperately about, I was able to recover my "Travel/Road" style/etc., and the blog, in its entirety, if in the new style/etc. So there we are: "Travel/Road." I am not about to mess with it again, at least not for a while. Hope you like it....

Until next month, or our next travels...stay safe, healthy, humane, and please don't infect others!

On Pulgas Ridge, west of Redwood City (the trails are one-way, parking and
use very limited)