2025 T.A.R.D.I.S. Cross Country

We talked about going to the crater this morning, but neither of us wanted to take the time. I still kinda wanted to but Roger is the driver, so he gets to say. I regret not doing it--even though I saw it 61 years ago.  Next time, we will plan on it and allow extra time. But then we saw this on the map while driving toward Albuquerque.  Looks like maybe a strip mine??? We went right by it, whatever it was. Stop 1 Holbrook, Arizona, 5000 mi elevation 62% to 90% - 15 minutes - 41¢/kWh Long enough to microwave oatmeal and eat a half grapefruit w/honey & milk Roger had his muesli with fruit and yogurt. Stop 2 Gallup, New Mexico Elevation  23% to 70% - 10 minutes - 33¢/kWh Parked in front of 4 stalls Stop 3 Milan, New Mexico 31% to 90% - 33¢kWh - 10 minutes Elevation 6512 feet Tuna on pita with pickles & chips We wanted to stay at the KOA, but they had a minimum of 3 days and we can't do that this time. Passed through the highest point on the trip. So, we stayed at Ame...

I made an omelette that I prepared the night before. So all I had to do is pour it in the hot pan. Using the two-burner induction cooktop made it fast and easy. Armed with coffee for him and tea for me, we headed out early with 100% state of charge. So we could try to get to the next stop early enough to see the meteor crater at our next stop. The day started out pretty nice We were happily traveling down the road when... Something was wrong. We had to pull over on the highway. Roger got out and I went back to grab the traffic cones to keep cars away while we investigated. I could tell already that it not a small thing. I thought, "okay, THIS is our challenge for this trip. We'll be okay." The first thing I noticed was black melted stuff on the side of the trailer. Then I looked down and saw something I think I have never seen before. Our tire had completely exploded! In fact, there was barely any tire left. Fortunately, we have a full-size spare and Roger was able to put...

One more sad drive through the Palisades and we are on our way to Needles KOA and our adventure is only halfway through. 100% charge from the park, breakfast from Starbucks, and we are on our way... Stop 1 Victorville, California - elevation 2959 feet, 120 miles from Malibu Tesla Supercharger, head-in ( I didn't note the percentages in my notes) Cost was $17.35 ÷  42¢/kWh  = 40 kWh (whatever that means) Every trip, something potentially traumatic happens. We usually end up saying how it could have been worse. This was one of those times. We gained some range and had fun riding downhill much of this leg. We were about 45 minutes out from charging stop 1. I took a picture of someone that had "F. ELON" on the back of their car. We also have that only instead of "TESLA" on the back of our car, we have "F.ELON in Tesla font where it used to say "TESLA."  We were then rolling through the desert, listening to some tunes and reminiscing about our Californ...

 (June 13 - 15) It's a rough life here at " Surf Outpost " Turns out that this is the very park where Roger lived in a tent with his former wife, Jane and Shane & Bejan, when they were little (they are in their mid-forties now) when they moved to California from Texas. There are literally no campgrounds in LA (at least none that take transients like us.) So oh well, we'll just have to put up with Malibu. AND our family and friends seem to have no problem meeting us at the beach. (We have parking for guests) We are high above the ocean (and road) but still will fall asleep to the sound of the waves of the Pacific. So nice. Wanda came by and I took pictures of her flying her kite. She apparently keeps one in her car in case there is wind? Over 5 decades knowing her and she still surprises me. This was also the day of the "No Kings" protest, so Wanda went with Adrienne, Roger, Adrienne, Mary Francis, Wanda and I went to Van Nuys and Laurel Canyon in Studio ...

(June 11 through 13) Time to visit Arlene & Paul, Tootsie and Wanda were there, too. I have known Tootsie and Arlene for 60+ years, and Wanda for almost that long. Paul and Arlene have been together for so long I can't remember. Probably 40 years-ish. Paul is dealing with an illness so we visit them every year as they can't travel, so we have a little mini reunion every year as part of our cross-country trip. Pine Mountain Club has an elevation of 5500+ feet, so the air is crisp and clean, but there are bears, so we have to be careful to keep our shades down and give no indication that there is food in the trailer and so we put all our non-frig fresh stuff in the house to be safe--no kidding! Tootsie, Arlene, Wanda, me, and Roger -----> Roger made steps for me to make it easier to get in and out of the trailer. He is such a sweetie. We always park on their driveway. Even in the shade, the panels charged up just fine. We will charge again at the Flying J in Frasier Park. ...

Here we are in Morgan Hill ready to hang out with the junior high & high school grads, Sam. Moved to Coyote Valley RV Resort to be near the Hogen-Esches. Last year, they said if we plugged in the car, it would destroy not only our car, but the park's electrical system as well. (We plugged in anyway when the day shift went home and nothing happened, of course). This year, "Go ahead and plug in. No problem." Now they charge $5 a day, but when I went to pay it, they said we were regulars and didn't have to pay it. I love it when people figure out the truth. We could use so much more of that these days. This whole trip so far, we were able to plug in on every stop, except where there was no 50 amp or no electrical at all (like Hooch's). Anyhow, once in Morgan Hill, it was time to go to the graduation. So, the graduation party was June 7th as Sam's graduation was Friday, the 6th.  I was at Sam's graduation, but here's what I got when I held the camera ...