October 10, 2023 , San Diego- The desk clerk cheerfully informed me that I had arrived here in my favourite part of a favoured city, just in time for a free night of parking. Given what it can cost to park elsewhere in San Diego, I will relish this.

The day got off to an odd start, as old cheapo wrist watch, that I had planned on wearing while across the Pacific, came off my wrist at the band and crashed to the floor. I got the back parts securely on again, but the second hand will not move-so it sits back in my night table drawer, until I get back and can give a jeweler friend something to do in his spare time.

The rest of the prep and pack phase went well. I had breakfast at Wild Iris, caught up on correspondence, gave the landlord a rent check in advance and was out the door by 9:15. A steaming cup of coffee and half of a Southwest sandwich from Pangaea Bakery sufficed for a roadside lunch, at the pleasant and underrated Mountain Pass, west of Salome. The other half went down the hatch, at a second rest stop, at Ripley, CA-just south of Blythe.

The journey was uniformly smooth, though once again there was a crash, outside Ehrenburg, that slowed everyone down just a bit-and a vehicle fire across I-8, near Ocotillo, was cause for consternation-if only for the thick black smoke it produced. There were no ambulances at either site, so I am hoping that means all people got off without serious injury.

Back at Home Base, though, or close to it, two good friends were intentionally attacked as they rode their bicycles near their home. An attentive witness got footage of the driver and vehicle, so I hope he gets nailed. The friends will recover, but it is the idea of “This road belongs to ME!” that is most infuriating.

I am now happily ensconced at Samesun Hostel, having had a slice of Che and Chloe’s delectable pizza. A gentle drizzle here makes three days in a row that Aug-tober has been interrupted by unexpected rain. The heat is forecast to be gone now, so I will have a few days of mild weather before arriving in the tropics. I am ready, though, with bug repellent and a broad-brimmed hat that has a retractable bug screen in front.

My prayers go to Israel, Palestine, Ukraine-and to my aforementioned friends, for their recovery.

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