Lost in a WiFi wasteland

So Cal for the next few days; still no internet other that what we can snatch at free WiFi around here. So, I’m working off line between connections.

No pictures of the super scenic drive down Interstate 5 from Stockton to Moorpark.  I’m sure there is plenty of beauty there for one willing to stray from the well beaten path and slow to less than 70 MPH, but that wasn’t us on this trip.  My most heartfelt and insincere apologies to the residents of California, but I don’t like it here. 

Once I’m east of Las Vegas I will start to relax; till then it is a sort of combat with the thousand or so people that you must deal with, up close and personal, every day.  From the friendly clerk at the inconvenience store, to the hundreds that compete for the physical space you occupy every minute.  The personal auto based society here offers plenty of opportunities for competition.

For years I dragged my family to always less dense environments, peaking with our three years in McGrath (pop 450 and hundreds of miles from anywhere).  I can still hear Ryan referring to it as our lifelong vacation/adventure in Alaska (he was 12 and beginning a sarcastic phase).  Since then (1993) we have returned to the big city of Soldotna, the kids have fled to their own lives and we now face life in the dreaded “Lower 48”.  We still are searching for the right balance of taxes, proximity to grand children, climate and population density.  Teri and I have always liked small town life but the the contrasts of mid city life are both interesting and a draw, if a bit intimidating.

The portion of the trip east of Las Vegas will be part of our continuing research.

We are finally in a McDonald’s with good WiFi so I’ll get this sent.  No telling when the next opportunity will be.