I get this question a lot with the Avion — and now I’m getting it with the Silver Streak. No, it’s not an Airstream. But all of them drew on the same post-World War Two airplane design and technology — riveted aluminum, rounded edges for streamlined aerodynamics on the road. “Famous Aircraft Riveted Construction” They… Read More Is It an Airstream?
It’s December 2017. I’m at a windswept campground just north of the U.S.-Mexico border, about to travel to Baja California in a three-vehicle convoy of women I barely know. Lori hands me a walkie talkie so we can communicate while we’re driving. “I’m Big Bear. Oso Grande,” she says. “Cami is Little Bear, Osito.” She… Read More Call Me Jenny Quest
I’ll be the first to admit it: I seriously overpacked for my trip to Baja last winter. Anyone who’s ever taken an extended vacation to an unfamiliar (or even familiar!) place will totally understand this: “Oh, just one more pair of jeans. Oh, and that X, and that Y, and maybe both of those Zs….”… Read More Traveling Light: Downsizing for the Road
As I was scrounging around in my Scrivener archive today, I found this piece I wrote eons ago, in April 2018, as I was gearing up for the Heart of America tour. I’m not sure why I didn’t post it then. It seems even more relevant now that I’m back and have had six months… Read More Find Myself a City to Live In
Last August, I got an email about the 2019 Key West Literary Seminar. I’d been there ten years earlier, in 2009, when the theme was Historical Fiction and I was looking for help transforming my academic work on Crossfire and the Hollywood blacklist into a historical novel. That workshop a decade ago with novelist-memoirist-travel writer… Read More The Animal Club
A few days ago Fiona and I were taking a quick spin around Playa Norte, looking for a prime tinkle spot, when we ran into a woman aiming a camera with a huge telephoto lens into the treetop. “What are you finding up there?” I whispered, not wanting to ruin her concentration. She lowered her… Read More 100 Strangers. I’m #37.
I discovered the Fountain of Youth on my first extended road trip in the Avion. I’d celebrated New Year’s 2017 on the road, but it was just a weekend jaunt to an RV park near Lake Berryessa. I’d won a drawing at CamperWorld for a free stay and that seemed like an auspicious way to… Read More Hello Again, Fountain of Youth!
We’ve run them, we’ve crunched them, added them up and broken them down, and finally, the numbers are in! For those of you with a quantitative bent, enjoy. For those of you looking for something a bit more qualitative, what can I say…. It was a really big road trip and we need some down… Read More By the Numbers: Heart of America Tour, 2018
Parasites Woes Say hello to my little friend. Her name is Hymenolepsis. She’s a gut parasite. And she and a whole crew of her little friends recently made themselves at home in my belly. After all the jokes I heard about Montezuma’s Revenge when I told people I was going to Mexico, I would have… Read More Say Hello to My Little Friend
Lighting Options for the Road When I bought my camper, few of the core systems – plumbing, electrical (except for the refrigerator) – were still in working order. The guy who sold me the Avion had solved his lighting needs by dotting the walls and cabinets with those plastic stick-on LED disks. A perfectly serviceable… Read More Fiat Lux!