Category: Travels

Wednesday’s Theme Music

Florence, Oregon — Wednesday, May 20, 2026.

To clarify, we’re actually staying at Heceta Beach, 3 miles north of Florence. Heard from the catsitter. Papi has adjusted to her presence and her feeding him, and is basically acting just as if we’re there.

It’s 60 F now, on its way to 63 F. Here’s this morning beach photo.

We’ve had wonderful, fresh, tasty food everywhere we’ve eaten, and have only met nice folks. Hope to hell I’m not jinxing this by mentioning it.

Yesterday was a bad day for Mom and my sister Gina, Mom’s defacto caregiver. Mom had another UTI, was complaining of dizziness and headaches. Gina took her to urgent care. They said Mom’s UTI isn’t responding to antibiotics and needs something stronger and had Gina take her to a hospital, UPMC East. Well, that was an eight hour ordeal for them, with miscommunication between the two care facilities.

Mom was back into her room around midnight. Gina was shocked at its state; disorganized and messy. Very un-Mom. Mom denies her dizziness is a problem but Gina said she complained about it multiple times. XRays and CT Scans showed nothing.

Gina is also frustrating because the other sisters are ‘too busy’ to help with Mom. She ended up transferring Mom from car to wheelchair to bed, and back, etc, eighteen times yesterday.

Poor Mom. Poor Gina.

This is life.

Haven’t looked at the news this morning. Don’t want to disrupt the vacay vibe by doing that before I’ve had my daily wine and beer. I mean, coffee. Yeah, that’s what I meant.

I did see that Trump’s Iran War is not over. The price of gas is shocking here. Diesel prices are almost at $7 a gallon.

Trump mocked that as ‘peanuts’. He insists he’s a man on a mission to stop Iran from having nuclear weapons, no matter how much pain it cause US citizens and the world. Sure; we believe that. It’s all just part of Operation Epic LOOK — SQUIRREL!

Today’s song is “Boys of Summer”. Written by Mike Campbell, a guitarist who played and wrote with Tom Petty, Petty turned the song down. Don Henley took it and had a hit in 1984.

The Neurons put it in the morning mental music stream because several times, I looked out at the beach and saw, “Nobody on the beach.” Recognizing the line from the song, I suppose Les Neurons thought I was trying to remember it.

I hope your day progresses in a satisfying way. I find that coffee helps, along with staying well hydrated with other fluids.

Off to begin Operation Epic Eat Breakfast.

Cheers

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Tuesday’s Theme Music

Florence, Oregon coast — Tuesday, May 19, 2026.

Catsitter called to say all is well with Papi. He was sort of quizzical about his morning routine, looking around for us, not really ready to eat at first but then gave in and chowed down.

Yes, we’re still at the coast. Another day, another photo.

Temperature is 58 F for the record, not far off of the expected high of 63 F. Tide is out. It was waayyy low earlier this morning.

Other than thinking about Trump and growling about what he’s done so far, I’m not paying much attention to the news. Saw there was another shooting, along with the usual responses from the usual suspects.

It was striking to see how many police cars mobilized to the shooting site in San Diego. We could save so many lives and need far less resources like this if we’d take a sensible approach to gun ownership. Someday, someday, someday…

For music, The Neurons went with “Margaritaville.” This is a Jimmy Buffett song. The Neurons fed it to the morning mental music stream as I cruised the sand. The surf’s sound pounded my ears and the wave play was fantastic. Soooo refreshing. I had a cuppa coffee in my hand as I walked… Well, truth: I had a four shot Americano as I walked. Good stuff. *smile*

Hope you day goes as well as mine, and that our days together will grow brighter, better, and healthier.

The Pacific said to say, “Hello.’

Cheers

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The Day

We hit the road at 10:10. Interstate 5 North. Good sunny travel weather, moderately heavy traffic.

A gas stop at Costco in Roseburg returned us to a full tank. Back onto I5 N for a few more miles, leaving it at Sutherlin, now going west through the mountains, to the coast. We entered Florence at 2 PM.

Neither of us had commented on the lack of RVs and travel trailers on the road. They’re usually good for slowing our progress to a snail’s stroll. The rule of the car is, don’t notice something good out loud, or you’ll jinx us.

Lunch was done at a Florence favorite, Traveler’s Cove. After a walk through town, we headed to our hotel. The Driftwood Shores Resort and Conference Center offers okay accommodations. We like it because you’re right on the Pacific Ocean and all the rooms face the beach. We were there for ocean, dude. It’s the waves.

I unpacked my clothes. Set up my toiletry. Arranged my shoes. Hung stuff up and put things into drawers. My wife sat and read her book while I was doing this. This is one of our major differences: I always unpack, like I’m living there. She leaves everything in her suitcase, pulling it out as needed.

We walked the beach, gritting our teeth against a stiff sea breeze. The sun was unblocked by anything, and the waves were strenuous, constantly pounding, noisy but soothing.

Back in the room, I opened a bottle of red wine, poured a glass and watched the waves until, finally, some piece of me whispered, “Let’s go see what’s happening on the Internet.”

So here I am, watching the waves, typing, reading, sipping wine.

The view from the room.

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Monday’s Theme Music

Ashland, southern Oregon — Monday, May 18, 2026

Our weather here is chilly but the sky is clear. It’s 44 F but expected to jump to 70 F.

Meanwhile, we’re on the road, heading to the coast. Our friend has just arrived to take up residence with Papi. Her house has work going on so this worked out well for us.

Off we go. Meanwhile, the music in my morning mental music stream is “25 or 6 to 4” by Chicago. It’s in the stream because of the line, “Should I try to do some more?” I was doing something earlier and asked that aloud to Papi. While he was indifferent to the question, The Neurons plucked Chicago out of memory and began playing the 1970 classic rock staple.

I enjoyed watching the video because I dressed just like Terry Kahn on lead guitar back in those days. *smile*. Hair was long like that, too, but bushier. *another smile*

Hope your travels take you to happy places, whether it’s down the road, in your writing or thinking, or just through your house.

Coffee is in hand. Cheers

4

SoCS – Sweet

This week, Linda Hill’s prompt was sweet for the Saturday Stream of Consciousness. Here we go.

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Sweet, I thought, go to the coast, get away, enjoy the weather and eat something different and just be someone different somewhere doing something different watching waves, breathing the air, smelling it –

Hope it all goes well. Why shouldn’t it? Well…yeah. Life.

Maybe I should eat something. Cookie? Scone would be nice. Blueberry. Lemon.

Time to go home.

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Snow and Fire: A Dream

I was younger, traveling with my wife and a small group. We were in separate vehicles. I knew I was traveling with a group but none of them stand out in memory.

There was a snowy mountain involved. My wife and I were leading the way, driving in an SUV, heading to a site of four cabins partway along our journey. The cabins weren’t our destination but just a stop.

I was driving and we were well ahead of the rest. My wife and I arrived as dusk began. It was on a slope, heavy snow, with large bare and fallen trees. I felt that some paths and parking for the others were needed and set to work doing that. While I made progress, time was limited, and I needed the proper equipment, so I went on.

Reaching a large conference center, I gathered my people. They were a small group – six to seven, I think. A larger conference was going on. I called my people together to talk about what I’d already done and also to note that we needed equipment to clear out the snow around the cabins, but we also needed to move some stuff.

That last seemed important to me. While I don’t specifically know what I was moving, I knew it was big, heavy stuff. Challenging for a small group, I was hoping the other conference’s attendees would overhear us and offer some help.

That didn’t seem to happen. I went back to the cabins with my wife. Arriving there, I now had a red piece of equipment to move the snow away. While I started doing that, I thought I saw some trees smoking.

I examined the trees. They turned out to be short, gray wooden statues carved from tree stumps. I confirmed they were smoking to me and went back to get my wife’s opinion but also to call it in.

She confirmed what I saw. While we were talking about it, a large group of teenagers arrived. They began climbing on the statues. I went over to warn them that I thought the statues were smoking and might be on fire. As I told them this, I pointed out the smoke to them, and then spotted open yellow flames on one of the statues. I then made everyone move away. I also spotted a statue that had turned into smoking black char, telling me that had been happening for a while.

My wife wanted me to go get help. She said she’d stay there but I felt that was unsafe for her and said, “No.” I explained my thinking and she accepted that.

I then went back in and got on a red telephone to call someone for help with the snow removal, getting the students to safety, and putting out the fire. It was both a friend and an authority in charge of such equipment. He began talking, assuming he knew why I was calling. It was noisy and hard to hear. My wife was with me and I told her, “He’s assuming things.” Then I told him, “No, listen to me. That’s not what’s happening. There are three things going on here. Pay attention.”

He promised to pay attention and then said he’d send help.

Dream end.  

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The Mood in May

Time again to assess how the net feels about the state of the union under Trump.

As backdrop:

So much winning! Here we go.

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Another Travel Dream

My dream was very busy and energetic. Going on a trip. Taking my wife. Packing, organizing, making arrangements. Very excited. Looking forward to it. On top of everything. All was going smoothly.

I sat back to wait for the journey to begin, pleased that I was ready.

Then –

Awakening, I bolted upright. Looked frantically around. OMG, what time is it?

I didn’t set the alarm!

What time am I supposed to leave?

Whoa, whoa, slow down, buttercup. That was a dream.

It was? It was so real and vivid.

Yes, but it was a dream.

You’re right.

It was a dream.

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Thursday’s Theme Music – Fronts

Ashland, southern Oregon — April 30, 2026.

A new weather front has moved in. It’s 54 F under layers of clouds and sprinklings of sunshine, a typical Ashlandic spring day. Highs in the upper 70s are forecast for us. Right now, with all those clouds, it feels weirdly chilly.

Good news from the home front. Mom is electing to stay in assisted living and cooperating. She’s also agreed to sell her house and furniture. While it’s welcomed, it’s also so sad for her and our family. She wanted to be there; we wanted her to be there. Yet, practically, it could not work. Personally, I will miss go home, to her house, to hugging her in her living room, chatting with her in her kitchen, helping her with her laundry. And I will miss the many wonderful dishes she used to make. Her potato salad, spaghetti with meatballs, and chili all remain the best I ever had.

I will say, though, my sisters are a little annoying with their texting. They get up early, before six, and text. My first text from them came at 2:12 AM. I have my phone set up to notify me of texts from the family, in case there’s an emergency, but these were casual, informational texts. Okay, rant over.

No, I haven’t spoken to them about it. They’re doing so much to take care of Mom and help, etc. It would be really petty of me to complain to them about the time they send their texts. I’ll just whine here instead. *smile*

I’ve not seen much surface changes on the Trump front. The voting front is rapidly changing as the Roberts Court dish out their rulings and states respond. A situation as messy as first graders fingerpainting is going to get muddy and sloppy. That mud and slop favors the GOP and Trump. That’s why they’re pressing it. Not about democracy; it’s about staying in power.

Meanwhile, it’s been quiet on the Operation Epic LOOK — SQUIRREL! front and the Epstein front.

With the war in Iran at a stalemate, more conversations about the US military’s capabilities are emerging, such as this one. And they’re right; as often happens, the military fights the last war. We’re built for vast nuclear battles in the US with technologically sophisticated but expensive systems. Iran is countering us with different tactics and inexpensive weapons.

In a sense, what we’re seeing in this war echoes wars for the US back to the American revolution. The British were fighting an old war. The colonist changed tactics and won.

Changing policies and weapons in the US will be a challenge. As President Eisenhower warned, the military-industrial complex has a firm hand on procurement. Defense companies manage Congress through projects, manufacturing, and employment. We build systems as much for our economy as much as we do for our security. Meanwhile, the public nods agreeably because, ‘patriotism’.

Trump is responding by increasing the defense budget and calling for more expensive weapons systems. He’s pushing hard on a new class of Trump battleships. As with many things Trump, the battleships he envisions are outdated and bloated relics better fit for the past.

As the war stays stall, oil prices are slowly rising. A Gasbuddy AI analysis from March of 2026 is hilarious to read:

“GasBuddy’s latest projection paints a starkly different picture from the past. The company now forecasts the 2026 U.S. gasoline price average to fall to $2.97 per gallon, marking the fourth consecutive annual decline and the lowest average since 2020. This sets up a clear seasonal pattern, with prices expected to peak in May around $3.12 per gallon before declining steadily to a low in December of $2.83 per gallon.”

Mock Paper Scissors found a saner prediction from a Gasbuddy expert:

“GasBuddy’s Patrick De Haan, a widely cited gas price expert, predicts the national average price at the pump will hit $4.50 a gallon within a week (currently $4.30).”

Never to shirk from taking advantage of a bad situation, British Petroleum is making some handsome profits from the war and the world energy situation.

Oil giant BP announces huge rise in profits in first results since Iran war

Your Trump quote of the day:

“Gas prices have risen 49% since the beginning of 2026, according to prices tracked by AAA. They dropped by an average of 7 cents a gallon after a two-week ceasefire was announced last week.”

And as any driver now knows, that drop is already gone.

The Neurons observed my thoughts on fronts and responded. They put Elton John and “All Quiet on the Western Front” from 1979 in my morning mental music stream. Lifted from a movie of the same name, it’s not a song that comes on the radio much. The song’s tempo’s and musical style reminds me of “Someone Saved My Life Tonight” from 1975.

I hope your front is calm and peaceful and that you progress to better and better places for you in all ways possible.

Cheers

2

Saturday’s Theme Music – Low

Ashland, Oregon — Saturday, April 25, 2026.

April is marching on. Spring is going with it in this area.

Today is sunny with a blue sky. One small cloud visible from my window when I look west. Looks like a small white bird with spread wings. A peace dove.

46 F now, our high today is predicted to be in the upper sixties. We saw 72 F at our house for several seconds yesterday. Then the sun moved on, the clouds gathered over, and the shadows cut the temp. Still, that was the formula for a pleasant day to be outside, and is a marked improvement over blizzards, monsoons, wildfires, etc.

Trump’s DOJ continues to try to pull the nation backward. They’re bringing back the firing squad. Business as usual for the ‘pro-life’ camp.

Despite it’s presence in popular culture, The Conversation notes, “Of all of America’s methods of execution, it has been least often used. From 1900 to 2010, only 35 of America’s 8,776 executions were carried out using this method, and since 1976 just three people have faced a firing squad, with the last one carried out in Utah in 2010.”

The move works for Operation Epic LOOK — SQUIRREL! Headlines are full of the announcement. People like me will respond and condemn it. Many others will applaud. More importantly for Trump, there will be less news about his failures.

Trump’s long list of failures and setbacks is growing. Headlining: rising disapproval ratings. High gas prices on the cusp of May and the annual travel vacation months. A miserable war that’s dragging on into its eighth week after he said it was practically already over.

Talking out of the other side of his mouth, Trump also that the war would probably be over in five to six weeks. That time is passed. Since then, he’s whined that he needs more time and not to rush him. Then, in a really stupid move, he invoked how long the United States military was in Vietnam, Iraq, and Afghanistan, wars which Americans would rather move on from.

Yet, the Epstein file is still out there, shadowing every move Trump makes, echoing through every word, flowing through every decision.

That clock is still ticking, and he hears it.

Your Donald Trump quote of the day:

From Factually: “Former President Donald Trump cherry-picked these statistics. Although some stations are charging $5 to $7 a gallon, about 99.2% of U.S. gas stations are selling gasoline for less than $5 a gallon, GasBuddy.com data shows.”

It was almost as if Donald Trump was predicting the future if he won.

Today’s music comes from thinking about highs and lows. The Neurons brought out “Low” by Cracker. In a lot of ways, the drippy, loopy 1993 song doesn’t make sense.

Lyrics

A million poppies gonna make me sleep
Or just one rose, it knows your name
My fruit is rusting on the vine
My fruit is calling from the trees

Or hey, oh, don’t you wanna go down
Like some junkie cosmonaut?
A million miles below their feet
A million miles, a million miles

I’ll be with you, girl, like bein’ low
Hey-hey-hey, like bein’ stoned
I’ll be with you, girl, like bein’ low
Hey-hey-hey, like bein’ stoned

A blue, blue is the sun
A brown, brown’s the sky
A green, green are her eyes
A million miles, a million miles

h/t SongLyrics.com

Reminds me of Trump and his followers.

Hope you and your day are on a high and you go on a tear that takes you to new fun things and greater joy and optimism.

Cheers

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