August 12th - Cabin camping with Dan part 3

By the end of the trip, me and the rest of the boys had used up an incredible number of shells. Well, I used maybe six of them. It was my first time with a shotgun!

Originally I was going to stay another day at the cabin, but I was getting antsy about all the preparations I needed to do for my cross-country drive. Dan decided he'd had enough of the woods for now as well, so we drove out together as far as the trading post with the horses, then split up. As I made my way south, the traffic got progressively worse, giving me plenty of time to ruminate on my weekend and where my mind was at.

I've spent the last two years, I think, trying to distance myself from old patterns, especially in relationships. I got a bit obsessed with avoiding repeated mistakes, to the point where I was simultaneously diving into new things and hesitating once I was immersed in them. It was not ideal, but it was at least educational. As the landscape drifted by I recalled a strange offhand compliment that I'd received from a co-worker earlier in the week: "I envy you. You always seem to find interesting things to do, by being nice and making connections with friends, and then you actually go do them." The fellow who gave me the compliment was, I think, lamenting his own overcommitment to work and the way it kept him trapped in a routine.

But it got me thinking: This urge to endlessly explore - is it a part of my nature, or is it some kind of phase? Is it typical for a person to suddenly decide to spend nearly two weeks of precious vacation time driving a car across the country? What about the other things this year - Bike Party, the trip to Death Valley, the museum trips, the gardening, the electronics tinkering, the music, the shows, writing, karaoke, yoga, the housing search... Some of these are routines, some of these are events, but all of them are in pursuit of some sense of personal construction. Is this meant to have a destination? Some overarching purpose or theme?

I shook my head to clear it. This was typical of me; overanalyzing things.

Arthur C Clarke Round 6: The Clarkening!

Hide-and-Seek, 1949

A neat little diversion exploring combat strategy with planetoids. A fun read even though I was already well familiar with the central ideas.

Trouble With The Natives, 1951

A farcical exploration of Earth by some bumbling aliens. Quaint. Especially since aliens in the 1950's were generally envisioned either as wise and godlike, or ugly and insane. Not much room for comedy there.

Breaking Strain, 1949

Two people trapped on a spacecraft with limited oxygen decide who will die so that the other may live. It was interesting to see how Clarke built up the personalities of the two characters around a few basic concepts, adding layers at different moments to integrate with changes in the plot. In fact, this story contained by far the most nuanced character study I'd seen so far, in my chronological run of his short fiction.

Holiday On The Moon, 1951

This story read more like a travel brochure for a fantasy version of the moon, than like a piece of science fiction. Right near the end Clarke pulls an interesting plot development out of his hat, then lets it drop without nearly as much fanfare as it deserves, so he can tie up the few loose ends in the snoozeworthy narrative. Did people really know so little about the moon, in the early 50's? I guess so.

Cross-Country Trip Day 1 : Tue Aug 14

I had just enough time to grab a quick, delicious breakfast at the Rockridge Cafe, then zip home to meet Erika and ride with her to the airport. She gave me a big hug, wished me luck, and handed me a card in an envelope, which I read on the way back to the house. It was lovely, and brought a few tears to my eyes.

At home I threw my assembled luggage into the back of the car and got right back on the road, headed east. I cranked up Reno's air conditioning (the car is named Reno) and cranked up the They Might Be Giants and sang along as I zoomed down 580. Reno was going to be a pleasure to drive!



Before long, I was ascending into Yosemite, sipping on one of the many containers of soup I'd collected from Wh0l F00dz and stashed in the cooler.



I couldn't help whistling "She'll Be Comin' 'Round The Mountain" as I drove this bit!



Whoooo! DRIVE DRIVE DRIVE!



I stopped to take some pictures and noticed that the altitude had inflated my peanut butter cups. FLOOF!!!



The wet weather brought the mist out of the trees. Lovely.



Here I am testing out the fancy new tripod and the fancy new remote-control trigger for my camera. Huzzah! It all works.



The rain began to attack with force, but I drove on!



A construction crew tried to thwart me, but did not succeed.



I stopped for a snack in Lee Vining, site of the first Braindead Monkeys album. WHOO PILGRIMAGE! The night was still young, so I decided to press on into Nevada and cut some hours off my driving time for the next day. I got pretty worried about running out of fuel at one point, and decided that from then on, I would refuel the car whenever it dropped to half a tank. This trip is not about worrying, it is about rubbernecking, air conditioning, and audiobooks!



Eventually I ended up in a serviceable motel room in Tonopah, Nevada. 450 miles of driving, nearly a straight line east from Oakland. A good start to the drive.