"The clever cat eats cheese and breathes down rat holes with baited breath." - W.C. Fields

We're sitting in a Super8 motel in Corning, CA, violating Steve's #1 rule for choosing lodging: "Never stay in a motel with a number in its name." But my Scottish nature overrides, and I plan to have my eyes shut most of the time we're here.

I was up at 5 a.m. getting everything on Baker Rd. prepped for our three month(?) absence. By 9 a.m. things were buttoned up and we headed south. My body is reminding me I'm almost Medicare age and there's a price to pay for days full of physical labor. Those seven hours of driving felt like the 22 I did on the way up.

Tomorrow we'll go another four hours to Bob & Marla's place outside of Hollister, CA for what promises to be a wonderful visit full of good conversation, plenty of laughs, and some great eats. They were in our church in Prunedale (1976-1983) and we've stayed close ever since. Bob & I were running buddies - he was faster, I was better looking - and have always shared an interest in all things automotive.

In my last post I asked if anyone had suggestions for the tattoos Pam and I feel obligated to get once we're Oregon residents. Sue sent this, suggesting we should each get the same tat and let it encourage us when things go wrong.

Except for seeing the kids, neither of us is particularly eager to go "home." A quite place in the woods with meals on the deck, or sitting in an air conditioned house with the window coverings closed and 110 degrees outside?
Between now and then we have to figure out the best way to get there. By Friday they're supposed to have the west-bound half of the bridge open to traffic and will use one late for east-bound traffic. How much of a delay will that bottleneck cause? Will be better off to take the 2-hour longer alternate route up north through Nevada and back down into AZ?

I read an interesting article on the BBC news site about a tattoo many people are choosing to get - a simple semicolon on the inside of their forearm or wrist.
A semicolon is used when a sentence could end, but continues into another, different but related thought.
The semicolon tattoo is the choice for a growing number of people fighting mental illness, especially suicidal thoughts. It says, "My life could have ended but my story isn't over. I'm choosing to continue."
Some recovering addicts are also getting the tat.
I like it.
Not for me, but the idea.