Multiconstruct

Today or tomorrow is Epiphany and if I see a Spanish bakery I’ll try to get the special loaf. If you get the Baby Jesus you are supposed to host the midwinter party.

I’m camped at an off road vehicle camp outside of Santa Clara. I spent last night here and it was great. All the off-roaders leaves before dark. Yesterday there was a class or group or something but it was a bunch of 4-5 year olds rising motorbikes and 4 wheelers around the giant parking lot. Pretty adorable.

I found some good hiking today and went on a heritage trail and a visitors center that had displays on the indigenous folks. Big time weavers. I also hiked to a little waterfall and also climbed up into the hills.

For the holiday season which is wrapping up now I often do an annual recap. I’ll do so now even though I’m way behind on my epic road trip narrative. I’ll probably abandon the play by play of campsites and activities.

2023 found me living in Leavenworth in an apartment in the old Jewish Temple and working as the Executive Director for the Alliance, a domestic violence and sexual assault shelter and program. In January I joined the Executive Board of the Leavenworth/Lansing Chamber of Commerce as the Second Vice Chair.

I submitted a corrective action plan for our certification site visit and the Alliance was granted provisional accreditation. We spent most of 2023 improving sexual assault services and staff training which. We had our targeted site visit in the Fall but we had not received a response before I left in November.

In the spring I slipped on my stairs and hyper-extended my knee. I also learned my knee was a mass of degenerative garbage. I was on crutches and missed a few days of work. It was a real low for me. I had gotten back to 280 pounds, what I weighed when I graduated high school but I’m not 17 anymore.

I started losing weight which accelerated when I learned I may have cirrhosis of the liver. It’s actually more common in obesity then alcohol use. I weighed myself in San Diego and I’m down to 239. I can definitely feel the difference.

I continued to go back to Columbia most months for the Columbia Men’s Book Club. We’re chugging along in maybe our 15th year. I also took a trip to Hays, Kansas because of https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Egv3IBkBH6Q&pp=ygUaNDkgd2luY2hlc3RlciBoYXlzIGthbnNhcyA%3Dwith with John but 49 Winchester cancelled their show 30 minutes before doors opened.

I went to Harry’s house for Easter and hosted Thanksgiving at John and Flow’s. After Thanksgiving I moved the last of my things to Columbia and cleaned out my apartment. I’d left the Alliance under my former Grants Manager who became the new ED, which made me proud as she is young and off to a great start in her career.

John and Flow and I flew into Maine and went to the Down East, mostly Bar Harbour and Arcadia National Park. It was cool but a lot of traffic and the color was limited.

I left on an Epic Road Trip and have been doing Van Life. I went to Big Bend NP and really enjoyed it. Saw my first javelina and bobcat and a ton of road runners. Great hiking and met Rey who showed me a pictograph and a mortar site by a tank. We heard a mountain lion yowl and found a ton of worked stones.

I also went to Carlsbad Caverns and camped a night with a traveling novelist. I visited Ray, who I met in my epic road trip 2 years ago for Solstice and had a great Yule fire. I also picked up a hitchhiker and took him to Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument.

New Years found me in San Diego reuniting with Steve my best friend in grad school who I hadn’t seen in 25 years. Great visit and I have almost 2 more months for this leg of the trip as I work on my book. I outlined chapter 5 tonight. Going to turn in now and hike in a new spot tomorrow and plan on staying at a Walmart outside of Fresno tomorrow for the rain.

Today or tomorrow is Epiphany and if I see a Spanish bakery I’ll try to get the special loaf. If you get the Baby Jesus you are supposed to host the midwinter party.

I’m camped at an off road vehicle camp outside of Santa Clara. I spent last night here and it was great. All the off-roaders leaves before dark. Yesterday there was a class or group or something but it was a bunch of 4-5 year olds rising motorbikes and 4 wheelers around the giant parking lot. Pretty adorable.

I found some good hiking today and went on a heritage trail and a visitors center that had displays on the indigenous folks. Big time weavers. I also hiked to a little waterfall and also climbed up into the hills.

For the holiday season which is wrapping up now I often do an annual recap. I’ll do so now even though I’m way behind on my epic road trip narrative. I’ll probably abandon the play by play of campsites and activities.

2023 found me living in Leavenworth in an apartment in the old Jewish Temple and working as the Executive Director for the Alliance, a domestic violence and sexual assault shelter and program. In January I joined the Executive Board of the Leavenworth/Lansing Chamber of Commerce as the Second Vice Chair.

I submitted a corrective action plan for our certification site visit and the Alliance was granted provisional accreditation. We spent most of 2023 improving sexual assault services and staff training which. We had our targeted site visit in the Fall but we had not received a response before I left in November.

In the spring I slipped on my stairs and hyper-extended my knee. I also learned my knee was a mass of degenerative garbage. I was on crutches and missed a few days of work. It was a real low for me. I had gotten back to 280 pounds, what I weighed when I graduated high school but I’m not 17 anymore.

I started losing weight which accelerated when I learned I may have cirrhosis of the liver. It’s actually more common in obesity then alcohol use. I weighed myself in San Diego and I’m down to 239. I can definitely feel the difference.

I continued to go back to Columbia most months for the Columbia Men’s Book Club. We’re chugging along in maybe our 15th year. I also took a trip to Hays, Kansas because of https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Egv3IBkBH6Q&pp=ygUaNDkgd2luY2hlc3RlciBoYXlzIGthbnNhcyA%3Dwith with John but 49 Winchester cancelled their show 30 minutes before doors opened.

I went to Harry’s house for Easter and hosted Thanksgiving at John and Flow’s. After Thanksgiving I moved the last of my things to Columbia and cleaned out my apartment. I’d left the Alliance under my former Grants Manager who became the new ED, which made me proud as she is young and off to a great start in her career.

John and Flow and I flew into Maine and went to the Down East, mostly Bar Harbour and Arcadia National Park. It was cool but a lot of traffic and the color was limited.

I left on an Epic Road Trip and have been doing Van Life. I went to Big Bend NP and really enjoyed it. Saw my first javelina and bobcat and a ton of road runners. Great hiking and met Rey who showed me a pictograph and a mortar site by a tank. We heard a mountain lion yowl and found a ton of worked stones.

I also went to Carlsbad Caverns and camped a night with a traveling novelist. I visited Ray, who I met in my epic road trip 2 years ago for Solstice and had a great Yule fire. I also picked up a hitchhiker and took him to Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument.

New Years found me in San Diego reuniting with Steve my best friend in grad school who I hadn’t seen in 25 years. Great visit and I have almost 2 more months for this leg of the trip as I work on my book. I outlined chapter 5 tonight. Going to turn in now and hike in a new spot tomorrow and plan on staying at a Walmart outside of Fresno tomorrow for the rain.