Hung out with the boys on the patio in the morning. They sunbathed while I soaked in the hot tub. Benny, in particular, loves to sunbathe. He’ll sit outside soaking up the heat, then walk inside to cool down on the floor, only to head right back out again. It kind of reminds me of polar bear therapy, where people at a spa alternate between cold water plunges and hot tubs. I’ve never been a fan of cold showers, so I’ve never tried it myself. Just the hot tub or hot springs for me.
First day of this trip visiting Joshua Tree National Park! There’s been a lot of talk about federal employee firings due to DOGE, and while I can’t say for certain whether people have actually been let go, I did notice it took much longer to get into the park. That said, they were also doing construction on a new entrance, so that could have contributed to the delays. Hard to say.
We’re spending a week with the boys in Joshua Tree to celebrate my 40th birthday! I kept going back and forth on where to go but eventually settled on the desert. It’s one of the few places where I always feel at home.
Sweat rolled off my forehead as my shirt clung to me. It was another damp, sticky morning, but for a brief moment, Bruno and I found cool relief under a thick canopy of trees. Our journey had taken us from our home in San Francisco across the nation, and now we stood at the entrance of Wormsloe State Historic Site in Savannah, Georgia. This former plantation and grand estate, with its avenue of moss-draped oaks, seemed to whisper the stories of those who had labored on these grounds centuries earlier. In this sheltered place, I realized this was more than just a cross-country adventure. It was an opportunity to connect with and consider the complex history of America.
Today, we visited the California State Fair at Cal Expo in Sacramento. It has been a tradition since 1854, celebrating the state’s agricultural and industrial achievements. It features livestock exhibits, carnival rides, live entertainment, and diverse food options. I grew up in Sacramento, and every year during high school, I would visit the State Fair. When I left for college, I stopped. However, since COVID, I’ve revived this tradition.
Jean left for China last night, so it’s just the boys and me for the next two weeks (boys being the two dogs). To kick off a boys’ weekend right, I fed the ingredients of my favorite cocktail I had on my coast-to-coast trip (the Riptide) into ChatGPT 4o and had it spit out a recipe.
Today we left Kingman. Founded in the late 19th century during the railroad and mining boom, the town’s early history is closely tied to the development of transportation and mining in the region. Its historic downtown still showcases architecture from that era, offering a glimpse into its past prosperity.
Since we started driving west, we’ve been gaining an hour every few days. Now we’re back on Pacific Standard Time, though our bodies still feel like they’re on Central, maybe even Eastern, time. This morning, Bruno woke me up at 5 a.m. expecting breakfast and a walk. I obliged, and we used the early start as a chance to wander the neighborhood before leaving Holbrook.
Today we departed from Santa Fe. It’s the oldest continuously inhabited state capital in the U.S., dating back to its establishment in 1610. Its significance as a vital trade hub along the Santa Fe Trail facilitated connections between the U.S. and Mexico, profoundly shaping its cultural and economic landscape. As a military outpost and governmental seat, it played a pivotal role in the expansion of the American Southwest under various colonial powers.
This morning, we visited Los Alamos, the birthplace of the Manhattan Project. Established in 1942 as a secret research facility, it played a pivotal role in developing the atomic bomb, which ultimately contributed to the end of World War II. The brightest scientific minds of the era were brought here, leading to groundbreaking advances in nuclear physics.
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