The time has come to go. I arrived in the USA this time on the solstice – June 21 – and it’s now definitely time to be on my merry way to…elsewhere. I mean, I can’t be here for the equinox or my birthday – both are too far into the future. I’ve accomplished what needed accomplishing. I’ve done my stint at the race, which was ostensibly the reason for my return, and done my share of visiting friends and family. I took my sixteen year-old Volvo that already had almost a quarter of a million miles on it over the threshold of having more than a quarter of a million miles on it. On the whole, the Swag Wagon did the job not only adequately, but amazingly.
I averaged nearly 30 MPG for the trip. Given the cost of fuel (ranging from $3.75 to $5.79/gal, I am not unhappy with that. The Swag Wagon’s only drawback is its tired air conditioner that pretty much could only handle taking the temperature down about eight degrees Fahrenheit. Given that there was a heatwave pretty much shadowing my travels (up to 111°F (44°C)), I would have appreciated a greater effort. Unfortunately, that was not forthcoming. But driving down the interstate with all the windows down, my foot out in the breeze, and the music blaring, I channeled my younger, earlier, larger capacity bladder 80’s self and drove for hours on end. It was easy. It was therapeutic. It was fucking hot. The driving wasn’t terrible, but stopping was. Rest stops when it’s hot enough to cook on the radiator, aren’t restful. Don’t take my word for it, try it out for yourselves.
I experienced some great things while here, and some things less than great. Those that fall in the latter category know who they are, and are persona non grata from this point forward. Life is far too short to deal with people like that. There are a lot of things that happen that are out of our control, but who we have in our lives is definitely something within our control. I choose to do so.
So, now it’s off to Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. I’ve a one-way ticket departing Monday, and a four day reservation at a hostel in the middle of the city, waiting for me for when I arrive. I’ll figure out the rest when I get there.
I averaged nearly 30 MPG for the trip. Given the cost of fuel (ranging from $3.75 to $5.79/gal, I am not unhappy with that. The Swag Wagon’s only drawback is its tired air conditioner that pretty much could only handle taking the temperature down about eight degrees Fahrenheit. Given that there was a heatwave pretty much shadowing my travels (up to 111°F (44°C)), I would have appreciated a greater effort. Unfortunately, that was not forthcoming. But driving down the interstate with all the windows down, my foot out in the breeze, and the music blaring, I channeled my younger, earlier, larger capacity bladder 80’s self and drove for hours on end. It was easy. It was therapeutic. It was fucking hot. The driving wasn’t terrible, but stopping was. Rest stops when it’s hot enough to cook on the radiator, aren’t restful. Don’t take my word for it, try it out for yourselves.
I experienced some great things while here, and some things less than great. Those that fall in the latter category know who they are, and are persona non grata from this point forward. Life is far too short to deal with people like that. There are a lot of things that happen that are out of our control, but who we have in our lives is definitely something within our control. I choose to do so.
So, now it’s off to Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. I’ve a one-way ticket departing Monday, and a four day reservation at a hostel in the middle of the city, waiting for me for when I arrive. I’ll figure out the rest when I get there.
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