From July 3 to 12...

I'm now in Reno, NV, after coming the rest of the way across the US. And I've still got some driving ahead of me.

I stayed in Denver until Friday (July 6), hanging out and having a great time with my friends Aaron and Lisa, their friend Aaron, and a few other friends. On the Fourth of July, a bunch of us went to Boulder, bought inner-tubes, and went “tubing” down Boulder Creek. This consists of sitting on a black inner-tube and floating down a series of small rapids. Quite cold, but quite fun...unless you whack your tail bone on a rock hidden in a rapid, then you'll not have fun sitting after that for, what, going on one week now. Oh well, I still had a good time, in spite of bruising.

On July 5th, I saw Sicko, the new Michael Moore film. It was funny and sad, appalling but not so surprising if one has thought about the issues of rising health care costs and access to such expensive care. As all films with an agenda, this one takes a perspective and runs with it, sometimes ignoring counterpoints or weak arguments, but it's a good film about an important issue, and one I think all Americans should address seriously.

I left Denver on Friday, feeling quite sure that when I relocate back to the US, I'll be moving there. My next destination was Cedar City, Utah, home of many Mormons and, apparently, polygamists, though I didn't get to see anyone walking around with their numerous wives. I got to see my friend Krystal there, a former co-worker from Manassas Borders, and we went to see Transformers. I don't expect much from movies like this, the summer blockbuster-type, so I enjoyed it, though there were, of course, things I could have done without. They went for a lot of humor there, and that was okay, but I would have preferred a darker edge. Oh well, no one asked me.

So, after a fun, relaxing night chilling with Krystal (a.k.a. Bling), I headed on to Las Vegas to see my cousin Leah, her husband, Jim, and her three kids, Celia, Thomas, and Mia. I got to stay at a room in Caesar's at night, but my days were spent hanging out with Leah and the kids; I'd never really got to spend much time with Celia (now 4) and had never seen the twins (now 15 months). I had to admire my cousin's energy and motherly touch, and while I enjoyed spending that time with them, I still don't know if I'll ever have kids...I just don't know if I can be so giving.

Monday brought another day of driving, on to LA, to spend another night with my cousin, but also to meet an old high school classmate I'd not seen since 1995 or 96. Seeing Jennifer was nice, and interesting, as we'd never hung out much back then. We had a nice lunch and conversation, but the afternoon was bringing on rushhour traffic, and she had to get home.

Tuesday, I trucked it up 5 and a half hours north along I-5 to Sacramento. If you've never done that drive, you're not missing anything. There is nothing exciting or beautiful or even remotely interesting that I saw. “Dull drive” describes it well, as well as it does Kansas. In Sacramento I saw another old high school classmate, Marin, whom I'd last seen two years before in Hawaii. We hung out, ate vegetarian Vietnamese food, and got some ice cream at Vic's, a Sacramento establishment.

Finally, yesterday morning, I got into Reno. I leave tomorrow for someplace north of Ukiah near Redwood Valley to meet my friend Paula, who recently relocated there from DC. We're going on a canoe trip on Saturday, and may be doing some natural home building on Sunday, though I'm not sure about that. It should be a fun weekend. I'll back in Reno on Sunday or Monday, stay in Reno for another week, then I'll be back in Hawaii for 7 weeks.

Hope all is well with everyone out there...