Images Day 4 (19 July 2012): Fallon NV to Tetonia, ID

Salt Flats, Utah (The Volt performed well under the blistering heat)

Road Trip 2012: Images from Day 3 (18 July 2012)

Mono Lake

Road Trip 2012: Day 2 (17 July 2012)

The Recap: Maj. C, Bunny (10m) and I drive across America (Silicon Valley to Cape Cod)

Route: Today we visited Yosemite National Park, from Groveland, CA to the Valley and back again.

Accommodations: Yosemite Pines Campground, about 45 minutes away from the park.

Activity of the day: We went on an easy 10 mile hike around the Valley floor.  I know the word “epic” is bandied around too often, but it was indeed epic.  I’m a mountain girl and both of us are experienced hikers, but with the Bunny on my back, I wasn’t thrilled about long hikes through rocks—so we walked in the meadows, the river, and the woods. Beautiful.

Road Trip 2012: Day 1 (16 July 2012)

The plan: Maj. C, Bunny (10m) and I drive across America (Silicon Valley to Cape Cod) in an the Volt, an electric car (with extended gas miles)

Route: Today was a short driving day: Mountain View, CA to Yosemite National Park (163m)

Accommodations: Yosemite Pines Campground, about 45 minutes away from the park.

Packing a Bunny

I'm a bit of a procrastinator.  And I hate packing.
Thus, I've developed a skill so I can put everything I need for a two week business trip into a carry on bag in 10 minutes. Choosing the right fabrics help, and a well placed pretty scarf can make or break a suit (as well as cover up a stain).  A skillfully tied scarf can even become a a nice top: I once went to Joël Robuchon in Las Vegas, wearing nothing but a skirt, strappy sandals, and my favorite Hermes scarf. Wrap dresses are another go-to staple-- throw on a jacket, and you are all set.  Good quality jersey is compact, hangs correctly, and never wrinkles.  

Furthermore, I know how to pack light.  When your favorite hobby involves carrying all your food, shelter, and water for miles at a time (often up and down mountain ranges), you learn how to pare down.  I used to saw off the handle of my toothbrush.  Your packing skills are further honed, as every night you pack and repack your bag


I can't believe that on Friday I'm leaving for a 2 week trip driving across America with Bunny.

Shoes of Summer 2012

Not practical or durable. . .perfect.

Deus Ex Machina

When I started to date Maj. C, I discovered a few character flaws.

• He would not eat fungi.  (Really, what kind of person doesn't like morels, truffles, or matsutake?)
• Hot dogs and Chef Boyardee featured prominently in his diet
• His next car was going to be a Chevy

As character flaws go, aside from the mushroom thing, these are pretty minor. The last one however, was a little perplexing.  It simply did not go with the Maj. C package (his nickname in Bosnia was "Metro Jay"). This was a few years ago, and Chevy's advertising featured bad 80s rock and good ole American chest thumping. The target audience, I think, was a testosterone soaked troglodyte who thought smashing beer cans on one's head was the height of wit.

Maj. C was going to buy a Chevy Volt.

Travels with Bunny

My idea of a good vacation is usually one that, at first glance, appears to involve questionable judgement. Fully serviced beach vacation? Kill me now. A city break? Boring (unless it involves good food).  Here are examples of good past vacations:

• "Let's walk to Zambia this afternoon."
• "I'm three months pregnant, so let's go to the jungles of Belize."
• "14 hours on a train in rural China?  Sure!"
• "Is that a mouse? Uhh no, just a really hairy, really big spider."
• "So looking at this map, we're hiking 45 miles in the desert carrying our own water.  I'm in!"
• "I don't know how to alpine ski.  Night skiing down the intermediate slope?  Well. . .OK."
• "Hmmmm. . . I think that area is mostly de-mined." (Please note that Cambodia is a very safe, and please consider making a donation to the HALO Trust) 

And here is videographic proof, courtesy of Maj. C (be kind, I'm pregnant and fat here).

But I temper these harebrained ideas with letting loose the strength of my planning Kung Fu.  I go into full research mode (which can be ugly given that I spent way too many years in grad school).  Planning involves lots and lots of lists.  I rehearse in my head what to do in the case of two-tail events.  Maj. C, who is equally a "planner" and versed in battlefield medicine, has a complete plan in case of Zombie Apocalypse.  For example, this is a real question he asked me last week, "Do we need bags of saline and this machete for the trip?"  Me, I know the emergency number, the address of the US embassy, and have a list of English speaking doctors.  I accept that I will pay the idiot tax and tourist tax.  Someone carries a PLB on my long hikes.  

Thus, I'm a well-prepared, well-provisioned person with questionable judgement on vacation.

It might surprise you that our next family summer production is one that is surprisingly tame: "Trans-America road trip!" Yes, that old chestnut, with a few caveats.

1. We're driving an electric car
2. We'll have an infant in tow
3. We'll be camping in a tent with sed infant 
4. Stay tuned for more details

Bad idea? Glad you think so.