All for one, one for all!

All of the revolutions of our pedals have been for a single cause, One Revolution at a time will have propelled us ~3,000 miles at the end of today! Shortly after 08:00 on Wednesday morning, we're squaring away our gear and cleaning up the house to be gone for a few days. We'll be striking out shortly for an 80 mile day of easy Florida pedaling to land at St. Augustine late this evening. Iz and I pedaled an easy forty miles yesterday from Fort White to Gainesville to be legit about our distance and had the pleasure of connecting with one of my best friends  on the planet; Kenyon. After an easy day of riding and chatting with myriad cyclists in High Springs who were participating in Bike Florida we enjoyed a coffee at 8th Ave Coffee Bike Shop. While there, we borrowed a bike stand and cleaned our chains and gears to be spinning smooth and clean on our final push. Heather, another of my best friends on this side of the Sun, will join us for our final day to the Atlantic coast. Israel has been great; he's gotten stronger, lost weight, is really thinking on his feet, is slowly starting to be self motivated and I'm sure he's had many growing experiences..besides all that, with pedaling a bicycle 3,000 miles he must surely have learned much of perseverance and exercising strength of mind over strength of body. Overcast day so far, I'm hoping for glorious sunshine sometime shortly after we get rolling. Any way about it, I think my mind will be laden with reflecting today and I'm expecting mild melancholy from feeling the end draw nigh. Looking forward to playing with the smart phone though and letting it track our route so maybe I can learn how to backlog our entire trip and post a google map of our journey to inspire One Revolution.
It was great here in Gainesville to chat with Ms. Christian's students at Eastside High School and then some of them afterwards at the 'Of Mice and Men' party. You all are great students, I hope if you remember only one thing from Israel and I spending time there with you that it is something to inspire you to inspire others. Focus on your task at hand, take it one piece, one sentence, one step, One Revolution at a time...it'll make the task more bearable and before you know it: paradise! Do yourself a huge favor, don't count the pages of an assignment, just jump right into it and love what it is. Stay focused, shut off the tv, video games and phone sometimes and pick up a book, find an adventure. We're living on a beautiful planet at a wonderful time to be alive; go live!
May peace and meekness guide your heart. Love someone today, embrace them like you will never have the chance again.
One Love, One Heart, One Revolution!
Joshua and Israel

Three states later...

We finally have access to a computer again. Coming out of Louisiana was a quick endeavor but crossing Mississippi was even quicker!
I have to talk a little more about New Orleans, and I'm sure I'll forget and omit many details; don't hang me for it. So, to put it out straight away, I'm very glad and my spirit rejuvenated to know that there are people in our world like Xavier, Claudia & Jesse, Rachel and Craig and these two couples' daughters! What a refreshing experience to find such open arms and acceptance among strangers. Many religious people could learn what its like to be Christ-like from these fine Louisiana folks. Iz and I were unabashedly invited into their homes, played board games with them, were adopted with all haste by their adorable little daughters...within hours of meeting them Iz and I both were rotating little girls onto our shoulders to catch beads at the St. Patrick's Day parade in New Orleans. I wish we could all remember to show the loving kindness and meekness of a child. We were welcomed so well with great conversation, food, entertainment and compassion...I hope I can put half as much into the world around me. Alas, on any journey, such things make parting difficult but the idea of completion drives us on. Pedaling out of Louisiana was the first state we both looked back on when crossing the state line.
Once we crossed that line though, our gears really started turning...
We screamed through Mississippi and on to Mobile Alabama in less than two days of pedaling from New Orleans. Once in Mobile it was time to find a bike shop again for wheel truing and a little food. By the time we got out of the bike shop, we had extra food, a shuttle to good camping and a promise of hot coffee then breakfast in the morning. Thanks again Jessica. While pedaling along the beach for those next couple days, we stopped and pushed two cars out of the sand, its a great thing to laugh about ladies! Like we agreed out there, its one of those to look back on, shake your head and laugh.
By Destin we were very keen on a quick stop for St. Paddy's...we found live music being played by an Irishman at McGuire's-the music made our hearts happy and light. We set up camp early on St. Patrick's day to prepare for a long Friday...it worked as we had our single longest day of pedaling at 152 miles! With that distance and the humidity of the eastern US though, I learned a very excruciating lesson: saddle sores can ruin not only your day but your whole psyche, your focus on just One Revolution, everything becomes focused down on two little points known as the sit bones. I squirm thinking about it. So, as I've heard a few times from a great mentor "Prudence is the better part of valor" and with this on my mind-vaguely through the haze of pain and suffering-I relented near Ichetuknee Springs and had Heather pick us up for a couple days of rest and healing before we go back to the same spot and finish the pedal into Gainesville Florida. It will be very nice to spend a few days here healing and refueling the body to be strong and feeling great to finish a huge trip that started with just One small Revolution. The acupuncture, qigong, massage, great food and epsom soaks probably won't hurt either :-D
Ok, more again later, time to crunch out a rough slideshow for some great high school students that I'll be meeting very soon!
One Revolution-One change in how you see one thing in the world can change your world. Smile with your heart.

short and sweet update

We finally made it to New Orleans today after staying in Lafayette for Mardi Gras. It was great to be there. Dad got to cross paths with us and spend a couple days there too. Besides being wonderful to see dad and get to talk with him awhile, it was nice to offload a lot of stuff we didn't need. After leaving Lafayette I had six flats in two days hence the late arrival to New Orleans. My tires are worn out! Was trying to make it to the coast with them but I guess nearly 7,000 miles was enough. Bought new tires and more tubes to get on the road tomorrow. It was such an amazing feeling to ferry across the Mississippi River; felt definitively like progress has been made and like its all down hill from here. Invited home by a Frenchman living here teaching French, we had warm showers and now a warm, dry place to sleep. Up early tomorrow to change the tires, off to Cafe du Monde for coffee and beighnets then onward to Mississippi!
Mardi Gras, btw, was nothing of what you hear about; I saw no flashing or crazy debauchery...mostly families lined up to watch a parade and catch beads as they're thrown from passing floats. There was also great live music all weekend and I'm now hooked on Zydeco music...
...alright, more later. must sleep.

The great thing about eastern Texas...and how our conversations sound on the road :-D

Knowing you're almost out of Texas! Nah, not really. Texas was great. The people are incredibly friendly and getting down to the gulf coast was glorious. The terrain in Texas was very psychologically challenging because it was such flat and straight road for miles and miles CAR BACK and miles and miles and miles. And miles. Besides that, Iz and I both have been battling some kind of sickness for the last three days. As a final send off out of Texas, we had two flats within the first three miles this morning! It was bad enough last night for Iz [from being sick] that we discussed postponing CAR BACK the trip or him going home and finishing later. Just thinking about not finishing the trip together put a small wave of depression on us both. For some reason today though, even with being sick, we're both feeling much better and anxious to push onward to New Orleans for Mardi Gras this weekend. Loosely I think we'll make Gainesville FL by the ides of March. I'm sure we'll take some time off there and then take a leisure couple days to pedal on to the Atlantic coast. CAR BACK. We're now over 1800 miles into the trip. The news article in Victoria was great, they misread my odometer and posted online that I had clocked 57,112 miles-Oops, they missed the decimal. It was 5,711.2 miles...I'm five miles away from 6,000 on my touring bike though.
Louisiana today! Finally!! Its amazing how quickly the culinary fare has CAR BACK changed with the departure from Texas. Already a strong Cajun/creole influence and I love it! I'm really looking forward to eating crawfish, frog legs and alligator!
Finally got some real hazing late yesterday evening. I'm a little surprised that more hasn't happened but grateful that CAR BACK we're still traveling safely. First, a huge, typical redneck [compensating for something] truck rolled by going the opposite direction and we got a redneck yell "Get off tha rOad!" Not uncommon. Second, I watched a low rider make a u-turn and as they passed the passenger pegged me with a 1 ounce souffle [little plastic cup] of ketchup. I guess if they got a laugh or smile from it my day and life were a success for having been able to CAR BACK provide a moment of laughter to a simple mind. If I could have convinced them to stop however, I would have offered a meal and/or a drink too. Maybe some french fries. Like the saying goes "If life gives you ketchup, fry up some taters." Oh wait, isn't it something about lemons...? Oh well.
So, we were just informed of the only known pink bottlenose dolphin that lives in the Cameron Parish area, hope we spot it while pedaling along the coast.
Oh, a little story: The day after we left San Antonio, one of our tent pole cords broke. I re-laced it with some p-cord but that didn't hold well or function properly to keep the pole taut. Finally, yesterday we found a store that had a tent shock cord replacement kit. Getting into wetlands were mosquitoes come in large black clouds, its very nice to have a smooth functioning tent. Literally, even with being expedient we must have had 76 sanguine seeking suckers in the tent last night. Buying bug spray today!
It has become fun to watch people's mouths drop when they nonchalantly ask something like "so how far you guys pedaled?" and we respond with "oh, 1800 miles" or maybe "where you guys riding to?", "ah, St. Augustine Florida." "WHat!?!" "Yep, Florida...pretty easy really. Just one pedal stroke at a time." Then something like, "dang! I couldn't ride my bike around the block." "Sure you can, just one revolution at a time. Anybody can, you just have to make a choice." "Well where do you stay at night?" "Any where that we can find dry ground to pitch our tent." In fact, tonight I think we'll be camping on the beach, listening to waves crash. I'm sure I'll have to live near an ocean at some point in life. CAR BACK.
Alright, enough rambling for now. Hopefully another CAR BACK update with the impending Mardi Gras!
Just One Revolution! Blog on the philosophy of our trip coming soon.
"Bike On!" -quote from a guy working on his car on the side of the road- I loved it :-D

Long lost cyclists

Hi everybody! So, we've not really had much computer access across Texas. We took a great week off in San Antonio for some 'q' time and personal time ;-). Got to see a day of rodeo, felt like a kid at the San Antonio zoo, rode the bikes up to the Alamo, watched an IMAX, and had time off from each other. Iz and I aren't fighting but it was nice to have a little respite for both of us. Rolling out of SA I had a small wreck, no major damage but after a front tire flat yesterday, my bike has developed a weird pulsing sensation that I'm not very fond of. Leaving SA I also seem to have caught a nasty respiratory infection that has straight served me for a couple days now. Yesterday it was so intense I was often seeing double or had blurred vision, had little sense of balance, felt dehydrated all day and my breathing was very labored. Fortunately it has subsided today though I still have a painful cough and my lungs seem partially compressed.
So, yesterday morning we rose early and wanted to find a small local place for breakfast. Just as we rolled into the small central Texas town of Scotdale my front tire started hissing about the time I spotted Mollie's Café. With a slime tube, there was a puff of green mist with each Revolution of the tire...kinda funny really. We didn't even mess with the tire, I pushed my bike to the café and we stepped inside. 7:30 AM, central Texas, small town, two lanky guys in black, tight shorts and brightly colored jerseys drew a few looks from the old timers sippin their morning coffee. We sat down and ordered: Iz; a 'Texas' pancake and sausage. Me; oatmeal, egg and potato taco and bean and cheese taco (with hot sauce, extra hot sauce and a side of jalapeños)-for the sinuses. "You sure you want the Texas pancake darlin?" The waitress asked. "Well how big is it?" Iz asked her. She held up the 14 inch round serving tray and said, "about this big." "Yep, bring it." And it really was that big! At least the size of a medium or large pizza and 3/4 of an inch thick. He ate every last crumb of it...except for the one small taste that I had. The waitress swore he was the first person she's seen finish a whole Texas pancake since she's been there.
Today we pedaled into Victoria and will keep cruising shortly. Had to catch up though, we stopped a couple ladies who were on nice full carbon tri bikes and asked for a bike shop. We were pointed here to Bill's Bikes. Once here we started tuning the bikes and within 10 minutes a local news reporter shows up! So, after almost an hour of questions and photos there will apparently be a newspaper article about us tomorrow here in Victoria. I'm still chuckling about it. Its a town of around 62,000 and Iz and I are big news I guess.
Well, at least we got to talk a little about cycling safety, physical activity to promote a healthy lifestyle, cycling awareness among motorists and supporting local business. I hope they quote me..."Don't buy your bike at Wal-Mart, support a local bike shop. It might cost more but you get better quality and your money stays local. Plus, try taking your bike back to wal-mart and see if they'll tru the wheels or adjust the seat for you."
That's One small Revolution for the day! Buy local, don't support exploited labourers.
Carpe diem!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The wonderful thing about west Texas...

Dreaming of never having to be here again.

Across the plains of Texas

We've seen a whole lot of nothing essentially! Well, slightly rolling hills and a lot of very straight roadway. The people here are very kind and give a great amount of space when they zip past at 80 mph but the scenery is a psychological killer. Oh, and a second cold snap has hit. We camped in Marfa last night and this morning was so cold that all of our water bottles where frozen solid, it hurt to break camp so much that we sat in a gas station to thaw for two hours. My hands and feet were hurting so bad from the cold that it made me sick! The wind was so strong yesterday that Iz's nose is burnt so badly that it's turned abnormally white on the bridge and this white spot is surrounded by dark red and peeling skin. Oh the adventure of cycling across our nation! When we crossed the Texas line, we ate at a small mexican place; support local right? Bad idea...the cow tongue burritos were preferential only to...say...dining with Hannibal Lecture. And the three day old beans and rice flavored with fermenting red salsa would have dropped a New York rat. In Alpine TX tonight with a warmshowers host who has fed us so well we might not need to eat again until Mardi Gras. With record lows still being attempted by Old Man Winter, it is bliss to have walls to wake up within and a warm bed to rest our bones upon. Especially after battling the most ferocious winds we've experienced on our journey thus far. It was like trying to spear an elephant with a toothpick. In other words, it sucked. We've improved our diet recently though, on a good note. Instead of mixed nuts or mixed nuts, we bought some apples, bananas, avocado, bell peppers and tortillas which serve nicely for any time of day. Oh, and a pint of local honey just outside of El Paso; so good on the walnuts and pecans!
Fortunately, no other bike troubles have cropped up so far but we've bought a supply of tube patch kits, tubes and CO2 for emergency tire inflation. Now, we'd like to order strong tailwinds for the next 32.5 days with a side of 5-20% grade downhill and a large order of warmth and sunshine (72-81 degrees F would be nice). Thanks.
One Revolution at a time though, we'll get to where we're bound.
Until again, may you find your own spin cycle!

Frigid in Las Cruces

So we arrived to Las Cruces just in front of an incredible cold spell. Forecasted 6 degrees tonight! So glad we have a place to stay inside. When we arrived yesterday we went first to the poste and picked up the box loaded with great food from Mom & Dad, thank you both so much! Before leaving the poste we were approached by five people who wanted to know all about our adventure. The couple who owns Nelli's Cafe on Hadley Ave invited us to their restaurant for breakfast today! It was an amazing meal. The couchsurfers we spent last night with cooked a great southwestern style dinner for us and provided wonderful hydration and conversation. I really hope that more people start internalizing that we are all humans and can find common grounds to get along. I'm not seeking the delusion of world peace, just the reality of inner peace. Iz and I are continually amazed at how many people greet us with such kindness and willingness to support our journey. These encounters are the fabric of our "One Revolution" concept. One revolution at a time, we are opening ourselves to a world of kindness to and from others. Seek your own peaceful journey! We're off to El Paso or further tomorrow. Oh, we also did a full tune up on both bikes today since we had a mishap yesterday that bent Iz's front rack and put his front wheel out of true. Clean drivetrains and smooth shifting makes such a difference in performance! Thanks Outdoor Adventures for letting us use the bike stand and tools! Let your thoughts and actions be guided by peace and joy...
One Revolution

Leaner diet and more miles

So, we've scored some library time in Douglas AZ. We stopped short yesterday after climbing 13 miles of 5-8% grade to Bisbee. In Bisbee we toured a coffee roastery that was amazing. Seth hooked us up with so many shots of espresso we were jittery most of the night. I had seven shots, Iz stopped at five.
Back up for a moment...in Tucson, after the great Ethiopian food we were hoping to go the local farmers market the next day (Sunday) that Jaime with Peddler on the Path told us about. Well after talking to some bicycle reps, we redirected for a short ride over to a stand with state bicycle maps. It cost me a rear gear shifter. With a simple and silly mistake I ripped a $60 part off my bike and listened to it scatter into three pieces and fly into the bushes. Moments later though an aircraft mechanic came riding by and asked me what happened. After givin him the skinny he told Iz to tow me to his place 3.5 miles away and said I could have his derailleur! A little wrenching and some hand shaking and we were rolling again. Tucson was amazing. Oh, and an avid cycling couple took us out for a great local meal! We suffered out of Tucson though with lots of climbing into the high deserts. Two days ago we walked the streets of Tombstone AZ where the famous shootout with Wyatt Earp occurred. We've left the Sonora desert-land of the Giant Saguaro cacti and are now in the Chihuahua Desert-land of the little ankle biting dogs...i guess, though we've not seen or felt (or tasted) any just yet ;-) While at the roastery, Seth bought a pizza from Roma's (next door) for us and a cycling tourist who's settled in Bisbee dropped in and invited us to sleep at his place for the night. Spartan but warm accommodations and we finally got to wash our clothes after nearly two weeks! I make Iz ride down wind from me!
We're very thankful for thorn resistant tubes, I'll post pictures later of the nail that went right through my tire but didn't cause it to flat!
Just over 200 miles to Las Cruces, hopefully there by Tuesday morning for a food drop by our wonderful Mom!
The clarity of the night sky in the desert blows us away; so many stars are visible that its nearly overwhelming. Very cold in the early morning too, makes us really appreciate the rays of golden sun striking the tent as we get ready to break camp. Guess that's about all for now. Time for one more revolution at a time. May random acts of kindness guide your day.

No Internet in the Sonora Desert

So, we had a brief stay in Yuma after the amazing hot springs in southeast California. The roads were absolutely terrible in the far eastern edge of California. Once in Arizona we jumped on I-8 into Yuma. We spent one night in Yuma with Meng, a guy we met thru an online site for cycle-tourists. After Yuma, we started pedaling 50-65 miles a day to Tucson. It's amazing how the roads can vary so widely; with some the surface makes you so aware of a leather saddle tenderizing your nethers that you want to fall over and cry. Others feel like sliding through soft butter on a sheet of velvet. So, we're using computers at a public library so we have limited time to be online. We were able to watch a re-enactment of the capture of John Dillinger today in downtown Tucson. Afterwards we asked a man who owns/operates "Peddler on the Path"-a mobile coffee shop about where in town to eat. He suggested a place about 12 blocks away so we started pedaling. Half way there, we were stopped at a red light and looked to our right and saw Cafe Desta, Ethiopian Cuisine. This was, hands down, the most exquisite spiritual dining experience Iz and I have ever had. The owner of the cafe, first of all was incredibly amiable-he brought our food out in a traditional shared family dish typical of Ethiopia with twice as much food as we ordered; spicy Kaye Lamb, Kaye Beef, Kik, Azifa, Timil Gommen, Lijera and maybe one other dish. Then, we had an amazing hot Yehemen Shai(tea) and the owner joined us to discuss One God and Baha'i. After finishing our food and tea and conversation with this wonderful man, he refused to let us pay for the meal! I literally hugged the man in tears. Simply profound. This type of kindness, love and generosity should exist in all of us! We wish all the best to Telahoun and his amazing restaurant endeavor!! Out of time for now...peace to everyone until next time.

Over the mountains across many bridges and through the desert

To the Florida coast we go!
Finally! After three days of painful uphill and every local for 70 miles telling us that El Centro, CA is "only two more hills and 60 miles away" we arrived already sun burnt and wind kissed. Arriving at the top of the final hill of the San Bernadino Mountains was glorious. Even more divine though, was the 10+ miles of downhill at 6% grade! First time in my life that I've stayed above the legal vehicle speed limit on my bike for almost half an hour: the posted speed was 35 mph and we sustained 36-40 mph for all except the last mile of the downhill. Hands down this was the most blissful ten miles of bike riding in my life to date, and I've now pedaled almost 4,300 miles on my Long Haul Trucker. Though Iz hasn't spun that many miles, he echoes the same about the grandeur of the downhill.
A fire captain who was returning from a fire call spotted us on the road and had the engineer pull up behind us. He is dreaming of pedaling the southern tier in a few years once he retires. He allowed us to stay in the Imperial County fire hall overnight which was a blessing. After so much uphill pedaling it was very nice to have a warm place to sleep and a hot shower. Thank you captain Celis. The fire crew also escorted us over to the naval air facility where the Blue Angels are trained and housed to get food. For $5.50 each we had a big double cheeseburger, fries and a drink. Still no lizards or cacti in the diet.
Got a package from the parents that was loaded with food; what a blessing to have wonderful parents! Also in the package was my waterproof Kindle case which will be wonderful for the hot springs where Iz and I will take a day off for relaxing & camping tomorrow. Apparently there are great natural hot springs just east of El Centro on our route...why wouldn't we stop for a day!? 
We posted a load of new pictures on my facebook account for anybody who'd like to see :-)
Now we're off to find a bicycle shop and our warmshowers host. Until next time, all it takes is one revolution. May God bring peace to your hearts.

Eastbound at 9 mph!

Since we were homeless on my birthday and warmshowers and couchsurfing both failed us in SD, Iz and I decided to start out yesterday. We took our bikes into the sand, walked to the surf, took a couple pictures and pedaled away. One revolution at a time we slipped unhurriedly out of San Diego. By late afternoon we had only covered thirty miles since we stopped to consult our map myriad times and talked to countless curious people. Its so fun to have cars pass and see people giving us thumbs up or fist pumping to cheer us on.
Nearing three oclock we found a San Diego park on our map with a campground and decided to have a short day. To our delight, there was an art show, reception and native american wind instrument concert all for free at the park visitor center! We unabashedly loaded plates with cheese squares, crackers, grapes, carrots, chips and salsa, pastrami and my personal favorite...deep fried ice cream balls!
Losing daylight and wanting to set camp, we rushed on to the campground only to find it closed. Through certain methods of sweet talking we were able to stay anyway. And more importantly we got wonderful hot showers for the first time in five days, built a nice campfire, had hot tea and then the camp host who didnt let us stay for free brought us two medium pizzas; one hawaiian and the other, his favorite, mushroom onion pepperoni and green peppers! Amazing day.
Today though was our first set of real challenges. We had to sneak out of the campground just after daybreak which was very cold on bikes. Midday on our first big climb up the San Bernadino mtns Iz promptly broke his chain. He pushed his bike to the top of the hill then we coasted down the other side to a jack in the box. After a few phone calls and texts we located a shop three miles away so I dropped all of my panniers and pedaled away. Six miles and fifty dollars later I returned with a repaired chain, a new chain and a new chain tool. We were two hours from chain break to back on the road. The hills really took a toll on us today. Things were looking grim late in the day for a place to camp. We have ridden out of the area our map covers and everybody we asked had no clue were to camp. Finally though we met a Mexican gentleman who is allowing us to spend tonight and tomorrow in a camper on his ranch! Longterm dividends of working hard to go to Uruguay...speaking the only language our new friend speaks! Thats all for now. Goodnight.  

End of the Line

Imagine if you can riding a train to the edge of a dream. You awake and you're still on the train. Keep imagining that you're still on the train until the train arrives at the end of your imagination.  Come back to reality and realize that you are sitting at a station about to miss your last connection to your final destination -the origin of the next step in your long journey. Now you are back on a train. 

From Chicago, Iz and I were on the Western Express for twenty five hours until we stepped off at Albuquerque, NM to stretch our legs and snap a couple pictures! We asked if a train was our southbound to San Diego and this lady says "nope we are norrthbound" but sounded uncertain of her answer. Two minutes before it left another agent asked if we were headed to SD and said same train was leaving now and was certainly our train. Coming so close to missing our last train connection was heart pounding and unfun!  Lesson: when you change trains ask at least two people to verify your train so you dont miss it! 

Back on the train we rode for another twenty two hours to San Diego.   Traveling by train is great overall. Very little traffic. Don't have to worry about dozing. Sleeper includes all meals and snacks; no complaints about salmon, flatiron steaks, unlimited snacks juice and coffee, omelets and beef brisque stew. Now though, we don't have a place to stay in San Diego, so its looking like stealth camping on a beach...unless something saves us last minute. The real adventure and learning starts today! Happy birthday to me :~) 

And we're off!

Every journey starts with sweet calm, tears of farewell and a maddened haste of last minute packing. In a flurry of hurried excitement, the rush of another adventure swept over Israel and I. Just yesterday we were in east Kentucky stocking the furnace room with firewood and throwing all of our stuff into bags, disassembling bikes
and trying to decide on what might be our last music and meal. Now, relaxing in our sleeper on the upper deck of Amtrak's Western Express we're westbound waiting on our dinner reservations. Dinner last night with our wonderful mama was awesome and was our calm before a storm of load and go to the train. Overnight northbound on 51 Cardinal was a painfully sleepless time spent between an 'all knowing' girl and an ex-con who's moving to San Francisco. Today though I reconnected with a girl I met six years ago in Austria and met her boyfriend. After showing us around Chicago they treated Iz and i to Chicago style deep dish pizza. Worlds better than rattlesnake, lizzards and cacti that i'm expecting in southern Arizona and New Mexico! Well, the next two days will all be on a train toward San Diego. Iz has started snoring on the bunk above me. Time to catch up on some quality sleep time.
This journey has begun.