Tonight I'm in Portland, OR, because I don't need to be in the LA area until noon Monday. My trailer is somewhere here in the yard.

I'm going to leave tomorrow morning, early, early, like around 4 or 5 because I don't want to have to deal with commuters flocking into Portland and wherever else to go to work. I'm lucky, I take work with me.

Already I like being back on the road. I get a very strong sense of calm and I know why. It's because I'm away from home. I miss Bonita, but it's the other one that I don't miss.

I'm working on the last chapter of The Pastel Cowboy and Tim and the Corsair. Pastel will end kind of soft and smooshy. (it's not a word, I checked) (okay, I check; that's what I do) (I thought about using smoochy, but smoochy the adjective does not go with smooch the noun meaning kiss, it goes with smooch the noun meaning smudge or smear, which certainly has very little to do with kiss other than a kiss is sort of like a smudge) (do I digresseth too much?) The new ending for Tim will also be smooshy, but I'm not too certain if it will be soft. Geoff's world has collapsed in on him and he's falling back into (darest I say it and spoil what you haven't read? No, I shan't) something that he'd rather not, but doesn't seem to be able to do anything about. If he had one true friend in the world, he might be saved from himself. So . . . . . .

Anyway, tomorrow I'm driving down to maybe Weed, CA, or maybe Redding. I don't have to be in LA until Monday. Actually, I don't have to leave until Saturday. I'm used to hauling ass, but around here that seems to be something we don't do. Maybe, just maybe, I'll drive as far as Medford, if I can get into the Petro. If I can't, then it's over the hill to Weed, which I like. (can't say I like it better because I haven't stayed at the Petro in Medford, but I might because I'll need a bath and I'm not too certain about the bathing opportunities in Weed.)