Thousand-Mile Days

Back in the 1960s, 1970s and early 80s I drove coast-to-coast a number of times — 20 one-way trips, actually.

Part of the fun was doing it as efficiently as I could.   In the 60s the Interstate system was still a work in progress, so every year when I was traveling I’d buy a road atlas and search for a route with the most freeway mileage.   Of course I still had to drive a number of stretches on two-lane roads, often enough in a queue behind a slow-moving truck or travel trailer.  About the most miles I could manage per 14-hour driving day in those conditions was 700.

By the turn of the1970s, the system was nearing completion. In my ’68 Volvo 142 I did about 950 miles on a couple occasions.  Then the Big Gas Crunch hit, and the government’s infinite wisdom dictated that absurd 55 MPH speed limit.  That made seriously long mileage days hard to attain.

But just before that, I traded the Volvo for a Porsche 914 with its huge gas tank (scaled for the 916 6-cylinder model) that allowed a 600 mile cruising range at 30 MPG.   In that car, I drove from Albany, NY to Seattle in three days.  Another time I began the day in Evanston, WY and wound up in Columbia, MO — some 1300 or so miles away.   I wanted to stop sooner, but was experiencing strong thunderstorms in eastern Kansas and didn’t want to pull off the highway.  And in Missouri in those days, all the motels seemed to be 10 miles off I-70, so I wasn’t willing to stop until I reached Columbia late in the evening.  And then slept for 11 hours, spoiling my plans for the next day.

Even in recent years I’ve driven between Seattle and Holister, CA in one 15-hour day, a little more than 900 miles. I’m not sure I’d want to try such a thing now: Seattle to San Francisco in one day will have to do.

Draft Dodger

One small part of the mud being slung at Donald Trump is that he dodged the draft during the Viet Nam War.

As best I recall, most young men back in those days were not happy with the prospect of being drafted and many, both left and right, did what they could to get deferred. So I don’t consider that a black mark against anyone.

In fact, I was a draft-dodger.

I beat the draft by enlisting in the Army for three years.

California Economic Danger Signs

I recently returned from a 12-day California visit.  While there, I noticed a few troubling signs of economic weakness in places one might expect to be prosperous.  Be aware that I'm committing journalism here: nothing statistical.

Palm Desert's El Paseo, an upscale shopping street that includes a small, open-air mall lost at least two art galleries since I was last there a year ago.  At least one of them was a branch of a Carmel-by-the-Sea gallery that remains open.  Another gallery moved to the sunnier, hotter, and probably less-expensive side of the street.

I also noticed that more shops were closed compared to last year.  A corner site once occupied by Coldwater Creek has remained closed for several years.

However, the somewhat funky South Palm Canyon Drive up in Palm Springs seemed to be doing just fine.

The situation was worse along Santa Barbara's State Street.  A vibrant shopping zone a dozen years ago, it began its decline with the Great Recession and conditions steadily worsened since.  Last year there were many unoccupied store sites, and this year there were noticeably more vacancies, even in the Paseo Nuevo shopping mall.

The one bright upscale spot I visited was Carmel-by-the-Sea's main drag, Ocean Avenue.

Given California's political leadership, I doubt that matters will improve.