I made 13 entries in my Solo Fishing on the Carson Journal. The first six entries ran last week. This week picks up here… Entry 7: It’s 8:30 a.m. Wednesday and I’m back in camp. I caught my limit again. I fished for 90 minutes this time. I started at the same spot as Tuesday […]
A Different Drummer: Fisherman’s Journal, Part One
OK, I finally went fishing, real focused fishing, not fishing from the car, or fishing on the fly, or fishing with others. Not fishing with a timer running. This was open-ended go-it-alone fishing. I packed my camping gear into my dented pickup truck and drove off alone into the mountains. I left last Monday and […]
A Different Drummer: A new old experience
If you’ve been reading this column weekly for 32 years, wow, and you know that I was once a backpacking mountain man. For 15 years I hiked teenagers over 100s of miles of California wilderness up to 10,000 feet and as low as 140 feet underground in caves. I’ve been to the top of Half […]
A Different Drummer: Just what happened this week
Summer is in full swing. Travel plans are folding over on themselves. Wifey and I haven’t left the area, but we’ve been on the road a lot. I’m dedicating this week’s installment to our recent whereabouts. This storyline goes Hayward, Sacramento, Tahoe, Jackson, and home again. For the fifth year Sue and I went with […]
A Different Drummer: When all the trees and leaves are green
We spent July 4th holidays as kids on picnics at swimming holes. That’s all there was, and it was plenty. Rural Pennsylvania rivers kept us busy and contented throughout childhood. A favorite town swimming hole was a small, remote wide spot in Bear Creek called Rattlesnake Dip. It was six miles from town into the […]
A Different Drummer: Summer of Love on a beach blanket
Our embedded tourist group just pulled off an eight-person city jaunt that involved public transit, taxi, Uber, private vehicle, and feet. We diverged to relocate twice and attended four events. It came off without a hitch and everyone got home safely. We attended the Summer of Love Experience at the de Young Museum, had an […]
A Different Drummer: Ball 2, Extra Ball!
For 50 years pinball machines were made and played in America. From the introduction of the flipper in 1947 to the mid ‘90s, over 5,000 different pinball machines were manufactured. Arcades flourished, bowling alleys, skating rinks, pool halls, bars and diners rang with bells and clanging quarters. Because of its illegal status in major cities, […]
A Different Drummer: Budding pinball collector surveys landscape
I’ve got pinball on my mind. I’m building toward the purchase of my third machine, but it will be a month or four before I flip. I intend to do deep research first. This is a big investment, and I have limited space. I don’t want to mess this up. There are options to consider. […]
A Different Drummer: Embedded tourists seek Bay Area thrills
We’re pretending to be Bay Area tourists, Sue and I and some friends. It’s a way to push us out to do things. Each couple takes turns suggesting a Bay Area destination. We put it on the Schedule of Fun Calendar and we go, 2, 4, or 6 of us. We go by public transit […]
A Different Drummer: Arriving while stationary
I just had a coincidental moment as I sat down to type, a bit of cosmic harmony. I was deciding where to sit because this week I’m writing on my tablet on the road. Sue and I are hanging out at our little Tahoe cabin. Unable to settle on a topic by waiting, napping, strolling […]