Apologies for the delay…

Hi folks, fans and friends, I’m finally getting a chance to post some items.  It seems I was a little ambitious in my thinking that I would be able to post and drive all at once.  It also seems that I’m spoiled by my east coast experience of having cell service *almost* everywhere, whereas in the vast stretches of wilderness I have been driving through, there is nothing, figuratively, and often literally.  Since my schedule was tight, I drove lots and rested little, and when I did rest, it was usually in a desolate and lonely spot. No cell service.  Even at the conference at the Claremont Colleges, wi-fi service was unreliable and very very slow, so I was dependent on my cell phone.  So no posts.

Currently, I’m in New Mexico, enjoying (?) a little down time at a hotel and using their wifi.  Why, you ask?  Well, yesterday (Sunday) afternoon, Ollie started experiencing loss of power at highway speeds whenever I would step on the accelerator.  He had been idling roughly first thing in the day, but that would smooth out after he was warmed up.  A tune-up would be a good thing, I think.  He would also every now and then experience the same drop-off in power when taking off from a dead stop, warm or cold.  But he loves cruising long and (relatively) fast at highway speeds, between 65-72 mph, so yesterday’s loss of power was disturbing.  My first thought was Vanagon Syndrome.  I pulled into the small town of Gallup, NM, drove around a little more, and the problem did not reoccur, but since Mom was with me and she was nervous about this new intermittent problem perhaps causing a breakdown in the middle of nowhere, I made an appointment at the local Pep Boys service center to have Ollie looked at first thing this morning (Monday).  If not Vanagon Syndrome, my other thoughts were maybe a clogged catalytic converter, or perhaps the fuel pump.  But I’m not a mechanic.  And the Pep Boys may not know the foibles of older Volkswagens.  And since the problem is intermittent, and irreproducible on demand, diagnostics may not find much.  I’m not completely confident.

Gallup is an interesting town. It’s in the middle of the Navajo Nation, and Native American culture is everywhere.  Had dinner last night at El Sombrero restaurant, known for its New Mexican cuisine (yummy!)  Despite mixed reviews online, I found the service to be very good, and the food to be fresh, hot, and tasty.  I got mine “Christmas” which means having both red and green chili (sauces) smothering the food.  Mom had the weekend special of a Chimichanga Carnitas Adovada.  Yummmm, so good, authentic, and so filling.  Sorry, no pictures of that.  :(

Just got a call from Pep Boys: they have been looking at Ollie all morning, and couldn’t find much wrong, except the mechanic said that the fuel pump was a little wonky and was not working quite right.  So Ollie will get a new fuel pump, and hopefully we’ll be on the road again before too long.  We’ve checked out of the hotel room, and are hanging around in the lobby until Pep Boys calls again to say that Ollie’s ready.

Oh, now I’m hungry after talking about last night’s dinner.  Maybe I’ll convince Mom to go to El Metate for dinner before we leave. If we do, I’ll get pictures this time.

Look for more posts in the near future until I leave this hotel lobby.