Bug Tripping
Bug Tripping in Aruba
Aruba has earned its title, “One Happy Island.” One of three Dutch islands in the Lesser Antilles with Curaçao and Sint Maarten, Aruba is located safely below the hurricane zone. The island temperature is a constant 27 degrees Celsius (81 Fahrenheit), days are sunny and dry, and warm trade winds fan the air. On the…
Read MoreTiny bug vampires
A year ago, wanting to lose weight and get into better shape, I started running. My rural Vermont town is nestled at the foot of a mountain, and roads are either uphill or down. Each day I ran a little farther until I made it to electric pole #19 at the top of the first…
Read MoreBug Eating
When I was growing up, supper always centered around meat—Sunday roast, skirt steak pounded into tender submission and suffocated in gravy, meatloaf, pork chops fried crispy in Crisco, breaded chicken also Crisco-fried. My fingers were always greasy. When I moved away for college, I gave up meat—except for Thanksgiving turkey—and subsisted on stir-fried veggies…
Read MoreBye-Bye Bug, Hello Leaf
If you’re wondering why I haven’t posted to the Bug Tripping blog in a while, it’s because the Bug flew back to its VW hive. In 2015 the EPA gave Volkswagen notice that the company had violated the Clean Air Act when it was discovered it had programmed the TDI diesel engines to activate their…
Read More2017 Mexican Bug Odyssey
There’s no word for bug in Spanish. Insect is insecto, and beetle is escarabajo. We were planning to drive the VW Bug to Mexico, but we certainly didn’t want to call it Insecto while we were there. People might think it was infested with six-legged vermin. Escarabajo is too long a word. Escara means “It’s…
Read MoreTomar la Lluvia
Here in Sayulita, Mexico, VW Beetles and golf carts are the vehicles of choice. Most of the Bugs are old, a taillight out, covered with stickers (“I hate tacos said no Juan ever,” for example). One or two have had the roof cut off to make an odd-looking convertible. We prefer to walk rather than…
Read MorePrairie Lamp Trade-off: Mission Accomplished
True to reputation, the skies over Seattle drizzled rain. We parked the Bug in the lot of a creaky old hotel named Georgetown Inn. The young desk clerk greeted us warmly and offered us use of a washing machine next to the workout room, which we desperately needed. Mostly we were interested in a comfortable…
Read MoreA waste of tine..I mean, a taste of wine
“I want to visit a winery while we’re in Oregon,” I told Harry. “Oregon pinot noir is supposed to be the best.” We had stopped at a Red Roof Inn in central Oregon the night before, both of us too tired to search for more inspiring lodging. After a hotel breakfast of toaster waffles and…
Read MoreThe Mystical Mount Shasta
From Santa Rosa, Harry and I wended our way inland to Route 5 and turned the Bug north toward Dunsmuir. Brittany, our son Bryant’s girlfriend, grew up there and asked us to stop and say hello to her parents. Brittany’s folks welcomed us in, and over coffee and muffins we learned about what it was…
Read MoreBob’s amazing Santa Rosa house
“I played hockey with a Canadian guy who lives in Santa Rosa,” Harry said. “He wants us to stop in. Bob’s got oil money, so I’m sure his house is amazing.” This Bug trip was Harry’s idea, and I had promised to go along with whatever he dreamed up. “Okay,” I said, “I’m ready to…
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