It’s been a quiet week in LA. I’ve done nothing particularly epic. Though I have discovered just a few of the fascinating food options in this area. Last night we had pupusas, a tasty dish from El Salvador. Earlier I sampled Uyghur cuisine for the first time and loved it. It’s a fascinating cross between Chinese and Middle Eastern food, because that’s exactly who the Uyghur are — and why they’re so oppressed.
The van is still in the shop. Vacuum leaks are very labor-intensive to find and eradicate, even if the seals themselves aren’t very expensive. It’s going to be a pricey repair, but I have savings for situations like this. It should eliminate every major and minor glitch I currently have with the van because it’s all related to vacuum. It’s best to get it taken care of where I can, while I can, and while I have another place to stay comfortably. I still haven’t replaced my motorcycle’s chain and sprockets, holding off until I get the van back so that I at least have one operational vehicle at a time.
The weather has finally cleared up. Until Wednesday, it’s been cool and foggy here. The past couple of days, though, it’s warmed up a bit, and I’ve finally been able to see the mountains north of LA. Carolyn and I will be taking motorcycles to the mountains this weekend. We got a battery for her Harley that needed one, and I’ll probably ride that instead of my KLR since the Harley is optimized for the paved roads we’ll ride. I’m looking forward to that.
I’ve also learned that night riding is actually pretty fun here. I’m used to living in the quiet dark areas of New England, where night riding can be dangerous with deer or even moose jumping into the road at any minute. Here, though, that’s unlikely to happen, and streetlights illuminate everything. I took my bike to meet Carolyn for pupusas last night and we rode home together, which was fun. The traffic finally dissipates, and I can finally kick back and enjoy the ride instead of picking my way through traffic.
Overall, though, life’s pretty much been on pause until the van is fixed. I’m still feeling like I have a better chance of finding community and “my people” in Quartzite than LA, and I’d like to get there as soon as I feasibly can. I’m just not much for city living. It’s a means to an end, though, and I have no regrets about my decisions here so far. I’m just getting impatient to move on to the next phase of my journey. And lonely.
Smokey Da Van 