Not Bored, But Getting There

I've received several e-mails asking for an update on my brother's condition. In short, he's fine. Not 100%, but just yesterday we were able to explore downtown St. Louis and even throw the pigskin around in the park for a few hours. It's next to a sure thing that he'll be back working part-time at the hospital by March 1st. The color in his skin is back. He's able to do basic chores and has even been able to drive himself around for short periods. His recovery has been as smooth as we could ask for.

The reason I haven't written anything for a few weeks is because there has been nothing to write about it. My brother's health is an exhausted topic at this point, don't you think? And what else is there? Jake and I sit on the couch virtually all day. I do my Google stuff, and Jake watches TV and surfs the net. (Our channel of choice has been the Food Network. It's seems to me a fair compromise between ESPN and whatever channel my brother would choose if I wasn't here. But it's bland. Though never grating or altogether unwatchable, the Food Network is also never that intriguing either. Right now we're watching the 1986 classic, "Lucas" on WEtv. Until now I never realized what kind of star-power this movie has – aside form Corey Haim of course, there's Jeremy Piven as the bullying meathead, Charlie Sheen as the unlikely nice guy, a very nerdy Winona Ryder, and the hot chick from Goonies. What a cast!) As the weather has allowed, we've spent a few days strolling through St. Louis's Forest Park, an enormous and well-designed public space that actually trumps New York's Central Park in sheer size. The park has a few museums, a zoo, tennis courts, 3 9-hole golf courses, an ice-skating rink, all kinds of sports fields, and is just a few minutes walk from our townhouse. Unfortunately, Jake tires quickly and walking even half of the park's 6 mile trail is a grueling exercise. And anyway, until this last weekend, the weather has been intolerable. Arctic cold fronts brought several days of snow flurries and we went 2 weeks in which the temperature rarely got above freezing. The park, like just about everything outside of these 4 walls, has existed more as an idea over the last few weeks than as a real, viable thing.

But all of this idle lying about has at least opened the door for planning out future adventures. On March 7th I'm heading to Phoenix for Spring Training. Hopefully reinvigorated by a long weekend of sunshine, I'll then continue west and settle again in my old stomping grounds of Pacific Beach, San Diego. I'll probably spend the rest of March in San Diego then slowly start heading north after the NCAA tournament comes to a close. I should be back in the Bay by the end of April, and after spending some time at home, perhaps a week or so, it will back to the road. I am currently planning a 5 month expedition across the continuous 48. I'll be setting off from San Fran sometime in the middle of April and I plan on touching down in NYC by the middle of Sept. All stops in between are currently being weighed on points of convenience, general interest, cost, and novelty. If anyone has any suggestions, or better yet, knows anyone who would be willing to let me sleep on their couch for an indefinite time at some point this summer, then I would be more than appreciative. Anyone who assists in my journey will be rewarded with a postcard from whichever destination they contribute to my itinerary. Sweet, huh?

Oooh, Pee-Wee's Big Adventure just came on. I'll write more later.