Spring snow and escape to Monterey

It's been wet, really wet here.  Sometimes it gets very old especially when the second day of "spring" at the valley floor looks like this:

But this is a fluke, a freak month of near record precip that must be a rude joke by good ole mother nature (even with those eons-old chewed up teats she can still lay a good one on us!).  So we regain a small semblance of comfort and head south to sunnier environs: Monterey, CA.

Fill up at biodiesel station in Pheonix, OR.

Our 93 TDI EV loaded down with the family, provisions and 4 bikes.

B99 for $4.24/gal.  Cheaper by a quarter than all the freeway diesel pumps from Monterey to Corvallis.














On long road trips like this, especially when we drive all night red-eye style (6pm-6am time slot for ease of kiddos), and everyone is asleep I dream of big performance mods, stacked compounded turbos and 50+psi boost.  Will it ever happen? That I don't know, but it always starts with a dream so I guess I'm part of the way there :-).  For now my humble little TDI EV w/stage III build/tune 20psi max is just a dandy and a great way to pass the miles on the open road.  And at 30+mpg it's tough to beat in terms of functionality.

Splendid Garden Eels

Other than the sunshine, another great reason to go to Monterey!

Easily overlooked and likely to be missed by even a sneeze is the Splendid Garden Eel exhibit at the Monterey Bay Aquarium.  I could spend a whole day in somnolence just staring at these little guys....