If you read my last post, I challenged myself to take a look at my aging electronics and transportation vehicles. I am a little late with this second post of 2024 because the computer I use to do most of my work on this website has been out for some updating. I thought I was going to have to buy a new one, and it probably would have been faster, but I found a guy who said that he could help me upgrade all my computers and save me some money while potentially adding another five years of use to each of them. I like fixing things (or in this case having them fixed) whenever possible. I don’t need to own the latest and greatest, but I do like things to work as they should. He is a young gentleman I felt I could trust, which is important given the sensitive information many people keep on their computers. Long story short…I now have refreshed computers, but it took a while to get things back. It is probably the longest I have gone without using a computer (fortunately, I still had the use of my smartphone) since I started working with them just after I graduated from college in the early 1980’s.
As I stated in the last post, I was looking to buy a new car. I didn’t get rid of my 1993 VW Eurovan (pictured above from a digitized photo taken almost 30 years ago in western Maryland at the beginning of a driving adventure to Alaska and back), but I did finally take the plunge bringing me into the modern age with the purchase of an electric vehicle. I settled on a Tesla Model Y. It takes a little while to get used to charging rather than refueling, but it makes me happy that I can use it to get where I need to go without burning fossil fuels. Besides the feel-good aspect, I think I will save money in the long run. I like driving and the Model Y is fun to drive. Even in the “Chill” driving mode it is very quick and nimble (both things the Eurovan is not!). My wife likes it because it is quiet, comfortable, and on longer trips it forces me to stop more often to take breaks. Typically, I try not to stop unless I need gas every four or five hours and for my wife that isn’t ideal. I chose a Tesla because the charging network is by far the best, at least as of the time of this post. There is usually a supercharging station on the route that has a bathroom and a place to do some shopping or grab a bite to eat. It doesn’t take much longer than a gas stop to recharge, but we do have to stop about every 180 miles. I suspect that charging stations with good facilities will get better with time. I have already used the Tesla to take several long trips on the east coast and it has worked well. I will write about them soon and post some photos as soon as I have a moment to go through all the digital images. I suspect that a cross country trip will be more challenging but I hope to give it a try someday. I am not sure it is up for another road trip to Alaska even though it probably has the ground clearance. Even the Eurovan only had a range of about 325 miles, but I could (and did) pack a little extra gas to make the trip.
I haven’t yet gotten a new camera but some of our grandchildren are eager to inherit my old one and have expressed interest in learning about photography and documenting their adventures on this website. I hope that will happen soon. When I started this website in 2018, I really had no clear idea of what it should or could be. I wouldn’t mind someday turning this whole project over to one or a few of them if they continue to show interest. They already are interested in exploring beyond their own backyards and it would be nice to have someone take on the impossible challenge of trying to see it all.