Albuquerque, NM

You can get there from here. But you need to go up and through Albuquerque. It would've been much faster to go from Phoenix to Austin through El Paso. But there is a gap of 500 miles in superchargers in that route -- there is none between Tucson and El Paso. The only way is to refill at a Chademo station in Tucson and then sleep over at the RV park in Deming while charging. You can then get to Van Horn supercharger past El Paso the next day. The problem is Deming is 220 miles away from Tucson and 1000 feet in elevation gain. And Van Horn is another 220 miles from there. You could safely make the trip in 100 kwh version, but not with 60 kwh one.

We left Tempe's Extended Stay shortly after 9AM. We made total of 3 stops in Corde Lakes, Holbrook and Gallup and got to Albuquerque shortly after 6PM. A total of 9 hours and I was tired, but it wasn't that bad. That it was mostly interstate freeways and Tesla drove itself on them may have something to do with it. I sat back, relaxed and put my hand on the steering wheel every a few minutes. It probably wasn't as relaxing as being a passengers though. You can't completely let go; you still have to watch the road just in case. Maybe I'll drive the next time and compare the fatigue.

Yesterday we drove through South Mountain park in the morning. The Google navigation tried to drive us over the summit to get to Hertz where we were supposed to return the car. After the summit, we realized it was going to take a lot longer to get to Marriot where Hertz was located. We turned around and made to the counter just in time. We returned the car, took Lyft to Tesla and picked up the loaner for the day. After some rest at the hotel, we explored Papago park. By then, I was burning with fatigue we had to cut short and return to hotel.

I was hoping that my Eczema that I got after dipping into hot springs in Tecoma would improve in hot Tempe. It didn't. Now I can't even wear the top because the clothes irritates the skin. I first started developing atopy in cold weather in Korea. And I get that regularly when the temperature dips below 40F. Now I'll have to add hot springs to the triggers. Asthma and atopy, I apparently had all predisposing conditions for CFS.

Now it's been exactly two weeks since we left. It feels like it has been an eternity. Being on the road will do that to you. Does anybody miss me in the Bay Area? Does anybody know that I'm gone? Since I got CFS I've lost all contacts and I've been pretty isolated. It wasn't much better before, come to think of it; it only has gotten from bad to worse. That's one reason I think I should move to a smaller community at least till I recover and get back into circulation.

Tempe, AZ

Extended Stay of America in West Mesa feels like a palace after 5 days in George's converted garage. It has a bathroom sink too! George and Julia were swell, but I can't say the same thing about their inconvenient converted garage. And I keep getting Extended Stay when I book the express deal on priceline.com. How lucky is that? At $40 a night, it is saving us tons of money on this trip. And we get to eat our own food, not burgers.

I returned the Versa from Budget and rented a one way from Hertz at the Flagstaff airport. The compact I reserved wasn't available, so they gave me Sonata. Frankly, I preferred Versa. It was such a comfortable car with lots of utility.  The passenger liked the "full size" though. Two and a half hours later, we were at Tesla store in Tempe. It's a surprisingly big 3-in-1 store. The wheels for my car have not arrived yet, so it's still seating in the corner. Joules, the Tesla Service Adviser at the store, thinks they'll arrive tomorrow morning and the car should be ready by the afternoon. That means we'll have to stay here for one more night -- I'm not going to set out on 9 hour journey to Albuquerque in the afternoon. No matter, we get to explore Phoenix area a little.

It turned out that I could've come to Tempe with the car on the tow truck and Tesla would've given me a loaner. I forgot all about it and rented a car at my expense in Flagstaff. It probably had to do with fatigue after 12 hours drive and not wanting to be on the road for another 2 hours. Anyway, live and learn, I guess.

Other than for the financial hit -- the total bill including the car rental came out to be about $2600 and the insurance will cover $1500 -- the accident was a blessing in disguise. We got to explore Flagstaff area, Sedona in particular, more than we planned. We blew past it at night after Red Rock state park on the way coming up. We went back yesterday during the day time, and we found that we missed a lot. Not just Sedona itself, but Slide Rock state park and Oak Creek.

Slide Rock state park

Oak Creek Canyon

Sedona Town

Sedona was similar to Yosemite: it lets you look up the cliffs from within the canyon, unlike Grand Canyon where you look down from above. And yet it is different from Yosemite, not just in that rocks are red rather than granite grey, but also in that it is more commercially built. Not in a bad way though. It was a small tourist town. Quite pleasant, in fact. I wouldn't have minded renting a house there and staying for a month. I was planning on it in fact, if the car repair took long. But the car is done and so we are moving on for now.

Oh, and I'm still doing well health-wise. No post-exertional sickness despite taking 8000 steps yesterday. That after 9000 steps in Grand Canyon 3 days ago. Dialing down activity every other day seems to work well so far. Cross my fingers.

Flagstaff, Still

Tesla service center in Tempe called and said that the car will be ready by Thursday. Geico is not coming through, however. They want to inspect the vehicle before the repair, and Thursday is the earliest time that they can. That means the car won't be ready till Friday at the earliest. They are making fuss about making a claim only  a week after the coverage was added, and want to make sure that the damage is not a pre-existing one. No matter, I'm not in any hurry. I can pretend that we moved to Flagstaff. If the repair takes long, I was going to rent a house in Sedona for a month anyway.

I'm glad I set out on this journey despite the risk. I've been stuck in the left coast so long, I forgot what the rest of the country looked like. People are nicer in the country than in the city. The crew at Big O Tire were regular Joes from the next door. six of them looked into my car. It probably have something to do with Tesla. Kevin didn't charge me since they couldn't do anything on it. After my car was towed away, Julia gave me a ride to the airport to pick up a rental. She's a Russian who doesn't speak English, but we managed a few exchanges.

Now I'm more seriously thinking about moving to the country. San Francisco is swell, but it's terribly expensive and I'm not taking advantage of it, thanks to my CFS. And I can build relationships better in the country. City can be a lonely place if you are a CFS patient.

Meanwhile, I'm holding up surprisingly well. I did quite a bit of walking, 9000 steps total for the day, in Grand Canyon on Sunday. I went down to the vista point on Desert View. It went down quite steep at the end so I gave up. Coming back up was enough to get my heart rate to 120. I was  pretty tired yesterday after 8 hour trip, but I feel mostly recovered this morning after 2 days. It's as if I'm just extremely out of shape. Which is probably true, if it weren't for the limit imposed by the post-exertional sickness.

Flagstaff, AZ

12 hours of driving, and I'm not sick, again. Am I making progress with CFS? Maybe it's the day of rest I had at Extended Stay of America in Las Vegas. Now I'm sticking better to my original rule of resting every other day. I did rest again today in this converted garage that we rented from AirBnb for 2 nights. But it's most likely that driving is not as fatal as walking. Sitting up for a long time makes me deadly tired, but apparently it does not create inflammation the next day like walking does. As long as I don't drive multiple days, that is. Then the accumulation ends up with inflammation.

We checked out at 8:30 and then we drove and drove. It would've been faster if we took the Interstate directly to Flagstaff, but we followed the drive #48 from the Reader's Digest Scenic Drives. It is the  Red Rock Country through Sedona. That meant that we go down to Wickenbug near Phoenix and then drive back up hill gaining almost 5000 feet. Tesla made just fine with the full charge from Wickenburg. Except for hitting a gigantic pothole at night near Flagstaff on the way up from Sedona. The right side of the car just exploded. I thought I hit a rock, but it probably was a pothole.  I found that both front and rear right wheels got damaged when I took it to Big O Tire for an alignment. Apparently there are lots of those in Arizona. The Big O mechanic knew. The car is now towed to Tesla service center in Tempe 150 miles way. I had to pay $690 ouf of pocket for it for now. Geico had  an issue of processing the claim one week after I started the collision coverage. They'll get back to me on Monday.

After I took this shot, the camera battery died. How lucky can I get?

Sedona was beyond what I imagined. It is a wide open space with huge red rocks and granites all around it. No wonder it is such a tourist town. The $15 I invested in the scenic drive book did pay off handsomely. The wife wants to go back again.

By the time we left Sedona, it was getting too close to sunset. We skept other points of interest and drove straight to the Red Rock state park. This route was about the red rock after all. And we got there in just nick of time. It was an overcast afternoon and the sun peeked under the cloud as it set, casting a beautiful light on the red rocks.

Tomorrow, we go to Grand Canyon. If I can get a car, that is. I did reserve a rental, but I have no way of getting to the rental location. Maybe George, the propriertor of this converted garage will take me there if Avis doesn't pick me up. Otherwise I'll have to take a cab. Oh, and we'll now have to stay in this garage indefinitely, at least I hear from Tesla as to how long it's going to take them to make my car whole and road-worthy again.

Ridgecrest, CA

I'd like to stay here for one more day to rest and write if it weren't for the filthy motel. The bedding doesn't look clean and the bathroom sink is over a soggy carpet. America's Best Value it isn't. I chose it only because the free breakfast and higher rating, but this ain't no effing 2 star hotel. I'll check out Motel 6 and see if it's any better. It at least has a pool that I can lounge around. If that doesn't work either, we'll move on to the Death Valley and Tecopa Springs.

So, I survived the 400 mile, 8 hour drive. Tiring, but not bad at all. We did make four stops -- Gilroy, Harris Ranch, Bakersfield and Inyorken -- to charge the car. We could've done with three, but there was no point. I had to rest anyway and it's faster that way -- charging is slower if you fill up. Each stop took about 30 minutes, enough time for bathroom break and then to lay down and rest. Yeah, I already told you, Tesla is a perfect car for CFS patients.

Resting in Gilroy while charging the car

The Autopilot came through just in time too. Tesla updated the car software on March 29, just 2 days before the trip, with Autopilot fully functioning. And it was a lifesaver. I have no idea how I survived driving without it previously. (Well, OK, I didn't drive for years till the last Thanksgiving). Letting go of your arms and legs and resting does make a big difference in fatigue. An SUV full of family pulled up next to us at one point and everybody was gawking. They must've been impressed that I was eating banana and drinking water while driving.

Way into Sequoia Nation Forrest

Kern River swelled up after so much snow in the winter 

We took CA 178 through Sequoia National Forrest wilderness following Kern River to Inyorken from Bakersfield. The winding mountain pass took a toll on the mileage. It plummeted to 2 miles/kwh on the way up when the normal should be 3.5. Once we got down to the desert portion it got stretched out to 6 miles/kwh. I was worried about 190 mile loop through the Death Valley, but now I'm confident that we'll make it with plenty to spare, as long as I don't drive too fast.

Slower driving on flat land yielded projected range of over 400 miles

Moved Out

Moving is a stressful event under the best circumstances. For CFS patient, it is a million times worse. When I moved to the City in August 2008, I was new to CFS. I didn't know any better then. Then again in 2010. I felt like the Donny party at the base of the Sierra mountain desperately trying to climb out of the hole they were in, only to get stuck in the snow.

It got gradually better. It was still stressful the next time when I moved out of the City in 2012, but I don't remember feeling as desperate as before. I must've gotten better at managing the move for sure. And I got rid of a lot of stuff -- I was a minimalist -- by then. But my condition also improved and became more tolerant of exertion. I still wasn't able to walk any better, but I was getting better with muscular exertion in short spurts.

I started packing a week before moving this time. I didn't have much to pack to tell the truth; most of the stuff was the wife's. But yesterday I had to load up the car with the stuff that we need for the next 3 months. And I had to do some clean up. I somehow managed without killing myself. And today I recovered, mostly. A little sore and very tired, but I'm not sick. I think I'll be OK tomorrow to drive 300 miles to Ridgecrest. Tesla was updated with a new software yesterday and now it can drive by itself on the freeways. And I'll have to stop every hour or two to recharge the car, so I should be able to lay down and rest too.

The plan was to drive down to Ridgecrest yesterday afternoon. But the wife had a gig as a model that paid $600 for a couple hours of work. She wasn't the one to give up on that. That's why I had to take care of moving by myself, and it was a mighty fine decision to stay in the Bay area instead of driving down south. Then this morning, I decided to rest yet another day. Another fine decision. I am going to force myself to rest at least every 2 days. I don't want to recur the 6 weeks of struggle like the last time, after all.

Tonight, I'll charge up the car on the way back from dinner. Then we'll set out the 300 mile journey south tomorrow morning.

Getting Ready to Move

A 30 day notice is given to the landlord and we are getting ready to move on. I'm now feeling rather apprehensive though. 3 months on the road could put a lot of strain  on my body and I may end up destroying whatever little chance I have for recovery. I'll have to be very careful. I'll rest every other day and keep the number of steps to under 6000. And I'll cut it short and return if there is any sign that I'm getting weaker, like the post-trip struggle I had after the trip to SoCal last year.

Between the new car and getting ready to move, I've been too distracted to write. My brain doesn't seem to function either since I stopped the regular walk schedule. It's just another reminder of the importance of daily walk and keeping a regular schedule for CFS patients.  And also a reminder that walkable city is better environment. Probably better for healthy people as well. Suburb is good only if you plan to raise children.

On other news, my fitbit has been dead for a few weeks. I've been wearing it in the shower because shower takes a lot of energy and had to be included in the measuring. The battery must've gotten shorted; it no longer holds charge. I got a replacement today. Luckily the price of Fitbit Charge HR has been cut in half now that new models are out.  I'll have to take it off when taking shower from now on. That means I'll have to manually account for the shower somehow.  I'll probably grep for 'shower' in the activity log and then insert the calories expenditure template for shower in the fitbit data. That means I'll have to record the time of shower as well in the activity log.