Thank You, Nikon!

Hallelujah!  Nikon has decided to replace my camera, after 3 weeks on a parts hold.  The new one is shipping today and I should be back in business in a few days.  I can't tell you how wonderful that is.  I don't think I realized how much fun I had, exploring and photographing and sharing it all here.  I have to tell you, they were within a hair's breadth of losing me as a customer forever over this. After all, they 'broke' it when I sent it for the first repair.  It came back with a whole host of new problems.  Plus, it's not an expensive camera, so I'd think good PR on their part would tell them to just replace it. So -- congratulations, Nikon, for doing the right thing.  I was dreading the thought of getting the old one back and having still more problems with it.

I'm thinking about taking the real southern route - I-10 - when I travel, through San Antonio and New Orleans then cutting up to I-20.  Several reasons -- mostly change of scenery and a chance to see a part of the country I haven't seen before, or for a long time anyway.  I also have some good friends who live in the tiny town of Marathon, TX, which is a short hop off I-10, towards Big Bend National Park.  I think the odds that they will actually be in town in late January are pretty slim, but if they are, it would be great to stop and visit.  My friend Google Maps tells me the route (aside from any side trips) is only about 140 miles longer this way.  It won't be hurricane season, and there surely won't be any snow to deal with!

The first time I made this trip, back in 1986, I took I-20 and it was a terribly boring trip -- miles and miles of desert that seemed to take days to cross.  Texas really is a big state!  When I drove back west in 1996, I avoided Interstates, stuck with the Blue Highways, and cut high, along the Red River to Santa Fe.  That was a much more pleasant trip, but I had all the time in the world, no place to be or even a place to go.  I was a free spirit -- my cat and I traveled for about two months and about 13,000 miles before settling in Oregon.  I don't have that option this time.  I need to be there when my stuff arrives, and even more importantly, I want to see my new house.