Portia and I are still on the Central Coast in Pismo Beach spending some wonderful time with a longtime friend and his amazing wife. Tom McNeill was my roommate in 1976-77 in San Luis Obispo. Truth is, Tom was also my landlord. At 18 years of age, while the rest of us were trying to figure out what college to attend, where to work, and asking "what do I do now?" Tom moved to San Luis Obispo which is on the central coast of California, where he and his family had spent much time, and bought a three-bedroom home. Yes at 18 Tom bought a home and rented rooms to his bewildered friends. Tom is one of those special people that just seems to be on another level. I was nowhere close to thinking like Tom, I was just trying to get away from my Dad at that age.
And that was the beginning of our friendship. Even though we took very different paths, and didn't really keep up with each other, I always had the utmost respect for him and considered him my friend. So being able to spend such quality time with Tom and his phenomenal wife Janine, has been one of the most revitalizing experiences so far on this journey. The dinners they have prepared, parties with other friends, the cocktails, taking care of Portia even while she torments their cockatiel, Franky! Not to mention Tom being the Mcyver that he is, coached me and installed additional solar panels on the Airstream for future boondocking excursions. This truly has been such a remarkable portion of my trip.