Yesterday I rented a boat on Lake Mead and had the time of my life! While I've spent pretty much all of my life being around boats, I don't recall a time I ever drove one all by myself. I wasn't really concerned, since after all those years of watching I knew how to do it, but still. It was exciting doing it on my own for the first time! I got quasi-lost initially. I actually went the way I wanted to go, and then I doubted my navigational skills and turned around. Guess I should've trusted my instincts! Nevertheless, it turned out great- I ended up at the Hoover Dam! It was just as impressive as I remember it being 10 years ago. It blows my mind that people could build something so amazing and huge without the technology we have today. I think we've come to use it as a crutch, in some respects. Just think of the stuff that human beings built without the help of computers! Pyramids in Egypt & Central America, aquaducts in Rome, we even went to the moon back when people were still using slide rules!
t-shirt/pilot shop :: cardigan/target :: shorts/forever 21 :: shoes/thrifted
While I was in Alameda my Aunt and I went to Target and got sucked into the sale rack in the clothing section. It was intense. Anyway, she bought me this amazing cardigan (and a couple other things), and I've been wearing it all the time since then! It's just so comfy and the pattern is reminiscent of a Navajo blanket or similar print, which I love and am relishing in being here in the southwest. Target has been a major win for me on this trip, clothing-wise. I bought that other striped cardigan at the Target in Tacoma, and then scored some amazing stuff at the Target by Oakland (thanks to my Aunt!).
I've been avoiding buying clothes on this trip, a) because I don't have the money, b) because I'd rather be doing other things than going to a mall, and c) I want the few things I do buy to have sentimental value. I remember back on our family RV trip in the 90's I got a ring from a road side native vendor and I loved it. Somehow it got lost over the years, but I love finding cool things at quirky places. I actually bought a beaded belt (kinda like this one) the other day when I visited Calico Ghost Town (a post on which I must write soon!), and I'm stoked to wear it. I like souvenirs that are not typical. No shot glasses with stuff printed on them, no corny t-shirts, no silly figurines. Stuff like that just gathers dust on a shelf and clutters your life. I like stuff that I will use, but will still remind me of where I got it. I bought a scrimshaw pendant necklace last time I was in Maui and I love that every time I wear it, it reminds me of when and where I was the first time I saw it. I think the memories are more important than silly trinkets.
![This print feels even more relevant today. We all joke about the dumpster fire of [insert year here], but the important message of this image to me is that *we persist* through the horrors. We stand, we fight— maybe for ourselves, maybe for oth](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/574dddd6d51cd4bc35c1609a/1730935170369-03GPKQ5NF73VAE65RHO6/image-asset.jpeg)
