The Wild Goose is crowded this morning. I can barely move my hands to work the keyboard on my laptop, kids running amuck like rats in a maze. One thing I love in life is a morning cup of coffee and a muffin, with some peace and quiet if I can find it. Not today. At times like this I'll stick the iPod in my ear, which helps.

I've arisen from three days of hell fighting one of the worst colds in recent memory. Luckily I had no nausea, just severe sinus pressure, runny nose, fever, and the usual body aches. No sleep and around-the-clock doses of NyQuil have made me a little cranky. I suppose that's one reason all these people at the Wild Goose are driving me nuts.

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Top 10 Goalies Gone Wild.

Thanks to Wil Wheaton (via puckdaddy) for the clip below. It seemed appropriate for describing the the way I've been feeling the last couple of days. I feel like I've been beaten by a hockey stick, thrown against the boards, and hit in the face by a puck or two.

Lazy, Hazy, Days of Fall Coming

Day 92 on the Monterey Peninsula
Outside the Stirrup Co. Pizza restaurant, Carmel Valley

We've been experiencing an Indian Summer of sorts...been warm, almost hot. But the Fall is coming, along with cooler temperatures. It is lovely this time of year, I'll admit it. I enjoy sitting outside and doing nothing. Especially doing nothing.

Now that I've been off the road for over three months, I'm getting the itch to travel some more. But for now, it is almost impossible. I've still got to recover from the past year I spent running all over the Southwest. There are many places to see around here...places I've yet to visit. So why rush off to drive somewhere else? I like it here.

I spend most days painting in my art gallery, or at my part time job in a local liquor store. I like the people you meet in the liquor store...all sorts of interesting characters. And my artistic passions are being met daily by the watercolors on my desk. I sit near a window and paint while listening to Joan Baez or Leonard Cohen. Yesterday I had a goat keep me company. The old nag was sitting in the back of a jeep parked in the alley beneath my studio. An occasional "baaaa" was all I could hear. It's rather quiet in the Village.

Carmel Valley's Fiesta and Other Stuff

Day 35 on the Monterey Peninsula
Wild Goose Cafe, Carmel Valley

I've settled in the Monterey Peninsula area quite nicely, actually living in the Carmel Valley area. I've been here just over a month and don't plan to get back on the road anytime soon. Having been on the road for almost a year, I need a nice, long, break.

I've opened an art studio above a small grocery market and have named it "Sola Sendero", which means "single trail" or as I interpret it, "lonely trail." I don't speak Spanish and I'm certainly no expert, but from what I understand the word "sendero" refers to a small path or trail that is only wide enough for one person to walk. The word "real", as in El Camino Real, refers to a wider roadway where wagons amble along and traffic is constant. Whatever be the case, I liked the sound of "sola sendero."

My web site dedicated to my artwork and the studio is at http://www.solasendero.com/.

My plan is to keep this blog alive and kicking. It will be my hangout to write about whatever I wish. I'm closing down my blog "Writefinger" and merging the content here. Therefore, MyRoadArt will be my blogging site for all things other than art. SolaSendero.com will be my art-related blog and web site.

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Carmel Valley held its annual "Fiesta" this weekend. I sat in the sun for five hours listening to classic rock and smelling BBQ ribs. Kids were playing, live bands were in good form, and the weather cooperated. Below are a couple of pictures.