Hey, guys, Ricky the Beagle here.  I know, you haven’t heard my voice yet on LA/XC-5.  What can I say?  Sounds to me like B-Man and the K-Dawg have been living large — first on the road, now in Santa Monica.  But I can’t complain; I had a good run on my own cross-country trips back in the day.  Ok…

LA/XC-5 DAYS NINE, TEN, AND ELEVEN: POSTING FROM SANTA MONICA, CALIFORNIA Two-day mileage from Williams, AZ to Santa Monica, CA: 596.2 Total LA/XC-5 mileage: 3,509.6 Road Music: Saturday: Mets vs. Phils (Mets clinch!); LA/XC-5 “Live” playlist; Sirius — Tom Petty Radio and E Street Radio (live con…

LA/XC-5 DAYS SEVEN AND EIGHT: POSTING FROM WILLIAMS, ARIZONA Two-day mileage from Grand Junction, CO to Williams, AZ: 691.8 Total LA/XC-5 mileage: 2,913.4 Road Music:  Thursday: Back-to-nature silence for two hours; Dierks Bentley mix; Politics on Sirius; LA/XC-5 “Live” playlist — Dierks, Stones…

I decided to guest-blog tonight so everyone can get a normal perspective on this insane trip.  That, and Hank has been obsessively asking me to do it since we pulled out of the Denver airport parking lot 3 days ago.  I couldn’t bear his having to cross off “Carol Post?” from his list a third conse…

LA/XC-5 DAYS FOUR, FIVE, AND SIX: POSTING FROM GRAND JUNCTION, COLORADO Three-day mileage from Des Moines, IA, to Grand Junction, CO: 990.8 Total LA/XC-5 mileage: 2,221.6 Road Music: Monday: CNN, MSNBC, and FOX to pre-game for Round One of Hillary vs. Donald; my “Deep Themes in Country Music” play…

At 11 o’clock this morning, Beagle Man posted —and I quote — “He’s been an absolutely perfect and wonderful dog so far on this trip.” That’s me he’s talking about, just so you know.  One hour later, he’s screaming his guts out at me.  Can I please tell my side of the story?  So we were playing fet…

LA/XC-5 DAY TWO AND THREE: POSTING FROM DES MOINES, IOWA Two-day mileage from Austintown (suburb of Youngstown), OH to Des Moines, IA: 770.4 Total LA/XC-5 mileage: 1,230.6 Road Music:  Saturday: Sirius Cycle (stuck with “The Spectrum” for awhile — enjoyed the wide range, everything from Florence +…

LA/XC-5 DAY ONE: POSTING FROM AUSTINTOWN, OH Today’s mileage: 460.2 Total LA/XC-5 mileage: 460.2 (duh) Road Music:  Sirius Cycle (one-time-only explanation:  I tend to start my road days with the news — especially during this freaky, weird, and scary, but enormously entertaining election season —…

* * *COUNTDOWN: 6 DAYS TO LA/XC-5 * * * Once again, oldest son Matt will be hitching a ride for a short stretch on my just-around-the-corner (starts in less than one week from today!) Beagle Man cross-country-road-trip-with-dog.  As you might recall, Matt joined me and Kemba on our northern return…

* * *COUNTDOWN: 17 DAYS TO LA/XC-5 * * * What?  We’re picking up and driving from here to Los Angeles — again?  I thought that trip back in April of 2015 was a one-off!  What a nightmare!  Does Beagle Man even remember?  How I was so nuts over being stuck in the car all day and the motel all night…