It's official: 'Red Writer' is the name of, well, the 'Red Writer'

   POINT RICHMOND, Calif. - The names poured in for the last three weeks since Admiral Sylvia Fox and I asked for some help in naming our new addition to the FitzFox traveling fleet.
     Because the T@B teardrop is red, it seemed like the red should be part of it.
     And so it was that names like Red Rider, Red Ryder, Little Red, Red Caboose, Red Cabbage, and Red Fox popped up among nearly 100 suggested names.

     Rosebud was a favorite, too - as was Well Read, suggested by a my high school music teacher Dalton Berringer.
     Another favorite, due to my admiration of Don Quixote, was Rocinante, the Don's trusty steed (or nag).
     Thank you to everyone who joined in and sent along a name - or five! They are all appreciated.
     In the end, every time Adm. Fox and I would refer to the now-named Red Writer, that name seemed to fit the best.
     And so sometime in the next weeks - when Admiral Fox and I are completely cured of the lingering colds & maladies that have struck us - we will throw some kind of christening party. It might happen out on the road in some campsite somewhere, perhaps the most fitting spot, I suppose.
     With the name decided, next is a cruising plan.
     But that's going to be pretty loose, too. We want to be able to stop when we want, where we want. In places like Monowi, Neb., for example: Pop. 1.
     And while the California trailer-cruising season has already started, it will be months before Red Writer heads to any of the places where folks are now watching snow drifting down.
     But if you live in any of those places, keep an eye out for us anytime after you put away the snow shovel for good for the season.

Please help name our T@B teardrop travel trailer

   POINT RICHMOND - After all the years of sailing on SF Bay, the California Delta and the ocean (as far south as Zihuatenejo, Mexico) Admiral Fox and I have purchased a land yacht, a bright red T@B teardrop trailer.
     This will come as no surprise to the 100 or so friends who already commented on Facebook in the last 24 hours in response to a post by the Admiral as we took delivery on the trailer Saturday and pulled it home from Santa Clara.
     Travel plans include a sojourn to Seneca Lake in NY this summer (no kidding, I know). But plenty of other destinations in California, Oregon, Washington State - and other west-of-the Mississippi states - are up for consideration, too.
     There's even some loose talk about driving the Calgary, Canada - if the snow ever melts.
   BUT the trailer really needs a good name, other than just the red trailer.
     Already in the running are two possible sobriquets: 'Red Writer' and 'Rocinante.'
     It would be nice to have more to consider, which is why I am tossing this out to the incredibly creative Fitz-Fox brain trust.
     If you have a red-hot idea (sorry, that's really an awful pun even from me), send it along via email or blast it up on Facebook.
     The reward for the person who comes up with the best name?
     A bottle of wine, of course.
     If the winner is in California, I have a bottle of Atwater Riesling Bubble waiting. If they happen to be in the Finger Lakes, I will bring a bottle of Mondavi's best when I travel east - if bringing California wine into the Finger Lakes is even allowed!