my trucks first hiccup

i knew it would come at some point, but this early? c'mon! my truck is having a bit of a hiccup, and i am thinking about just holding its breath for awhile, see what happens.

a couple of days ago i stopped having power steering. it wasnt a problem for driving, but for parking it presented challenges. today, finally, i bought some power steering fluid and filled it up. unfortunately filling it up doesnt stop the fact that it is leaking.

so i went to a mechanic in carpinteria and had them assess the damages. apparently my power steering pump needs to be replaced, and that comes with a price tag of $250. i opted not to have them repair the truck.

they said that driving without power steering doesnt really cause any damage to the truck, but eventually it will become more than a small leak and apparently that fix is bigger than this fix.

still, i think if i continue filling it up with fluid every time i fill up with gas, things should work out okay.

on a lighter note, i spent the day touristing around santa barbara. i went to the museum of natural history and the botanic garden. i sneaked into both places and enjoyed my time there. the museum wasnt much to speak of, but the botanic garden was teeming with life and creatures which made it more interesting.

shortly after sneaking into the garden a largish yellow and black striped snake crossed my path. i was scared, but talked it away from me. there were also very many little lizards scampering around and chasing each other and doing pushups on the wall, very interesting.

the snake was this long!	see!
this is where all the lizards live.	palm tree doubles as fiddlehead fern?