I found a good mechanic here (tattoo artist/martial arts/race car driver/Disneyland frequent flyer/ghost chaser) and ended up with new plugs and wires. I wasn’t expecting to have to change them yet, because the first set lasted a lot longer.
I’ve never met a mechanic yet that doesn’t posit his opinion on what I’ve been doing wrong; in this case he claimed it was the gas I was using. I explained I likely never (almost never) bought gas at the same place twice, and never have a choice in brands. He needed to win this one, so I should be buying the high-octane stuff. Right. In California. Plugs are much cheaper.
Time to turn north. No hurry, so I’ll check out some parking spots for future reference.