I surprised Jean and came home earlier today!! Everyone – pets included had a wonderful homecoming. 53 days, 9,501 miles and 24 States later …. I’m finally home again!!
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We all went back to my aunt’s house and had a great lunch and then I set up to take some pictures in Betty’s beautiful garden. Chipmunks, Birds and their 17 year old Feral cat “Willy”. You can feed him and he’ll come inside the house for a rest and some warmth from the heater but you can’t touch him and we found out today he definitely doesn’t like the flash on my camera I stayed until early evening and I’m back in the Hotel now. I’ll be on my way in the morning and should make it half way home by dark. Just over 9,100 miles today – Day 52.
I had a nice breakfast with Mike and Judy and we said our so-longs. I’m hoping Jean and I can get back up here before too long and visit with them together. I drove from Clayton in the East Bay to Pacifica on the West coast. The traffic today wasn’t as bad over the Bay Bridge so it was a very nice drive. Did you know that the Westbound Fare over the Oakland Bay Bridge is $4 for a 2-axle vehicle now? And the Southbound Fare across the Golden Gate Bridge is $6 for a 2-axle vehicle! Wow! I arrived in in Pacifica about Noon today. I visited with my Aunt and Uncle for awhile and then we went out for lunch. I had a wonderful Chef Salad and afterward Betty and Arnold took me for a tour around Pacifica. Lots of history and some of the most beautiful beaches and scenery I’ve seen in some time. Tomorrow we will visit in the morning and then wander around a bi-annual Flea Market! I’ll be on my way home Sunday and should arrive back in L.A. Monday!!
I had a great night’s sleep last night and was up at the crack of 8am today! Mike made a wonderful breakfast with Raisin Bagels, Scrambled Eggs, Tasty Taters and Sausage. I’m stuffed again just typing it all. After breakfast Mike and I headed west to Fisherman’s Wharf. Amazingly we found a parking space on the street right at the corner of Jefferson and Taylor! That’s where the famous bright orange sign for Fisherman’s Wharf is located and all of the outdoor fresh fish vendors are located. We wandered the streets and watched some of the street performers. I stopped at a really cool Tee Shirt store and bought a few last shirts for Jean. I think she’ll have a whole new wardrobe of tee shirts now Mike and I went to Pier 39 and made the rounds there and took some pics. We met Jeff, the director of security at Pier 39 while we were there. He was stationed at Fort Bragg (82nd Airborne) where Mike’s oldest son Josh and Bryan’s friend Josh are both stationed now. We had a very nice chat with him. So, “Let’s go get some” At the end of of our day we (ok, well “I”) decided to drive down Lombard Street with Mike video taping from the bottom. More video to add to my DVD. Enjoy the Pics! Tomorrow and Saturday I’m going to visit Betty and Arnold in Pacifica and then I’m going to start for home on my last leg of this adventure on Sunday. I should be home Monday, all being well!
I stopped for lunch at the Black Bear Diner and then for dessert I went to Jamba Juice and ordered something off of their “secret” (unpublished) menu whoch I only recently found out about. It was as delicious as I expected it to be. I went into Safeway and bought a box of kleenex to replensih my van supply and then off I went to Mike’s house. We had a wonderful chat and I met their 7 mos old Larbradoodle puppy Brandy. What a sweetheart she is. I reminded her that she is a LABradoodle, not a LAPradoodle and encouraged her to get belly rubs on the floor Early this evening we drove to San Ramon to have dinner with “Sandy” (Mike’s ‘lil sister) who I haven’t seen in about 28 years. I’ve missed her smile and her wonderful sense of humor for all of these years so tonight’s dinner was especially meaningful. She has had some bouts with Cancer in the past couple of years and at her young age is dealing with more medical issues than any 10 people should ever have to. Last year she had Liver surgery and is on the road to recovery but still dealing with Chemo. Please say prayers for her contiuned helath improvements. Thank you and hubby Tim for a wonderful dinner. It was a breath of fresh air speaking to you about our medical commonalities and differences. Hugs and kisses and we’ll be in touch. Tomorrow Mike and I will have breakfast with Judy at the house and then drive to the Embarkadero and enjoy some time at Fisherman’s Wharf and Pier 39. I love the fresh crab/shrimp/lobster markets on the street and the vendors and performers. I’ll have pictures to share tomorrow. Too worn down to upload/edit tonight. Clayton, CA Temp: 55.4 °F Humidity: 52% DewPt: 37.4 °F W. Speed: 5km/hr Dir: 270° Clouds: n/a
I drove south from there into the city and crossed the Golden Gate Bridge with very little traffic. Video is available at: Ron Crossing The Golden Gate Bridge . I had some time to kill before meeting with Jackie for dinner and a wonderful evening of kibitzing so I decided to drive the switchback segment of Lombard Street. Video will be available on my trip DVD. Some photos below. Tomorrow I will drive out to the East Bay and see Mike and Judy and stay with them for a couple of nights. Mike and I will go do some target practice at the Range tomorrow and then to the Wharf on Thursday. I’m looking forward to seeing them both!!
I left Medford, OR this morning and stopped as planned for a few pictures of Mt. Shasta (Ele. 14,179′). As I was driving down the highway I had to stop at an Agricultural inspection station. There wasn’t anyone behind me so I chatted with the inspector for a short time and he gave me directions to some incredible locations ahead to see wildlife. He told me of an Osprey Nest a few miles off the freeway and an area where a Brown {possibly Peregrine} Falcon had been spotted. Amazingly I got photos of BOTH!! I also took some nice photos of Mt. Shasta to share. The first two pics below were taken yesterday. One of Mt. McLoughlin (Ele. 9495′) and the other is the Oregon Border sign hanging from the bridge that crosses the Columbia River. I stopped for Lunch today at the “Tail ‘O The Whale” restaurant in Redding, CA overlooking Lake Shasta and the 3,600-foot-long Pitt River Bridge. The bridge has two levels. The top level is for two-way vehicle traffic and the lower level is for Trains!!. I was fortunate enough to see a train go across but the pics are only so-so. I got some better pics of the bridge {sans train} after lunch so I’ve included one below. I ate the Icelandic Fish & Chips and it was marvelous. The lightly beer-battered fish and tartar sauce were the perfect combination. I felt full when I left and will likely have a very light dinner tonight. When I arrived in Red Bluff early this afternoon I asked first if they had a “Laundry Room” and second if they had a room for the night. Today was the last of the clean undies and I knew I’d have to do laundry. Fortunately they had both. I’m happy to report to Jackie, Mike, Judy, Betty and Arnold that I will be wearing clean underwear when I see them Tomorrow I head into San Francisco Bay – not literally of course!!
Tonight I am in Medford, Oregon. Tomorrow will also be a driving day but I plan to stop early-on to see Mt. Shasta and then probably spend the night in Redding or Red Bluff. Tuesday evening I will be taking my Niece to Dinner and maybe seeing a little of the campus she attends. Wednesday and Thursday I will spend with Mike and Judy in Clayton, CA. and then on Friday and Saturday I will visit with my Aunt and Uncle in Pacifica, CA. Sunday morning I will head south on 101 and stop somewhere pretty for the night. Probably San Luis Obispo. All being well I will be back safely at home in Jean’s arms and in the company of all the four-legged children on Monday the 10th. I only took a few pictures today and nothing really worth sharing. One pic of Mt. McLoughlin at 9,495 ft which I’ll share tomorrow. I did meet a fellow who is traveling across the US by way of Panhandling. Yep, panhandling. He’s driving an old van with his mangy looking dog and he stops at every Rest Stop and walks the dog and then sits with a cardboard sign begging for money to help him out. I spoke to him when things quieted down and asked about his quest. He lived in Conneticut and his meager home was destroyed by the bad weather. He wasn’t insured so he basically lost it all. He is trying to get to Sunny Southern California and so far he’s made it all the way to Oregon on the donations of strangers. Amazing. He’ll be homeless when he gets there but hopes to be able to work at Walmart or somewhere similar until he can afford a “real” home. I gave him $5 and wished him the best of luck. Medford, Rogue Valley International Airport Temp: 60.8 °F Humidity: 45% DewPt: 39.2 °F W. Speed: 4km/hr Dir: 210° Clouds: n/a
We left the Hotel and headed to Huntamer Park which was ~7mi away in Lacey, WA. They had some booths set up for an Alternative Energy fair. There were lots of modified cars, bikes and other solar powered devices. I got into a nice conversation with a fellow named Dale about solar water heating and helped him to find more information so he can design a system for his swimming pool back in AZ. Ron and I talked about a number of different ideas that were being used in electric vehicles. We all had a good time and watched an electric 3-wheeled vehicle race. Looked like a lot of fun to me but they could all stand some suspension engineering help. Ouch! Those rigid low clearance frames are great for flat terrain but when they hit a bump in the road even “I” could feel it We left there and headed out to the Flight Museum to take a gander and photograph a nice collection of Aircraft Memorabilia. Tomorrow morning I’ll head south into Oregon and pick a spot to stay the night. Maybe Grant’s Pass {my favorite little logging town} or maybe I’ll get all the way into California. It’ll depend on what signs I see off the freeway that make me want to stop Finally, a special Mazel Tov & Congratulations to Rachel Young and Sarah Flachs (they’re cousins and the daughter’s of our very good friends) on the occasion of their dual Bat Mitzvahs today!! Jean tells me she had a wonderful time and I’m sorry I couldn’t attend. Love you both.
We met in the parking lot and enjoyed some brief conversation before entering the zoo. It was chilly and overcast so we went into the Aquarium first and enjoyed taking photos of some of the exotic fish. After the Aquarium we had some “yummy” lunch by Zoo fast-food standards Final note: LAKER’S !!!!!! YAYYYYYY!!!!
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I bought some chachkis and a nice flashlight for my wheelchair.
