Driving Daze

Friday, July 22nd: Goin’ to California! Made a stop at the University of Oregon. Campus itself is absolutely gorgeous, but the downtown area is a bit too much like Bowling Green. Fast food, hotels and a pretty simple “city.” Starting to get nervous about only liking U. of Montana so far. Who knows where I’ll end up? Driving again. Found an obscenely large replication of Paul Bunyan and his ox (complete with authentic concrete balls—how would you explain that to your kids?!). Arrived in Eureka. Shady hotel. Spooky fog rolling in. Grabbed dinner at a family restaurant. Found the boardwalk. Took a stroll. Back to the hotel for a glass of wine and some sleep.

Saturday, July 23rd: Jumped on the 101. The trip became immediately tiring. Severe twisting and turning on the road. Stopped at the Avenue of the Giants, a touristy side road featuring the coastal redwoods. Once through Fort Bragg, picked up Highway 1. Physically and mentally difficult road to drive. Breathtaking views of the ocean. Blind curves everywhere. Felt sick like on a carnival ride you can’t get off. We all agreed we would take another road ASAP. Getting anxious to see Pinkelman and the kids were freaking out seeing just the far away view of San Fran. Floating along, thinking we’re close and we miss a turn. Stuck on the wrong bridge. Arrggghhhh!!!!! Turn around on Treasure Island. Find Berkeley, go up a huge hill and arrive at Sarah’s. Go to a viewpoint of the city. Find a Rasta playing his drum, praising the Lord. Perfect! Drop the kids of at BART and they’re off to the city. Sarah and I grab dinner, visit with Jones, talk about the road trip for the umteenth time. Go to a bar, do shots, lose all energy. Napa tomorrow!