I'm Baaack

If you haven't heard I was locked out of the blog. Google's software thought this blog was a "spam blog". Anyhow, they have finally reviewed it and determined this blog isn't a spam blog and unlocked it. Good news.

Back to the trip!

Part 1. I got a late start on Tuesday 3/25. Headed to North Bend with my loyal Golden Retriever Midas, dropped him off at my brother's place then headed down Hwy 18 to to I-5. Drove all the way Grant's Pass in Oregon, then took the cut off over to Hwy 101 along the CA coast. It was late and I was running behind schedule, so I just pulled over near the ocean and snoozed in the car. It was clear when I pulled over- the ocean was crashing and the sky was the blackest I've ever seen. The stars were blazing. Soon after I settled in my sleeping bag, it started to rain. "This is great" I thought (though the sleep wasn't so great).

I arrived at the home of my good friend Alex in Cuppertino around 11:00 AM on Wednesday (The Magellan GPS unit proved it's worth getting me there!). We had lunch, and a great conversation. Dinner with Alex and family that evening. Thursday morning, Alex and family left for vacation, and I was off for lunch with another old friend from Jr. High and High School, Ed. I hadn't seen Ed in at least 12 years, we did a lot of catching up. I then headed up to Berkley and roamed around campus. Then caught up with another old friend from HS, Jim at his house in Oakland. Jim and I got back in touch after, ahem, 25 years via Facebook. Jim, his wife Pam and I went out to gourmet Mexican restaurant in Oakland for dinner. They put me up for the night in their cute guest house in the back. On Friday morning Jim made breakfast and coffee which we enjoyed leisurely. Hit the road for San Francisco at 9:00 or so. I drove around SF a little, then stopped near the Golden Gate, and walked along the shore for a couple hours. Then, met Jim downtown for lunch. At 1:30 PM, I was on the road again.