Stage Four: Fort Smith, AR

This is the most difficult day of the trip because we covered over 600 miles yesterday AND we lost two hours on account of time zone changes. Waking up at 4:30a felt no bueno. Fortunately, today brings our shortest driving distance of the trip.

The highway is starting to play tricks on us. Mirages materialize and vanish in the blink of an eye.  Earlier today, Ali asked, “Is that a bull or a tractor?” Newsflash, people…it’s starting to get weird.

We’re driving through Tornado Alley today and storms are in the forecast so we won’t be making many stops! Here we are trying to thread-the-needle in Oklahoma. Those are two big storms to the left and right. The terrain is so flat that we could see the storm (and watch the lightning) from 30 miles away.

Shortly thereafter a giant Indian Muffler Man delivered a compelling enough reason to stop. Route 66 is way oversold. Is it really necessary to have a “historic” museum every 150 miles?

The real excitement happened after we arrived in Fort Smith. As fate would have it, we found an awesome dog park and a western wear store within walking distance from the hotel. As you can see, I am the proud new owner of a COWBOY HAT and I like it.

 

Of course, everything comes with its challenges. A cowboy hat, for example, cannot be worn inside a car. It’s just too darn big. It’s OK though; I’m sure Nashville will provide abundant opportunity. I wonder what I should name my new friend?

Stage Three: Amarillo, TX

In my preconceptions, I equate Arizona with desert. Imagine my surprise when I stepped outside and found 20-degree temperatures. There’s something clearly wrong with me so I reveled in the brisk morning and quickly decided to clean the windshield before driving out of Flagstaff. I grabbed the washer stick/squeezy/sponge thing and eagerly applied the liquid mixture. Mother nature replied in kind by promptly changing the chemical state of the water from liquid to solid. D’oh! I don’t know whom the low temps surprised more? The state of Arizona because they live in a desert? Or me, because there was no anti-freeze in the windshield wash mixture at the gas station. Ali was nestled inside Lil’ Bird during this little maneuver and apparently enjoyed the show.

We drove out of Flagstaff 10 minutes later…

Arkansas boasts quite a few tier one roadside attractions. We made a quick stop at the Berringer Crater and then headed for Winslow, AZ. Does Winslow, AZ make you think of anything? I’m not a big Eagles fan but even I couldn’t pass-up the opportunity to “stand on the corner in Winslow,Arizona.”

New Mexico had a big teepee.

And then there was Texas! I’ve been looking forward to Amarillo.  We ate at the (ridiculous) Big Texan restaurant (home of the 72 oz steak challenge), listened to any song that mentions Amarillo, and visited the Cadillac Ranch.

I love the idea of standing cars upright in a field. …and, apparently, so does Amarillo. In addition to the Cadillac Ranch, imposter installations are creeping up elsewhere. My favorite? Combine City, which riffs on the Cadillac Ranch idea by replacing Cadillacs with John Deeres.

Stage Two: Flagstaff, AZ

We woke up this morning and are feeling better than we did on Friday after sleeping on the bean bag thing. We leave early each morning so that we can put a few miles behind us before Jake's routine gets started.

Our first stop was in Tehachapi, CA. We rolled in just after dawn to visit the Avenue of Faces and give Jake a chance to run. By the way, scroll down and look at the right side of the blog. Take a look at my Instagram pictures for various photo-ops throughout the drive.

Our diet was not kind to us today. Nope, not at all. It read like a scene of out of Supersize Me. So, it's important that we get exercise. Ha - yeah, right! We'll worry about that when we get to MD. Until then, I'll use the term lightly. Here I am getting my kicks on Route 66.

At certain moments in one's life, one must make the decision of which fork in the road to take in life (metaphorically and literally).  It reminds me of the poem, "The Road Not Taken", although some would say, in this regard, I ended up choosing the road most taken. 

Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,
And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveler, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could
To where it bent in the undergrowth;

Then took the other, as just as fair,
And having perhaps the better claim,
Because it was grassy and wanted wear;
Though as for that the passing there
Had worn them really about the same,

And both that morning equally lay
In leaves no step had trodden black.
Oh, I kept the first for another day!
Yet knowing how way leads on to way,
I doubted if I should ever come back.

I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I--
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.

- Frost

That's some deep stuff, yeah? ...thank Ali for that! Now, back to the shallows!

Generally speaking, always be weary of roads so well branded in our psyche that it need no marketing, advertising, or PR department. More specifically though, under NO circumstances should you choose Route 66 instead of Interstate 40. Ever! I'll admit that they both run East-West and 66 has it's quaint sections that call to you. However, 66 is the highway equivalent of the prettied-up Grant St section of SF Chinatown in SF.

Stage One: Bakersfield, CA

The objective for today is to escape the gravitational pull of San Francisco. We only need to get a couple hundred miles south and east so that we don't have to deal with the big city traffic on our first full day of travel. This is the only no-nonsense phase of the trip. It's all about getting to Bakersfield.

Once I got to the rental car place I was over-the-moon happy to learn that I'm a Fastbreak member. Thank you, Wifey! The non-member line was 16 people deep. The Fastbreak line? ZERO! Woohoo! To make it even better, Mary, the woman who helped me was borderline too kind. Things are clearly starting out in our favor.

We've got a GMC Yukon XL (call sign: Lil' Bird) for our trip. It's a bigger car than we need but the best option among few others. It's a good thing that we got it too because the bean bag (complete with 2x extra padding) is enormo. It nearly touches the ceiling/roof of the car. Jake job is to keep it down in the middle. We're going to have to do something about this.

We were happy to arrive at the Padre Hotel at about 10:30p. It's a beautiful hotel - probably too nice for a stay as short as ours - and boasts a lively club on the first floor. We were escorted past the line by the valet and quietly proceeded to our rooms to get a few hours sleep before we're off to Flagstaff tomorrow AM.

The day's mission is accomplished!

So Long, San Fran

The time has come for Ali, Jake, and I to bid adieu to California. When we arrived here in ’12 we knew that we wouldn’t be here forever and agreed to think of it as a multi-year getaway. We did much of what California had to offer and are ready to head east.

Believe it or not, the movers came and finished their part today. It’s hard to be comfortable in our home after all of our belongings have left (including the bed). Ali got a beanbag that converts into a double-bed-sized mattress. …Jake promptly claimed it as his own.

We had a lot of fun while we were here but are not real sad about leaving San Francisco. We are, however, very sad to say goodbye to colleagues, friends, and the folks who welcome Jake into their stores and shower him with treats and love.

I’m especially sad to say goodbye to Jeray, my “Little.” We’ve been through highs and lows and I can’t help but feel like I’m letting him down by leaving. Ali’s equally sad to say goodbye to her team at work. The contrasts between private practice and in-house counsel are truly stark. She’s thankful for those relationships she made here.

So, here we are. Finishing up in our apartments and offices. Preparing to pick up our chariot from SFO. Smiling fondly in the rear view mirror. And looking forward to the days, people, and miles ahead of us.

Watch out east coast, here we come! I’m bringing the California weather so make some room!

Skiing Northstar

I ski.  I have fun skiing. I am not a good skier. I am, however, getting more confident which means I’m slowly taking bigger risks. You can probably guess where this is going…

T’was on the Tahoe Zephyr Express where I overheard a bit of wisdom pass from one generation to the next. The father explained to son that stopping is the single most important skill in skiing. One can ski any trail, no matter the complexity, as long as they can apply the basic skill of stopping.

Shortly thereafter as I carved my way down the ridge line of Mount Pluto, I opted for the trail less taken: a.k.a Upper Drop Off. I got about half way down the trail when things started to get a little squirrelly and I knew I was going down. I’m not sure what other folks do or think when they find themselves in this sort of situation? I, on the other hand, started laughing and cursing aloud uncontrollably and simultaneously…all the way down. It was glorious. In between the spurts of laughter and curses I was quietly hoping that the spill was being caught on video (it wasn’t).

Fortunately, I was no worse for the wear (you didn’t think otherwise, did you?). I dusted myself off, caught up to my run-away ski a few yards down the hill, and finished a couple more runs. I had a lot of fun skiing Northstar this weekend and can cross ski California off of my CA bucket list.

Of course, the trip wasn’t all about the skiing. Ali and I hopped the gondola to the ski village to sample the establishments and even made our own candle. Although I’m not permitted to share the photo, my favorite picture of the whole weekend was Ali and a chainsaw carved creature looking thing. Priceless!

VB-Day Weekend 2014

I married a Valentine’s baby. Meaning that Wifey and I have two reasons to celebrate in the middle of February. We opted for a weekend getaway to Bodega Bay to ensure the occasion received it’s due.  Bodega Bay is a popular destination for city dwellers like us.  It’s only 1.5 hrs north of SF along the CA coast, promises awesome views of the Pacific, and plenty of quiet little things to do.

One of my favorite things was visiting the Potter Schoolhouse.  This was one of the film locations for “The Birds.” Here’s what it looked like in1963 and here’s what it looks like today.

On the East Coast, an ocean view means that you get spectacular sunrises (as long as you get out of bed before dawn).  On the West Coast, however, sunset is on the menu and we had front row seats to the show. I took some video of the sunset from our deck – don’t watch it for the sunset though…watch it for the last two seconds in the 30 second clip.  During the last two seconds of the video, Jake sees deer come into the yard and TAKES OFF.  While you won’t see the deer or Jake, you can hear Ali start to react. Fortunately, the recording ends before the dialogue hits R rated levels.

The deer outran Jake...this time.  We didn’t see the deer in our yard again.