Today was hot again as Shelley and I started off with a trip up through San Francisco. We took the route that goes past ATT Stadium and then turned up 3rd Street, past the SF Museum of Modern Art and Moscone Center and Yerba Buena Gardens. Then left on Geary, past St Mary's Cathedral, the one that looks like a giant washing machine agitator, then down Masonic to the Haight/Ashbury where we ate a spinach, tomato and feta crepe that was delicious, and Adam called to say that their real estate deal had closed and they are homeowners. Congrats! We even drove past an apartment where I lived at 1166 Haight St, across from Buena Vista Park. So then we went up (or maybe it was down) Divisadero and I think went down the one hill that Linda refused to drive because she couldn't see over the nose of the car to where the road continued. But we did it! and went left on Lombard past the Palace of Fine Arts and on to the GOLDEN GATE BRIDGE!! It was a magnificent day. And, thanks to the suggestion of Rabbi Leslie Alexander, and the crafty computer work of Charlie Swinehart, we have full page photos of Linda's face, which were included in the shots from the Vista Point on the north side of the bridge. Then across the Richmond/San Rafael Bridge and a cute bypass til we got to Hwy 80, east, well kinda north to Sacramento. It being commute time (having left later than hoped for) there were some major pockets of congestion and I thought how awful it was that some people have that slowdown every day. And then on past Sacramento and up to Truckee...I realized that I have been that far east before with Daniel and friends on a snowboarding trip. We had hoped to make it to Winnemucca but after dinner and gas somewhere in California, we made it past Reno to Sparks NV. We went into a totally depressing casino and then found a Quality Inn, with AAA discount and continental breakfast in the morning. I can't wait to see the mountains and desert in daylight. We saw some cute little rivers and even a small waterfall.
Shelley just asked if I had a good day. Yes, it was a good day.
And this really is a journey. I've never done this, and we will get to see Mt. Rushmore and the Badlands of South Dakota. Very cool. We have targets for each day but the important one is Prof Stanley Kutler on Thursday at 11 AM in Madison WI.
I miss Linda a lot. There are so many things we would want to share. But it is very wonderful taking this trip with someone who also knows Linda so well. We are playing nice singalong music at good volumes and drinking lots of water and eating lots of grapes. So far, it's a good road trip. With promises of fun and interesting things in the next 5 days.
Overall I am feeling pretty Linda-fied. I did refer to one of her packing lists that I found in a small duffel bag, so I was sure to include a night light (for the bathrooms), extra sunscreen, tweezers and my meds. And yes I did pack underwear (a reference to Linda's omission on the QM2 cruise). Audrey and I finally connected person to person after leaving alternating voice messages, and Jeremy finally connected after several "tag, you're it" messages as well. Stay tuned!
