October 10, 1999- Sunday- after a so long to the 40 other Rotarians at breakfast, we hit the road with the intent of splitting the 500 mile drive to Novato into two days. A challenging ride out towards Bakersfield- through some 50 miles of winding roads, cliffs, drop-offs, narrow and very narrow curves, etc. Then we arrived in Bakersfield, and started driving through fields and fields brimming with everything that could be grown, and then some. We recognized pecan and walnuts trees, fruit trees with oranges and grapefruits, vineyards, tomatoes, flower fields, and lots of low greens. With Steve, Rob and Deb possibly being available for dinner after the ball game, we kept driving towards the Oakland area. The next thing we knew, the football game was over, Denver squeaked out their first season win, and we were only 75 miles from the Bay area. It turns out that the kids had dinner plans, but since we were so close, the peddle stayed close to the metal- and after 9 ½ hours, and 500 miles, we arrived in Novato.
October 11, 1999, Monday- a beautiful day in the Bay area. So- lets get 10 pounds of Death Valley dust and dirt off and out of the car and out of the coach. Then, 76 degrees at 11 am- shorts! On to Rob and Deb's apartment in Oakland- 34 miles and a climate away. Cool- 53 degrees- burr!! We got to see their cute apartment- and then picked up Laurie and did some lunch and cruising around some of the shops and boutiques in the area. Then- off to Berkeley to see Deb and her office and laboratory. What a beautiful campus- it seemed to fit the image of a California university. After she finished an 8 PM lecture, we did a great Chinese dinner and caught up, a little, on the events since their wedding on June 6. An unexpected treat coming home- missed the 580 northern route to Marin County and came across on the Oakland Bridge. So we got to cruise through down town San Francisco before crossing the Golden Gate and arriving home at 11 PM. Our computer came back from Gateway today- let's hope the battery charges better now. Oh yes- today the six billionth person arrived on the planet today.
Rob took us on a car tour up the Berkley hills- where you gain 1500 feet in a few miles. It was the same route that he rides up on his bike. We can't believe that he could ride such a steep route. What a guy!!
The best part of the day however, was getting to chat with Deb about her PHD program with the mitten crabs. Touring her lab we got to see why they call these crustaceans as they do. Their claws are covered with a furry grow that looks like a mitten. On the TV this evening- there was a special segment on how the shipping laws have changed today to prohibit the discharge of ballast water in the harbor areas. Debs current projects are trying to measure the quantity and size of the crab population. Also- what do they eat, and how do they effect the other species sharing the bays, harbors and rivers?
October 12, 1999- Tuesday. Happy Birthday to Susan, Happy Birthday to You. Lots of calls and e-mails from friends and family. Nobody forgot her! Nice to be loved! And Susan certainly is loved by everyone who knows her!!
We cruised to the location where Hobbes will be groomed and to the next town north where the coach will be serviced tomorrow- just to be sure we know where we are going. Just south of the RV service area was a group of premium factory outlet stores. As we cruised through the area- we knew right away that we must be in California, when two young women came over to Hobbes and asked if he had a stud in his tongue.
The weather was again in the upper 70's to low 80's by the coach- 25 north of downtown San Francisco. As we passed to the east bay- to pick up Laurie, and meet Rob and Deb and Laurie's fiancée for a birthday dinner, the temperatures kept falling. By the time we arrived at the restaurant- it was in the upper 50's. Dinner was superb, the company great- and a late night enjoyed by all.
October 13, 1999,
Wednesday- 7:30 jacks up and move the
coach up the road 15 miles to the service 
place
to work on the washer/dryer, and the microwave. Susan dropped off
Hobbes at the groomer. Meanwhile, Susan and I cruised to a few malls,
and got odds and ends that we've been looking for the last few
months. In a few days the parts should arrive for the two removed
appliances, and they will be reinstalled, hopefully, by next week.
Hobbes now looks so white- you need sunglasses to avoid being
blinded. A professional job is far superior to our hit or miss
attempts. Hey- it also must be California- where else would you find
parking spaces for electric cars with recharging pumps provided in
the mall parking lots.
Stephen has a temporary web page reinstalled with a new address for us, and hopefully we will be up and running before too much more time goes by.
October 14, 1999,
Thursday- a day to start cleaning the
outside of the coach- six months old- time for the first waxing.
Then- fill in the blanks on our reservation calendar. We are now
booked through the third week
in January, now we just need the weather to keep cooperating so that
Hobbes stays clean and dry.
We picked up Laurie and headed for "Yoshi's at Jack London Square" in Oakland to see Cleo Laine and John Dankworth. Dinner with Stan, Laurie, and her brother and sister-in-law- Barry and Barbara. The show was marvelous- with smooth jazz and even smoother with the vocal accompaniment. Her range of vocal was beyond belief. It had to be heard to be believed. All of this took place in a nightclub setting. Of interest to me was that outside the theater/restaurant was the main street of this part of Oakland, and down the main street were two sets of railroad tracks- taking both freight and Amtrak passenger cars through the middle of the town, on a regular basis.
October 15, 1999, Friday- Susan had a strange one this morning. She had trouble seeing clearly, and determined that her left hard lens was not in her eye. This was and hour after she put the lens in place. After searching clothing, floors, Hobbes, etc., she opening the dust buster collection bag and found her lens in with the dirt. Fortunately no damage done. Then we drove into Union Square, San Francisco, to meet Laurie for lunch and some shopping. In this part of town what would be unusual elsewhere is common place. Like a 50 year old women wearing blue purple dyed hair, black clothes, and combat boots. They stopped into the cosmetic store Sephora- and were overwhelmed with the product, sales help, and options available.
On
every corner was a flower stand with the most beautiful selections of
colors and assortments. For the first time we saw blue long stemmed
roses, at $5 per flower. Next came Susan and Laurie going to the Levi
store to get a body scan for custom fit jeans. What a high tech
operation this place was- with loud music (via their own DJ),
computers and scanners everywhere- and a slick upscale metal look
throughout. After an hour of sitting in downtown traffic, we finally
got across the bridge to Oakland, to join Rob and Deb for a drink and
a movie- "Three Kings" with George Cluny. If you have the chance to
spend two hours in a theater- this is not the movie to see. Too much
violence without redeeming social value. But, this 6 plex theater by
Deb's campus- was a site to see. Each room had its own theme. Ours
was of a Egyptian background- done to the nines. No plain fabric
draped walls here.
October 16, 1999, Saturday- a relaxing day with some walks, some shopping, some golf balls, and touring the surrounding towns. Temperatures here are still high with 85 showing on the car. Steve and Deb both said it was snowing both in Denver and in Vail- hopefully the start of a good ski season for them.
October 17, 1999, Sunday- a relaxing morning catching up on phone calls, then we met Rob and Deb at their place- and off to Walnut Creek. This place has every yuppie shop ever invented- from the Williams Sonoma to Nordstrums. A good lunch and some shopping filled the afternoon. Back to Rob and Deb's for a great dinner, and then back to the bunkhouse. On the way back along the 101, a hillside was burning, one of the many. This was 10 miles away from the coach.
October 18, 1999- Monday- the fires that we saw along the highway had threatened 101 homes. We don't know how many were damaged. We met Laurie in Mill Valley for a walk around the little village downtown. There were a few high end boutiques- $500 for a little pair of pants and top. Am I getting more out of touch- or are these shops? One of Laurie's friends owns a wine shop here, and Richard was featuring Opus wine- at $120 per bottle. Some of the vintage, meaning a last year and the prior year's bottles are now prices at $200 and $225 per bottle of white wine. Again- am I out of touch? A great lunch on a shaded patio hit the spot. The great fresh salad fixings and preparations will be missed when we leave California. You don't get the same quality and selection in the midsections of the country. Sandy and Art, a great couple that we met at the Death Valley Rotary Rally, wanted to get together during our stay. They had been busy over the last weekend, and after a few calls back and forth- I said tonight would be great, and told Sandy we'd call on the way. We held up the call to as late as possible- to insure that we got through the bottle necks around the bridge and tunnel. As we approached Walnut Creek, we called and Sandy said you're 15 minutes from us- but I thought you said Tuesday night! So we detoured into Nordstrums for 30 minutes before continuing on for a great dinner and evening with them at their lovely home. It was an expensive detour as Susan found a few pairs of shoes that filled holes in her wardrobe!
Sandy and Art gave us an education on selecting real estate in the area. Things to consider- brush and forest fires- avoid the hills, open fields and stay near the streams. Don't forget earthquakes- pick a flat open lot. Oh- floods- be high enough to avoid the swollen streams and rivers. On occasion there are mudslides- so avoid building on hillsides and cliffs.
On and off my foot problem has reappeared during the last few days- frustrating- since it had been dormant for almost 6 months. Dr. Kaplan in Charleston said that most folks with this problem find that it burns itself out in 18 to 36 months. I'm now in our 15th year! Bad!
October 19, 1999, Tuesday- I was chatting with our neighbor in a rental Bounder motor home. This unit had so much overhang behind the rear axle and the end of the coach- that he was saying that it swung so far in the opposite direction- that it moved the tow car over the curb and into a rock wall. A laundry day and moving to a new space in the same park- filled the morning. We took a two mile walk beyond the campground that took us alongside a tidal marsh. Watching the various birds feed and fly made the walk seem like a breeze! Then we drove to Rob & Deb's to beat the traffic, and joined Rob for an hour plus walk around his neighborhood. On the commercial street, lots of kids shops and restaurants filled the stores. Then up the hill past these neat little, and sometimes big, homes. Each had its own landscaping and feel. Flowers were abundant. The Rockledge area by Berkeley is unique. Dinner was at this little Italian restaurant where everything had a touch of taste and creativity.
October 20, 1999, Wednesday- a catch-up day around the house this morning- then off to Walnut Creek to find some presents for upcoming birthdays. Back to Lafayette, for dinner with Laurie and her children Tyler and Tracy, and grandson Michael, at their favorite Chinese restaurant. Again the weather couldn't be better- except for early morning intermittent fog, sunny skies, no clouds, no rain.
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