Birthday Road Trip

Between the CoViD-19 chaos and the parking heater work this spring, I totally forgot to post about a road trip Boo and I took down to the north side of the San Francisco Bay. Today's post covers it.

Why Feb?

another winter day in Portland

After last year's once-in-a-lifetime trip to Hawaii for my birthday, Boo and I kind of wanted to get out of the endless gloom of the Pacific Northwest. For those who don't live here, rainy season starts around Columbus Day (mid October), and with the return of "standard time" our daylight at the end of the work day disappears rather early. By winter solstice, sunset is arriving around 430PM. When you add the gloom from the clouds, it really is pretty much dark all the time from US Thanksgiving (25-Nov) until after MLK Jr Day (third Monday in January). By the time my birthday comes around (around George Washington's: 22-Feb), it's gotta-get-outta-the-rainy-dark time. Some years, we can avoid this by going to Timberline and getting above the clouds to play in the snow throughout the winter. Not so much these last few years.

Why Fly?
With that context, Boo and I started talking to my sister in January about a trip down to visit. My sister had come up to visit my aging folks. Boo and I had looked at flights, but were waffling because of the costs. So, when we asked about the third weekend in Feb, my sister asked "you gonna fly or drive?". Well... we hadn't even thought about driving. Part of why we wanted a trip was for some deeper connecting. We both had been working a lot, and not seeing each other much. So, 12 hours each way in a car together sounded much better than airport parking, security check-points, etc though it would shorten the trip by 6 hours each way. Still, when we looked at the cost, it cost about half to rent a nearly brand-new SUV. So, we chose to drive. Ironically, for the 3 months after this trip, Boo and I were locked down together. Funny. We got 24 hours together in a car and then 3 weeks later we were in lock-down, getting all kinds of time together. Honestly, it was absolutely wonderful. I sincerely hope you like your spouse as much as I like mine. 3 months woulda felt like 90 days in the hole if we didn't.

Najeeb

I made a reservation with a car rental place (Dollar) for a Jeep, and made a plan to take the train from downtown Portland after work out to the airport to collect it, and drive it home. We intended to pack-up and leave at night, like we usually do with Hapy, figuring a vagabond sleep somewhere along the way. The train to the airport is easy (just jump the Red line), though I was surprised to see how much garbage there is along the train lines on the east side. I used to live over there, and I cannot believe how far-gone it has become with liter. By the time I got out to the airport district, I was quite disappointed, and clearly distracted because once I got to the airport, I jacked up the car rental plan and ended up shuttled to an off-site rental company.... the wrong one. Neat. The one I ended up at (Budget) gave me the same rate and a nicer SUV, a Ford Edge. Fortunately,  the original reservation did not charge me anything. When I arrived at home, Boo was puzzled by the not-Jeep I arrived in. And then she named our rental Najeeb, since it sort sounds like "Not Jeep".

Seven Feathers

We packed up for a weekend away plus the foam pad from Hapy so we could take a nap somewhere along the way. We learned after the fact that the spot we chose is the usual stop for my sister and her husband when they are on their way back south from visiting Portland: Seven Feathers Hotel and Casino. Offhand, you're probably thinking what I thought when we started to pull over: "yeah... casino parking lot? This won't be good." Actually, while there is the hotel, and they offer cabins and an RV campground, there is a rest area just south and above the hotel. This area does not have a ton of those big bright lights, but there are enough to provide safety. There are real bathrooms and a drinking water filling spigot. They are actually set up for long-drive nappers like us. There were a few of us there, and though it was super cold, we were left unbothered. We awoke to daybreak after parking shortly after 2AM, so we were still a little sleepy as we pulled back onto I-5 south. Boo pulled together some fruit and granola for road-breakfast, combined with canned coffee to help power us through. The drive the night before had been pleasant and the road ahead all the way to just north of Sacramento was as well.

I have been on this section of I-5 very few times. The last was in 2009 when I drove with GratefulEd and Mayhem in Belle the 73 RIviera to catch The Dead at Shoreline. On that trip, we drove overnight, so I didn't really see a whole lot of the landscape in California. This time, it was mid-day, and I was the pilot, so I could really take it in. I did not realize just how much produce is generated along the Sacramento River between Lake Shasta and Sacramento. There were times when there were fruit trees as far as you could see in all directions, only interrupted by small honeybee boxes and the occasional road. And then, there would be a line running east-west where the fruit trees would stop and some other thing would start. And then, just like with the trees, that new thing would go in all directions. We stopped in Redding for In-n-Out Burger. Honestly, it wasn't as great as I remember. Given the option, I'll take Burgerville for a fast-food burger, but ultimately the best burgers are made on a home BBQ. Anyway, It was warm enough in Redding to sit outside and eat in the sun. In fact, we were in T-shirts by the time we were done eating. Crazy weather for February. My sister routed us to her place by way of American Canyon Highway. I only mention it because after nearly 12 hours of driving, this turn-off provided our first glimpse of the ocean. Yeay!

Vallejo

Vallejo Ferry Terminal

We arrived at my sister's place in Vallejo by mid-afternoon. We visited long enough for a drink and then drove over to a reclaimed dump turned park along the bay called Glass Beach for a walk before sunset. This is a fascinating wetlands impacted by tides, influencing various ponds throughout the area. Water moves from pond to pond through large pipes, and no matter what time of day you go, water is moving one way or the other. Waterfowl and sea-water critters of all kinds are back in the area after years of now-cleaned heavy pollution. This is a true environmental victory for Vallejo.

We visited downtown Vallejo on our last full day of our stay. It is a quaint downtown, with a great coffee place (Moschetti Cafe) with welcoming servers and patrons. We walked over to the ferry terminal, which was bustling with folks for a weekend, before driving over to Albany to collect some treasures from the local spice shop as well as Kathmandu (an import-export shop).

Mare Island and Muir Woods

Muir Woods

After Glass Beach, we had dinner at my sister's place and talked about what we wanted to do while in the San Francisco area. We just wanted to see them, but maybe see some of what they liked, or had meant to see but hadn't yet. They recalled taking me to one of the worst neighborhoods in Boston because I had read about the influence of the society on the planning that was happening there. So, this really wasn't much of a surprise. We agreed that Muir Woods was definitely worthy, but they wanted to show us an urban curiosity: Mare Island as well.

Mare Island

Mare Island is an effectively abandoned ship yard. Empty building after empty building for many square blocks. There are theories about what's in those empty buildings, ranging from homeless camps and underground raves to storage for the movie industry. We spotted one legitimate business, but only a handful of cars and less than a handful of people. For an area that is served by the ferry in and out of downtown San Francisco, the Portlander in me is puzzled by how so much viable residential / loft-living could be left vacant and decaying. If I were a young, up-and-coming techno-geek, that's where I'd want to live.

Muir Woods is the complete opposite of Mare Island. Where Mare Island has cracked concrete, Muir Woods has carefully defined foot paths. Mare Island has tall decaying buildings, Muir Woods has Redwood trees. I need not go on. Muir Woods was fairly crowded, but we were able to navigate a few trails, get our hike on and see some amazing woods. Boo and I really appreciated the way the keepers of the Woods had constructed the retaining walls along the ravines to both perform the needed function, but do so in such a subtle way that the walls sort of disappeared into the landscape.

Which Way is Out?

Muir Woods Cathedral

We left Muir Woods by a different route than we took on the way in. The road is super narrow, and the drop-off rather severe. So, thinking there had to be another way, we kept going. We found ourselves at Muir Beach. Muir Beach is as beautiful as Muir Woods, in it's way. Just south of the sand are sweeping hills covered in wild flowers. Apparently, this is part of the Golden Gate National Recreational Area. We walked the sand, and enjoyed the sunset before heading back towards civilization; we thought. We actually went the wrong way on Highway 1, discovering our error when we hit Stinson Beach. We could have gone up and over Mt. Tamaipais down a narrow switch-back filled road in the approaching dark. We decided instead to keep going and turned east at Olema, heading through Tocaloma and Lagunitas before eventually touching down in San Rafael. We hit Phil's place (Terrapin Crossroads) for a late dinner.

Homing
After 3 days of driving and walking, that last night we settled for pizza at my sister's place. We still stayed up late, talking until we were all too tired to talk, but still not really wanting the visit to end. After one too many long conversational pauses one of us said something about being tired, and that was just enough to drive the rest of us in that direction. We woke late-ish, enjoyed some coffee and light breakfast. My sister had to work, so that was enough impetus to get me and Boo on our way home as well. The morning news had a story about some new illness that had sprung up in China and the first case had been found in the greater San Francisco area. This was the first we had heard about this, and didn't think much of it. We were sad to leave, but glad we were heading home.

Mt Shasta

The drive home was one long straight shot. Boo took the wheel for the first stretch, handing it back over to me around Mt Shasta. It was about then that the rain started, and for the next few hundred miles, it was a less pleasant squint of a drive. The rains let up around Eugene where we met up with  T for dinner. Boo took the wheel again for that last leg from Eugene back home. I called Budget for an extension, and while I was assured that the daily rate would be an extension of the rate I had been paying, that was not the case when I returned the car. With that one day extension, the math for driving versus flying would have been nullified. Lesson learned: reserve for longer and return it early.

Anyway, it was a great trip. In light of what happened in the days and weeks that followed, Boo and I were grateful that we chose to not fly through San Francisco airport (read: CoViD fear). As to car stuff, I continue to sand and hammer on the Zed. As my last post said, you're never really ready for paint, but when you have a car that has been dinged and danged on pretty much every body panel, it goes beyond simple prep. Anyway, I am approaching the end of the hammering and expect to get into the skim-coating of the Bondo here fairly soon. Once I actually reach that point, I'll post something.

Thanks, as always, for following along--

Hopping and Skipping through SF

NO BUS CONTENT today. Instead, I'm going to cover a whirlwind trip to the San Francisco Bay area. In some ways, this may feel like a re-tread of HNY from 2013 (link here). That's not just a coincidence; we tried to eek out a little honeymoon flashback out of this trip. This got really long. Sorry. While I recognize this is public, in a way this is how I record things for my own memory, so, details are important. :)

Departure
In looking back through my posts from last year, I realized that I never posted about a trip I took last Winter to San Diego. My sister and her family were thinking about moving to SF from SD, so Boo and I thought we ought to go visit and help them decide while soaking up some needed sun. Last Winter was a typical dreary, but less snow on the mountain than usual (but still more than this year), so we were in need of an adventure. Unlike our trip to SF described in the link above, the departure to SD was very smooth. The exodus from Oregon to SF was almost equally smooth this past week. Rather than a crack-of-dawn departure, we flew out around 7, so we both ducked out of work a little early and cut across town catching rush-hour traffic heading east out of Portland. It wasn't nearly as bad as it might have been, though. Even after missing the economy lot on the first try, we still had time to nab a sit-down bite to eat after cruising through security before our plane boarded.

BART It On Down the Line

SFO BART entrance

We picked SFO rather than Oakland because of the direct integration with the BART. Apparently, Oakland now has a $6 one-way people-mover from the airport to the totally-doesn't-feel-safe O.com stadium BART stop. Yeah... even with the people-mover, standing on that platform at 10 o'clock at night sounds awfully, uh... exposed. I'll take the direct step-onto-the-train deal at SFO, though the walk to the station was quite long. Our flight terminal'd about as far away from the main terminal as seemed possible. Maybe it was having full day-packs on our backs that made it feel so long. Maybe it was just the drain from flight. Regardless, SFO has all kinds of interesting things to look at, and I don't mean the people. Newark Airport is best for that. SFO has museum pieces strewn about in display clusters throughout the airport. We looked at a couple which had just concert posters from the 60's and 70's for venues in the Bay Area. Very cool. BART was a key component through our 4-day stay in the Bay Area. We love BART.

No Renoir and that's no Monet
The place we had honeymooned (Renoir Hotel) has been shut down for a while. Maybe that issue with not having heat during the cold snap did it. Maybe it was just time to renovate. Boo and I walked by it on our first full day in SF, and it has been gutted. It looks like they removed every bit of reusable material, from the marble to the chandeliers and the wood trim on the windows, it has been picked clean. The first floor has been stripped to studs. We wondered if the building was going to get razed, and replaced with some fancy new tower like the Twitter headquarters down the street. That would be very sad. Based on internet news, it looks like it there was a plan to go boutique and then there was a fire. Not sure what the plan is now.

5th floor hallway mirror selfie

Since they weren't open for business, we got a one-night room at the Hotel Whitcomb just down the street. With out late arrival time, we ducked into the bar before last call for a quick taste before checking in. The bar-tender was really annoying, acting the braggart buffoon to maximize tips from better dressed patrons, leaving we travel worn to fend for ourselves. At least he didn't hassle us like the others, so maybe we got off with the better experience. One short pour and an unsatisfying bottled beer later, Boo and I left unimpressed. The front clerk was efficient, and we were checked-in and in our 5th floor room quickly. The room was small, but effective. No coffee maker nor mini-fridge, but we were just looking for a safe bed. The fact that we were the room at the end of the hall next to the fire escape (the homicide room) wasn't lost on me, but I kept the "homicide" part to myself.

Thai Re-try
We didn't stay in the room very long. We were both more interested in getting some food and a better drink, so we hit the streets of Tenderloin. After a little walking about, we found Lers Ros again. Like the first time, it was sooo tasty. The management had added more tables, and the place was much busier than the last time, but the food and service was just as memorable. We'll go there every time we visit SF, so long as they're open.

5 Mile
The following day, we re-traced some other steps we had taken 2 years earlier after checking out. We visited some old Grateful Dead haunts (the Bill Graham, Warfield Theater, Great American Music Hall and the Fillmore), hit JapanTown for some incense and then BART'd to Berkeley to meet up with my brothers, sisters, their families and my folks at a rented house to celebrate my parents 50th wedding anniversary. All told, we clocked over 6 miles with 20 pounds of day-pack on our backs. Bed, when it came, was welcomed. In a stark difference from the last time we walked through Tenderloin 2 years ago, the city smelled different. Two years ago, it was during a cold snap, and the homeless were in shelters, leaving just the skunky smell of cannabis. This time, it was sunny, warm and smelled of old urine. It was so bad that it clung to our clothes and we had to throw everything we were wearing into an immediate wash cycle at the rental house. Yuck.

50 Years

Friday was anniversary day. 50 years. We celebrated with a renewing of vows, led by my brother-in-law. There's a ton of back story on him, but for now, let's just say he's an Episcopal minister working with the SF youth through his Braid Mission. Through his contacts, we were granted access to Grace Cathedral on top of Nob Hill for the vow renewal.

Now, old couples are cute. They just are. When you put them in a big cathedral, surrounded by family while they repeat wedding vows, its all the cuter. The ceremony was little-kid-friendly short, creating time for the little kids to play on the playground in the park across the street (see picture). We picnic'd and then hit China Town. I had expected more culture and less kitsch, but it was nice to walk the street with my brother and sister. We joined the mass quitting-time exodus from downtown SF across the Bay via BART. The underground station and packed train were very different from the trips we'd had thus far, but everyone was polite, and went about their business.

Ca me plaît
My brother-in-law and sister hired a French chef to cater a celebration dinner at their house in Berkeley. Having never really had French food, I didn't really know what to expect. Wow. I've been ruined for red meat now. I don't know what it was called or how it was prepared, but we were cutting through rare steak with butter knives, the flavor popping and the meat melting in our mouths. Absolutely incredible. It was paired with simple vegetables and tiny potatoes, seeming almost like a simple country dish. Fantastique!

Walkabout
After eating far too well the night before, Boo and I chose to double-down and hit a local brunch place for breakfast the following morning. Unlike all of the storefronts along Market Street, none the handful of cafe's along Solano Avenue in Albany CA claimed to have the city's best breakfast. Yelp led to Bistro 1491 and Sunny Side Up. The Bistro didn't seem casual enough, so we slid into a window-side table at Sunny Side Up. We could have split a single breakfast, the portions were so big, but they were good. It felt very Portland; very chill and real with a mix of folks ranging in age and demographic. We routed my out-of-town sister and brother to go the following morning and they loved it too. Boo and I spent the rest of our final full day in the Bay walking the shops along Solano Ave, enjoying the sunshine and the sense of real free time.

Homeward
Our final day started with a flurry of get-out-of-the-house activity. With so many folks sharing one house, it was actually less chaotic than it could have been. Still, we had time for 3 pots of coffee, and conversation before we checked out. We ended our stay back at my sister's house on her sunny back deck listening to the birds before grabbing a final ice cream at iScream. Yummy.

The drive to SFO was longer and more heavily traffic'd than expected, including the "departure" curb at the airport. So, we arrived at the terminal a little more stressed than we'd like. Unlike the flight down, Boo and I were helping my folks get home too, so that added some pressure too. Once their bags were checked and my mom in an airport-approved wheelchair, they whistled through security. Boo and I made it through okay, but not nearly as easily as our last few flights. We dashed for the gate and bought some plastic-sealed sandwiches for dinner on the flight home.

PDX airport was its typical smooth go. We left the folks at baggage claim while we shuttled to the economy lot. By the time we got back, they had their bags and were ready at the curb. Home bound within 30 minutes after the plane touched down and walking in our front door 60 minutes later (after routing through the close-in East side) was way better than I could have expected. Overall, it was a great trip. Boo and I are already planning our next one, but it may happen before the Hootenanny.

That's it for today. Thanks for following along. More sanding and paint-related tales next time-

HNY

Happy New Year.  It has been a whirlwind month since I last wrote.  I'll hit the highlights.  There will be NO BUS CONTENT.

Snowblind

SkiBowl Waming Hut

I've mentioned "Boo" over the last year and a half when I flap about personal / non-bus stuff.  We got married in the snow on Mount Hood in late December.  Members of both of our families made the trek to SkiBowl, and stood with us in the snow for a brief ceremony among the trees and flurries.  Boo and I took a run down Mid- and Lower Reynolds with T shooting with a Go-Pro camera.  Then we met the rest of the family for drinks at Beer Stube.  The rest of the day was a mix of playing in the snow and visiting family.  We rented a cabin for the days on either side of "vow day", so while our parents, etc, headed back to the valley, we were 10 minutes from "home".

Saturday Night's Alright for Partying
Yeah, I know the song is a little different.  We threw a reception on the last Saturday of December to celebrate the vows we spoke 2 days earlier.  We were joined by around 85 friends and family, ate Chinese drank Stella and wine, etc.  Good times.  It seems that most of our friends who have kids have little ones, and the party broke up by 11.  Just as well, though, as Boo and I had a morning flight to SF the next day.

If You're Going to San Francisco

Lers Ros

After a night of celebrating, rising before dawn was not exactly easy.  Neither Boo nor I had really unpacked from the mountain, and we had little interest in really dedicating to packing for a few days in SF.  A creaky rise followed by a frigid drive, had us waiting for the long-term parking shuttle as pre-dawn turned to dawn.  We breezed through security, grabbed coffees at the old Coffee People inside the terminal and hit the gate with 15 minutes to spare.  Ahh... The flight was uneventful, and we found the folks at Oakland International to be very friendly and helpful.  We took the shuttle to Oakland Coliseum, and picked up BART....  12 hours after our party ended, we were checked into our hotel.  Things turned interesting at this point.

The hotel (Hotel Renoir) is over 100 years old and sits right on Market Street between the Bill Graham Civic Auditorium and the Warfield Theater in Tenderloin.  The hotel had recently undergone a renovation, but it appeared to exclude the heat system.  For the 4 days we were in the hotel, we were on our own for heat...in late December / early January... during a unusually cold snap.  Hotel management did comp us free breakfasts for the 1st and 2nd, though.  We napped, checked the view from the roof and then walked to Walgreen's and bought a space heater :)  Problem solved.  We grabbed dinner at a fantastic Thai place (Lers Ros) and walked a bit of Tenderloin to get some bearings, including a walk-past of the Civic Auditorium to see what the lines and crowd were like to anticipate NewYears.  It was not impressive.  Lots of drug scene, and not much in terms of quality wares being sold.  The line was ridiculously long too.  Hmm...

New Years Day

Renoir Hotel

The first morning in SF was again clear and cold.  We set out on a day-long walk that took us from Market to Japantown, the Painted Ladies, Haight-Ashbury and back again.  We grabbed some quick eats and hit the Bill Graham Civic Auditorium for Furthur.  We thought the doors opened at 7:30, but that was wen the band was supposed to start.  Clueless, we simply walked up and through the doors into the venue (no line), and headed for the mezzanine.  We set up in a standing-only spot in the walkway, dead center, behind the handicapped zone.  No sooner had we chosen our spot, the lights dimmed, Bob, Phil and friends it the stage and the show started.  The sound was perfect, dancing roomy and the neighbors welcoming.  We celebrated both our new marriage and NewYears with 10+k friends.  The band played until nearly 2, and we didn't get back to the hotel 2 blocks away until after 3.
We spent the better part of NewYears Day sleeping and watching football.  That evening, we had been given a gift of cocktails at "Top of the Mark" (TotM).  Not thinking about the effect of SF hills on legs that spent the prior night dancing for 5 hours, we set off on foot up Russian Hill (I think).  Nearly sweating upon arrival at TotM, the view and the treatment were amazing.  We sat, sipping champagne, watching the shadows stretch from the setting sun across the Bay.  Again, we set off on foot, through the Financial District to the Esplanade, and then along the warfs to Pier 39 for dinner.

Bill Graham Civic Auditorium

I don't know how much we walked in SF, but I'm sure it was multiple miles.  Our last morning was a flash of checking out, BART'ing and bus'ing back to Oakland International.  We absolutely loved SF, and decided right then that we'd adopt the 49ers.  We also discovered we can travel together... we roll and press on the same things.  That's it for now.