Waking up in a motel bed did some good things for T's stomach ailments, and it meant we were about 40 miles and 60 minutes (no camp to break down and pack up) closer to Livermore and family, but we weren't out of the woods yet. Also, things weren't 100% inside, so we headed down to the free continental breakfast with open minds and crossed fingers. Luckily the spread was pretty good - toast and bagels, lots of cereal (hot and cold), some yogurt and the piece de resistance, a do-it-yourself waffle bar! We couldn't resist, and a plain, warm waffle sat just fine on the recovering tummy. Gord enjoyed a few bites as well as some Cheerios and almost half of a muffin. He clearly wasn't having any sympathy symptoms.
Highway 101 may be slow, it it sure is purdy.
And then we were back on the 101, but we were no longer on the coast. Now we were travelling through California's timber lands and mountain passes, it would be a while before the twisting and turning gave T a break. But we made good time.
See what I mean?
We didn't stop until the boy woke up and our bladders couldn't take it any more, fortunately for us in Cloverdale CA. Now Richard Linklater made a movie a few years back called A Scanner Darkly (based on a story by Philip K Dick), and it included a nefarious farm near a place in California called Cloverdale. needless to say, it didn't make me want to visit (check it out to see what I mean), but the good news is that the town is nothing like the film. We parked in the local high school parking lot, observed that it was 35 C, and made sure we were in the shade. After changing and feeding the man a liquid lunch we walked into town. It was nice.
Cloverdale I thought to be ominous, but in reality it's a small town with a great climate and a healthy art scene.
Our first stop was at a local coffee shop - not a brand name chain, an independent. This would become a theme here. The brew was good and was the first T had had all day - no problems keeping it down in spite of not feeling that great yet. We headed back outside to see what the town would offer. It's not a big place, but there was clearly a healthy art scene and a handful of shops to wander through, enjoying the AC. We decided to head down Lake Street to see if it was just a clever name - a swim, or even a foot dipping would feel great.
Turns out it was simply a clever name, but it lead us to Main Street, which lead us to Papa's Pizza Cafe. It was pretty big and pretty empty for 1:00, but it was clearly home made and the smell was all that was needed to bring back T's appetite. We split a small pie and Gord nibbled on a cup of grated cheese while we waited for the pizza to cook. The lunch was great, Gord and the rest of us left full and ready to tackle the remaining miles to Livermore.
Some logs in Livermore, the art scene was rubbing off on me...or so I thought.
As we got close to Oakland we left our friend the 101 for the wider and faster I-580. This is where we encountered our first major complaint with Cali - the traffic. T says it wasn't that bad, but not moving p, to me, is bad. We crawled our way across the San Matteo bridge and limped into Livermore.
No matter though, as family quickly erased all memories of traffic. To our surprise (and delight) Karen's mother Sandy was there to greet us with Karen and the girls, having come to visit a few days ago. What a nice family reunion 1000s of km away! That night we took it easy. We enjoyed a home cooked meal and chuckled with everyone as we told of our journey thus far. Sloan, Karen's 5 year old little girl, was giving up her room for the duration of our stay and our things quickly exploded across the entire space. This would be our last chance to organize and wash up before we headed home so the car was completely unloaded and put into the garage. It was such a boon to be able to clean out our stuff and throw away anything we no longer wanted or needed.
Uhhhh, beautiful?! No sign of Paul Giamati, and T's stomach made sure we didn't stop for a closer look.
We sat out on the back patio and enjoyed the beautiful California climate as we laughed about everything under the sun. Then, finally, around 11:30, with our perishables stowed in the fridge, our camping gear cleaned and drying in the garage, and the laundry machines humming with many loads, we laid our heads down to sleep on Sloan's twin bed. In truth, T and G slept on the bed while I lay on the floor. It was the best sleep any of us had had in a while.
Stuck in Cali traffic, awesome...
TOTAL FUEL FILL UPS: 7
DAILY WILDLIFE: Cows, sheep, a porcupine on the side of the road, and Karen's zoo (1 dog and 2 cats)
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