The night had been cooler and I awoke at 8 AM PST (6 AM CST). Somewhere along the way the timezone changed twice and I didn’t even know it. My body clock finds it hard to change. I’m still on Central Time. A pickup truck and trailer had arrived unheard next to me last night. Time to continue on my journey. Travelling north the golden hills of central California are to my left and the furtile plains to my right. Dotted with millions of citrus trees and grape vines. More canals could be seen heading where I do not know. Stock yards with thousand and thousands of cattle. I snap shots on my camera whizzing by at 75 MPH. Dunno if any of them come out though the bug slattered windows.
Into the Oakland area and onto I-580 I feel I’m getting closer. The bay area fog is burning off. Every so often I see the water – the Bay. It’s late morning and it’s Saturday. The traffic is busy, and it’s a holiday, but on I continue. At the San Raphael bridge I phone, “I’ll be there in an hour” I say. I’ve just paid my $3 toll and the water is below me. Careful to watch the van in front of me I don’t see San Francisco on the left in the distance. Turning north the traffic slows and stops as it has done several times during the trip. I wait until it merges, and on I continue. Only 40 more miles. I think about the trip. The miles I’ve driven. The time I’ve spent. The new things I’ve seen. But the best of all is seeing his smiling face, getting a big hug, meeting Stephanie, and knowing that I’m here.
