I am up at around 8 am and Susan has already done her
walk. She snuck out around 7 am. We both go down to eat
breakfast and meet Tommy. Later we are joined by Karl,
Laurie, and Lisa. Big Mama gets loaded and we are off
for California around 10 am.
We see the Great Salt Lake and piles with the salt flats,
as we pass through Utah, and some beautiful snow-capped
mountains as we pass through Nevada. We also see lots
of casinos while in Nevada. We made the 12 hour drive
with only three drivers; Laurie, Tommy, and Donto with
Donto taking the greatest part of the drive. The drive
through the Sierra Nevada's on Interstate 80 is
gorgeous. I'm glad it was still daylight when we
were passing through them.
During the drive I get a call from my brother, Mark, and
he and Mike, another brother, are planning to attend the
San Francisco gig at Biscuits and Blues with their friend,
Patrick. It will be fun to see them and spend some time
with them.
We make it to Emmeryville near Oakland at the base of
the San Francisco Bay Bridge at about 9 pm. We gained
an hour moving from mountain-time in Utah to pacific coast-time
in California and Nevada. The hotel is not bad but the
neighborhood around it is very run down. Luckily we are
near a nice shopping center complete with a Starbucks
and a Home Depot. I want for nothing else. We unload and
wait for the clerk to check us in. Laurie and I wonder,
why does it take so long to check in, especially when
they already have taken your money when you made the reservation?
What could they possibly be doing that is so important?
Needless to say we are all pretty grumpy, especially me,
after this long drive and we just want to get to our rooms
to rest. We are already disappointed because of the funky
neighborhood, and the nice hotels that we usually stay
in that are in a better area are just down the street.
Perhaps a good nights sleep will cheer us all up, including
me. Tomorrow we have the day free and don't need
to head out to Biscuits and Blues in San Francisco until
4:30 pm. Yay!
