Hello Everyone! Well, we made it. Shadow Catcher and I have officially made it all the way across the country. This was my 27th drive across the continent and, as far as I know, her first. It was also my longest cross-country drive by far, taking just about 4 months, as opposed to the one to five weeks I normally take. While we didn’t actually see the Pacific Ocean yet, we did make it to the San Francisco Bay which will have to be close enough for the time being. Shadow Catcher has been parked in storage where she will remain for the next few months as I go back to work, but she’s only an hour outside of the city so I hope I can get out and check on her and take her for a spin when I’m in town. She certainly deserves a rest after the last few months, and with California gas prices hovering between $6 and $7 a gallon, it’s very good timing for a break. I’ve spent my week hanging out with old friends and catching up on some much-needed rest and feel very ready and prepared to begin my summer tour season this coming weekend.
When I left you last week, I was headed up to South Lake Tahoe to visit my very good friend Rob and his family. I met Rob in high school, but didn’t really get to know him until after college when we lived together for about a year in a beautiful house in Chevy Chase, Maryland. We have been good friends ever since, and it is always truly a pleasure to spend time with him. I remember visiting him soon after he moved to California and being one of the first in our friend-group to meet his new girlfriend, Tara. I was here for their wedding and have been blessed to watch their children grow from toddlers to ‘tweens. I visited them a few years ago in their vacation home in Tahoe which has since become their full-time home, and I was thrilled to be able to spend a few days there with them this week.
On Thursday I spent a few hours giving Shadow Catcher’s interior a deep-cleaning and reorganizing which it desperately needed. I spent my Friday on a beautiful sandy beach on the shore of Lake Tahoe with Rob and his family. We went kayaking, threw the Frisbee and I even went for a very short dip in the cold, clear water of the lake. That evening we went to cheer on young Nolan as he took to the field in the first playoff game of his little league baseball career. They made a valiant effort, but came up short of a win. Nolan walked and stole a base which was definitely the highlight of the game for us. It was great to just sit and watch the game under the trees as the day came to a close. Saturday was a pretty relaxed day for us all. We went for a few little walks around the lake in the morning and then I got both of the children to show me their musical skills. Mazie plays the violin and Nolan plays the guitar, both of which I just happen to have in the back of my van. I was really impressed by their skills and had a blast jamming with them for a little while in the afternoon. In the evening, Tara cooked up an incredible feast of lasagna, salad and a delightful apple crisp with some homemade ice cream. We stayed up late chatting and drinking beer and listening to some wonderfully nostalgic 1980s movie theme music. It was an awesome few days up in the woods and I’m so very lucky to have such wonderful friends who would take me in for a while.
On a rainy Sunday morning I headed down out of the mountains to Lincoln, California – just north of Sacramento – to catch up with another old friend, Dave Flood. I met Dave when I was a rookie tour leader way back in the summer of 2000. We ran into each other a lot on the road during the next few years, and he was always good for a laugh. I haven’t seen Dave in probably at least 15 years, but we’ve kept in contact on Facebook and talk on the phone every couple of weeks. He’s been trying to get me to come visit him in Lincoln for a many years now, and I was glad to finally be able to take him up on the offer. He made me promise that I would arrive at 11:30am so that I could participate in his weekly ukulele lesson at noon. We spent an hour with his friend and teacher, who showed me some chords and strumming patterns to get me started. After messing around with a guitar for the last few years, the four-string ukulele was a real treat. I picked it up pretty quickly and we were jamming in no time. We spent the afternoon throwing darts, drinking beers and chatting about old times and then sat down to watch Top Gun in anticipation of going to the theatre the next evening to see the sequel. On Monday, Dave got me up at 4:30am to go to a hot yoga class, my first such experience. The instructor, a good friend of Dave, was very welcoming and seemed to know a lot about yoga, but the heat and humidity did not agree with me. I would have done well with a half-hour class, or maybe even an hour, but the 90 minutes was too much for me to take. I spent the last half-hour just lying on my mat and waiting for it to end. I’m glad I gave it a try, but I don’t think I’ll be doing any hot yoga anytime in the near future. After a much needed nap, we went and grabbed some tacos and then took another nap before heading to the theatre to see Top Gun: Maverick, a sequel 30 years in the making. It was awesome and we both really enjoyed it. I haven’t been to a movie theatre in four years but this was definitely a movie that needed to be seen on the big screen. We hung out for a little while yesterday morning and then said our goodbyes and I got on the road to San Francisco.
I had to stop and buy a suitcase on the way as I’ll be flying up to Salt Lake City to start my trip and won’t be able to fit all my gear into my backpack. I stopped off in Dublin, California for lunch and to get myself packed and then headed on to the storage lot to drop off my van. The manager of the facility was very nice and gave me a ride to the subway station cutting a big chunk out of my commute back to the city. I finally got to my hotel about 6pm and rested for a bit before going to grab some dinner and calling it an early night.
I spent today at the office down in the Dogpatch neighborhood, getting my paperwork in order and trying to find some reasonable restaurants that can accommodate all of my group’s dietary requirements. This is no small task in the small towns of the Rocky Mountains and I hope they arrive with a sense of humor and adventure. There are going to be a lot of challenges ahead for us this summer but I’m happy to be here and happy to be a part of the Incredible Adventures team. After work I went for dinner at a great little Pakistani restaurant just down the street from my hotel and now I’m trying to finish up this post before calling it a night.
Tomorrow I will be back in the office for a while and hope to get to the gym as well. I have not been getting nearly enough exercise since getting Covid several weeks ago and need to start getting back into shape. I will fly to Salt Lake City on Friday and will have some time to get my van cleaned and organized before meeting my group on Saturday afternoon. On Sunday we’ll be headed to Jackson, Wyoming for two days of hiking the Grand Tetons, white-water rafting and exploring the area. On Tuesday we will be heading north and into the wilds of Yellowstone for four days which I am really looking forward to. I’ll be in Yellowstone this time next week, and I’m really going to try and get this newsletter out, but the next few months will be pretty full-on, so please forgive me if I don’t. I’ll be thinking of you all while I’m out there though and missing this blog and my little home-on-wheels. I’m excited for the next few months and looking forward to visiting some beautiful places and meeting some new people to share them with. But I’m also looking forward to the end of the season when my bank account will be a little healthier and I can get back to my solo adventures. Have a great week out there and I hope your summers are all starting out great. Thank you, as always, for reading.
-Mike