Day Fifty: And two llamas

It rained quite a bit over night. The air was cleared of smoke and ash. The dirt had the dust settled but generally hadn't made it all the way to mud, also helped by the very rocky ground. So, my pre-breakfast walk was quite enjoyable in the clear air and crisp coolness. (I was glad I had a jacket.) The rain excuse allowed me to avoid all tall grasses, which also had the benefit of avoiding the shoe sucking bottomless spring fed mud pits. (Not my story to tell.)

After breakfast, we cleaned the place. With so many hands it didn't take long. I seriously thought to invite the whole crew to my place for just such a cleaning. It's going to take me considerably longer as I have a lot more stuff than just what four cars could carry in for a few days.

Then it was back on the road for the reverse trek. We all left around noon, the official check out time.

The trip consisted of new sights and perspectives, including seeing two llamas that I missed driving in because of all the sheep that I was looking at at the time. Since my smoke plume picture came out so well, taken through my windshield, I attempted to take some more pictures: The Dalles, near Klamath Falls, and Mount Shasta from the side I had never seen before. I missed several other photo ops because of their fleeting nature at the speed I was traveling and because I didn't think of it until, well two hundred miles into the trip.

There was a lot of construction going on. For the most part, I made it through the spots in good order. In one short stretch near The Dalles, they were single "laning." I was the last car they let through going my direction and I didn't need to stop at all. It would have been a considerable wait, if I had to be the first car of the next pass.

Just across the California-Oregon border is the town of Dorris. I first made note of it when I saw the curfew sign of 10:00 PM. Then the three right angle turns in 97 going through the town caught my eye. I didn't particularly pay attention to them driving up, but then I didn't have three semis in front of me oozing around them at the rapid speed of at least 15 MPH. To top it off, there was a truck only agricultural inspection station just outside the town. While it was a short line, the trucks were long enough that the last one extended out onto the road and entirely blocked my direction. After a short wait to allow the oncoming truck to get by me, I swung out across the double yellow line in time to have a truck exiting the inspection station pull out in front of me. The driver was unexpectedly but very appreciated courteous as he swung over on the wide shoulder to allow me to pass. I'm sure he didn't see my appreciative wave through my extra tinted window.

I got to the City of Mount Shasta right at 5:30 PM. So, I decided to eat at the Billy Goat Cafe again, even though I had been eating the whole drive thus far. Since they didn't have lemonade, I had two glasses of Ice Tea to help combat the food coma that could have jeopardized the rest of the drive. Even with the construction reducing traffic to single lanes in several spots on I-5, even with the stopping for food I didn't need but enjoyed, even with the earlier rest stop and buying gas twice, I made it home by 11:00 PM.

Now, I can't really know for certain that my after five tea caffeine kept me awake on the drive more than normal. It could have very well been my listening to Take on the Street, or my ability to drive without sunglasses due to the clouds and then the dark, but, I did stay up for a couple hours after I got home.

I'm looking forward to doing more of this driving, including longer motorcycle treks. I really do hope to be spending a good bit of my Life after Layoff on the road.

Day Fourteen: Fauning

Exactly two weeks into my layoff and wow, I've never enjoyed a vacation more. Well that isn't really true. My worst day with my wife still beats my best day without her.

I got up even later today. It must not be the sun. I didn't even hear the roosters through the once again open door. While they could have slaughtered them, I think the trick is to be excessively tired. We stayed up until close to midnight watching Office Space. When I did get up I saw the cutest spotted faun walking with its mother. I also saw a large variety of birds. Enough so that I may have to get into bird watching, at least the next time I go up I will remember to take my own binoculars.

After breakfast and some last minute completion of the second canoe seat frame, which is still far from complete, it's just, well, framed. The edges aren't rounded the caning holes aren't drilled and won't be until they know what size caning material they will be using as the cane goes through the holes up to eight times each.

On the long ride home in reverse order, we basically split up the driving among the three of us. My daughter and son-in-law drove to their place and then I drove on to my home. We stopped in Shasta for lunch, which allowed me to leave my souvenir Liberty Island hat at the Billy Goat Cafe. I don't even know why I put it on. Anyway, the food was good and the two beers that I had were even better. After all, I had two designated drivers and drinking good beer is a worthy Life after Layoff. Maybe it was the beer that induced me to leave the hat I shouldn't have worn into the restaurant. (Can eating outside and never actually going inside be considered going into a restaurant?)

We couldn't see the smoke plumes west of Redding that were so visible going north. This doesn't mean that the fire was out. Indeed, the smoke was so bad that we couldn't see the hills west of Redding.

The rest of the trip to Davis involved me listening to my daughter's iPod music collection through the Prius' car speakers and resting in the back seat. I would rouse every so often to ask, "Are we there yet?" My children didn't to that often because they were rational people who could look out the window and see that we weren't there. Instead, they frequently asked, "How much longer before we get there?" If I hadn't be drowsing, I might have remembered to ask that more accurate historical question instead.

I discovered one significant fact riding in the back seat. Never sit behind a person who thinks that 90 degrees are cool when the only source of air conditioned air is in the front and they control the flow. I discovered that my daughter had actually closed off one of the cold air vents on our mutual side of the car. When I was driving by myself on the last leg, the trip from Davis to my home along the coast, a blessed 64 degrees when I arrived, I actually left it closed so more air would blow on me from the two driver's side vents. I also lowered the temperature from 78 to 72. Life after Layoff is and should be cool. (Two "Life after Layoff" puns in the same entry. I probably won't run out of them before I stop making entries anyway even if they get worse and repetitive.)