Road Trips : Bi-coastal 2001
The idea to do twin road trips on the east coast (North Carolina, South Carolina, and Virginia) and the west coast (ummm, California) started with the very practical issue of where to put my car while I flew back east for three weeks. I had the brilliant idea of visiting a couple of friends in San Diego, leaving my car with one of them, and then flying east from there. I figured I could have an extra road trip which would basically pay for itself in saved parking fees. Brilliant, yes?
March was a stressful, evil month filled with way too much work. Seemed every client I have needed a major project completed just as I finalized my plan. Ultimately, this meant I did a lot of work while on the road too, which is not my favorite way to spend a vacation.
Come to think of it, this whole trip was not one of my favorite vacations. Nothing quite worked out the way it was supposed to. Still, there were some good moments. I got to spend (not enough) time with my parents and with Duncan, Jeff, and Eugene, among others. I made first contact with Becky and PJ. I had sex in Atlanta, sucked face in Greensboro, ate well, and took lots of pictures.
Friday 30 March 2001
I completed finishing touches on a few projects this morning (notably this one) and finally left the house about 3:00. Rush hour traffic was not bad, until I got to the grade between Castro Valley and San Ramon. The next fifteen miles of my trip took about an hour. I was (even more of) a ball of stress by the time I stopped for food and gas in Tracy.
When I finally arrived in Fresno and checked into the Motel 6, my first order of business was another phone call to my friend Stan in San Diego. As had happened for the past three days, I was unable to leave him a message because his voice mailbox was full. Which seemed a little odd. Stan and I have been friends for almost 20 years, and he knew I was coming this weekend. I'd been promising a visit for about five years.
Anyhow, I called Eugene next, to warn him I might be taking him up on his offer of lodging for me and the car. Then I went to Vons to get a snack, came back to the room, watched a movie, and went to sleep.