End of The Road
December, 2007
Tuesday – December 4, 2007
Escondido, California
I’ve been delaying making my “final” entry on this latest journey of mine.
I’m thinking that maybe subconsciously when I post this one, it’s the signal that my fantastic adventure is really over. I don't really want it to be over, I suppose.
Of course it’s only over until the next one starts in less than a month now, but it’s sort of the end of a very meaningful and enjoyable experience.
When I left Pomona last Friday, it was pouring rain and all of my outside stuff was soaked. Putting away wet things, even if for just a relatively short drive, is never fun. You can’t help but track some water and dirt and mud into your place which is aggravating. The storage compartments get wet. The stuff you have to stow inside is wet....I put a bunch of stuff in the shower for temporary storage. It was pretty packed, actually.
And then loading up and securing your motorcycle in a rainstorm is yet another challenge.
The good news is that before I headed out on this trip I had some work done on my motorcycle. The motorcycle mechanic, Sean, is a great guy, a “real” trumpet player, and that repair process is a story unto itself that I won’t go into now. Sean also races and he’s a Safe Motorcycle Driving Instructor. He’s all about motorcycles.
So, after experiencing getting drenched to the bone every day I was in Miami last December while commuting via motorcycle from my RV Park to the Tennis Coach’s Conference I was speaking at, and knowing I was going North and expecting a lot of rain and wet weather on this trip, I was grousing to Sean about the lack of really good motorcycle rain gear.
“Get a set of Frog Togs,” he said.
“Huh?”
“Frog Tog’s. I guarantee they’ll keep you dry, they’re light weight, and they’re really cheap.”
So before I headed North I found myself a set of Frog Togs at a Cycle Gear store.
Leading to my point...
During the rain on my trip and while un-hooking and packing up in Pomona and then again while hooking up and unpacking here in Escondido in absolute downpours, I was, indeed, completely dry. Blessing to Frog Togs. First rain gear I’ve ever found that actually works perfectly.
Anyway, the drive down was forever. Left around 10:30 and because of the rain it was bumper-to-bumper the whole way. A 1 hour trip became 3.
Arrived safe and the manager and staff were glad to see me and welcome me back as I was glad to see them, too. They had to evacuate the place during the fires, but no damage was done.
Saturday started drying out, so I got everything outside for drying, but it really took until Sunday afternoon before most of the wet stuff was actually dry.
Sunday I had lunch with Vanessa and Blake....Pics Below. As you can imagine, it was great to see them both. If you go back to my first posting in early October, you’ll see Blake almost exactly 2 months ago when I was leaving. Look at him now. When I saw him in person I didn’t have the sense that he’d grown that much, but he seemed way, way older. That’s what struck me. Hello little boy. Goodbye little baby.
Great lunch, and I’ll get to spend a few days with them later this week and will get to see Chelsea, too.
(The Proud Mom.)
(The One Year Old.)
Vanessa asked me at lunch what I liked best about my trip and I had a hard time picking something. In fact I didn’t really pick anything. Each spot I visited had different good and bad parts about it. It’s kind of like life, huh? Most everywhere I went and stayed was thoroughly enjoyable to me with the good outweighing the bad by a long shot. The only exception was Sacramento which I really didn’t enjoy at all.
The Coast, Beaches, Ocean, Forests, Redwoods, Streams, Lakes, Rivers, Tennis Games, Matches, and Competitors, The Deep Bright Blue of the Daytime Sky, the Quantity and Brilliance of the Stars when you’re out in the country a bit, the Quiet...all of it is what I was looking for, what I was longing for, and what I found.
Picking one aspect that was better than another or one place that was the “best” is beyond my ability. Maybe later if I really stop to think about it and review it in retrospect I'll feel differently. But really, it's not a series of places and events. It’s one package. One trip. One adventure. One experience.
And it was a Great One.
Perhaps, though, if I were forced to pick something more important than anything else, more meaningful than anything else, more important than anything else, it would be having the opportunity to re-connect with old and dear friends – Diane and Greg in Santa Barbara, my dad’s best friend, Mike, in Monetcito, and, of course, Frank and Connie and some of their family in Bakersfield.
At the end of the day, trees are trees. But friends are...well...friends. Precious.
And then, of course, as Dorothy said after her fantastic adventure wound down, “Auntie Em, Auntie Em...There’s no place like home.”
Well, it wasn't really "home" she meant, of course. It was family. It was being in and among the unconditional love and the security and safety of your family. The most precious gift of all.
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