Back Home! (30 September, 1999)

On the morning of the 30th, I jumped into a cab in Paris at about 10:30AM after coffee at Nono's place, jumped on the big bird home and arrived in San Francisco at about 4PM the same day. (You get that day back that you gave up when you get on a plane to Europe). As Mom and I drove away from SFO and headed toward the Bay Bridge, the Giants were playing their last game at Candlestick. It was the final home game of the year, and we actually got to listen to the post-game festivities while we watched the helicopter fly in and take home plate to the new spot downtown at Pacific Bell Park, and the helicopter just got there as we were getting off of 280 at 4th Street. As all this was happening I realized an interesting thing: The day Liz drove me to the airport, April 8th, was the Giants first home game of the year, and we drove by during the game. So, both the day I left and the day I got back, were the first AND last regular season Giants games at the 'Stick, respectively. And, the games were in progress while I was either on my way to or from the airport. I really didn't plan it that way. It was a good day. My two favorite cities in the world, Paris and San Francisco in the same day, and both in the daylight! When Mom picked me up at SFO and I told her the first thing I needed to do was have a beer or two at Gordon Biersch on the Embarcadero. Beer was one of the things I missed the most, especially a real good micro-brewery-type beer. France is great and all, but hurtin' in the beer department. When you're used to Gordon Biersch, Sierra Nevada, Anchor Steam, or a number of other awesome hand-crafted beers from smaller brewers, the watery beers from France just don't cut it. They make it up in the wine department, though. We finished our beers and a sandwich and got in the car and headed towards Columbia, CA where Mom lives. It's hard to explain, but even driving is fun when you haven't done much of it in the last 6 months or so. We got about half way and then at about 9 o'clock I needed Mom to drive as the long day started to get to me (to me it was 6 AM.) I stayed awake, however, and when we got home I continued my indulgence into the simple things of California life that I had missed: The 10-O'clock News on KTVU Channel 2, and surfing between David Letterman and the Tonight Show with Jay Leno. (I've always preferred Dave over Leno, but I had to see as much of the two as possible...) I EVEN made it to Conan O'Brian! That's a great show too! Baseball and football, and various other things that I had gotten used to but maybe had taken for granted I was eagerly looking forward to partaking of. The weekend was great as Nick and Mom and I barbecued on the deck and we drank some of those fine beers I had missed. After the weekend I made my way towards the Bay Area, with a stop at Robbie's house to say hi to the Day's and watch some of the Raiders game. I then headed for Don's house in Campbell which I would be calling home for awhile. That week I got some things out of storage and set up my space at Don's. Don is an old and dear friend with whom I've lived off and on for the past seven years. We first lived together in Los Gatos in 1993 when I answered an ad in the Pot Pourri for a room in a house. I had just returned to Kinko's after a teaching assignment in Columbia. We lived together there for a couple of years before I headed to San Francisco to take the management job there. A couple of years later we rented a place together in Alameda for about a year and a half. Now we're back again here in Campbell where Don is giving me some space in his house. Thanks Don! I'm starting to get used to spending dollars again, and figuring out tips at restaurants. Being back is great, especially seeing all the people I've missed for 6 months. I definitely wasn't tired of Paris, I had just been wanting to see home and friends again. I look back on this trip with great joy and will always have awesome memories and longtime friends. Many of the people I know now in Paris I'll definitely be visiting again and staying in touch with. Until I get back, I'll be here in California working on my new life here. Road Trip: One thing I had long been wanting to do, even before I left for France was take a long road trip to Utah and back. My sister lives in Reno, and I have an old college roommate that lives in Salt Lake City with his wife and son. I like the drive and had been wanting to see my sister and her family, so off I went. Some big images from the trip. My second day out I decided to head over to Lake Tahoe. I drove through Incline Village which is on the Nevada side of the northern end of the Lake. For those unfamiliar with the area, Lake Tahoe sits smack-dab on the border, with the west side of the lake residing in California and the east side in Nevada. I lived in Incline Village for two grueling winters with Mom, Dad and Robbie until we high-tailed it out of there and moved to Tuolumne County in California. I still like to visit the old town once in awhile. It's beautiful, right on the Lake, and Hyatt Lake Tahoe is a great place to stay for those ski trips. This is a view of the Lake and Incline Village from Mt. Rose Highway which runs over the mountains from Incline to Reno. This is the view of Emerald Bay which is at the south end of the Lake on the California side. I don't know the whole story, but there's this cool little castle-like building on the little island out in the bay. I think it was supposedly built by some Viking types a hell of a long time ago. Crossing the state of Nevada on I 80 gives you miles and miles of beautiful scenery and wide open road. The weather was nice and it was mostly sunny all the way. After you make your way across the state, Wendover is the last city in Nevada before you cross into Utah heading east on Interstate 80. This is a shot of one the vast salt flats that cover much of the terrain between Wendover and Salt Lake City. On the way home I stopped in Elko, Nevada to watch the final game of the world series and stay overnight. It's the other biggest little city in the middle of nowhere. The next day I made my way across the rest of the state of Nevada, and ventured into California by way of Highway 395. This is Lake Topaz which sits right at the border of California. The view is looking south as I head for Sonora Pass, the most beautiful, scenic way to get across the Sierra Nevada Mountains. My wonderful little car that withstood the test of 1,400 miles in one week, overlooking Leavitt Meadows, just east of the pass. When I got to the top, there was a bit of snow left that had fallen a day or two before. Now it's back to the California life again as I search for gigs and internet work from my humble abode in Campbell, CA.

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