May 17 – 23

The car repaired and a good night’s sleep behind us, we set out on the first of what would be three long days of driving, much of it along a route we’d not traveled before.  That first day would take over nine hours and land us in Cheyenne, Wyoming where would spend the night at the Best Western Plus Frontier Inn.  There would be little to report about during this drive, pretty much a straight shot of twenty-six hours on Interstate 80 all the way into the Bay area.  One bonus was we were able to cash in on our Best Western rewards and score two free nights of lodging as we made our way west.

We made a quick stop at an Arby’s along the way and enjoyed what we consumed; we need to remember their offerings in the future, a departure from standard fast-food fare.  After unloading the car at the Best Western we discovered that there was a happy hour in the breakfast room that included free nachos, hamburgers, and five-dollar beers.  After a long day on the road what more could one ask for than the relief of not having to search for a restaurant and climb back into the car to get there?

And so, we filled up and went to bed having knocked off the first of two long days of the three we’d be driving.  The next morning, we had one of those uniquely good breakfast experiences so rare in the world of generally adequate but unexciting offerings at the inns and motels of America.  Along with a non-meat version of Machaca scrambled eggs, there was another green chili-based sauce that went perfectly with the fresh biscuits that were served that day. 

It put us in good shape for the ten hours we’d again spend on the road before landing at the Best Western Elko in the town of the same name in Nevada.  A bit more motivated at dinner time than the day before, and it having been some time since our last taste of Mexican food, and, even better that it was within walking distance, we strolled a block or so down the road to Garibaldi’s Mexican Restaurant. 

We were rewarded with real deal margaritas and decent food, Joanna opting for the Chili Verde Burrito while I for once ate almost all of a very good tostada, having valiantly tried not to fill up on chips and salsa.  Knowing we had a somewhat shorter day’s drive ahead of us the next day, we sat back and split a second margarita, as refreshing a drink as one can get when the mood is right.

Our last day on the road would take us about eight hours, still a long day by any standards but made shorter knowing we’d get to see Jessica, Kris, and Gemma.  We cleared Reno by noontime, Sacramento a couple hours later and then found ourselves on that familiar stretch of the I-80 heading west past Vacaville, Vallejo, across the Carquinez/Alfred Zampa Memorial Bridge and through the very familiar east bay towns of Ell Cerrito, Albany, Berkeley, and Emeryville, soon arriving at the apartment just south of downtown Oakland. 

It would be a low-key weekend with just a couple of outings starting with our usual foray to the Oakland Farmers Market to pick up supplies for dinner Friday night and on Saturday a visit to Gemma’s favorite brewery, Line 51. 

The main appeal of this place for a toddler is the old city bus they can climb into and hop onto the driver’s seat, followed closely by an array of hot dogs, which get deconstructed during consumption, bun slathered in ketchup first, then the dog to follow. 

The beer here is always top notch and if one is lucky, a football or baseball game is showing on the displays to provide some level of distraction.  We finished up at Line 51 and made one more stop on the way home at Tiger’s Tap Room, which we’d not been to in quite some time.  Featuring a small but excellently curated selection on tap, we enjoyed one quick beer apiece as we were advised by the barkeeper that since they didn’t serve food, we couldn’t bring Little G inside.  I savored a North Coast Old Rasputin Nitro, a nearly perfect beer and one that makes me think of its hometown of Fort Bragg every time I drink some version of it. 

Sunday morning, I headed out for a bike ride on a familiar route, out of Oakland on 14^th Street to Mandela Parkway and then north onto Horton Street through Emeryville and into Berkeley taking different streets each time as one dead ends and jogs into another.  Once you cross the northern boundary of Berkeley at Solano Avenue, you wind through Albany until you can hook up with the Ohlone Greenway.

One then turns left at its crossing with the Richmond Greenway Trail which runs straight west into the town of that name, where I head to the bay for the return on the San Francisco Bay Trail.  It’s an easy 24-mile loop that one never gets tired of, just enough of a workout to justify getting the bike out of the storage room. 

Later that day friends Kim and Kourosh and their little boy Kian came for dinner at the apartment, a BBQ up on the roof.  This would end up being our last time doing so as the kids have purchased a house in Oakland about five miles away.  The memories we’ve accrued here will not soon be forgotten, a history of Jessica and Kris and their journey through young adulthood that gets us to Little G and a great new house.  We’ll miss that seventh-floor roof and the good times it brought us, but know in our hearts that more good times, and memories, are just around the corner. 

Links

Best Western Plus Frontier Inn: https://www.bestwestern.com/en_US/book/hotels-in-cheyenne/best-western-plus-frontier-inn/propertyCode.51072.html

Best Western Elko: https://www.bestwestern.com/en_US/book/hotel-rooms.29083.html?iata=00171880&ssob=BLBWI0004G&cid=BLBWI0004G:google:gmb:29083

Garibaldi’s: http://garibaldiselko.com/

Alfred Zampa Memorial Bridge: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carquinez_Bridge

Line 51: https://line51beer.com/

Tiger’s Tap Room: https://www.tigerstaproom.com/