1/10/2016

The itinerary of our trip had us veering inland. I would run past a little state college which was surrounded by trails, trees, and a sea breeze. The kids must have still been on break because there weren’t very many students on campus. I ran past lots of farmland and a couple of new communities which had popped up on reservation road. The smell of old crops lingered in the air. Some of the fields were preparing to reseed the ground. At least I enjoyed the clear skies. The roads were straightforward but there were plenty of curves.

My body paid the price for my hubris of the previous day. I should have known better than to run so speedily at the days end. I trotted lightly when I wasn’t running downhill...

1/8/2016

We spent a rainy day in the warmth of The Best Western All Suites in Santa Cruz. We listened to the patter of the rain hitting the roof. The staccato sound put me in a trance as I stared out the window. Water blurred my view from the window but it didn’t stop me from staring. I couldn’t help but think of the all the days I had been on the road. They were coming to an end. Question marks swirled around my head but I wasn’t worried. Crystal had often remarked that she experienced a melancholy feeling when she thought about the end of our trip. I didn’t see it that way. Every time I replied by saying, “The adventure isn’t ending. We are just beginning.”

The next morning the weather looked promising...

1/5/2016

I hesitated to leave the comforts of the Courtyard Marriott as my destination was a non-descript spot on the side of the street in the town of Los Gatos. Even though I only had a few hundred miles of running left before the end of the journey, I found it difficult to motivate myself to run. My breakfast consisted of a few donut holes but I had eaten tons of tofu the night before. The high protein and ample spice had fortified my muscles.

My muscles grew stronger once the blood began to pump through my body. The route was fairly straightforward. All the miles were city miles so there were plenty of stoplights. The surroundings were very similar to the communities in Southern California...