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...

1/2/2016

On my rest days the sun shined but the air still nipped. The mornings had frosted over all the vehicles. All the while I relaxed in the warmth of a bed that cradled me. Of course we had to check out of the Hotel Petaluma and return to the Quality Inn. We checked on the show times for Star Wars while we were out but decided the best plan of attack was to see it in a theater on our route after the kids had returned to school. When we returned to the Quality Inn we tried to fire up our trailer to make some left over Indian food. The lights in the trailer sputtered while the stove refused to ignite. Our trailer batteries had decided their time was up. This meant that I would not experience another wonderful day of lounging...