to the east bay and back

Ahoy,

We drove up to the East Bay this weekend to visit RRS's family. We were also returning their car that he was borrowing because his old car was breaking down every month. Fine piece of mechanical invention that was. Traffic was breezy up until it was not. We crawled on the grapevine for a good half hour around an 18 wheeler that had tipped over onto its side. Never seen that before. We stopped off at the Tejon Ranch stop to get In 'n Out for dinner because we are just so health conscious. I drove the latter end of the trip, and I will freely admit that there is nothing that scares me like pushing 90 on any road, no less roads that are dark and hilly. It also happend to be the night before his final project was due so once we got up there, he promptly chugged some espresso to stay up through the night.

While he blasted game time music with all the lights on, I rolled around in and out of sleep. I also got an excellent opportunity to read a significant chunk of my book that was due at the library on Monday. The following day, we had a late lunch with his family that also turned out to be a very late surprise birthday celebration for the RRS. Dinner took place at Picaro in San Francisco. The paella there was excellent that evening. Though I'd been there with the family once before, they had been there numerous times and noted that the paella was the best they've had there so far. We couldn't get enough of the bread and dipping sauce, that looked like a red pepper garlic aioli. The RRS had been falling asleep everywhere by this point, so we ended the night with ice cream and headed for bed.

The next day was father's day. Birthdays and father's day celebrations are a facet of American culture that my family has yet to adopt, so it's always strange to me when other folks make a hubbub of these things. My only acknowledgement of these things in the history of my life was when teachers forced us to make cards at school. The RRS and I began the day by hopping out to pick up some things from the grocery store, Peet's coffee to fuel his addiction, and doughnut holes for my addiction. We ate a late lunch at his house and got delivered to the megabus stop in West Oakland.

I'd ridden megabus tons of times while I lived on the East Coast, but only recently has megabus returned to California. We prepared snacks and entertainment for the 7 hour (!!!) ride back to LA. Never had I taken a megabus trip this long on the East Coast. Even when we drive, it takes 5-6 hours and I'm still dying. The trip went without incident. We stopped at a rest stop that had McDonald's, In 'n Out, and a bunch of other options, but those were the only ones I was interested in because I am just so health conscious. The bus driver was pretty cool and funny, and got us to LA safe and sound around midnight. Just in time for us to catch the LA Metro back to Culver City.

feverishly contianed,
jt