Lost on County Roads

On Jun twenty-first I wrote that I left work on the seventeenth of June at 5 and was giddy all the way to the Airport.  The trip sucked.  I met my friend at Firewood and she had gotten us a meal.  We walked to the rental counter and I learned that my reservation was wrong.  I made a new one and left my friend alone to get the car.  We got lost on the way out.  She adjusted the mirrors while we sat in traffic in SF and we marveled at the Bay Bridge on the way out of the city.

The ride got easy near Vallejo and my friend put her embroidery aside when it got dark.  She noted that the Nut Tree sign had disappeared finally.  I took a wrong turn in Sac but the 99 got us where we were going.  Ikeda’s was closed so we got gas.  The drive over the pass was only a problem in a couple of places and we followed a hot rod into Reno.  My friend guided me to the Peppermill where I had a ton of trouble finding my father who had my room key at the Atlantis.  I was asleep at one.

In the morning of the eighteenth I was up around nine and I was concerned that the wedding party would start their festivities without us.  However, a few texts later I had made plans with my brother and his wife, the Oregonians, to have breakfast near the Truckee River.  Dad picked us up and we took 395 to 2^nd Street.  We made it to Daughter’s with just enough time to catch breakfast.  My friend and dad got to know each other and we were eating when the Oregonians had arrived.  My friend really got along with my sister-in-law.

Dad had to leave to get mom so the rest of us visited the Hub on the Riverwalk.  There we were surprised to find a former Blue Bottle employee that my friend knew—she was thrilled.  Another barista gave us a list of cool shops to visit in Reno.  We walked the river for a bit then and afterwards the Oregonians drove us to the hotel.

We were ready for the wedding a short time later and took a cab to the Peppermill.  My friend and I went with mom and dad to the Chism house.  When we arrived I noted that the party had barely begun.  We sat near the pond drinking Paddies while the bride and groom took pictures.  It was interesting to see my friend interact with the family.  We went up to meet the groom’s men and hung out in the Chism house for a bit.

We moved between the house and pond for a bit but eventually ended up taking family pictures.  My brother-in-law showed up around this point with the boys.  He had had some problems up to that point and had had to take a cab.

The wedding was great.  When mom came in dad sat with her and my niece was the flower girl.  The bride’s daughter—my other niece—read a poem.  We went to the tents after that and I sat next to mom and my friend sat next to the Oregonian’s.  When we were finished eating we stacked the plates and the Groom—now also my brother-in-law—went off to take pictures with my older sister—his wife.

Later the DJ had the matron of honor and the kids make little speeches.  We had cake after that and watched the flower toss.  We were going to try dancing but it was line dancing and that wasn’t cool really.  The Oregonians left then and so my friend and I left with the parents.  Dad put gas in the car and mom took a wrong turn on Plumb.  My friend had to guide my mother back to the Peppermill.  We took a cab to the Atlantis.

In the morning of the nineteenth my friend and I met the family at the Peppermill for the buffet.  There we made our final goodbyes to my sister and the Oregonians drove us back to the Hub.  They had parked a distance from the Peppermill for their dog.  We sat there sipping coffee and the pooch ran around.  Then they said bye a little later and we made plans with the barrista for later.

We then followed the river to Sierra Street and passed the Loving Cup on our way to the boutiques and thrift stores we were looking for.  By the time we had passed through Junkee and the Art Mall I we had purchased two hats and a mirrored tray.  We walked to Center Street then and took the bus to the transit mall and then took another one to the river where we soaked our feet.  After that we sat had cocktails and pizza at the Jungle until our barista friend got off of work.

We then walked up to meet her at Old Granite and have tapas.  They were doing a lot of catch up there.  We decided to have a meal then and walked over to Grateful Gardens, which we had passed earlier in the day.  We decided that the food was alright.  I also thought our barista friend was really nice.  We had drinks with her at Loving Cup and a while later said bye.  I was asleep by 11.

I was up at 930 in the morning of the twentieth and we met my parents at the Purple Parrot for breakfast.  After that mom indicated that they would go to Donner Lake.  I threw the bags in the car on the way out and then ran over to their car to say bye.

We had and alright drive on the new 580 to Carson City and Incline Village along the 50.  There was a ton of traffic in Stateline.  We stopped in South Lake and I got my feet wet and then we got gas.  After that we went to a grill in Myers.  The drive over the pass was really fun.  We got lost on county roads and had beverages in Sutter Creek.

We had checked into the Imperial Hotel in Amador City and were having cocktails around 6 when my buddy showed up with his fiancé us.  We went up to the balcony to watch the block party that was going on below.  My buddy told us that his firm had moved into a renovated building on the city’s handsome new bridge.  Looking up the road we could see his cousin’s family approaching.  We waved at her and she came up to see us.  I was really happy to see them.

All seven of us went to the farmer’s market and the burger joint after that.  I bought my friend flowers.  We also got some wine at a tasting shop.  After my buddy’s cousin left with her son and hubby the four of us tasted wine and met the mayor of the city.  My friend bought us a bottle of wine and we sat on a porch and talked.  My buddy’s fiancé disclosed the proposed location for their wedding and we were all excited.  Later we got cocktails at the hotel.  I was in bed at around 11.

On the morning of the day that I wrote this I was awake at 730 and my friend and I had breakfast at eight in the dining room—which we had all to ourselves.  My buddy told us to come up to his place farmhouse at the city’s edge.  We packed the car and walked the three blocks uphill and when we arrived we discovered that they were installing a new sink.  The ladies walked around and my buddy and I talked for a while.  We saw his cousin too.  When we said bye we visited the local Victorian store and my friend wanted to buy everything.

We got in the car and drove to Davis and had lunch.  My buddy and I had discussed the pros and cons of incorporation and that was a topic of conversation during the drive too.  I am under the impression that it may be useful for providing certain needed basics like healthcare and supplementary income.  We also discussed art documentation over lunch.  When we headed out on the 113 I discovered that the 80 had a lot of traffic all the way to Carquinez.  After that the drive was a bit safer.  Once I arrived at my friend’s place I replaced the bags with my bike and headed home.

This is an occasional series chronicling my life. This Notebook Analysis series is meant to be contemporaneous piece developed as an agglomeration of my notebook pages. In each of these posts I used my notes to develop my recent thoughts.