A Place called Inkwells

On July 10, 2021, I wrote that I had thought I’d leave the bike in the back of the hotel but Millennium Park was too far so I got it out anyway. I stopped at the liquor store and then the park was mostly empty - it was literally the hottest day of the year..

The boys found some fun but then an impromptu birthday party showed up - parents with young children like my boys and I. I picked up a few more cans at the wine shop on Sir Francis Drake. I noted that the playground was just like the one in Santa Barbara downtown.

The boys followed the kids around and I chatted lightly with the partygoers. I helped the boys climb on top of the nearby dugout and chased them a bit. As the people started leaving I chatted a bit more. One guy had an e-cargo bike - a Benno. I took the boys to the pizzeria and then Roberson Park where we got ice cream. We then wandered over to City Hall Park.

Back at the hotel, I read the boys story and once they had gone to sleep, I stayed up late. I had been having a hard time because of the sun and heat.

In the morning the boys were really energetic. I took my time getting up and ready. Once we were packed, we headed to a nearby coffee shop and listened to jazz. It was lively and the boys drank their apple juice enthusiastically.

We stopped at the liquor store on the way out of town and later made a short stop at Yolanda station. Then we got more food at the Fairfax Market. I noted that things were good up to then. The turns of through Fairfax were also OK.

I stopped at White Hill Elementary and took pictures and sent a tweet. The climb was easy enough but at the Hunter Creek bridge I had trouble and the boys became displeased at my having them walk along a narrow section. However they still were OK with the climb.

The next leg was a downhill and intense climb with a bit of sand. I almost lost traction but I climbed all the way to the top of White Hill with no real problem. Some mountain bike rider was behind me rooting for me the whole way!

There were Cyclists at the top and they seemed rather impressed with us. I had the boys stand in the shade. The downhill to Whittaker involved hot wind and that put us out. I bought ice cream at the store.

We went in three times: ice cream, napkins and snacks. The last time I knocked one of the boys shoes off accidentally and that set a hard 20 minutes in motion. The whole episode was emotionally draining. After trying to negotiate with them to stop being unhappy, I just put them on the bike and took them to a shadier cooler spot – they were screaming the entire time. Then I fed them their M&Ms and tried to be kind. I was not happy.

From there I gave upon placating them and set out to traverse the San Geronimo Valley. When they calmed down from the sun and trauma, I looked back to discover that they had fallen asleep on the bike. I found this to be the hardest leg of the trip. I stopped a couple of times to get them to wake up.

As it was one of the hottest days of the year for Marin and I had the children out in the hot air and sun, it seemed like it may have been inevitable to have a lot of trouble. The hardest leg was in the town of Lagunitas - immediately next to the park where we planned to camp. I got the boys awake and ordered sandwiches. I then found a small picnic table.

From there we got back on the highway - there was still plenty of sunlight in the day. We took our time on the turns along the boulevard and found our way to the Cross Marin Trail. I had been nervous about getting a site at Samuel P Taylor but the ride was really great. I discovered that people swim at a place called Inkwells. However I just kept on going.

I got a site really easily and then we set up the tent and organized. Eventually I had to rest so I offered the boys a sandwich. Unfortunately they rejected it. When I realized I had no recourse it made me sad. I texted friends and family. My dad had been texting stuff to me around then so I sent him a response.

I snapped out of my sadness when we visited Tocaloma. I got a photo but my phone died – I didn’t have a charger for my spare battery but the battery was full.

I rode back quickly. The bike campsite was full of characters then and we all shared stories and experiences. One couple suggested to one of the others who was headed to half Moon Bay that they ride together.

I made ramen and the boys ate some. I also cleaned up and tidied while talking to the other campers. Another person had gone to sleep as the sun was setting and eventually the others did too.

The boys crawled into their sleeping bags as soon as they had a chance. I got them dressed and as the light started to dim it was time to write and go to bed for me too.

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.

We Rode to San Anselmo

On July 9, 2021, I wrote that after I got home and gave the boys the wind down I sat around dreading the trip I was planning to Marin. Unlike the trip to Folsom, I had no support and no set itinerary. In the end I just went to bed after a short time alone.

In the morning of the day that I wrote this I was up at 7:45 and miraculously had enough time to get packed and the kids dressed and fed. I skipped making coffee but I did toss the garbage.

The ride to the ferry building was easy. Bluebottle did not really help – I wasn’t able to get my coffee before it was time to board. The terminal was different so I had to unpack and carry the bike up to the deck.

At the landing when we were loaded I went to Starbucks and we hung out in the play area. The boys and I stopped at the ferry terminal to confirm the schedule for when we were going back.I sent messages to friends and then we went to New Wheel to fill my tires. Then we went to a supermarket to get some sunglasses and a few other things.

When we were ready, we rode to San Anselmo and checked in to the hotel there. By the time I finished writing, the boys were being crazy in our room and we needed to visit a park.

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.

Railtown

On June 27, 2021, I wrote that the morning I wrote this I was up early. When the boys were finally up, we ate and I started packing. Later when my sisters’ families finished up, I was parked in the way so had to go quickly.

I drove to dads mountain cabin to get him. I also had to do some chores. My sisters arrived right after me. We were all distracted by the state of the house. I went through a big pile of material by the door.

We all left and I brought the boys to Rail Town in Jamestown. Dad sat in the car listening to the Giants and A’s game. We saw a Hetch Hetchy utility car and witnessed the train going out. We also saw it coming in later.

The drive to the city was boring but I did see a path near Tracy, one near Mills college that I liked. I unloaded and made dinner after unpacking.

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.

Golf with The Boys

On June 26, 2021, I wrote that that morning I woke up and got the kids dressed faster than previously. They went downstairs and started harassing their cousins but I managed to keep them from doing it too much.

I made them cereal and bad coffee after toast and eggs. A short while later my older sister and I made a plan to go to Twain Harte. On the way I told her about my life and made a quick call to dad. When she dropped us off and returned to the lake with my nieces. My brothers-in-law had taken my nephews to the river.

I had a cup of coffee and brought the boys to the pool. We spent most of the pools business hours swimming. Just like the day before, I enjoyed the people watching. Though they initially seemed averse to doing so, the boys got in pretty quickly and they both showed me how good they were at swimming.

Dad showed up a few hours later. I let the boys have one more quick swim and the four of us went to the ice cream shop and I took the kids to the playground until my older sister showed up. My younger sister said dad had pooped out, got dinner alone. I also learned that he had gone home without me and had left me the car.

Eight of us played mini golf with us then. It was a really cute experience because we had to let everyone else play through. When the game was over my older sister sat in the fourth seat in dad’s car and the boys fell asleep as we headed back to Cold Springs where my younger sister’s husband had prepared a barbecue dinner.

One of my nieces had tried to help me offer food to the boys who were crabby. Later I started winding down. While everyone else played trivia or cards. We had fun. I started drinking orange juice. We watched anchorman.

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.

Going to Cleo's Bath

In the morning of June 25, 2021, the boys checked on me before waking one of their cousins up. I spent some time gathering stuff together - clothes etc. I wanted to get them fed and dressed. By the time I had succeeded one of my brothers-in-law had started bacon and eggs.

I ate and tried to save some for the boys but they had had a bagel and a full bowl of cereal by then. My father was on his way to the rental from his mountain house by 11 so I prepared a bag for the days trip to the lake.

The boys were playing battleship. My older sister had a splitting headache. I noted to my younger sister that I needed to go shopping and she told me to go fast – she also told me to get her a hat.

I managed to be ready by 11:15 and got the boys out the door. They were displeased that my younger sister and her husband were not coming and wanted to watch baseball with their cousin. However, they had gotten into dad’s car by the time I got everything outside.

At the lake the boys opted to stay in the car with dad. It was not terribly hot. I bought snacks and sunglasses - hats for my younger sister and I. I bought stuff at the sports shop. I also introduced my older sister to a neighbor of dad’s mountain house and the woman who ran the coffee shop, when they happened to be nearby.

At the boat dock my younger sister was nearly ready to get us a pontoon boat. Ten of us got on the boat while dad was parking. Unfortunately, dad never showed up. My older sister said he likely went home because he never likes getting on boats. We went to the lake’s inflow and we looked for a dock. We saw the dam.

A short while later, a resort worker came out on a motor boat to tell us dad was waiting at the dock and so we went out to pick him up. My older sister’s husband found the dock near the lake inflow then. My niece and I took the boys up to the bridge on the river. We saw some hikers going to Cleo’s bath - a high mountain pool nearby. I took a dip with the boys in the river. They loved it. I noted that getting out there was a real hike.

When we got back to the dock my sisters and the niblings were all there. We all hung out on the point near the dock until it was time to go. There had been a bit of thunder and the resort told us we couldn’t be on the lake in the event of lightning.

We headed back and during the transition to the car, as I prepped the boys, we saw the hikers on their way back from Cleo’s bath. Dad drove us to my sister’s rented cabin 25 minutes away.

When we got there the boys played battleship and we had ribs. My nephew had prepared them. I gave the boys s’more‘s and a kinder egg after that. I tried to get them interested in bed and started winding down. One of the niblings read them a book. Once they were asleep we watched Sherlock Holmes.

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.

The Cold Springs House

June 24, 2021, I wrote that I had had trouble sleeping. The sun was blazing through the window and I had to adjust the curtains. The boys got up and snuggled and then became crazy everywhere in the house. Dad made coffee.

I made the boys Cheerios, tidied and cleaned the counter and stove. I did dishes and eventually dad started to leave for milk and I insisted we all go together. We stopped at the local cafe and the gas station (all of which I remembered well from childhood and college). Then we made a plan to bring the boys to the pool. I also had a brief phone call with my younger sister who would be arriving later that day.

We returned to the cabin. Dad called his cousin and I cleaned a lot. The boys got into trouble almost continuously.

When our stuff was more or less packed and I had a bag for town, we got the boys into the car and went to the pool. Dad went to the supermarket and I got a coffee. Then I took the boys to the pool and stayed there for a couple of hours. They didn’t want to do much swimming but I eventually got them to jump off the edge and do some paddling. They got more brave eventually.

Dad came and got us and we I got the boys some candy. We went to the cabin and I started packing for the Cold Springs house my younger sister had rented. I noted that she had nearly arrived.

I drove dad, the boys and I the pizza place in Cold Springs then. It was the first time I ate in a restaurant in about 1 1/2 years. I got a salad and had a piece of pizza. I was so happy with how the boys were behaving that I got them Pepsi. Dad gave them fries. One of the boys asked for chips which it turned out were actually on the menu and called home fries.

The boys made a mess but so did my niece. Dad dropped us off at the rental and went back to his house. My niece read paw patrol to the boys. I made our room and wound down before sitting outside with my brother-in-law and older sister and her family. I noted that her daughter would be arriving the next day with her best friend.

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.