Once the boys were settled I put a bag on the GSD and put it outside. Then I collected equipment and food – the total was 66 pounds. When I was done packing up the bike I realized I still needed to go to the store.
We to Valencia and down Market. It was initially hard on market but the green lanes were good and the boys were really fast on their bikes. I sometimes rode on the street while they were on the sidewalk. As we were nearing fifth I had the boys ride on the sidewalk. That was really hard but it seemed a bit safer. The city had blocked off the BART escalators so the path was really narrow. Around first Street I had them come back out onto the roadway.
My concerns over missing the ferry were quickly dispelled when we discovered that the boat to Larkspur was late. There were six additions to our crew for this leg and they were all on the pier when we boarded. Once the bikes were situated, we all went on the deck and took pictures.
When it was time to disembark the attendant said that they would have us roll off downstairs. I led the boys to the landing and everyone followed. Once there I got Starbucks and everyone else got a sandwich. I looked for a way to get things at the supermarket but knew I would have to split with the group. However when I met up with everyone again there were four additions who let me know that they had gone to the supermarket for us.
The boys played at the playground. I was amazed that they both climbed on the big log because they had trouble doing when they visited previously in July. When we left I led the way to Cal Park Tunnel. The ride up Anderson was OK but the transit center was terrible. I yelled at the boys the whole time for directions. I also noted that the climb before Las Gallinas was hard for them. They both lagged and lead there but in the end had to walk to the top.
From there the descent was hard for the boys and the other members of the group really helped. At Merrydale and N San Pedro Road, some of us lost the group but we shepherded the boys under the freeway before riding in the lane all the way to the 7-Eleven at Meadow drive. It was hard because all the motorists wanted to pass us.
At 7-Eleven we rested and I tried to address my kid’s demands for toys and candy. I did my best to minimize their demands but it only made things worse.
When we continued, we found a secondary street to follow and after that and it was great. We managed to get to China Camp Campground pretty quickly. One of our group was waiting for us when we got to there. We found a good spot to put our tent up and the boys did a lot to set it up. We had to do each step one at a time. I got the table set up and dinner prepared.
Sometimes I don’t get any rest but I did have a beer. Beyond a few basic problems, we were able to set up camp fine.
Near bedtime a few people we knew turned out to be in a nearby campsite. One of our group made Frito pie and I made the boys Ramen. I gave them chocolate milk before bed. The group really helped. I had fun sitting around the fire and some of the group went next-door with to say hi. I chased raccoons around until everyone went to sleep.
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.
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