Through Yuba Gap

On June 12 I wrote that that morning I woke to my alarm but fell asleep. Dad woke and said he had to go. I directed the boys to get dressed thinking I’d leave them with Dad but they ended up leaving first. Downstairs we got coffee and my older sister picked us up outback. It became evident the train was three hours late. Dad was feeling under the weather.

Since checking or holding the bags was not practical we left them in the lobby with dad. My sister dropped us off at First and West Streets where we got Italian sodas. We walked around downtown a bit and picked up a paper for dad. Only one of the casinos had any. After that we we returned to find my father in the lobby. A short while later my sister and my nieces showed up.

The train was further delayed by a special short cargo train from California. When we got on board we were further delayed and we were not able to get several seats together so of course they boys were irritating all of the other passengers. I had a window seat and my father had a window seat on the opposite side of the car but in the row behind me. The boys sat next to him straddling the aisle. It was a total pain to barely be able to see them behind me.

Fortunately, we had relocated to the observation car by the time we made it to Truckee. Dad went back to his seat with one of the boys and once we got to the pass he came back and the three of us sat in the observation car through Yuba Gap. My more talkative son sat with some lady near my father while the other stayed with me in the observation car and ate M&Ms.

They switched with one another a couple of times. By American Canyon we were dozing a little so I took pictures of the spectacle of the canyon from my seat. By Colfax, the boys were irritating everyone in the train again but my neighbor went to the observation car so I ended up sitting next to them until they fell asleep. Once they woke up, we all sat together in the observation car drinking beverages through Sacramento and Davis when I started writing.

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.

Winfield Park

On June 11 I wrote that the night before I went to bed pretty easily. I noted that the boys had a hard time sleeping. I got a little extra sleep before they woke. I told them to buzz off twice but dad told me to get coffee so I headed downstairs to the lobby of the Hotel Casino Atlantis by 830. I brought dad coffee and drank it while the boys watched monster trucks on local Reno TV.

The boys left me alone but eventually demanded that I take them to the hotel arcade. I got a second cup of coffee when we went down there and then we went over to the convention center. The route was complicated but we found a place. One of the boys probably set off an internal alarm because he opened a restricted door. I noted when we came back through the same route there was a security guy who spoke directly to us saying that the arcade was in a certain direction. The arcade was OK. There was one moment where the other boy won 500 tickets and that made the “shopping spree” harder.

Later we went to the pool. We saw the girl from the spa on the way. I tweeted and the boys played. One of my boys, the more talkative one, spoke to everyone and I decided I needed to tell him to stop. We swam some laps and then went upstairs. We had been in the hotel a while when Dad stopped in on the way to watch the basketball game and have a sandwich in one of the lounges upstairs.

The boys and I left the hotel and took a bus up Virginia Boulevard to West and at First Street where we had sodas. Then we went to the playground at Winfield Park. We stopped by the Public House to make a reservation before going to a park on Stewart.

Later at Public House my older sister and I collected our father from the bus stop – he was late because the game had gone long. I noted that dinner was really good. My older sister’s family, the boys, Dad and I made eight of us. My nephew - who’s graduation we were celebrating - was nowhere to be found. My niece drove us back to the hotel at the end of the night.

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 Graduation

On June 10, 2022, I wrote that I wasn’t able to sleep until late and the boys beat each other up all night so I had a really hard time but it worked out. When I woke dad was on his way downstairs to the Atlantis Casino and took one of the boys with him. He had left the TV on and when they got back the boys basically jumped on me until I got out of bed. I went downstairs and had a coffee.

Later the boys badgered me endlessly about the arcade and the pool. I taught them about the arcade and then we went to the pool which was great. We just spent a lot of time enjoying it. I asked the girl at the spa about the bridge over Virginia Boulevard. I got some photos of stuff around the area. A short while later, after the boys and I had gone to the far side of Virginia to have a snack at a trashy diner, my brother showed up and we caught a bus to my nephew’s graduation from Reno High.

On the ride I discovered there was a brushfire on the west end of town and that slowed the bus considerably. It also put the boys to sleep because it was so hot outside. However, we made it soon enough and excitedly crowded into the auditorium and prepared for the graduation. Many of my older sister’s friends were there with family and in-laws. There were also a lot of my niece’s friends and my father who had somehow made it on his own.

By the time my nephew’s name was called, the boys had already demanded I find them popcorn so had to quit and go outside. My sister’s ex-husband – my nephew’s father – appeared then. He told me a sad story about his airhorn being confiscated because he used it when his son’s name was called.

When the giant crowd came out, I bailed on everyone because I was tired of my brother-in-law harassing me. I quickly found the bus back to the Atlantis and my brother miraculously got on at the last minute. He let us know that we had missed the all-family group photo.

He was distracted by the very important warriors game and quickly ditched for the restaurant as soon as we got to Atlantis. I tried to catch up – through the bridge over Virginia – but went to the room instead. One of my boys found a lava rock in the parking lot (along with mudstone).

Later, back downstairs, I let the boys sit with their cokes away from me and I chatted with my niece. I also tried to tax my father‘s drinks. I thought my nibblings’ friends were really nice. The girl from the spa came to the party - ironically she went to Reno High too. The boys had a good food selection but I thought that the risotto was terrible. I bonded with the party over it. Recounting the whole meal was not worth the effort but I got to know my brother-in-law’s family.

I put my boys to bed after the meal had ended and when I returned downstairs things were winding down. I tried to interest my nibblings in getting a beer but everyone was busy.

After everyone had said goodbye, I walked out to Virginia and had a beer at the place I had fond the night before, Jox.

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 Observation Car

On June 9, 2022, I wrote that I woke up at 5:30 and 630 to get ready for a train trip to Reno. I made the boys cereal and myself coffee. We were all packed so getting dressed was the only hard part. My father was pretty much waiting at the door when my younger sister showed up to drive us to our bus bridge. Getting into the car turned out tricky because I always think I’m forgetting something and my kids always need help with sweaters and shoes. However, once I had my bag and thermos, she made sure we were all packed in the car.

My sister mentioned I didn’t need to use the Amtrak bus bridge from Salesforce Tower but I had scheduled it due to miscommunication anyway. I realized I was blessed that she was so helpful. She even had boosters for the boys, who were super well-adjusted during the drive. They pointed out how their mom takes them to school on Buchanan and I take them on Octavia.

We found a great spot near 555 mission and my sister gave the boys hugs and said bye to us. My father and I thanked her before she drove away. When we got to the bus stop. I immediately made friends with a woman and her kid who would end up sitting near us on the train.

On the bus I put on my KN95 and the torture began. I managed the boys and dad was able to sit alone. The bus circled the tower on city streets and climbed up on to the bridge. The boys pointed at all the stuff they knew. I shared a video about the Bay Bridge with them. I also showed them the new railroad pedestrian crossing in Emeryville.

We set up at the station when we got off the bus. Dad got coffee and I took one of the boys across the street so I could get an espresso. The Coast Starlight came and went and then we boarded our Zephyr train. I tried to get the most forward set of seats.

It took time to get checked in but then we went to the Observation Car. The lady downstairs in the concession liked the boys. We sat until Benicia and then returned to Dad who seemed comfortable. He went to get a hotdog and we followed.

When we were done I found a window with a view and sat with one of the boys while Dad went back to his seat with the other. However, they didn’t stay together very long as that one somehow miraculously reappeared next to us. I told him that’s not OK because little kids aren’t allowed to be unaccompanied on the train. Ironically, I later had to give him a Band-Aid because of a minor cut he could not stop talking about.

I missed taking pictures of Sacramento because I had left the phone with Dad. So we had to go back and check on him. Later we ate another snack in the Observation Car and I teased the boys. As we climbed up the canyon to Soda Springs, we sat with the lady and her daughter who we had met on the bus. However, near Donner Pass, we were speaking a lot less as we focused on getting pictures.

I almost missed buying a last beer as we approached Truckee. Then I sat with dad and sleepy kids as we slowly approached Reno. I got them organized and everyone on the train said bye to the boys as we deboarded.

When my older sister picked us up at the station, she told me she was driving my older brother’s rental car - he was staying with her. She dropped us off at the Atlantis. Dad checked us in and I immediately took the boys to the pool.

When we were done my older sister returned and took all of us to her West Reno house where we ate pizza. Her mother-in-law was there along with my nibblings, brother-in-law and brother. We played corn hole and made plans for the weekend as my nephew was graduating from High School.

Later when it was time to go my older brother tried to smuggle the boys out – it seemed like the switcheroo. Back at the hotel I put the boys in bed.

I walked to Virginia and went looking for a beer.

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.

River Bend Park

On May 16 2022 I wrote that we woke up in Rancho Cordoba Area on our bike trip around seven. We went to eat at the hotel breakfast room. They had complementary waffles and cereal. We finished by 9 o’clock and stopped for coffee across the street by 11.

We rode to the path and had to stop a lot. At some point I decided to take a shortcut to Hagan Community Park because the bike path tended to meander too much and I was a bit overwhelmed by the way the boys were lagging.

The boys played in the playground at Hagan before we continued on to River Bend Park where we stopped for a snack. At this point I was getting nervous about the boy’s speed and their relative abilities but I decided to just take a chance and go. That the boys kept lagging far behind was not encouraging but I noticed when I got them in front it worked.

The bridge at River Bend Park was great. I got the boys up on the levees from there and due to the straight nature of the paths there was able to get them to move a bit faster. We stopped at Watt, Howe, Capitol freeway and Highway 160. We also stopped near the California Exposition Center.

Admittedly, our whole experience at this point was fueled by my anxiety over having tiny kids in the middle of sundrenched nowhere. I tweeted everything - including my excitement at seeing the west bound Amtrak Zephyr crossing the Sacramento around 330.

Later, when we stopped for a rest at the Blue Diamond Factory on D in Sacramento, I noted that pushing to get to the station had had exhausted the boys, and I assured them that we were nearly done. We rode the 14 blocks to the station then and I bought some Gatorade at a liquor store on 16th St.

When we boarded the 5pm train to the Bay Area, I did what I could to make them comfortable before getting them some refreshments.

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.

Granite Bay

On May 15 2022 I wrote that when my old college classmate showed up with his kids at our campsite at Beal’s Point, my brother-in-law was making delicious chicken tacos. Later we wound down for the night with everyone settling into their own tent. Then we walked around the lake parking lot talking about work.

In the morning of the day that I wrote this I woke up at five and six. I got a Claritin at seven from my sister and then I lobbied for coffee. After that I bot the boys up and broke the tent down. Then a few of us got ready to ride out towards Granite Bay. We met at the parking lot. I was riding a borrowed bike. He went out on the levees and all of the boys fell off of their bikes.

When we were back to the campground cleaned up and bandaged, we said bye to everyone. My sister had everyone sign a card for my birthday and mother’s day and we sent a picture they took to the boy’s mom.

Later I rode with the boys to Rainbow bridge. They were fine with the ride. I got them ice cream and had a coffee. Then we went through Mississippi bar until Nimbus Dam. I got us a room at the Hampton. We refreshed ourselves and did laundry.

After that we went to the spaghetti factory and ate in front of the Fort Brock Brewery. The ride over Hazel was hard but the bike pedestrian crossing was really nice. I let the boys watch HGTV until bedtime.

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.

Stop in Historic Town

On May 14, 2022, I wrote that I was with my boys at Sacramento Station. We missed a train because of the ticket machine. Then we had to lift the bikes inside. The ride was easy. Some lady sat next to me and she told me about how many bikes were allowed. The boys had to push the buttons on the doors.

The ride was OK. We got off at Iron Point and that weirded everyone out. We went to Dad‘s hotel where I got some Haribo gummy bears. I canceled his room because he was sick. Dad spoke to me on the phone. The ride to Safeway was hard because it was in the sun and uphill and the boys had to deal with a terribly build car oriented city infrastructure. The store was easy enough but it took too long.

We found a rail path and took Diggins Drive like normal. We had to stop in Historic Folsom to recharge with quesadilla and juice. The bridge was easy but we broke some rules. The climb was easy at first but the boys had to stop twice – they were upset. At the top we were ready to collapse.

My younger sister was already at site 34 and 32. I took 32. My older sister arrived as we were winding down. I fed the boys a sandwich and some Haribo gummy bears. The tent was up as my nephews started building their‘s. That night my boys went to sleep fine and I sat with my sisters after we ate. I only had to check on them twice. I sat with my sisters’ families until late and when nearly everyone went to bed I sat with my nephews until two in the morning.

In the morning of the day that I wrote this I woke up really early. My kids got up fine. We sat with my brother-in-law, who had made coffee. Later I took the boys off for our morning routine and then we had a meal with some cousins who live nearby. The boys played trucks in the sand in our site.

Later we all went up to the lake on our bikes. The view was really great even with the water so low. I swam with my boys. A college classmate stopped by with their 2 1/2 year old. When we finished we rode back to the campsite and I noted another college classmate was planning a visit.

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.