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.

Pictures of The Train

On May 13, 2022, I wrote that I walked to the coffee shop with my two boys. Then we went to 16th Street BART in preparation for our bike trip to Folsom Lake. In the station and on the train, I showed the boys pictures of building the Transbay tube. They followed the map and I pasted pictures to Twitter. At MacArthur we quietly boarded on the Emory go round. Then we went to the Amtrak station in Emeryville. There we retrieved our bicycles from the station agent and I got the boys re-packed. We took pictures of the train as it approached and once we were on board we found a four seater. I bought them some candy and a Coke. I also got myself some coffee. We had just passed through 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.

Mountain House

On May 7 I wrote that I was tempted to drink the keg the night before but I had a can in my bag so drank that instead and went to bed late.

In the morning of the day that I wrote this I woke at six and managed to get coffee after the café opened. I drank 2 cups and woke up before I paid my bill and packed my room to go. Then I rode to the tracks and started on my walk to Cloverdale along the NWPRR.

I went under the freeway, passed through a vineyard and walked an orchard path parallel to the tracks. I decided to walk for the most part, dragging my bike along. The going was hard.

As Mountain House separated from the track, the landscape became a bit wild but then I approached a couple houses as the road and tracks came back together. Most of the crossings were dead ends but they sometimes had stop signs. Some man at the red barn said hi from his truck.

After that all the crossings became locked gates, one of which I crossed near the last Mountain House Road access (near 17301). I happened upon a rattlesnake there and that really worried me. As the rails followed the river, I took a nameless dirt road on the track’s south side which was not on the map but is visible in the satellite imagery. It was clearly used by cattle and traversed the cliffs between the river and a mountain to the south, which doesn’t have a name but it is attached to the Forest Ranch property.

The path was useful but I ended up too far from the track so I crossed the large riverside field to the north to get back on the track. Here the track was blown out, overgrown and was difficult to impossible to traverse. There was a vineyard on one side at some point but it was inaccessible behind barbed wire and dense foliage. I could see workers in the field – the map indicated that they came in via a pontoon bridge.

I saw a second rattlesnake then. I was covered with bushes and leaves. I also was really nervous. However, from here I had only a short distance to Tunnel Nine. So, I pushed through despite the risk and the tunnel appeared almost immediately. I walked right through.

On the far side the track was way easy but this only compounded my worry about Tunnel Eight beneath Frog Woman Mountain. Amazingly, when I got there it was also easy and I made it through. For both tunnels, the bore made seeing light at the other end easier when viewed from the northern end.

From there I was able to Tweet again. I walked quickly to Commiskey Creek, where I had to back track because I went the wrong way crossing the river. The 101 turned out to be an OK bike ride. From Echo Valley Road, I rode up Geysers road to the RV park but sadly they had no water.

I ended the day at Pick’s Drive-in where I had a sandwich. After that I started writing at my hotel with plans to go to The Sawmill.

I copied this from my notebook on 050722.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.

Thatcher Hotel

On May 6, 2022, I wrote that that morning I was up at 6:30 and school drop off was really easy. I went straight home and send a few quick work emails before getting ready to go on a new adventure – this time to the town of Hopland in Mendocino County.

I shut the computer down and got a cup of coffee at my local cafe before boarding a Golden Gate Transit 101 bus to Santa Rosa. I had been worried about the transfer but it turned out just fine.

On the way to Mendocino County, I took photos of Preston and Frog Woman Mountain before arriving at Thatcher Hotel and checking in. The place was really nice. I logged into a work conference and sat through the whole thing in the lobby drinking coffee.

Later on I discovered the town closes really early. Both of the local restaurants turned me away at around 815. Thankfully I was able to have a snack at the hotel. I also did a little shoping at Hopland Farms.

After that I just hung out at the hotel bar. They were OK people but only the bartender was interesting. When the bar shut down and everyone went to bed the hotel lobby was mine for the rest 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.