The Long and Winding Road

Destination: Crater Lake

We only left a few minutes late this morning. A few minutes late means that you can still travel under 100 on the freeway and make up the time before you arrive at your destination . The McDonalds at Suisun in this case.

Have you tried a McGriddle yet? You know that odd maple-syrup-intrudes-on-the-rest-of-your-breakfast taste? Let's just say that I'm the person that they were thinking of when they invented maple sausages and bacon. The fine folks at Mickey D's found a way to make this into an edible-on-the-go breakfast sandwich. Who says that the country who put a man on the moon is starting to lose it's edge?

As we were driving up the very familiar stretch of 680 I started to look at things with the eyes of a visitor. I was going to be in this mode for most of the trip and I might as well have started in my own back yard. What did I find? The fog billowing over the east bay hills into the early morning sunshine of the Tri Valley.

We bought a GPS for this trip. I never quite understood the need for these things for every day driving but I've had a change of heart. I like seeing the names of the side roads as they go by. On the road, you can make much better decisions about gas stops and meal choice.

Because I can never leave well enough alone when it comes to electronics, I made some slight customizations to the GPS unit. These, unlike others I have done, require no reverse engineering or chain loading of operating systems. Our vehicle marker, instead of the standard arrow is now a tank. Yes, a tank. The kind that rolls over and crushes mere civilian vehicles that manage to survive the pounding of it's main guns. Customization number two was to choose the voice of a an Australian lady whose voice makes her sound like a cross between Nicole Kidman and a librarian.

The GPS is not without it's quirks, however. When we hit the I-505 junction, I was pleasantly told by Karen (our GPS) to merge right onto "Oy Foive Hundred Foive." As we hit approached West Rim Drive, she gleefully told me (for a librarian) to turn right on to "West Rim Doctor." So you can feel free to cross "Date when machines become self aware" off your list of worries. If that date were coming any time soon we'd be safe because they'd die of embarrassment.

Highlights of the drip from Day 1:
1. A little place in the town of Mount Shasta called the Black Bear Diner. Good portions, good food, friendly local staff, and a stunning view of Mount Shasta.
2. Hearing the kids reaction to the scenery. Kids in the My Space generation are unfazed by alien abductions of their iPods. They regularly watch cartoons where sea creatures light campfires beneath the waves. They're a tough crowd. I'm happy to report that there were lots of oohs and ahhs as we drove by Lake Shasta, Mount Shasta and Pinnacles National Monument. The kids didn't let me down here.
3. Snow! As we were driving up to Crater Lake National Park, there was snow on the mountains, snow on the ground, snow in our campsite and snow on the dogs we saw walking. Okay, I made that last one up.

Little Quirks:
1. A crop duster out in a field next to the freeway flying under the power lines.
2. I love the auto program feature of the car radio. Hit a button and it finds the strongest ten stations and sets your radio. North of Redding, it only found five. At least they were predominantly rock and roll.