Do you know the way to.....

We hit the road once again last week, (1) to get out of the rain, (2) to see the Timbers clobber the San Jose Quakes, and (3) go over to Reno for a couple of nights. 2 out of 3 goals were realized! The weather was beautiful, but the Timbers failed to cooperate.

In the past, we have stopped briefly at Castle Crags State Park, but never went into the park for an actual visit. The park fee was $8, but because Tom gasped, the ranger only charged us $7. We took an hour or so and went up to a wonderful viewpoint. It was a ½ mile trail (we were told to be on the lookout for mountain lions and bears, but didn't see any) to an amazing viewpoint. On our way out, Tom gave the ranger the additional $1 – the view was worth it.

Castle Crags State Park.  The hike was well worth it to get this view

The I-5 drive is always enjoyable for us. How many times have we made this trek? Unknown.  Shasta was beautiful and the lake was full of water for the first time in years. Beautiful to see.

Mt. Shasta with actual snow on it.

It goes without saying that we stopped overnight in Corning, bought some olives and had a nice Mexican dinner on Cinco de Mayo.  When the kids were young we would drive 20 hours straight through to Huntington Beach.  Those days are gone forever.

Next morning, the plan was to go into San Jose but we had lots of time before check-in, so acting on Jan's last minute idea, we went around to 101 through San Rafael and across the Golden Gate Bridge. 

Sunday morning traffic jam on I-80.  At least the hills are green

They still haven't painted it gold.  Oh well.

It was a Saturday so we weren’t faced with bridge or freeway tolls which meant that our panic about how to pay them after seeing the "no cash accepted" signs was completely unnecessary (Update: Now we know.  We just got a bill in the mail for $7.50). We went this way in order to visit the Walt Disney Family Museum at the Presidio in San Francisco. It was meant to be because we got a parking spot right in front of the building. What a fantastic place, especially for baby boomers like us. So much history and so much detail.  

The view from our parking spot, how lucky can you get?

Everything Micky

World War II propaganda film posters

An old model of the park, including the burro ride, the bucket ride, and the jolly roger

There was a terrific display of all the great TV shows we used to watch as kids on Disneyland and the Wonderful World of Color! (although at the Dietz household in those days, it was still the wonderful world of Black and White). We found ourselves singing along:

Out of the night

When the full moon is bright

Comes a horseman known as Zorro

This bold renegade

Carves a Z with his blade

A Z that stands for Zorro

Davy Crockett, El Fago Baca, Texas John Slaughter; they were all there

I almost said “then on to San Jose!” but the fact is that traffic through the city meant that a 45 minute drive was at least an hour and a half, so we got there as best as we could and checked in. Gee, Sunday morning in the streets of San Francisco was much different for Detective Frank Bullit than it was for Tom and Jan.

Is that the market where Bullit bought his TV dinners?

Tailgating with the Timbers Army was a blast. We were new to the road game crowd, but felt welcome by all. We enjoyed our Maid Marion Cider and Milwaukie Cheese Popcorn while waiting to go into the stadium.

"We're the Timbers Army......who are you?

Security was tight as we were all marched to the gate and were frisked before being admitted to the stadium. What an experience – but that’s all I have to say about that.

The police escorted march to our first ever full pat down

Timbers Army seats at the top of  Avaya Stadium. That's us, center of the top row

Next morning, it was over the beautiful Sierras to Reno, staying at the Atlantis. Hey, they offered us a free night, so why not? They do have a great deli cafe for corned beef sandwiches – lunch/dinner, we call it Linner.  Tom got to shoot some craps at our favorite local's casino in Reno; The Bonanza.  While Tom was busy losing, Jan was busy winning on the slots.

Jan showing em who's boss

Not my best effort.  Won some of it back later on the table at The Nugget.

Our favorite watering hole in Reno

Then, because a visit to Reno isn’t complete without a martini at Roxy’s at the El Dorado, we did that.  We each had the Titanic Martini (a regular martini with three olives, one for each hour of the film).

Our drive home was great; we spotted one coyote, one bald eagle, two deer, and about 20 log trucks on the McCloud highway. Back home, and the rain was there waiting for us. Cheers.