We made the 10-hour drive from Portland to San Francisco yesterday with a few air conditioning issues and considerable smoke. The area most affected by the recent fires was Redding, California. Up to that point, we were surrounded by beautiful blue skies, green pine forests, and views of towering Mount Shasta. We had driven this route before to visit my wife’s sister in Shingletown. However, just south of there, the sky turned dark from the smokey haze and the sun was an eerie red orb. We were also frustrated with the air conditioning that seemed to be failing. 

My wife had just put thousands of dollars into repairs on her sports car in preparation for this cross-country journey. We’ll be leaving the car at my son’s house near Venice, Florida and flying home. The thought of desert travel through California, Arizona, and Texas, let alone the Florida humidity,in a poorly air-conditioned car was unthinkable. We suffered for a few hours, plotting ways to get it fixed, before my wife discovered that she had inadvertently hit the fan-off switch. Suddenly, we had both financial relief and a welcome rush of cool air to ease our concerns. 

After an all-chocolate dinner of snacks, we arrived at the San Francisco Ritz Carlton – “Puttin’ on the Ritz.” It’s part of the Marriott Vacation Club. This is perhaps the finest suite we’ve ever stayed in, with an extra bedroom for her daughter and husband. It’s much more spacious than our apartment with full kitchen amenities, three baths, two huge tubs, two spacious showers, washer/dryer, walk-in closets, living room, three big-screen TV’s, and the all-important thick, fluffy towels. With dining out in this area limited to carry-out, we’ll cook our meals here.

My run this morning was on the bay-front, a pleasant change from the Portland downtown streets. Even my short scenic stint along the Willamette River back home has been blocked by construction this past week. There weren’t as many homeless along The Embarcadero and a lot less graffiti, but still a dead rat or two. I ran down to Oracle Stadium, home of the Giants, and back to write this Day One summary of our cross-country drive. Three days here and then off to our next stop in Cambria. Happy Trails to us!