My son and his family leave for San Francisco later this afternoon.  My wife and I will join them later this week.  “San Francisco here we come!”  I probably worry more about their travel than my own – I think this is just the parental instinct.   They are renting a car and driving down to Yosemite Park, whereas we’ll focus strictly on the city.  There is a tropical depression down in Florida in the area that they’re flying from and forest fires in California to worry about.  If they can maneuver around these challenges, it will be a memorable family vacation.

Most of my family vacations were to Florida.  My parents were maybe just a little more adventurous when they drove us through the Badlands and into Yellowstone Park.  I have yet to recreate that excursion, but would definitely like to see Old Faithful and the mud pots again on one of our retirement journeys.  I’ve not been to Yosemite, so my grand kids will see parts of the country that I’ve never experienced.  In fact, I would have never gotten to many areas in California if it weren’t for a college road trip.  As my dad once said of that trip: “Thank God there’s an Ocean.”  If not, there would have been nothing to stop us from continuing our drive West.  It was his car that got us there, and snow tires that brought us back.  I’ll write more on this later.

My son and his wife are going to see the group Green Day at the Oakland Coliseum.  It’s the same venue where I saw Led Zeppelin nearly 47 years ago.  There’s something about going to a concert far from home that makes it even more special.  We’ll watch the grand kids while they do this little side trip via BART.   We’ll visit the sea lions, ride the trolleys, eat chowder out of bread bowls, dine at the Rainforest Cafe, sample some Ghiradelli chocolate, maybe see Alcatraz, watch the Cubs play the Giants, take the ferry to Sausalito, and stroll through Fisherman’s Wharf.   All the touristy stuff!  My wife and I are hoping for our own little side trip, including dinner at French Laundry, but the best I could do was the waiting list.

On their way back from Yosemite and Sequoia, my son hopes to visit Monterey and the scenic coast line.  It’s one of my favorite areas of California to visit.  We’ll definitely miss seeing Big Sur, Pebblebrook, Carmel by the Sea, the Lone Pine, and Highway 101 on this trip, but I hope they have the time to see some of these beautiful landmarks.  I’ve dined at Clint Eastwood’s Boar’s Head restaurant in Carmel, had lunch by the 18th green on Pebblebrook, enjoyed a couple days at the Spa at Ventana, toured the Monterey Aquarium, and watched the Monterey Grand Prix.  We’ll get back to California coast numerous times during our retirement years, but I’m sure the kids will enjoy the cliff-side views of the Pacific Ocean on this trip.

While they get a head start on the California Adventure, I will continue my training for the Hood to Coast relay here in Oregon.  We have a team logistics meeting this afternoon, and in the next couple of days I plan to run some of the segments along the course.  I did about 35 hilly miles last week and plan to match that again this week.  I still have yet to conquer our hellish neighborhood hill, but have battled through most of the other smaller inclines.  Hills will always be my biggest concern, having grown up in the flat-lands of the Midwest.  I could practice on Filbert Street or 22nd Street in San Francisco, two of the steepest in the city, but I don’t want to “leave” my lungs and legs in San Francisco, along with my Heart.