Checkout at AQT was 11 AM. Pattie, my sewing buddy and I, had the good fortune of having hubbies who would be retrieving us directly, whereas most attendees were taking early morning airport shuttles to Reno, about an hour drive away.
Patty and I took advantage of the extra time to get some sewing done in the studio before checkout. I am not sure the cleaning staff appreciated our last ditch efforts to sew, but we were following the instructed rules to get every last minute of work in before packing up.
We said our parting goodbyes and set off for San Jose, through the Sierra Nevada mountains. I was excited to see Eric and his new house. We would be parking in his fenced-in back yard and were hoping TCB would be able to squeeze in through the tall garden gates. Eric and Van previously consulted with measurements, so Van was not worried. Eric was eager for us to see his new place.
As we drove immediately out of South Lake Tahoe, my excitement waned as we were faced with the devastation of recent fires that plagued this area only a few months prior.
We saw numerous signs throughout town thanking the firefighters. As we drove on, we understood why. One could draw a straight line along the border of charred stumps and sooty blankets of groundcover. The fire line stretched only feet away from some town roads and structures. I could only imagine how scary it must have been for the locals living there. South Lake Tahoe is a resort town, but there is a large full-time population living there as well. The city was barely spared.
Back in the summer, knowing the fires were happening, I was not sure if the workshop would go on. At that moment of our drive, I felt fortunate to be there. We both witnessed how lucky the town was to escape the devastation.
Riding on, we saw that many other areas that were not spared. Mountainside after mountainside, ridge after ridge, were decimated. The travel was slow while crews of forest workers dispersed along I50 were cleaning up the charred remains. Several times throughout the 50 miles of westward, single-lane travel, we were haulted 20 minutes at a time. This gave us an intimate view of the devastation.
There were vast sections of roadside covered in fire retardant. The pictures tell more of the story. It was a sobering portion of the ride to San Jose.
After 50 miles or so, the landscape turned from charred trees and structures to healthy and vibrant conifer forests, before we arrived into Sacramento, the capital of California. We stopped for errands and a quick visit to the Califoria Welcome Center three miles off the road, in a strip mall. (This seemed very California to me.) We picked up CA maps, information on wine country of Sonoma and Napa, along with other tidbits of travel info.
I was so excited to see Eric. We pulled up to a bright blue bungalow, surrounded by roses and fruit trees.
Eric did some rearranging of cars (he has a friend staying in the house until his apartment lease is up), Van squeezed TCB through, then thet both closed the gates. Perfect fit!
Even though is San Jose is more urban than suburban, with Eric's enclosed backyard and garage, we felt cut-off from the busy ongoings of downtown San Jose. His neighborhood is just outside the perimeter of those gentrified by the Silicon Valley economy.
I felt like I was on vacation from a-TCB-vacation! Our lodging would still be TCB, as Eric was still finishing up an apartment lease in Mountainview, CA, so his house was not furnished. No matter, as the covered pergola and our TCB chairs created the perfect outdoor California living room. The temperature was a mild 70 degrees with sunny skies. This was the Bay area in November.
We got an inside tour of Eric's 800 sqft. bungalo he purchased from Lena, the office manager at his employer of three years. I thought, "If Lena ran the office anything like she renonovated this 1920 style California bungalow, it is no surprise that the company had been so successful." (Awake Security was acquired by Arista Networks last year).
We were grateful to be there, to be with Eric, to meet his new housemate and to be in the warm California sunshine.
Eric was eager to make pizza outside on his patio with his portable pizza oven, a surprise gift from his company before the acquisition. It is heated with propane, sits on a tabletop and bakes a crispy pizza in three minutes or less.
Andrew, Eric's housemate, helped prepare the fixings. We all took a turn creating our pizza of choice. It was the perfect meal to end another perfect day on the road.
