Waldo

Trouble Breathing
2003-12-02 04:30:07 (UTC)

OK, here's the vacation stuff!

Sorry, I was too tired last night, but here goes:

WEDNESDAY
We fill up on gas, cigarettes and caffeine and leave
Vegas
for the Bay Area. Vegas to Bakersfield was uneventful.
Shortly after Bakersfield, we spot a limo ahead of us --
the license plate says simply "Coleman." As we turn
onto
the I-5, Reg notices that the person in the back is very
short and dark. Could it have been? Could we have
been
following Gary Coleman? WhatchUtalkinbout Willis!
We'll
never know because we got caught behind traffic and
couldn't catch back up.

By the time we got the the 152 (the Haunted
Highway/Pacheco
Pass) it was dark so Reg recorded in case anything
weird
happened. (The time before last I came up to the Bay,
my
truck died unexpectedly on the highway, but it started
right back up). Nothing out of the ordinary this time. We
get to Gilroy and stop to eat. Hometown Buffet...yum!

We continue on through San Jose and arrive at my
sister's
house around 9PM. Reg gets to meet my sister, my
brother in
law Wayne, my nephew Bud and Byron, who lives with
them. We
chat for a bit, catch up on old times and then we retire
for the night.

THURSDAY
Holy crap! I wake up and I'm 28. Yes. Thanksgiving was
also
my birthday. Reg and I slept in until about noon. We
helped
my sister with a little bit of the preparations and Reg
met
my niece, Tiffany.

Slow movin until the crowds of other family show up. All
the usual suspects were there. Lin showed up. He told
me
that Tasha (his pseudo-daughter who Tina rented her
house
in LA to briefly) is now in Germany. Reg got to meet
Dwayne, Darrel, Wayne's mother and sister, Alicia and
a
score of other family members and kids who I can't
even
remember. But little Jazzmine stole the show. She's so
cute!

After a hefty Thanksgiving meal, Reg and I were
stricken
with the turkey fatigue and needed to take a walk. Saw a
bunch of really nice Fremont homes. It was cool. We
returned to the house and socialized for a few more
hours
until the crowds left. We collapsed on the bed and slept
like rocks....well, at least I did.

FRIDAY
Woke up hella early to take my family to the airport. They
were all going to Cabo San Lucas and Reg and I were
housesitting for them. Nothing out of the ordinary there,
except that I realized I don't like driving Wayne's car --
it shakes violently!

My cell phone charger had been stepped on the night
before
and I broke one of the prongs trying to move it back into
place, so Reg and I had to endure the mall on the
biggest
shopping day of the year to get a new charger so I could
use the phone. In the Sears store, the Xmas rush had
already claimed it's first casualty--an old woman who
had
to be led off on a stretcher.

After the mall fiasco, we showered and took off toward
SF.
Reg had never seen the city and it was cool being her
tour
guide. We crossed the Bay Bridge, went directly to
Chinatown, where Reg had a field day with the camera.
We
ate in a REALLY good reastaurant and did a little
shopping--
I got another sword!--and some scrolls for my wall.

From Chinatown, we went to Fisherman's Wharf and
Pier 39,
where I had intended to get us tour of Alcatraz, but it
was
so busy,it sold out until Sunday and the best we could
do
was take a cruise around Alcatraz and the Golden Gate
Bridge. It was really cool! Reg was scared of the boat at
first, but afterward, she thanked me for forcing her to go!

Once we got our land legs back we went to the Wharf
where I
got my beloved Sourdough Chowder Bowl. Reg ate a
croissant
and a brownie that made her drool. We drove the city a
little more and found Lombard Street, where we did the
whole "let's drive down the most crooked street in the
world" deal! It was fun, and Reg seemed to enjoy it.

From there, we went to the beach where I asked Tina to
marry me, which I thought would be either difficult or a
mood killer, but the reverse actually occurred. Having
Reg
there with me and knowing that she loved me made it
feel
like I could finally gain a sense of closure--at least
there. I'll never cry alone on that beach again! We
collected sand dollars as dusk set in.

Then we went to Haight/Ashbury where we did some
thrift
store shopping and we had a drink (AND
SMOKE--haha!) in a
really cool Irish bar. We also saw a couple hundred
bicyclists take over Haight Street in a political rally for
one of the city's candidates for mayor, which, was really
neat to see. I love how active that city is in its
surroundings. We left SF around 9 and returned to
Fremont
via the 101 and the San Mateo Bridge. Reg and I stuffed
ourself on leftover Thanksgiving food and called it a
night.


SATURDAY
We awoke fairly early (9:45 or so) and got ready for a
day
in the South Bay. First up: The Winchester Mystery
House,
which Reg had been dying to see. It was fun, as usual,
and
Reg took a lot of pictures. There was also a guy farting
during the whole tour, which was pretty funny--but
smelly!
Reg felt kinda weird in the seance room, whereas I felt
a
small chill in the dining room. In the lobby after the
tour, I found the Haunted Houses of California book I
wanted to borrow from Geoff, so I just bought it.

We left and drove down to the Santa Cruz area toward
the
Mystery Spot. We got lost a bit in the process, but the
people we asked for directions were all very nice! Once
there, we had to wait a bit, but Reg and I entertained
ourselves. On the tour, Reg's heartburn came up a bit
and
subsided after we were out of the Mystery
Spot...hmmm. Oh
yeah, in case you don't know what the Mystery Spot is,
it's
this area in the middle of the forest where a cabin sits
and everything there defies the natual laws of physics.
The
trees grow inward and you slants or leans increase
dramatically. Even on completely level surfaces, one
person
is taller than the other, but if you walk a foot or two in
any direction, you shrink. The "mystery" of the Mystery
Spot is best explained as an abnormal gravitational
pull.
There are a few other places in the world like it, but the
Santa Cruz one has become the most famous of them.

From there, we went to the Boardwalk in Santa Cruz,
which
was closing. It was kind of disheartening because it
was
almost dark and there were a lot more areas of Santa
Cruz I
wanted to show Reg in the daytime. We hung out at the
beach
for a bit. As we were walking back, Reg found a couple
of
Christian handbooks--you know, those ones they hand
out to
all the sinners. She was momentarily infatuated with
the
silliness of them, and I guess it kind of annoyed me.
We
has a small tiff, but it was over quickly.

Downtown Santa Cruz was bustling. I showed Reg the
Sentinel
building where I almost worked several years ago, but
had
to turn down due to taking out a work loan in Vegas (I'm
still bitter about that, but oh well). We did some window
shopping and ate in a really good Latin-style restaurant,
but the whole time, I was slightly uncomfortable,
concerned
that I would run into either Tina or Kat and that it would
get ugly. I don't know why I can't just let it go, but I've
had no closure there, and I guess it still really bothers
me that she "stole" my dream of moving there. It's just
that I really wanted to start fresh and Santa Cruz was
beautiful and untainted. Now, it is. I guess I'm going to
have to reevaluate things if I ever do decide to move to
the Bay Area.

From there, we went north on Highway 1 to the Red,
White
and Blue beach, which is really haunted. The last time I
was up there with Pam and Courtney, I felt this bad, bad
presence and we had to leave. It was not fun. This time,
I
only felt one light chill, but a light on the hill freaked
us out. In the haunting books, it says many people have
seen a light, or window on the hill that in reality isn't
there. I wonder if that's what we saw too, or were we
just
looking in the wrong spot.

From there, back to Fremont, ate some cake, watched
some
TV. We met up with my friend Scott later that night
(around
1am) and we went to a bar in Fremont. I miss that
bastard!
We could only hang out for a bit, because all of us had
to
get up early in the morning and the bar was closing. But
I'm soooo glad I got to see him at least. I also found out
that Angelo is back in Montreal, and working--good for
him.
Went back to my sister's, ate some cake, went to bed!

SUNDAY
We met up with Reg's aunt Shirley and cousin Deirdre
at an
Applebees in San Jose. Reg hadn't seen either of them
in
many years, and it was good to see them get
reconnected.
Thet are both very, very nice people.

Then, ah, the long drive home. We went south back to
Gilroy, where I showed Reg around the other town I
almost
moved to. She found a cool car she liked--MONSTER
CAR. As
we left, we got stuck in a loooonnnnggg line of traffic.
We
literally moved 4 miles in about an hour and a half--for
no
reason--not even a crash.

After that, we entered semi-thick fog around Pacheco
Pass
(The Haunted Highway). It turned the hillsides around a
very eerie shade of yellow and made me feel like we
were
driving into the Twilight Zone.

When we got to the I-5, I decided to go straight to
Fresno.
We stopped at a gas station in Los Banos, when
Nathan
calls...."Hey, just wondered if you guys wanted to come
to
Carnivale at Kelly's house." My response was, "Um,
sure,
we'll be there in about six hours."..lol. We also won $13
playing the lottery. It rained all the way to Fresno.

By the time we had gotten back down to Tehachapi,
fatigue
had set in and Reg had to take over driving. The rest of
the trip back was fairly uneventful until right before
Baker, where a car had flipped off the road. It had either
just happened or had gone unnoticed for awhile. As we
drove
by, there were two clearly dead, very bloody bodies
along
the roadside and the Highway Patrol troopers were just
staring at them with their flashlights on the bodies. The
car was in pieces. Reg wondered if it was the same red
car
that had zoomed past her earlier at like 100mph while I
was
sleeping.

We got back to Vegas safely, unpacked a bit and
crashed
hard. It was a fun trip--so much better than the last few
times I went (looking for jobs and pining solo for Tina
on
my last birthday.) I had a blast. I even woke up early for
work today...go figure.




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