Friday was a long day. Dave had to go to work, I had the day off, but I had to attend a mandatory 10:00 meeting at HQ. So Dave and I commuted to work and I got there by 09:45 or so. The meeting was three hours. Long and arduous, and I was quite brain dead after an hour and a half. But I have some notes and yet another architecture to cover the new CCI direction.

After the meeting, I went out to lunch with Biao, Dave Pickering, and Tyce Fields. We went to Harry's Hof Brau and they talked while I listened. That was fun, but it did take an hour and a half, so I got back at about 14:30.

I call Dave and he say's he can get out by 15:00, so I drive over to his work and it does take me 30 minutes. Traffic is starting to get bad even this early because of Labor Day weekend and everyone is leaving early. But I pick up Dave after I get some gas and we set off.

The problem is how to get out of the San Francisco Bay Area. Traffic around here is horrible, especially so during the commute hours. There are three basic routes: straight up the 880 to the I-80 to the 505 to the I-5, NE then North goign via the 880 to the 24 to the 680 to the 80 and so on, or E then North via the 580 to the I-5. Distance wise, the first choice is the shortest, the second is another 15 miles or so, the third is at least 60 miles longer than the second. Traffic wise, the first choice is usually the worst, the second is bad in two places, the third is bad in one place.

We listened to the radio and decided to just use the first route. There were accidents along the other two routes. But it still took us about 2-1/2 hours to get to the I-5. It was pretty much stop and go for 50 miles. And with Dave complaining about the traffic it wasn't all that fun at times. But we listened to music and talked a bunch, which I do like.

We finally get to the I-5 which is almost always two lanes all the way to Medford, OR. It's over 150 miles to Redding, where there's this great Steak place that Pickering heartily recommeds we visit. So now it is a nice, leasurely drive up the I-5. I'm going at 63 MPH most of the time (thank Goddess for cruise control!) while the speed limit is 70. But I don't like pushing my car that fast, it already has 131,000 miles and I need it to last another year or two.

Driving up the central part of California is not scenic. It's flat, with fields and more fields, interspersed with small towns and not-even-towns. But it is relaxing, and I concentrate on my music while Dave reads Civil Disobedience (why anyone would read Thoreau voluntarily, I just don't know).

We get to Redding, which is a nice small city. We eat at this steak place, which I'll describe in a future journal. Now it's 22:30 and we still have quite a ways to go, but I'm full and happy and we once again set off.

It's another 100 miles to Yreka, going generally up the mountains. The road being flat until then. Then another 40 miles to Medford, where we stop to refuel and make sure we take the right road. Dave, who got some sleep during this time, tells me we need to take highway 62, which I look up and see that it cuts through central Medford.

We somehow get on 62 and have to slow down to 45 for about 30 miles. Now it's quite dark, with few lights, mostly trees and no traffic. We go another 25 miles or so and reach Prospect, where we find the Julie's campsite and my cabin. It's now 03:00 and I finally get to sleep.