Finally after 2 days of traveling I'm in place; although in place for me means in Morgan Hill, California, which is about 50 miles away from Pebble Beach. So each day will have its own trip to make. 7 days in a row of 100 miles; hope the car holds out. But I actually digress...
I left the family around 0830 Saturday the 12th of June, 2010, there in American Fork, Utah. Originally we were all going to drive down to LA on Friday and then on Sunday I would drive up to Morgan Hill. And then on Thursday everyone else would join me here at the wonderful ExtendedStay America. But there were some health issues and Leslie and the boys ended up having to stay in A.F., so this trip turned into a solo run. I am so looking forward to being able to do this with someone else; in 2015 the US Open will be in Washington; maybe Corwyn will want to do it with me then! Anyway, the trip for Saturday is a simple 543 mile jaunt across Northern Nevada, courtesy of I-80, to Reno for the night. Should be pretty straightforward. Well in Elko the "Check Engine" light comes on. What that means to a 1992 BMW 325is is that something is going on and you should take it in to get diagnosed. The dealerships in Utah were closed, the one in Reno wouldn't answer their phone, finally the one in Sacramento tells me this. And since the car is running reasonably well (it is 18 years old, but with only 145,000 miles) maybe I can survive. So I roll the dice and manage to make it okay into Reno.
This morning (Sunday, 13 June) I can't sleep and am awake at 0630 so I get up, get ready, and get going. After a good breakfast at the hotel (John Ascuaga's Nugget in Sparks, actually) I head for Donner and the long coast downhill. On the way my trip computer is telling me I'm going to get into Morgan Hill about 1230; much too early so I decide to take a little side trip as I go through Sacramento and visit what used to be Mather AFB and is now Mather Field. Ouch. The place is nothing like I remember it. The base closed in 1993, 7 years after I left there, but that means it has been a total of 24 years. Ouch.
Continued on through Vacaville and then south via San Ramon and Pleasanton (both places I have run cross country invitationals at), turned onto 101 in San Jose and finally pulled into Morgan Hill, still too early. I had to drive around for an hour before I could check in. And then I wanted to time the trip to the volunteer lot so I drove southwest to Marina and Seaside (53 minutes, but there was a lot of traffic) and then to Pebble Beach for the merchandise presale. And now I am ready!
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