One of those days...

Today was one of those days. One of those days when I wish that I still lived in the Bay Area. Although it was a beautiful day here in Northern Wyoming, I miss days like today out there.

It would have been a perfect day for a drive up the 30 some odd miles of swichbacks from San Jose to the Lick Observatory high atop Mount Hamilton. On a clear day you can see all of the way to San Francisco, some 60-70 miles away as the crow flies.

Or a motorcycle ride... South out of San Jose on Almaden Road through the Almaden Valley on the Beamer (Beamer = 2 wheels, Bimmer = 4 wheels), Uvas Road to the Hecker Pass Highway for a quick stop at the Fortino Winery for some tasting and to pick up another bottle of their Burgundy and Carignon. Bear in mind, motorcycles and drinking don't mix, contrary to what the Harley crowd thinks, so drink, swirl, taste, and spit is a must! From there up over Hecker Pass, hopefully not getting stuck behind a slow moving SUV or Minivan, past Mount Madonna, where stopping for a minute or two to look out over the Pacific Ocean and all of the Strawberry fields in the Watsonville area. Back on the bike and down the road, once again hopefully not stuck behind a slow moving Corvette. Once in Watsonville, a stop by the BMW Shop is a must so that you can get a cup of coffee from their super cool coffee maker, and check out Shawn's Helmet Cam videos. From there up Hwy 1 to Santa Cruz to Hwy 9 through the little mountain towns of Felton, Ben Lomond and Boulder Creek. In Ben Lomond, there is a quaint little grocery store that has the best sandwiches, and a convenient picnic table outside for a short break. Further up the road, take a left at the Hwy 35 Skyline Boulevard intersection. It's always amazing that for all of the traffic that is on Hwy 9, there isn't much on Hwy 35, and despite the 50 mph speed limit, you can easily go 70-75. After coming this far, I'd usually take off at Page Mill road and head down the hill through all of the twisties and past all of the cool estates and houses. Cross under the 280 freeway heading towards Palo Alto, take a right at Alameda del Las Pulgas which turns into the Foothill Expressway as you enter Los Altos. In Los Altos, there is a Starbucks in this cool old shopping center that was built in the late 50's or early 60's but is in excellent condition. A stop at this Starbucks is always a must for a late afternoon cup of coffee. Once back on the road, the Foothill Expressway will take you into Cupertino, where you take a left on Stevens Creek Boulevard and through the old part of Cupertino, cross over the 85 freeway, and take a left into the old shopping center where this really great sushi house called Tsunami Sushi is located to top of a great day of riding...

It's kind of ironic that the motorcycle ride that I just related is an adventure that I went on several times with my ex-girlfriend, and tomorrow marks one year that we were officially broken up. Our relationship was very disfunctional, and it permeated into every aspect of my life. It was a relationship that should have run it's course in a month, but was stretched out to 15 months. I nearly lost my best friend through it, as he saw what she was, did everything he could to save me and he nearly gave up on me on several occasions. Even as bad as it was overall, there were some good times, but those good times now and again can't make up for the bad times that happen the other 99% of the time. I think this is why I have been so happy to not really date anyone in this last year. I needed this year to get back to being myself, find out who I was again, and re-evaluate where I wanted to go in life. That being said... I am now ready to go forward again, continuing the quest to see if there is anyone else out there that sees things the way that I do...

And now... After all that, how did I wind up back in Wyoming?