One Lap

Date: 9/27/2013

Day: 1

Location: Ashland, Oregon

Miles Today: 350

Total Miles:  350

Ten thousand miles,

Ten thousand miles,

Ten thousand miles,

Ten thousand miles.

A quick map reconnaissance indicates that the One Lap project will involve driving 9,947 miles.  This is the exact distance shown in the gazetteer from Oakland to Seattle, Seattle to Portsmouth Maine, Portsmouth to Key West, Key West to San Diego and San Diego back to Oakland.  The actual distance driven, of course, will be considerably longer.  Our route will be much more blue highway than Interstate highway.  It will be interesting to see just how much longer this particular One Lap will be.  The Colonel suspects the over / under number is 12K.

Ashland

The Bay Area conspired to be hard to leave Friday.  It was a crisp, clear and perfect day; the  tower of the new bridge shone white over both the water and its sad, tired, erector set predecessor.  A drive to Ashland is done almost on autopilot; one puts the wheels in the well worn traces on I-5 north, applies some throttle, waits 5 hours and there you are.  This is goal oriented, get me to the church on time, driven driving, not One Lap stop and poke your nose into anything interesting driving.  That is yet to come. 

The joy of driving north on I-5 (as opposed to the joyless drive south,) is, of course, watching Mt Shasta come and go.

A lonely mountain, Shasta the great and mysterious, rises at the extreme northern end of the Great Central Valley of California.  Wouldn't it be wonderful to see just a tendril of smoke rising from the summit of this volcano?

To continue to abuse Professor Tolkien; Ashland is Rivendale on this trip, the last homely home, with dear friends -- Grant and Elise --  at whose table to share dinner.  Other  than time enjoyed with friends, the reason to be in Ashland, of course, is the theater.  Friday night we saw an interesting production of Mid Summer Nights Dream.  A bit over wrought for my taste, but the Colonel almost never thinks a director gets it entirely right.  They used very interesting animated projections  -- of trees and vines and Puck flitting about to perform his (her, it's?) mischief -- to make the fairy world vivid on the stage.  Well worth our time.

Friday, Saturday, Sunday in Ashland; on Monday the solo trip begins.

Wellington Boot, Col