Heading Out

It's over an hour after I'd hoped to be traveling, and I have a long way to go today, but in a few minutes I am shutting down the computers and heading toward Oregon.

Chivalry Is Dead

While making my usual fuel stop at the Safeway in Redding, a car pulled up in the next lane with three teenagers in it: two girls and a boy. From the looks of them, it must be Prom Night in Redding. The driver was a girl in a lovely sequined prom dress and high-high heels. To my surprise, she was the one who got out and fueled the car. I know that if I had been the boy in the tux in the passenger seat, I would have certainly offered to get out and do the work. Tuxedo shoes may not be the most comfortable in the world, but they're certainly easier to maneuver in than super-high heels. (I know; I've worn both kinds.) Am I being sexist by suggesting that the person who was most easily able to navigate get out and do the work?

(Yes, there may well be issues I don't know about. The girl may have turned down the help. The boy might not actually be mobile. Etc. I didn't ask; I was fueling my own vehicle and otherwise staying to myself.)

Actually, even more remarkable to me than the girl being able to bounce around dealing with fueling her car was that she was able to drive at all. The couple of times I was in heels that high, driving was a real challenge, and in fact at one point I just gave up and took off the right shoe rather than risk getting the heels tangled up in the pedals.

The Good Part About Being Late

I got away from Fremont much later than I'd originally hoped, and I had longer to go than usual, as I had booked into Grants Pass on account of all of the Holiday Inn Expresses south of there down to Yreka were charging much more than usual. I made really good time, and cut my stops short, so in the end I got to Grants Pass only around twenty minutes later than I'd originally projected, but it was still 11 PM. However, the good part about being so late was that I was able to (barely) listen to the Giants game. The game was just getting started when I was leaving Redding, where a local FM station is the Giants affiliate. That FM signal didn't last, though, and beyond Lakehead or thereabouts it faded completely; however, by then, I was able to pick up the network's flagship station, KNBR out of San Francisco, as it was late enough that their signal was bouncing northward. The signal came and went, but I was mostly able to follow the twists and turns of the game, and just as I was leaving Central Point/Medford, the Giants won the game in dramatic fashion with a walk-off hit in the bottom of the 10th inning to win the first game of the "Bay Bridge" series against the Oakland A's.

I also got to hear part of the second period of the Sharks game, swapping back and forth between it and the Giants, but when the Sharks' affiliate's signal faded, there was no fallback, so I didn't get to hear the results of the game until I got to Grants Pass. Go Sharks!

I got upgraded again, this time to a room with a separate parlor, although it's something of a waste since I don't have much time to enjoy it, having arrived so late. Also, there's no wired internet; only wireless. Still, it's a really good room rate and an upgraded room, so I'm not actually complaining.