Halfway

[kevin_standlee]

I pulled into the parking lot at the Yreka Holiday Inn Express about three minutes before my originally projected schedule said I would. Including the delay to get sunglasses, I got out of Fremont about thirty minutes early. I spent a little longer at my lunch stop and at the evening gas-coffee-grocery break. I've said this before, but Microsoft MapPoint's trip planner is crazy: even with the projected speed cranked down to its slowest value, and even with forcing it to schedule a ten-minute break every hour of driving to slow it down further, and even with me driving at (and possibly slightly above) the speed limit, I still lose time over the road. Next time I use it, I think I'm going to have to increase the delay to 15 minutes/hour instead of ten.

Travel weather was just about perfect. Not too warm, although I did have to use the air conditioner for a while north of Vacaville. OTOH, around Dunsmiur, it got cool enough that I needed to use the heater for a while. Despite applying sunscreen, I feel slightly crispy on the face and left wrist and hand, although wearing a long-sleeve shirt held off the worst of it. No rain today, although I think I might encounter some tomorrow as I go through southern and central Oregon.

I briefly stopped at the rest area at Willows for a bathroom break. I saw a familiar figure coming out of the rest area's maintenance room and hailed Joe, a friend from Chico days who many of you in the Bay Area know from Bay Area conventions. (Joe's job is this rest area's maintainer.) I was as surprised to see him as he was to see me, and for the same reason: both of us figured the other would be at BayCon.

The trip went much faster than I thought thanks to the audio-book that Lisa gave me. I've never been much of one for audio-books, although I like old time radio, but this book is entertaining. Around Weed, I was able to once again pick up KNBR -- it had faded out as I went north, but when the sun set, it came back -- and thus I got to hear the last two innings of the Giants game. Go Panda! (Non-Giants fans may ignore the reference.)

No upgrade-fu on the hotel room this time, probably because I'm redeeming points rather than paying money for the room. It's still a perfectly nice HIX room, and I'll be able to prepare a microwave meal and relax, no problem. I had planned on going for a soak in the hot tub before the pool room closed at 10 PM, but when I had a look at the room, I discovered that while they have a pool, they don't have a hot tub, which is a bit of a disappointment. Oh, well, not that big a deal, I guess.

I hope everyone at BayCon and the other Memorial Day weekend conventions is having a good time. I'll be there in spirit, you might say.

Comments

[gridlore.livejournal.com]

You're really missing out on my humbling. I am literally on every programing item except for GOH events, workshops, and concerts. The con newsletter is keeping a running tally of how many times I've been asked why I'm on so many panels. It has now been claimed that I'm mythical. Epic stuff.

[kevin-standlee.livejournal.com]

Ah, yes, your name will be Legend, and will forever be associated with the Great Mythical Program Participant. Maybe better than being remembered for his stride length, as I may be if I'm lucky.