Sacramento

I'm in Sacramento now. The ride down was uneventful, though I never knew that North-central California is a rice growing area. There were miles upon miles of rice fields interspersed with orchards of all sorts. I had heard that gas prices in California were higher than ever, yet I paid less than I have in ages; $3.79 per gallon.

It was interesting breaking camp and loading the bike again. I still haven't found a fast and simple way to do it. I was, however, able to let go of a couple pairs of pants and a pair of socks. There is much more that I would like to let go of but feel I need. The bike is SERIOUSLY loaded when I travel. I got  to say goodbye to Onyx, one of the bobtail dog-cats. I told Tova that I was sorry, but I had to abandon  two cats at her house because I couldn't get them to stay in my backpack. (Of course, she knew I was talking about her cats.)

I've not ridden in a large city in a large city in California for quite some time, especially on a loaded motorcycle. I blinked and in that space of time, the car in front of me started to stop for ants. In other words, he began to stop just because he felt like it. We were in the high-speed lane and I locked the back brake in order to miss ramming him. Talk about pucker-factor! I was relieved when I pulled up to the house I'm calling home for a couple days. I nice little place fairly close to downtown.

I called Christina, my hostess, who works close by. She said that she'd be home in a couple minutes and sure enough, she was. She's a multi-tasker and a half! Her energy rolls off her in waves. She showed me around her house, cooked us a simple fish dinner and we watched a little internet TV while she did some work on her computer and enjoyed a few beers. I was ready to pass out when I got there and so was pleased to call it a night early.

Today, I visited a balloon store (it is SO neat to be able to walk into a store and pick the balloons I want off the shelf!) and a magic store. It is more pleasant riding an unloaded bike around town, that's sure. I also stopped by a radio shack to buy a new power cord for my computer, $64.64. I got on eBay and original replacement cords cost as little as $6.98. Needless to say, as soon as I find an address I can use, I'm ordering one and taking this universal cord back. I can use that money for more balloons!

It's a lovely day out, but I've spent the last couple hours in a Safeway Starbucks, looking for cheap balloons and places to go dancing. I think that I can safely say that I'm no longer a big-city fellow. At least, not at this time in my life. The sprawl of huge cities is confusing to this one who has  become used to small town life. And after this comes San Fransisco. Oh, boy! :-) I wonder if I'll be able to find Cliff...the cat who saved my life.

I think I will go take a nap in a park. I'm WAY tired.