Travel Diary

We now reach the reason I extended my trip for a few days--I would be going running on some of the trails that I used to run on for...well, over 10 years at least. Oh! Memories! I loaded up everything that I would need for a 20-mile run, but I decided not to take the 360 camera or the microphone or my tripod, which is a good thing as I already had several pounds on my back, aside from the mandatory weight. Can’t do much about body weight. I’d already fasted a lot.

Out on the streets, I first headed down Owens Drive over to Santa Rita Road, and then got onto the Arroyo Mocha Trail, where there was a water fountain, so I could have one last drink before being nowhere near water for a few hours. (It was rather warm day.) Gosh. So nice to sit on the old stone picnic table and record videos like in years past. To think, I was once just a mile from home on that bench. Anyway, no time to dwell in the past. I ran east towards Livermore stopping along the way for some drone footage of the creek and birds in it.

In Livermore, I crossed over to Stanley Boulevard, and then headed back west again. It was tempting to want to go deeper into Livermore, but time was limited as were my legs. Best not to push it.

Stanley is a loud road since the cars go fast and you're pretty close to them; however, the traffic wasn't very heavy at least as it was before rush hour. Several miles went by with me running alongside the road avoiding the desire to sit on the benches and rest, but when I finally reached Shadow Cliffs, I headed down a path into the park. The last time I was there was 2020, and it was closed back then due to Covid. But now it was open again, though there were only a few people. I guess I would've expected more since it was summer, but it was Monday. The water looked refreshing as some swam in it, but a sign nearby warning people about the algae conditions made that thought go out the window fast. It’s never been the safest water to swim in. I suppose I hadn’t actually been in that water since my early 20s.

Still, I was able to use the outside shower to cool my head a bit, trying not to get too soaking wet. I then sent the drone up to get a better view of the park and water. Afterwards, I headed to the wilderness behind the park, where they have a nice trail which heads back into Pleasanton. I sent the drone up a couple more times to get some nice views of the lake and area. There are actually some pretty surprising waterways there that I wasn't too aware of. Lots of nature in that area.

Along the trail I looked for blackberries, but most weren't ripe yet. I was there just too early in the season. And wow, my legs! At this point I'd already gone about 13 miles so my body was getting quite sore. Nevertheless, I wanted to keep going, so I headed into the downtown, then onto Main Street, finally reaching Safeway where I used to buy a lot of food every month. There I got a packaged salad, a peach, and some water (which I was in great need of). Alas, it was more weight to carry.

Of course, I headed by my old home and saw that it looked about the same as it did a year before. The lawn was somewhat better but it just never thrives. New sod would be needed to ever get it nice again. No longer my problem.

Next, I went to Orloff Park and finally reached the Pleasanton Sports Park, where it was awesome to be back. Plus, it was a beautiful day for it. The park wasn't very busy, but it was only about 5 o'clock. In the middle of the park I sent the drone up, which was something I always wanted to do there before moving, but never got around to it. I must say it really does look nice from up high. Speaking of up high, I lost sight of the drone in the sky, so I had to use the Return to Home function, which wasted quite a bit of battery (and I didn’t have any spares).

Then I jogged on to catch up with the Arroyo Mocha Trail again and headed towards 680. Reaching that, I turned north and made it back to the Pleasanton Water Park. I'm not sure it's actually called that. I call it so because I could tell it used to have water activities, with a man-made waterway running through it, but the place hasn’t had water running in years and probably never will again. Too bad. It looked like it was a rather fun place to play. I wish I had known about the place years ago.

I attempted the drone again, but after a few seconds the battery was too weak and it returned down. My drone fun was done for the day, and plus, time was running out. I jogged north finally reaching Johnson Drive where I headed towards the hotel. Steady running was certainly over this point, so I was walking most of the way with tiny bursts of maybe a slow jog. My goal was to get back at seven, but I made it there maybe 715pm. Even that was tough.

I was incredibly sore at this point, but had to meet a friend, so I quickly showered and changed, and then headed right back out. I took Uber and met my friend at Mountain Mike's Pizza where we got a mini pizza. I chose the mini ize because I really didn't wanna carry around leftovers, and I was just hoping to taste the pizza once again (spoiler: it tasted great). Our selection was ham and pineapple, which is always a crowd pleaser. Others may disagree. They are fools!

After that, my friend didn't want to walk (it was only a mile away) so we took Uber over to the Sunshine Saloon, which was incredibly...empty. It was a weeknight I suppose, but the place was just totally deserted. No big deal--more room for us. We sat at the bar and had some beers. Well, I did, but my friend ordered Jager Bombs. The TV was playing a few shows but with no sound, and it’s not much fun to watch Jeopardy without being able to hear the answers. Yeah, it was pointless. After a while, we headed back to the hotel and hung out for a few more hours, discussing Spanish with me practicing my words. Then my friend left, and I crashed after 3 AM. It was quite a busy day. I would fall asleep fast.

Last EntryNext Entry