Travel Diary

I woke up around 8am and got ready to go. Uber? Nope! Way too much, but I knew that beforehand. All right, I did take it to SODO station and after exiting the car, I saw I missed the train by seconds--like it was just taking off. No matter. Another one came in five minutes. Then off to the airport. Security was...well, easy. I had the new Touchless TSA PreCheck which meant skipping the entire line (faster than Clear even). But there was very little line to even skip. Hopefully it pays off more in the future, even though it’s free.

No upgrade to first class. I was just too far down the list. No candy either, or cookies. Just the pretzels and a free drink (Diet Coke for me). The chocolate bar gift seems to be so random. The flight was a little delayed but landed on time. I exited and headed outside. Perfect weather. I didn’t know where the bus stop was but a well-placed sign said "Bus 60" was close. In five minutes it arrived and I got a fast and free ride to Santa Clara train station. The place was pretty empty. I did a few videos and headed to the tracks. Still not many people. More people trickled in and the huge train arrived at 3:40pm.

I found an empty seat upstairs and we took off to Pleasanton. This was my second ride on the ACE Rail. The ride was fast and smooth, and under an hour later, we arrived in Pleasanton. This time I walked about a mile. I took the creek pass that I used to take to reach the fair for free parking. There, I summoned Lyft. A young lady arrived and I got in. She wasn’t rude but...not pleasant either. After the ride, I selected the option to never be matched with her again. Just nice to avoid unpleasant things whenever possible. I don't think she likes her job.

Then I checked into the hotel and went to my room. Ah, a sunset view for once. Nice! Once unpacked, I headed out for exploring. I hated to miss the chance to walk, but time was limited, so I took Lyft down to Supercuts. This time the ride was very nice. Super chatty driver and I tipped nicely after that one.

The regular woman (Lucy) who cuts my hair wasn't there that evening so I said I would come back the next day, but after getting about a quarter mile down the road I realize I really didn't wanna come back the next morning, so I just returned and had someone else cut my hair. She did a great job and was fun to talk to. After that, I walked to downtown Pleasanton and made my way over to the ice cream place where I got an ice cream--strawberry and chocolate. Most of it was consumed pretty fast, but I didn't finish the entire thing so a small part of the cone was tossed. Then I walked back towards Main Street on the great bridge over the creek. I decided to take out my phone and snap a photo; however, when I took my camera out of my pocket, the transmitter for my mic fell, and I noticed it bounce once or twice and then watched it tumble over the edge and drop about 30 feet into the creek below. It was very disheartening to see and sort of hard to believe at first. How could I have lost my mic that would change recording for the rest of the trip. It just sucked. Is all.

Next, I went over to Safeway and bought some snacks and TV dinners for the week. I summoned Uber once again and it took it back to the hotel. I got back to the hotel and then went out AGAIN, and bought some soda. I had forgot to buy some at Safeway. Then it was some game time with some friends online and I got to bed at a decent hour.