Travel Diary

Another 4 AM wake up, although it wasn't that bad. I guess I just wasn't as tired as I expected. But I had about an hour, and then I drove down to the airport in the dark. I elected to park nearby and walk across the sky bridge. Security was a bit slow, at least slower than usual. However, I had Touchless so that helped. Alas I would not be getting an upgrade for this flight. Can’t win them all. One odd thing was a slight delay due to the plane needing a jumpstart which I don't think I've ever experienced before. The aux power was dead until the engines started turning. Anyway, I sat in 7C and I got a drink, which was an old-fashioned. No meal, but chocolate bar and cookies.

We landed in San Jose and I didn't have to be anywhere fast so I exited the airport and started walking along the Guadalupe Trail. This time I would be heading north. It had been a year or two since I went north on the trail so it was fun to see it again. It's pretty cool that it's so quiet and away from buildings, like out in the middle of nowhere despite being the Bay Area. I passed by the wooly mammoth again and took photos. And I got to see Levi Stadium once again. When I walked along 237 and then into Milpitas. At that point, it was too far to continue and I had been walking for about four hours, so there was that. I summoned Uber and had to take me to my hotel in Pleasanton.

I was staying at the Best Western, which I had not been at in a couple of years actually. I guess the price has just been better at Larkspur Landing. Best Western has nice people and it's one of those “door opens to the outside” type hotels. I was incredibly tired so I just took a bath and then slept for a few hours.

I was meeting up with Pam in the evening so I took an Uber downtown and we met at the Meadowlark Dairy, so I could get an ice cream. I think it was my first one this year. It was great as always. It was funny is that I accidentally cut in line without knowing it. It was just a gap between the two sections and I had no idea that the line was so long as it almost never is when I'm there. But they serve ice cream extremely fast so it wasn't a huge big deal. I had a few bites and then reached the cone and then tossed the rest. I just really want to taste it.

After that, we went over to McKay’s, and it's an interesting place. In the inside, it's more of a fancy liquor bar than a beer bar. A bartender makes these overpriced drinks which are fun to watch but just crazy how much they charge for them. I suppose it's whatever people will pay. I had a Pliny the Elder and it was fine. It was the first time I had it in a while so I nursed it for about an hour and a half.

We then walked downtown and then over to the Sunshine Saloon where they were doing karaoke. I didn't sign up, but Pam put in for a song and got to sing the final song of the evening. Because they were switching over to dance music at that point. The place was about the same as usual, although it seemed a little less lively than in years past. It just wasn't a place I would regularly go anyway when I lived there.