Back in the City by the Bay

The final stop of the trip was at one of our favorite spots in California, Chet & Marty's cabin in Meek's Bay. Driving up over the pass into South Lake Tahoe, the reality of our "summer" road trip coming to an end began to set in as the first snowfall of winter blanketed the road. We raced towards Emerald Bay and were happy to see that Caltrans hadn't declared highway 89 impassable yet. We arrived at sunset and the cabin was just as perfect as it always is. The dog nestled into the fresh snow outside and we torched a huge fire in the stone fireplace. We put our feet up and relaxed as warmth overtook the cozy little log cabin.

After an amazing final weekend, we packed up and hit the road one last time. Interstate 80 proved to be an immediate challenge as we were not used to so many cars--all driving like they had somewhere to be yesterday. We zig-zagged through traffic until the sweet smell of bay air filled the van. We got our first view of the San Francisco skyline and our conversation dwindled as we headed over the bay bridge with big smiles on our faces. We were finally home after 102 days and over 17,000 miles on the road.

Excited to be home, we took Sierra to his favorite place on earth, Crissy Field, and let him romp through the giant grassy knoll. Then, we made way to the Mission for dinner at La Taqueria, SF's finest taco-slinging establishment. With bellies full of sweet Mexican goodness, we made rounds through the city saying hello to friends and family that we hadn't seen in months. The wine and conversation lasted until the early morning and we quickly found ourselves too tired to unpack our gear. This proved to be the wrong decision as we woke up the next morning to our side window broken and the van ransacked. The thieves had a field day with Eeyore and filled their pockets with most everything that we had learned to live with for the last three and a half months.

Lesson learned = car thieves are dicks!