March 23, 2017: Day 13-The Last Day! Alpine, CA to San Diego, CA

Not much happened last night except losing $40 at the craps table. We’re not even sure how or why that loss happened, either. Craps is hard-like, calculus hard. So, even though we didn’t know what the hell was going on we couldn’t resist getting involved. Chatting with Robert and Mark, two of the craps dealers, was very entertaining, so that was worth the forty bucks.

Anyhow, the next morning I woke up before first light and was the rain coming down pretty heavily on the well-lighted parking lot outside our window. Went back to bed and woke up at a decent hour.

The trip down the mountain was short (less than 30 miles) and almost all down hill. It was also a bit terrifying in spots because of the slick roads. According to Zach, my bike guru, my bike was not the best performing in ice, snow, or rain. After breaking on a particularly steep hill and skittering to the left, I finally knew what he meant.

The good news? I finally got to wear a lot of that expensive rain gear I bought in preparation for the trip.

Here I am coming down the hill from Alpine:

What d’ya think? Too much gear?

Hey, it’s the last day, I had to wear it all. Cars were swerving and retinas got burned, but I got to wear every damned piece of biker garb I purchased.

Here’s another:

At the bottom I got my reward:

Yes, I took a wrong turn somewhere along the line and ended up back in New York, or maybe Phoenix? Anyhow, look who was waiting for me…

Yeah, we hung out.

So, after a bit of a carb extravaganza I got back on the bike and onto Ye Olde Hwy 80 (that’s really what the signs say!)

Most cyclists keep going through the city and stop at the water’s edge to dip a bike tire into the Pacific Ocean. Snoopy put the kibosh on that idea as he’s not overly fond of water. Also, it was time to get our butts to Los Angeles.

This was the end of the road for me:

I got lost multiple times on my way to this park entrance. I kept following the bike lane, thinking it was THE bike lane. It took me a while to figure out San Diego has a whole pile of bike lanes,  not just the one. Huh.

I flipped a coin with Snoopy to see which of us got to ride shotgun and who got to ride on the rack.

Guess who won? (I tried not to gloat. . . )

For whatever reason Brantly thought this photo was hilarious:

I really had no idea that my normal smile looked so . . . demented.

Anyhow, after loading up we got on our way and headed north to LA. After a quick stop for fish and chips in Oceanside I got to meet the first of two people I came to see: my fantastic beta reader George!!

Here are Snoopy and me with George and his wife Bette, who kindly put us up for the night before the conference began:

Brantly and I had a great time with George and Bette and took an evening lake cruise graciously provided by George’s brother Bob and his wife Deb.

Thanks so much Bette and George for having us at your house!

Onward to the conference, where I get to meet Marla! My other fabulous beta reader . . .