www.dennismook.com
Phase III; Visiting Old Friends and Enjoying Wine Country in a Beautiful, Mountain Top Rental Property
Yesterday, we picked up two of our friends at the Oakland International Airport in Oakland, California. It was just another reminder of how much I dislike large cities, 10 lane interstate highways, congestion, pollution, noise and nerve wracking driving.
During the trip to the airport, I was driving the speed limit in the right hand lane of the 10 lane road when the lane narrowed to the point it was only as wide as a shoulder. In fact, I believe they made the shoulder into an extra lane and put a Jersey wall next to it to keep cars from going off the edge. A large truck was in the adjacent lane, and I can only assume that the driver was not very good at driving the 80,000 lb. machine, as he drifted left and right. As I was next to him, I would estimate he came within 6 inches of the left side of my vehicle as I kept moving to the right to avoid him. I was probably only 12 inches or so from the Jersey wall to my right and he kept swerving left and right. I thought for sure, his trailer would push me right into the Jersey wall. I quickly had had enough and I stepped on my brake pedal to allow myself to slow down and fall behind him. Eventually, I moved over two lanes and passed him. In my rear view mirror, I watched him continue to slightly swerve left and right, endangering the driver's to his left and right. This was at 10:00 a.m. and not late at night, so he shouldn't have been tired. I can only assume he was preoccupied doing something other than driving or he was incompetent.
We picked up our friends at the airport and drove north to Petaluma where we had a nice lunch in a local establishment.
Afterwards, we drove on to Forestville, California, where we would meet up the other two couples. The four couples rented a beautiful home on the top of a very high hill for a week. We plan to visit some of the local wineries, eat some local cuisine and, of course, I want to make some images.
The four of us guys have been friends for life. We have been friends since any of us have memories. We all grew up together within a few houses of each other in a small town in extreme western Pennsylvania. I cannot tell you how wonderful it is to have friends who have known you for your lifetime. The depth and quality of the friendship is more like family than friends. I would highly recommend that not only should you reconnect with your best friends from your childhood, but you should arrange to get together at least once per year as we do.
I didn't make any images yesterday and I may not have an opportunity today. But as we travel about, I will be simultaneously scouting the area looking for images. My plan is to go out early in the morning to get the good light. I will post some here as I find and make them.
Thanks for looking. Enjoy!
Dennis Mook
All content on this blog is © Dennis A. Mook. All Rights Reserved. Feel free to point to or reference this blog from your website or publication, with full attribution, of course. Permission may be granted for reproducing the contents for editorial or commercial use. Please contact me to discuss permission to reproduce the blog posts and/or images.
No comments:
Post a Comment