California

After a hefty 32 hour train ride from Denver, CO to Emeryville, CA, I was very pleased to pull into the station. For several reasons:

1. My legs were sore and in need of some serious stretching.

2. I hadn’t seen my roommate in a month and a half and she was waiting for me in the station.

3. For the past 2 hours I had been riding illegally on the train. I was supposed to get off in Sacramento, but Emeryville is closer to San Francisco and they wouldn’t let me change my ticket in the station. So a little before Sacramento, I slipped out of my seat, chucked my seat ticket, and hid in the cafe car.

Adventure! Seeing my roommate again was absolutely spectacular. We’ve lived together for years and never been apart for so long. Plus, our reunion marked the beginning of the second portion of my travels: road tripping back across the country!

We hung out in Berkeley, CA that night, saying goodbye to her friends from Berkeley, and hit the road around 2pm the next day.

My time in California consisted of about 30 hours and was limited to the following: walking through Berkeley and hitting a couple of bars Thursday night, going to the Golden Gate Bridge and driving through San Francisco Friday morning, getting caught in some horrendous California traffic, and driving through the Mojave Desert in the middle of the night.

  

  

Most of this was only mildly enjoyable, so I won’t make many remarks about California since, frankly, I’ve had better. Compared to the fun of Chicago and the beautiful landscape surrounding Denver, the San Francisco left a little to be desired. I was ready to get on the road and explore new states.