Thursday September 23, 2021

When Tracie and I rebooked our Fall 2020 trip to Italy late in 2020, we figured with Vaccines soon to come, the summer months, fresh air and responsible people, a Fall 2021 trip to Italy would be perfect. How wrong we were!!

For the second time we cancelled plans and the decision was made to try walking in our own backyard, specifically California’s El Camino Real, also known as the CA Mission Trail.

We will begin in Sonoma and end in Santa Cruz walking 13 days, 161 miles, averaging 12 miles each day. It will be more expensive (double+), less trail and more tarmac, and much more populated. The upside is we should be able to find anything and everything we need along the way – every day.

My daughter lives near Sonoma, so I drove to her home today. Having my car vs flying home will allow us some flexibility at the end of our trip to return to Portland at our leisure. And it gives me another opportunity to see my adorable grandkids again❤️. Tracie will fly in tomorrow since she’s still a working girl…

Driving from Portland to Benicia, over halfway there, Mt Shasta was visible. Just beyond the mountain I noticed low clouds on the other side of the hills. It didn’t take long before I realized that was a wildfire…

I received 7 emergency alerts as I drove through the area and it occurred to me I could get stuck along the Highway. I pressed a little harder on the gas pedal!

Thankfully I was not delayed but there had to be countless families evacuated from the wildfire area. As of this evening it has grown to 5,500 acres and suspected arson is to blame. I hope it quickly gets under control!

Tomorrow my daughter will drive us to our first hotel in Sonoma and our walk will begin Saturday with 15 miles. The weather is forecast to be partly cloudy and 80 degrees. That will do nicely!

#camission