A brisk dawn met us on the next day of the trip. The thin air of Susanville had a welcome crispness to it as we made the morning rounds. After breakfast at the Trailside Inn Sarah made a stop at the market for some on-the-road munchies while I topped off the fuel for the trip. The roads north of Susanville take on a distinctly different character than those so far on this trip. It isn't so much that the roads themselves are drastically different but the drivers seem to have a courtesy missing in so many other areas of the country.

Heading north on California Highway 299 we reach the town of Adin. Every summer I can recall we would stop at the old general store in Adin. With a front porch the likes of which aren't made anymore the 101 year-old Adin Supply is certainly a fixture. When last we were through more of the original hardware in the form of the white wooden bins were still in place, but otherwise this friendly outpost hasn't changed. Being a late morning stop it was a bit early for lunch but we picked up some sandwiches at the deli and proceeded up the road.

We're starting out on a road trip through the Pacific Northwest. There should be pictures soon to go along with the stories and the reason for their delay will soon become clear when we get to the "computer hard drive dies" portion of the trip.Eight miles from home we remembered the things we'd forgotten. Thinking them necessary we made a quick round-trip and were back on the road. With the obligatory tardiness in the initial start we were on the road about an hour behind schedule. After dropping in on the parents we were on the road headed up US 95 towards our first stop at the Death Valley Fruit and Nut company in Beatty, Nevada.Stocked with some hard candies we were again headed north. The shuddered and for-sale bordello, Cottontail Ranch, marked the point were were to depart from US 95 and head west. The trip across Lida summit, through Oasis and past Deep SpringsDeep Springs College.

Thursday evening I wrote from on-board a Southwest Airlines flight. I thought I'd spend the flight reading the excellent Pro Drupal Development book that I'd picked up earlier in the week. Instead I spent the flight talking with Paul Engemann, Larry King's brother-in-law, and the wife of a pilot on the way to support her husband's run in the Western States 100-Mile Endurance Run. The wide-ranging discussion covered everything from raising kids to traveling the globe and even multi-level marketing. While not as productive in the work-a-day-world sense the conversation was an enjoyable break.

It says something that I most often find time to blog of late when I'm sitting in the boarding area of an airport. It's been a whirlwind couple of weeks. I did bump into a fellow American Legion Boys' State person at the airport this morning. Thankfully he reported that his party had made an appropriate contribution to our state economy.

I'm afraid, however, that I threw off the statistical process. I was given a yellow card to time how long it takes to go through security. Though I went through about twice as fast as anyone around me.