Day One is best forgotten.  Last minute cleaning and packing and panicking because of course the items designated to fit in the van far exceeded the square footage of the vehicle and I wasn’t prepared to start weeding out my clothes and Cosmo.  This followed by a horrid dash up the dreaded Highway 5 along with most of the semi trucks in the state of California in order to get as good a start in our journey as possible.  Where we stopped for the night is also best forgotten.

And speaking of Cosmo – he has been a champ!  And when he vomited about three days worth of food on my down pillow, that really wasn’t his fault because we were on a rollercoaster-tilt-a-whirl-road at the time.  I took my friend, Susan’s advice and made him a hidey-hole in a cozy basket filled with Robert’s cashmere sweaters (they have holes).  But he must have recalled something of his youth when he loved to ride along to the grocery store, because he immediately jumped to the highest box in the back of the van so he could look out at the passing scene.  Until he threw up. For the rest of the day one and day two he has spent most of the time on my lap – relaxed and snoozing.

But on to Day Two.  Now we’re talking.  If you’re ever going through Auburn, California you must stop at Tsuda’s Cafe and Artisan Bakery.  We happened upon it just because there was a spare parking place in front not suspecting that Sunset Magazine had named it “Best stop for Tahoe Travelers” and something called Diablo Press claimed it was “Healthy, Hip and Historic”.  They had selections like Knuckle Sandwich (panini, peppers and onions) and Nothing Like a Hot Chick (with spicy chicken of course) and  Caesar the Day.  Good fortification in a quaint old western town before we started up the pass over the Sierra Nevadas.  We did encounter a large flashing sign warning us of unstable weather ahead and advising us to tune in to our radio for developments but it was not only a breeze going over Donner Pass (and you know what happened there once!) but it was glorious – snow covered evergreens and occasional flurries just to make it magical.

We drove straight across the middle of Nevada and I don’t know what it was I expected of this state – I’ve been to Las Vegas twice in my life and that’s the extent of it.  But we oohed and aahed all the way to Elko.  Just about the best cloud/hills/expanse one could imagine.  A good day’s drive.  We’re both feeling the strain and stress of the past few weeks drain away.  Looks like BIG WEATHER AHEAD.  Stay tuned.