Day Sixteen, in words

On the final day of my trip…

• Sparks, NV is, um, not the world’s most amazing town. Someone called the Reno area (Sparks is basically a sister city of Reno) “like Las Vegas’s seedy younger brother”. I’d say that’s about right, and that’s saying something. It’s good for hotels, places to eat…and gas.
• Coming up over the hills into Lake Tahoe is really pretty spectacular. I’d been up to Tahoe before, mostly in the winter, but never seen it quite like this — it has a great deal to recommend it. The mountains are amazing, the cool air feels wonderful after being out in the desert for so long, and the ruggedness…it has such a great feeling to it.
• Ah, back to California, and exorbitant real-estate prices. You should see some of the homes down by the lakeside around Tahoe. I don’t remember which Godfather film it is, but the one where they all go to their retreat/compound near Tahoe…well, the word “compound” really is the only term to describe many of the places I saw out there. Large (tasteful) fences, automatic gates, monograms on the pillars…amazing. I’m not saying I’d mind spending a weekend there, mind you — just that the amount of money people spend on these places is staggering.
• Tahoe is so, so…blue. And surprisingly warm, at least in the summer; there’s even a beach there, complete with sunbathers and white sand. I had no idea.
• Down through the hills, out of the Tahoe area, to the vast plains of the Central Valley…let’s just say that Sacramento is as exciting as it’s ever been. I was eager to get home —
• Onwards, onwards, onwards —
• And the bay rolled up, the hills splashed down to the ocean, Hilltop, Ashby Avenue, the 24 on-ramp, across the Bay Bridge, Treasure Island once more, taking a picture at the end (and my car has never, ever, ever been this dirty before) — flooring it onto the Bay Bridge again —
• left, right, left — my hands know the way by heart —
• in the back gate, up the stairs —
• key in the lock —
• and home, home again, everything’s there still —
• dropping bags, sunglasses off, flopping down —
• and I’m home. Home.

Day 16: (Sunday, August 19, 2007) Sparks, NV to Berkeley, CA.
Miles: 6217.4 + 254.7 = 6472.1 total. Current distance from home: eight inches.
Photos: 3,002 (37.9 GB) + 99 (1.11 GB) = 3,101 (39.0 GB) total.
And I’m done…a few more thoughts to follow in the coming days.