 September 18, 2002: Left Las Vegas, drove to Santa Barbara. Stayed at The Old Yacht Club Inn B&B. |
 September 19, 2002: Drove north up Hwy. 1, through Big Sur, and on to Santa Cruz. You can see the winding road off to the right. I thought I was over my vertigo and fear of heights. |
 September 20, 2002: Heading for San Francisco,, still along Hwy. 1 but inland a bit, thjere was a formidable fog bank over the ocean to the west. |
 September 20, 2002: San Francisco. Susan and I practically grew up together. Her mother and mine were best friends from the age of 5 years old. I hadn't seen her in about 10 years, though. |
 September 21, 2002: San Francisco. Sue and her S.O., Bob, took me to dinner at Dante's Pisa Restaurant in North Beach for my birthday. Happy 54th to me! |
 September 20-22, 2002: San Francisco. Sue owns a row house in the Noe Valley district of San Francisco. This is the upstairs living room. |
 September 20-22, 2002: San Francisco. ... and this is the rear of the house from the back yard. |
 September 20-22, 2002: San Francisco. ... and this is the upstairs porch. On those occasions when there was no fog, I could see San Francisco Bay from there. |
 September 22, 2002: Livermore, Calif. Elliott and I have been friends since 1969. I hadn't seen him since around 1983. |
 September 22-24, 2002: Reno, NV. I was anxious to see Reanna, so I pressed on. This is her room in the apartment she shares with 4 other girls. |
 September 24-25, 2002: Lakeport, Calif., Clear Lake in the background. The original plan called for head ing back to Las Vegas today, but in keeping with the "No Compromises" theme, I decided to head to Napa and the wine country. |
 September 25-26, 2002: Oakville, Calif. Took the tour of the Robert Mondavi winery. Took this photo in front of the structure that graces the Mondavi labels. The tour included a three-wine tasting. |
 September 25-26, 2002: Oakville, Calif. Some of the oak barrels (cost $125 each) in which the Mondavi Cabernets are aged. Our tour guide was a partner in the Domain Chandon winery just down the road. |
 September 26, 2002: On the way to Mariposa, Calif., the "Gateway to Yosemite." |
 September 27, 2002: Yosemite National Park, Calif. Standing at Glacier Point with Half Dome behind and below me. |
 September 27, 2002: Leaving Yosemite, I had to drive across Tioga Pass (Elev. 9,400 feet). Believe me, I was not nearly as sanguine as I appear to be. |
September 28, 2002. At the intersection of Hwys. 395 and 120, I received a call from Cindy Burke, telling me the tragic news about Les. I had hoped to extend the tour another two days by visiting Les and Ellen at their home in La Crescenta, Calif., but that, of course, was now out of the question. With an aching heart and my mind a million miles away, I headed east, toward Death Valley, Pahrump, and ultimately, Las Vegas. |
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