January 1, 2025
The Return of the Raven, day 1
To San Luis Obispo
As everyone knows already, Andrea and I were on a mission to retrieve Scott and Rachael's black "RAVEN" VW wagon and drive it back to Portland for them. We were excited about helping them out and at the same time having a spur of the moment road trip through a gorgeous part of the world. The trip was jam packed and I had no time to write about it, in the moment, but now I will report.
So, on the first day of the year we walked to the bus stop near our house in Portland. The bus didn't take us all the way to the transit center where we would catch the MAX light rail to the airport but it was an easy walk. Then we went through the easiest and most efficient security check ever while craning our necks to gaze at Portland's gorgeous new terminal. The creative beauty of the terminal certainly puts it in the top five in the world now and I'm so proud of Portland and its designers, engineers, etc.
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The flight to San Luis Obispo was easy and enjoyable except for some kerfuffle on board by a man who had his feet way in the aisle and a woman walking down the aisle nearly tripped on them and the man said she kicked him. He said he was going to make a report!! Can you believe that? I'd say that he was planning this all along. He probably thought he could finagle a free ticket from the airlines if he made a huge fuss. I'd give him a free ticket all right, a one-way to Antarctica. Being a flight attendant is not an easy job but to have to deal with people like that guy is really wrong and any demands he makes should not be tolerated.
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But the tiny airport in San Luis Obispo (SLO) is adorable. There is only one baggage carousel! It was a joy to walk into such a chill terminal.
Our Uber driver to our hotel was not so chill. He started complaining about San Luis Obispo within a minute. It might have been within thirty seconds actually. He said the rich people were buying up everything and making things intolerable and there was way too much traffic and bicyclists were throwing their weight around and getting their way to get new bike lanes made which made it nearly impossible to drive a car! He also complained about the night before when he had to drive drunks all over town. I was fascinated by how someone could complain so much to complete strangers upon meeting them. I wanted to complain to him about the horrible cigarette smell in his car but I didn't. But I liked Martin and just let him go on and on. It was a great ride. He was just lucky that guy on the plane who got "kicked" was not in his car! He'd be taking Martin to court over something or other and then Martin would have a whole lot to complain about.
We got settled in our room and soon Scott and Rachael's friend Liz picked us up and brought us to her home where her husband George was making us dinner! What a treat to not only meet Liz and George but to enjoy their lovely dinner. George had made a super thin crust pizza which I ate more than my fair share of because it was so delicious I couldn't stop. We had no awkward silences but instead had much in common since they too were cyclists. It's rare that you meet someone and hit it off so well that you feel you are instant friends. That's how we felt with Liz and George. What sweet people. Such a contrast to the guy on the plane and Martin the complainer.
During our conversation the topic of New Year's resolutions came up and Liz said that she didn't make resolutions but instead a "nudge word" for the year. A nudge word is a word that refers to something you want to work on improving in yourself for the year. I like the concept. She told us her brand new nudge word was "Focus". George's was 'Balance" and Andrea immediately came up with "Strength". We discussed each nudge word and then Liz turned to me and asked, "So, what's your nudge word?" Since the whole concept was new to me but mostly because I am who I am - (a Minnesotan, slow to decide, needing to consider the merits of each of many possible nudge words) - I could not immediately come up with a nudge word. That's not to say I don't have anything I need to work on improving because there are any number of things I could work on. In fact, maybe that was my problem; I have so many problems, how could I possibly choose one to work on? I needed a gaggle of nudge words.
Throughout the evening Liz would suddenly ask if I had decided on my nudge word yet. I would just start laughing after each of her inquiries. As I already stated, there was not a moment of awkward silence in our conversation which, if there had been, I could have utilized that moment to think about a possible nudge word that would be with me for the entire year. But there weren't any breaks and I told Liz that I couldn't think about a possible nudge word while at the same time asking questions about cycling and camping in Europe where she and George had cycled not long ago. I couldn't find out about family members that George has in France if my mind was on nudge words. I didn't want to rush into anything anyway. I mean, this nudge word is for the entire year! It's important to choose wisely! Who goes willy-nilly into choosing a nudge word? In the end I told Liz that I will have decided on a nudge word by the time we get to Portland. I told her I will have lots of time to think about it while driving
and I will reveal it in Scott's journal. She said she would keep reading Scott's journal in anticipation.
After dinner Liz and George led us to Scott and Rachael's car, (license plate - A RAVEN), which was awaiting us in their backyard. When Andrea and I got in, no interior lights came on and unfamiliar as the car was to me and due to the pitch darkness, I could not find any controls, except the starter button. I drove out without finding the switch for the lights and could not find my seat belt for the first two blocks. Eventually, while driving, I figured it all out and we drove safely the few blocks to our hotel, the Peach Tree Inn, where there are no peach trees but lots of other nice plants, exotic plants, plants we marveled at being able to grow whereas in Portland they would be very sad and die. We loved San Luis Obispo. It's a place I'd like to spend more time in someday.
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If you don't, I like the idea of a gaggle of nudge words!
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