Get On, Clip In, Fall Off

...and back to Berkeley again

1 April - Berkeley, CA (in the launderette)

Drove back down to the East Bay after breakfast, via California Highway 20 (very very windy, but lots of trees) and US101 as I'm going to a do in San Francisco this evening and Berkeley seemed like a sensible place to stop off as I wouldn't have to go all the way into the big city by car. The lady who runs the motel took one look at my driving licence and told me (in a strong Californian accent) that she's from the UK as well and still has a British passport, even though she's been here since 1960. I have to admit I had been wondering - Sheila isn't a common name around here at all.

Even though it means subscribing to just about every cliché in the book, there really is a certain pleasure to driving down clear roads with the top down and the radio on. This is, in fact, made slightly better by the fact that the car's equipped with a Sirius satellite radio receiver so there's (a) none of the constant hunting around for stations that famously characterises driving long distances in the USA, and (b) a non-stop 80s station with no commercials. It's got the BBC World Service too, which is useful for getting news from the world outside this Disneyland where the preface to the state drivers' manual is written by the Terminator. "My fellow Califhaaniaahns..."

Last night I went to a place I'd been recommended for dinner (the Italian restaurant next to the DMV in Fort Bragg - not in the Lonely Planet guide but still highly recommended) and was barely able to finish my lasagne despite it being a half order and very nice indeed. I've decided to cut back on eating a bit - breakfast should be quite enough to keep me going all day, and if I persist with having lunch as well I'll probably double in weight by the end of next week.

Filled up with 10 gallons of petrol this morning (these gas guzzlers really eat fuel when you're on winding roads with a lot of speeding up and slowing down) for the absurdly low price of $20.90. Bizarre to think that around here the price of gasoline is considered to be at nigh-apocalyptic levels, isn't it?

"Bizarre" seems to be a word that comes to mind a lot as I'm writing these updates.

Heading inland a bit tomorrow, I think - maybe into Nevada to swing round north and make a big loop returning to San Francisco by the end of next week. I'm looking for some of those famous wide-open roads there are supposed to be round here. It'll certainly be away from decent GSM cellphone coverage and copious internet access.

(P.S. I keep brazenly passing road signs that say "DO NOT PASS". Am I committing a traffic offence by doing so?)

Posted by mpk at April 2, 2004 3:29 AM | TrackBack