Weekend Getaway
I just couldn’t take it anymore, so I ran away this weekend. I drove up to the San Francisco area to see some friends who happened to be in town, and had a fantastic time catching up.
Of course, my weekend started out just like always - staying up late Saturday night grading C++ homeworks. This weekend was particularly ugly because it was Lab Four - the most difficult lab of the whole C++ track. I was going to leave Sunday morning and drive up the 101, but when I didn’t get all my grading done, I decided to go ahead and drive up the 5 instead, so that I could have a few extra hours of grading on Sunday morning. That did the trick - got it all knocked out! I just had to make sure my students got feedback on their work before completing that lab.
The drive up the 5 went so fast that I decided to cut across on the 152 to Gilroy and the 101, so that I could enjoy a little bit of scenery. I have never been in that area in the winter, only in the summer when everything is yellow or brown. So I was thrilled to see lush green rolling hills dotted with cattle and oak trees, and beautiful blue skies filled with cottonball clouds. It was tremendous. The 152 is fun to drive, too.
The people I was going to see on Sunday night were up in San Mateo, so that also made it a good idea to get over onto the 101. We had a great time catching up, and sampling the various liquours at the Left Bank. Our bartender was great too. Among other things, he mentioned getting a DUI. Now that is dedication to your job!
The next day I jumped across the bay to see another friend from college that I haven’t seen in about four years. That was absolutely fantastic to catch up with him. We hung out around the Berkeley campus for a few hours, just talking and catching up, which was very enjoyable.
Then, it was back home. That was the only part that was grueling - it’s hard driving that much by yourself. Fortunately I had some good things to listen to, to keep my brain occupied.
I only have two regrets on that trip. The first is that I stupidly didn’t take my camera!! What a shame. The second is that I stupidly thought that Cheetos and a Coke would be a good snack on the way home. Boy, was that ever a bad call.