The First Stop in California

Our first stop in California was an In-N-Out Burger in Sacramento. It was probably a mistake, because we wanted to make it to Willits the first day, but never having made the trip in that area, we had no realistic idea of what we could actually do.

Jack was upset. He wanted McDonalds, but we had done that already early in the morning for him, but he had his heart set on whatever toy they were doing with a kid's meal. Jack's Pop Pop is not a fan of Ronald's franchise. The toy thing is an incredible con, so Jack was upset as we forced him to enter with us.

The moment I walked in the door, I was excited to be there. There's nothing like an old fashioned burger and fries, and their milk shakes are great too, but my new conscience permanently altered by Weight Watchers would only allow so much.

But I knew I could talk myself into self-indulgence at least once during the next two or three days we would be traveling. It was after all the first day of the trip. And I already smiled knowing that there would be other spots just like this one--oh, how foolish I was at that moment.

Jack didn't do a burger, but he graciously consented to an order of fries. "I guess," he said. He sat, arms folded and blue eyes sadder than any Willie Nelson song about those peepers, whether it was raining or sunny.

But a puzzle the smiling sales people gave him warmed him up to the idea of eating a good burger without a crappy toy to hide the fact that you were not only eating something that didn't taste very good, but it was overly priced and unhealthy too. At least here we experienced only one out of those three things.

Oh, and Jack loved the lemonade too.

He watched us eat our own burgers, and he could smell how good they were. Each one was just like he liked it too, with a sauce that was like a mixture of ketchup and mayo--almost like our area's fry sauce but a bit more fluid. I never use the word "runny" except for cold and flu season, and I refused to spoil this meal by even thinking the word to myself as I ate and savored the food I had craved for over a year. Jack noticed how we enjoyed every bite. I gave him one more chance to get a burger before we left, and this time, he was enthusiastic about his answer.

The ride changed immediately as soon as we started for Willits. Ann and I started to get tired, so we stopped in the small town of Williams.

But here's a tip for the day--never be so tired that when you check into a hotel, you notice that every person there has a dog.

We slept well, but on the way to check out, the owner of an older basset hound showed off his dog in the lobby. "He always howls when he's hungry, and I haven't given him his breakfast yet."

The sad-eyed dog cast his nose at the ceiling and let out a howl that would have driven any creature up a tree. Everyone smiled, except my Annie, and though she had this cute look on her face, it wasn't her trademark smile.

Standing in front of the hotel, we were loading everything into the car. It was a great day. Our clock on the car said 10:30 a.m., but we realized that we gained an hour. We were grateful for Pacific Standard Time.

An expensive GM SUV by Cadillac stopped. The electric window came down, and a woman began talking to my Annie while I packed the car. "What's the hotel like," she asked.

"Oh, it's one of those old-fashioned ones well-built in the 50's, 60's or early 70's, but it's clean."

"There's no shag carpet is there." The woman in the caddy was adamant about that. "You know how shag carpet is," she added.

"Oh yes, I know." Annie paused for a moment. "But we felt kind of alone here."

"Why's that," the lady asked? I could tell she was still considering the choice of hotel before booking it.

"Well, we were the only ones in the hotel without a dog or dogs."

Horror spread across the woman's face. "Oh! Oh, thank you," she said. I thought she was going to cry for a moment. It was like she experienced an epiphany or something. The electric window closed magically, and Jack extended his arm and fingers ala Jedi Knight style. The car exited the lot and sought the freeway ramp.

This time Annie smiled broadly, just like I always remembered she did when something pleased her, like throwing a cup of cold water on me in the shower or tickling my toes or taking the cherry from my caramel ice cream dessert.