Nomad Life - Day 101

Today's activities were the culmination of almost six months of planning - I was going to be at the Notre Dame versus Stanford football game!  I woke up at the Best Western Plus in Oakley at 0630 (no alarm required) and spent the morning organizing and packing.  At 0800, I went to breakfast in the lobby of the hotel and, after another fulfilling meal, finished getting ready to depart.  I finally left my room by 1045 and departed Oakley.  Using CA-160 and CA-4 (headed towards Martinez), I made my way to St. Mary's College Museum of Art, hoping to see a William Keith exhibit called "Echoes of Yosemite").  While I located the campus in the town of Moraga (a wonderfully scenic area in the rolling hills east of Oakland), I found signs that the exhibit was closed because of the long weekend (1120).  Noticing the names of several streets seemed to connect to the Christian Brothers, I wrote to Brother Jim to let him know where I was.  After backtracking through a maze of winding mountain roads and dodging many cyclists (lots of bike trails!), I got back on I-680 and towards the town of Danville.  Following Google Maps, I reached the entrance to the Eugene O'Neill NHS (1150).  Unfortunately, like Port Chicago, this park unit was only apparently available by appointment only.  Seeing other people were walking into the neighborhood through an iron gate - I decided to risk parking nearby (there weren't any signs prohibiting it) and followed Kuss Street towards the official entrance to the park.  The weather was wonderful (50s and sunny) and I encountered a lot of interesting bird sounds (Merlin App) in this area.  I was able to reach the historic home and get a feel for the property.  However, I was afraid I'd be towed and quickly returned to my car.  Returning to I-680 again, I drove towards Palo Alto.  This was a longer route than it might otherwise would have been but I was avoiding tolls.  North of San Jose, I switched to I-880 (there was some traffic but conditions weren't too bad) and then used CA-237 to cut across the city.  Before long, I found myself on US-101 and was headed north.  When I reached Palo Alto (1300), I got off the Freeway and started looking for my mom's old home on Alester Avenue.  I was successful in my search and sent a picture to Uncle Jim and Aunt Judy.  What I really liked about the home was that the Stanford University campus was very close.  Another landmark, Duveneck Elementary School, was right next door.  Hoping to get some lunch, I stopped into a nearby local grocery store, The Market at Edgewood and started searching the aisles for my options.  I was completely turned off by the prices, almost double anything I've ever seen, and didn't ultimately purchase a single item.  Instead, I returned to US-101 and continued north.  Still looking for food, I got off the Freeway again in Redwood City.  While exploring in that area, I found Oracle Corporation Headquarters.  Almost immediately, I noticed that it looked familiar - later, I learned that it was used in "Bicentennial Man" as the fictional NorthAm Robotics HQ).  Encountering no restaurants there, I made my way back towards the west and stopped at a Wendy's restaurant near "El Camino Real" (1355).  I ordered my lunch there and ate in restaurant, hoping to kill a bit more time before I could check into my hotel.  After finishing my meal, I drove the rest of the way to The Dylan in Millbrae (arrived at 1415).  After completing the check-in process and reaching my room (1430), I was immediately convinced that I'd done VERY well with my Booking.com research.  I spent the next hour prepping for my East Coast trip on Monday, repacking and reorganizing the car.  Once done with those tasks, I donned my Fighting Irish gear (coat, sweatshirt, hat) and felt ready for the game!  At 1600, I visited the lobby to learn about their daily happy hour (none of the beers excited me) - 10 minutes later, I departed from The Dylan.  The walk to the nearby Caltrain/BART station (Millbrae) only took about three minutes).  Even better, a train was arriving just then (1615).  Sadly, I hadn't yet figured out how to buy tickets - by the time I finished that process at a Caltrain machine, the train had departed (dang).  Fortunately, I only had to wait about 30 minutes for the next train to arrive.  During this delay, I some Notre Dame fans: Mitch (a helicopter pilot on the Coast Guard) and Jake (from Sierra City).  We discussed ND's chances and concerns about the upcoming College Football Playoff selection.  When the next southbound train arrived (1646), we got onboard and found a seat in the upper level (the lower level was only for bikes).  The ride went quickly and we arrived in Palo Alto at 1715.  After getting off the train, I walked southwest towards Stanford University and soon found myself in the middle of large crowds of fans.  By then, it was already very dark.  Without a map, I still managed to find the Fighting Irish Tailgating area in the middle of a small forest (I'd heard from the other guys that this area becomes a swamp if it rains).  There were definitely a not of ND fans and I wasn't sure if that meant Stanford might be lightly represented.  After all, the late kickoff, Thanksgiving Holiday weekend and poor season that The Cardinal has had could have reduced enthusiasm,  Eventually, though, I found an area (better lit and pavement) with some Stanford partiers.  Ultimately, I ended walking almost a full circuit of the Stadium until I arrived at a Pep Rally.  I got to watch the Stanford Band and mascot ("Tree") and, during their performance, found myself surrounded by running fans.  Very glad I got to see that!  I continued my circuit of the Stadium and ended up reaching Gate 10 (my entry location) just as they were opening it to everyone (1810).  Almost immediately after reaching the area of my seat (near northern End Zone), I bought a can of beer (double the normal price at home) and also got a Chick-fil-A sandwich (again, double the price).  I found some Handicapped Seats nearby and sat down to eat.  During the next 45 minutes, I spoke with an older couple who asked me about my reasons for being a Fighting Irish Fan.  This led to a longer conversation about their travels and my Nomad Life.  While we were talking, a friend I'd planned to meet later (Dennis H.) walked by and found me!  We'd first met during Bonnie's funeral in Hobbs (back in October) but I hadn't expected that he'd locate me without a phone...  Saying goodbye to the older folks (they were very understanding), I joined Dennis and his family of seven (they are from Albuquerque) for photos we wanted to sent to Trish & Terry (1855).  During this time, we concluded that his mother-in-law would best be suited to sit in the same Handicapped area.  The rest of us joined her and I never actually went looking for my seats...  Nearby, there were LOTS of ND fans.  Actually, there were almost no Stanford folks in the Stadium and they all seemed to be in or near the student section on the opposite side of the field.  The game finally started at 1930 - by then, it was definitely coat weather (30s).  Dennis bought me a beer (I later returned the favor) and we didn't stray from our seats for the first half of the game.  ND dominated, with 35 points in the first two quarters.  At one point, though, there was a scare when Jeremiah Love had to leave the field.  At halftime, Dennis and his family departed - it was great to enjoy the game with them!  I stayed in my seat for most of the Third quarter but then headed down to the lower level concourse, where I managed to evade a Stanford ticket checker and sit down very close (30 yard line) to the action below.  I watched a few series from there but then Stanford started to play better.  At 2200, I decided that it was late enough that I should start making my way to the Caltrain station.  Along the way, I encountered the El Camino Real again (1010).  At Embarcadero, I passed the Palo Alto Senior High School; my mother attended in the 1960s.  I ended up walking north from there and thought it would be a good idea to ask a passing policeman about the Caltrain station - he replied that it was closed.  Undeterred, I continued walking found out I'd picked the wrong direction (Stanford Station closed) and needed to redirect to the northwest and the Palo Alto Station.  By this point, I could see the tracks and started looking for the next train.  The time it was taking caused me to wonder if I might miss my northbound train by minutes.  Sure enough, the Caltrain I wanted arrived at 2225 but I was on the wrong side of the tracks and about 50 yards away when it started rolling... Sadly, I had to wait 30 more minutes but, I'll admit, that wasn't as bad as the hour that was posted for the one after that.  Had I waited too much longer to depart the game, the night would have been MUCH later.  When the next train arrived (1058), I boarded and found a seat in the last car.  We arrived at Millbrae at 1127 and, thankfully, it was just another short walk (across the tracks this time) to The Dylan.  Still, my pedometer reported that I'd walked about 5.5 miles during the day!  The Front Desk clerk let me in (using complicated visual cues) and I was in my room before 1145.  After my full day of adventure, I was too jazzed up to go to bed right away.  Instead, I read for a little while and turned out the lights at 0030.  Hopefully, Notre Dame has done enough to make the CFP - I know I did my part this season!