Nomad Life - Day 98

After a few interesting day in California's Capital City, it was time to reposition for the Thanksgiving Holiday.  First, though, I had a full day of telework.  As usual, I was up very early (0430) and ate breakfast in my room.  Before noon, I'd worked 7.5 hours (7 in the room and 30 minutes in my car in the parking lot) and had checked out of the Motel 6 in Old Sacramento.  At 1200, I drove across the street and filled up my gas tank at the Arco (the price per gallon was surprisingly low).  From there, I found it easy to access I-5, which I used to access US-50 and cross the Sacramento River.  Belong, I was motoring towards the southwest on I-80 soon.  I passed signs that indicated I was still following the Pony Express and had, once again, found the Juan Bautista de Anza NHT (which I'd seen several times in Arizona and California).  My pleasant drive was soon marred by lots of construction and traffic - my speeds then slowed accordingly...  Along the way, I passed Travis AFB, which I used to visit quite often but had never considered where it was located in reference to the Bay Area.  After almost an hour of driving, I crossed the Sacramento River again, this time on a big bridge that featured a heavy crosswind.  My target during this drive was not my hotel; instead, I was following Google Maps in the direction of the town/city of Richmond, where I hoped to visit the Rosie the Riveter / World War II Home Front NPS Unit.  By 1335, I'd arrived and found the parking lot (there was lots of extra security to enter the grounds).  The building that housed the park unit Visitors Center wasn't that big and the displays weren't too extensive.  I did figure out a bit about the area - it used to be a shipyard and automobile manufacturing site.  It also seemed to be a big complex, with lots of potential checkpoints for visitors.  There was a nearby bike trail that would have interested me if I had time for exercise...  I didn't really have time much, though, so I focused only on the one building (I also sent photos to my three daughters).  Outside, I got my first glimpse of San Francisco (on the other side of the Bay). I ended up departing at 1340 and backtracked towards I-80.  When I saw how much traffic there would be on the Interstate, however, I started to use back roads (e.g., San Pablo Dam Road) and eventually tricked Google Maps to give me a "better" routing.  The end result was that I found myself driving through the Alhambra Valley on one of the worst roads I've found in California.  This route, which passed through hilly farms and lots of livestock fields, allowed me to reach the town of Martinez from the south.  I was trying to locate the Visitors Center for the John Muir NHS and found it on Alhambra Avenue just after I'd passed under CA-4.  Stopping at this park unit was rather special for me - I've been trying to finish reading all of the written works of "The Father of the National Park Service."  The rangers played a great movie for me - it was very well done!  Next, I got a tour of the home were John Muir died home.  A friendly docent told me all about how the style was completely due to Muir's father-in-law's taste.  However, one part of the house was damaged during an earthquake and the resulting architectural and aesthetic differences (chosen by Muir) were striking.  One of the main highlights was visiting the "Scribble Den", where Muir wrote almost everything I've ready.  I also got to ring the bell in his attic.  Along the way, I got to see several of William Keith's paintings, which had a very close connection to a story I'd read that very morning in Muir's "Mountains of California".  Seems like I have more of these "but I was just reading about that" moments as I've gotten older...  During this visit, I thought about hiking up to the top of either Mount Wanda or Mount Helen (named after Muir's daughters) but chose, instead, to check out another nearby landmarks  At 1515, I got some guidance from the park rangers, who directed me south (on Alhambra Valley Road again) to the John Swett Elementary School.  This gave me the amazing opportunity to pay my respects to John Muir and his family at their burial plot.  Before departing the area, I checked out a Muir statue in a little park at corner of Alhambra Valley Road and Alhambra Avenue (1530).  With this stop completed, I headed east on CA-4 (the "California Delta Highway").  Almost immediately, I encountered lots of traffic - the Thanksgiving weekend had officially begun.  I managed to make it to Clyde and made an attempt to visit the Port Chicago Naval Magazine National Memorial.  Unfortunately, I learned (only then) that you needed an appointment to access the base.  Even worse, I got hung up by security when I accidentally (thanks, Google Maps) turned on to an active military installation.  And, no, my military ID didn't do anything to help.  Somehow (with my tail between my legs), I managed to get out of that area and return to busy CA-4.  I'll admit I was glad to be sitting back in traffic after admitting I hadn't done the correct research with the NPS Unit access procedures... Sadly, a Hail Mary phone call to the number listed for making reservations led only to a voicemail (and I never heard anything back at all).  For the next 20 minutes, I continued east on the traffic-choked Freeway.  Finally (1615), I arrived in Oakley (via CA-160 at the end) and located my hotel, the Best Western Plus Delta.  By this point, the last word in the name made sense: I'd learned that this area (Contra Costa County) is called the California Delta.  After checking in (got a sticker shock on amount of taxes involved), I didn't go to my room.  Instead, I started talking with Brenna on the phone and got back on CA-4 so I could drive to Brentwood and visit my mom's sister (Aunt Judy) and brother-in-law (Uncle Jim).  I arrived at the Google Maps recommended address by 1700 but was stymied by an iron gate.  For the next 20 minutes, I tried to figure out how to get inside the retirement community.  At one point, I found a gate guard who almost laughed at me because I'd located an entrance to a different community (one of five that share fences).  He actually handed me a print out that showed hot to get to the correct gate guard shack.  THAT security person almost had a heart attack about the height of my Subaru (with roof rack) but ended up giving me my parking pass.  Once I found their home (1725), I went inside and we immediately sat down to dinner (homemade soup).  I'd last seen my aunt and uncle in 2014 and it was very nice to be able to visit them under "calmer" (i.e., no divorce going on) circumstances.  Also, the last time I saw them in the Bay Area was in 2002!  As a result of all the catch up talk, I stayed very late (2100).  On my way back to Oakley on CA-4, I had to drive very carefully through VERY heavy fog.  At my hotel by 2115, I finished up the last birding entry for the day - I had sightings from several counties!  I also completed my last 30 minutes of teleworking.  Next, I logged 90 minutes of walking around the hotel and on a treadmill in the Fitness Center.  The TV news that was playing in the gym showed the Tree Lighting Ceremony in Old Sacramento (I recognized a lot of the landmarks in the video).  Once I'd reached my step goal (just after 2300), I returned to my room and watched movies until after midnight.  Finally fell asleep at 0030.  What a day of exploring in the California Delta!