We did some exploring in the regions across the bridge. The trip was around the bridges, stopping in Crockett and then Martinez. I was dreaming of a boba drink recently, so it was nice to find a corner deli that had it in Crockett.

In Martinez, we parked downtown and walked through it while they had a wine walk. We stopped in a bunch of boutiques and antique stores, but I only got one little thing, which spoke to me. I love southwestern American art, especially with bear fetishes and paws, so I decided to get this high-quality tile. She commented on how unappetizing this heart pastry was in the entranceway to one of the shops.

We then went to the pier near the marina where Shea’s family used to moor their boat. There were lots of interesting things to see.

I’ve never been to Martinez before, to my knowledge, but it was fascinating to see my neighborhood, Glen Cove in Vallejo, from there, especially since I’ve rowed in the Carquinez Strait a thousand times. There was a direct view of Glen Cove, but I wasn’t absolutely sure, so I magnified it 100% in the closest shot. Pretty cool.

For work I traveled to Southern California for a leadership conference.

Met some great people from the conference here in Diamond Bar. We were adorned with capes to get us in the mood to be superheroes. I also got to meet my amazing co-worker Sophia in person, who runs the smoking cessation program for City of Hope.

Living in Vallejo, it’s still very convenient to get to BART, the closest station of which is only about 15 minutes away. Then, by extension, getting to Oakland and SFO airports, especially with the Oakland shuttle connection, is a breeze now that it doesn’t require a bus.

Usually I’m not interested in traveling alone, but when I’m traveling for my passion of fighting the tobacco industry, making short trips with my partner at home with the dogs makes sense. Part of my time will be occupied with no way to really involve him if he doesn’t have a passion for the subject matter. I have traveled to multiple countries for multiple weeks “by myself,” but everywhere I went, I made connections or renewed connections so that I had an amazing time. There’s also something to be said of not being delayed by anyone who might be slower-moving than I am, which includes when I used to travel with my young daughter.

This first picture is taken at SFO. Once again (as in June) I was traveling through Harvey Milk Terminal. Unfortunately I was moving too much and this was not in focus.

I took some pictures of Shea’s hometown, Pittsburg (CA).

I took some pictures of Lake Tahoe.

These are pictures of my return to San Francisco.

I got very lucky in two ways. I was able to catch an earlier flight because I got to O’Hare early enough and saw another direct flight to SFO with the same airline. I had all my luggage with me as I always travel light. I went on “standby,” but it was a bit of a joke because as you can see we took off and I got many rows to myself. I stretched out and slept, although I left my seat belt done since there was a little turbulence. It was great to get some sleep and have so much room. An almost perfect flight.