Hitched and Rolling

We woke up in San Francisco in somewhat less than spritely fashion and took an uber (with a driver) to a little diner for breakfast and a Bloody Mary to help soften the landing.

It didn’t really work. We went back to the hotel, showered, and took another uber to go pick up the car and Duker Dog in Daly City.

By the time we got there it was noon. Doggins was happy to see us but it was clear that Kathy had done a wonderful job.

Today was a first for the hitched and rolling tour: we were to pick up our first guest passenger – Grant.

My friend Grant from law school is from Palo Alto, a town about 40 minutes south of San Francisco. Once we had secured the van and the dog, we headed to his house to pick him up.

Grant had been invited to join us on our leg from the Bay Area to LA, around four days of travel time. Being from the region, Grant assumed the role of tour guide and itinerary-maker, which was almost totally appreciated despite your author’s anti-itinerary tendencies.

Grant lived in DC and has been a close friend of ours for years. We met him at his charming house in Palo Alto and got to have lunch there with his mom. It was nice to see her and catch up, and to see Grant’s childhood photos on the wall. After lunch and a quick neighborhood stroll to stretch the legs, the hangovers had mostly evaporated and it was time to hit the road.

The first stop on this leg was Carmel-by-the-sea, a picturesque-and-hyphen-forward town that basically feels like a movie set for its climate, environs, and quaintness. Carmel was only a couple hours from Palo Alto and we arrived just as the sun was setting. We went straight to the beach and played a long overdue throw of fetch with our young beast as nightfall set in, breaking out the glow in the dark ball to exhaust the session.

After fetch, we found a great parking spot for the van among the narrow, hilly, Europe-like, dark streets of Carmel (the town banned street lights, a concept which would end up growing on me), and left a now-exhausted Duke in the hotel room before setting out to find some dinner – a task that we accomplished quite successfully – and walk around town.

Grant was a welcome addition to the hitched and rolling tour.