California Trip, Day 1

5:01 AM - Car is packed and we are off! One minute behind schedule. I blame Tracey for that because....well, because she has boobs, ergo she is to blame for any delays. Pretty simple. I am driving the first shift.

5:20 AM - At the Sumas border crossing and we are delighted to hear that they are going to search our car. I guess they had nothing else to do. This is the first time I can recall ever being searched at any border. Not too huge a deal, except that the guards screw up the perfect car-packing job I had done so we end up having to pull over and re-do it.

Good news for future trips, as we discover that they have now instituted a dedicated "NEXUS" lane at this border crossing! That is very exciting as we both have Nexus. It's not open at this time of the morning but it's not like it would have mattered, there were zero other cars there anyway.

7:30 AM - Well, two and a half hours of driving is about my limit, and it's time for breakfast anyway, so I pull off the I-5 and find an IHOP. We encouter our first Spaniard of the trip. Don't have to go far over the US/Canada border to start encountering the locals :-)

We finish breakfast around 8 AM....

8:01 AM - I'm out like a light, seconds after Tracey gets back to the highway.

12:15 PM - Off the highway to get some gas and food. Dairy Queen is calling. I have an Ultimate burger, which, for those of you uninitiated in the art of tasty goodness, is a double burger with bacon and cheese. It has been QUITE a while since I have had one of those. Since I am not interested in gaining a ton of weight on this trip, I decide to leave off the lettuce and tomato. No need for those empty calories.

As we sit and eat, I am perusing the Blizzard menu, specifically the column marked "cookies". I see the following:

Oreo
Mint Oreo

OK pretty standard

Oreo Cheesequake

Hmm not totally sure what that is but still seems reasonable....and then there was this little beauty:

Oreo Cookie Jar

WTF? Oreo Cookie JAR??? Does it come with ceramic pieces?? What the heck is that???

Anyway I don't feel like glass with my Blizzard so I indulge in a little Hawaiian number while my wife has a cone. I am informed that they actually offer CHOCOLATE soft serve at these restaurants!! It's a good thing I was not aware of that before I ordered the blizzard as I might have ordered an entire tub to eat in the car during the drive. And in this heat, that would NOT have been pretty.
The highway is under a ton of construction (which it was the last time we drove down here, 3 or so years ago), I wonder if they are ever going to FINISH the paving job??? OK granted it's a pretty damn big highway. Even with the construction delays, we are making good time and don't really run into any big issues.

9:00 PM - We find a very cool little Yaletown-like neighborhood in Sacramento and we pull into the Old Spaghetti Factory for a late dinner.

10:00 PM - After dinner, Tracey selfishly announces that she's had enough driving for the day. I am seriously considering finding a new co-pilot, as her level of dedication is not up to par. She's only been driving for about 13 hours, for chrissake. I guess I have to take over again........

10:40 PM - We check into our spectacular hotel for the evening in Stockton; a little villa known as "Motel 6". I originally figured it was called that because it was one better than your average "5 star" hotel.....however, after seeing our room, I am skeptical of that. Anyway it's a perfectly clean and nice place to sleep for the evening. It's definitely time for bed, I am exhausted after all that driving!!!