Oakland and Homeward Bound
We stayed with our friends, Eileen and Elliott, in Oakland, and they showed us all of the pretty and delicious things in the Bay Area.
Then, we house/dog sat for a friend and former Iowan in the Fruitvale neighborhood.
Then we bought an old Volvo station wagon with no cruise control (oops) on Craigslist and headed up Highway 1. Destinations: Couchsurfing in Northern California, Portland (where Sean and McKinze had opened a Georgian food cart), Seattle (Alicia’s cousin Julian), Pullman (our good friends Oscar and Crissa), Salt Lake City (a quick overnight with some fellow backpackers we met in Thailand) , Estes Park (Tony’s cousins/friends Molly and Amos), and then home to Iowa.