2.
The Preparation
While thinking about what we might actually do, we started training. The official training started with a hike home on a Wednesday in January 2002. John was taking karate and when he was picked up from Jake's he was brought down to JPL from where he and I walked home together. I walked to work or home routinely anyway; this hike together was a test drive. Sometimes Viannah's dog Sheridan was brought and we walked him too. When we were close enough we talked about various things: math problems, the national debt, futures. Sometimes friends or other family would come along depending on the venue.
After fourteen hikes home from work walking the dog, John became more interested in his new mountain bike and for a time would only go on training events with that. On the bike there was the new issue of safety. I had learned to ride a bike in a somewhat safer place.
Later he stopped wanting to go biking at all, but rather wanted to go camping, or stay home and master video games. I spent a lot of time in angst about where we were heading ultimately.
The training exercises continued through July 2006, right before the big trip itself started. The lightly edited notes from these father-son outings are found Appendix C. Preparatory Outings.
A total of forty-nine events are recorded, including fifteen hikes, thirty biking adventures, one campout, one trip to see Revolution OS (5/18/02) with Viannah along, one family hike, and one hike with friends of mine that also included Katy.
Forty-nine events is a lot more ÒtrainingÓ than I had done with either girl, at least that had been recorded as such. Having been through the routine twice, I was now keeping better notes up front was more organized in planning and recording, if less certain of the goal. Still, all that training activity wasnÕt part of the trip itself so IÕm not detailing it here. It is in an appendix in order to preserve the memories.
All of the ideas we were having seemed too big, or too dangerous. Older and wiser now, however, it wasnÕt clear to me that I wouldnÕt have considered hiking across the Grand Canyon or spending a long weekend on a desert island too dangerous now. For a while we thought we might drive up the Alaska Highway, the last trip in the 2001 GMC van whose warranty would expire in 2006. WeÕd sell it there, and somehow get ourselves and our stuff home another way. Viann was excited about this. Although the Alaska Highway was Òher trip,Ó one that she and I had talked about as long as we had been married, she was willing to give it to John, with some conditions. But it turned out to be too big too.
Halfway musing about ViannÕs sister and brother-in-law who had honeymooned on the Pacific Coast Highway, I suggested driving up that highway, seeing the sights, trying not to keep too much of a schedule. At the end weÕd zoom back down I-5. Certainly weÕd do some camping. Maybe weÕd take the bikes along.
After some more discussion, this became the trip, not one of great athletic prowess or unusual, exotic destinations, but a couple of guys driving around one end of the country for a few weeks. On further research, it was decided to reverse the order and drive to Seattle first, saving the trip back down the Pacific Coast Highway for last. On the way up weÕd see some interior sites. Mt. Shasta (unavoidable), Crater Lake, Mt. St. Helens, maybe Rainer, and other such places.
John was amenable to anything. Viann always said this was the case with all the kids. He would go along and would have some tactical input here and there, but didnÕt much drive the grand vision. So, we picked a departure date, 2006 July 31 and made some basic plans. The day arrived; we loaded up and drove away.
