Awake at 5:30 am on the road at 6. 794 miles later I arrived at my first stop.

Highlights included smoke from the King Fire in California drifting through the Sierras, exit signs for The Donner Pass, Reno, Nevada’s seemingly limitless landscape, The Bonneville Salt Flats, The Great Salt Lake and a Morton Salt Facility.

For the next 4 days I am driving from Redwood City, CA to Bethany Beach, DE. I will be in Delaware for 2 weeks until I catch my plane to South Africa, where I will be reunited with my love. I am lucky to be staying with great friends along the way.

The drive was peaceful, long and without incident. My co - pilot, our diabetic Persia cat named Nejm, was a bit anxious. He settled down after a few hours.

I had a lot of time to reflect on my past year in the Bay Area. Surrounded by great friends and an awesome area to explore. We had numerous visitors and showed them a great time. One year is not enough to spend in the Bay Area, I feel there still is some juice left to squeeze in that fruit. At the end of the day I saw the sun sneaking behind the clouds as it set over The Great Salt Lake. I thought of my friends to the West and hoped they enjoyed the last remaining light of the day.

I am looking forward to tomorrow’s drive through Wyoming and Nebraska. A lot of open space more time to drive and relax. It will be my first time in Nebraska and I’m excited about that.