Day 20 - Road To Nowhere

We awoke this morning reasonably early at Z's, for our last morning in Santa Monica (or in Southern California, for that matter). The plan today was to briefly shower and pack, and then venture out for one final jam at Frazier before our northern travels. So, after the usual hectic act of stuffing our suitcases and trying our best to close them, we loaded up Z's truck and drove down to the park for our daily dose of freestyle goodness. 

Joining us for the jam were three distinguished and very welcome guests - Danny Cameronasi, Bob 'Friz' Coleman, and, of course Dave Lewis. Along with Z, we had a great couple of hours session with these guys. The conditions were close to perfect, with a pleasant Santa Moncia temperature, and a light-medium steady breeze. Double spinning moves were aplenty, and we managed also to learn quite a few vital tips as these guys also helped coach us in various ways. It was the best possible way to end our time in Santa Monica (which has been absolutely awesome on the whole), and after a few heartfelt goodbyes, we left with Z for the bus station.  

We made a helpful stop on the way to pick up lunch and other assorted snacks, and then eat on the road. A few bursts of map-reading were required en route, but Z got us to the station easily and with the recommended hour-to-spare. We parted with Z, to whom we're extremely grateful for everything over the last few days, and made our way into the station. We picked up our tickets, finished off our lunch, decontaminated a melted chocolate situation (Joe now realises not to leave half a bar of 'Hershey's' in the front of his bag when jamming on a hot day), and waited for the bus to arrive.

It did in due time, and we boarded, getting seats with as much legroom as possible - also some grumbling was done when we realised the standard emergency exit seats were occupied. We fought off the urge to sit in them anyway, and settled in for the 7-hour greyhound journey. As far as bus journeys go, this one was the defintion of uneventful - remarkably unremarkable, you might say. This was an express to Northern California, and there were few stops. So instead of the scenic coastal sights we had seen on the way to Ventura, we were instead treated to a guided tour of the '5' highway; a road that goes literally directly north (we could tell by the sunset...clever eh?) for about 200 miles, and always appears to be travelling through nowhere in particular. Ah well, it gets the job done. We stopped off briefly for an evening meal - true US cuisine was the main option at this point, and bacon cheese and chicken burgers were the choice - and then continued on to San Jose. 




Once there (the keener-eyed readers among you will now have noticed that we've visited both the train and bus station at San Jose), we were met by Arthur Coddington, our new, current host. Arthur drove us back to his place (further) up in San Leandro, and we began to get sorted for the night. We had time for a few essentials - getting a tour of the (considerable) food and beverage options available, and watching a couple of freestyle tournament videos- before settling down for a good nights sleep. 

We're looking forward to the rest of our time here with Arthur in SL / SF,
Will write again soon,

J et J