Driving from Reno to Jenner, we make a stop in my hometown – Sacramento. We are anxious to get home but decide to pick up a few items. Driving past Sutter’s Fort, I think of my dad. While he didn’t particularly love the landmark, during his last days his hospital window faced the fort. To this day, I associate the fort with his death. We make a stop at a restaurant my family has gone to for years “Jade Fountain” and then a stop at “Marie’s Donuts”. The woman behind me in line is one of those people who is pastry conflicted. She doesn’t know what to order. Thankfully, I don’t have those kind of conflicts. I buy an extra jelly donut and give it to her. If you are within 60 miles of Marie’s Donuts, you should have their jelly donut at least once in your life. They also make very good snails. Good deed done, we drive out of the city passing the homeless camp under the freeway on-ramp. A few miles later, I see a large freeway billboard “Welcome to Camp Fentanyl”. We drive through the smog and heat of my youth and head towards cooler lands.
We are in my home state where the light bathes the land so intently that the once green hills have withered into a dry and golden landscape. Once known for it’s golden future, the “Golden State” is a land now known for fire. It is the sign of the times. Driving the roads through Sonoma county, we are soon on River Road. Passing the active little towns alongside the Russian River, we are in the forest. Several miles later, there is a meadow clearing that for me signals that the sea is near. Passing the cows by the riverside, we slowly drive through our little village and up the steep hill to our street. Wending left and then right, we gently roll into our driveway. 8,473 miles and 34 days later, we are home. Before we step inside our home, Francesca and I stop to admire the view from our deck. The river and the ocean are just where we saw them last.
During our trip from sea to shining sea, we’ve enjoyed the unique offerings of many places and have passed by much, much more. These places missed, the stories not lived, not told. These other lands will likely never be known to me. This is also America. The vastness of this country means it is ultimately not knowable. It is incomprehensible. Americans are an incredibly diverse and ultimately unknowable people. As individuals, we are bonded by a sense of geographical space and a vague democratic ideal. We are just like the land itself. Enigmatic.
Thank you for taking the trip with us. It was a blast having you along for the ride. I hope you had fun. I know we did.