Santa Barbara, CA

What a day.

Wake up.

Finish undergrad.

Grab lunch with Katrina.

Grab tea with Mom.

Pack.

Store what’s left.

Dinner with Mom and Dad.

Gas up the bike.

Beer with the parents, Katrina, and Brandon.

Write.

This blurry shot was the only photo I got of my last beer in Santa Barbara, guess I'll have to reread that camera manual

Every part of today was jam-packed with something. I’ve just finished seven years of undergraduate education and I don’t know how to feel about it. I’m just so busy. Maybe while I’m on the road it’ll hit me. Right now it feels like I’m moving at a thousand miles an hour planning over a thousand miles of journeying. There is so much to plan even when you don’t keep a schedule. Funny how even when you hop on a bike you still have a need for a clock.

I’m keeping an eye on the weather. There’s a storm brewing over Texas (sounds cool to say) and I’m going to be riding through it on Friday or Saturday. Hopefully it doesn’t delay my getting to Fayetteville. I’m excited for this trip, there's a whole lot of friendly faces on the road that I haven’t seen for some time. One face I won’t be seeing is my friend Nick in Albuquerque. He passed around a year ago. Setting up a zoom memorial for him has been a process. “Here’s a three hour window in which I may or may not be able to do this.” People react in odd ways when you hit them with that kind of uncertainty. Here I am planning a memorial without even knowing where to go for it. I’m pretty sure that I’ve got the cemetery right but I don’t have the plot yet. All in good time I guess.

For now, sleep. I have to wake up at six to meet Arielle in Pasadena for breakfast. We’re rondez-vousing at her favorite brunch spot. Wake up, breakfast about a hundred miles away. Here’s to a good night’s rest.