Fall in the Valley...

Hughson America

November 14, 2007

N 37°35.815
W 120°51.450

Note: We were able to recover the majority of the data from our laptop with the help of Moses Rogers from CST (Computers, Software, & Training) in Modesto, CA. Here’s a story that was in the works when the computer decided to poop its pants.

Highway 99 was originally built to aid the small towns of the central valley with the transportation of agriculture, keeping Interstate 5 available for through traffic from Sacramento to LA. Today the small towns are now big cities and the two lane highway is packed with traffic at all times of the day, and the agricultural trucks chug along in the slow lane as cars zip in between. We timed our drive along the busy thoroughfare between Sacramento and Hughson perfectly—the traffic flowed the whole way.

As we exited Highway 99 in Ceres we immediately noticed the fall colors on both sides of the rural road to Hughson. The peach trees, empty of fruit, proudly displayed leaves of crimson red, burnt orange and sunshine yellow, knowing it is only a matter of days before they are completely barren. We realized we haven’t been to the Central Valley this time of year in awhile—we always come for Christmas and miss the fall colors.

I pulled over on the side of the road for Marc to snap a few pictures of his childhood stomping grounds and summer employment—the peach and almond fields. The sun shined brightly on us as we continued our short trip to Dad and Pat’s house.

When we arrived, Dad and Pat weren’t home, but there was a note on the door inviting us inside and to make ourselves at home. We felt like we stepped back in time, a time when it was safe to leave your doors unlocked when you weren’t home, and there were no problems. It was very refreshing.

As we relaxed in the backyard, on an unusually hot day for November, we looked at each other knowing it would be one of our last opportunities to enjoy the valley sun. The wedding festivities would keep us busy through Saturday night and, most likely, into the wee hours of Sunday morning.

We wish the best for Joel and Lisa on their wedding day!

Bon Voyage

We are literally hours away from our big trip that has been 26 months in the making. We are currently camped out at the Hyatt Hotel near SFO (Priceline special!) and will board our plane at approximately 6:30 AM tomorrow morning, 1/29.

Everything up to this point has been well planned and completely under our control. Now, as we are about to board the plane, we are venturing into the unknown territory where things WILL be out of our control regardless of our meticulous planning. We are officially in the execution phase of the project, and it will take the team (Marc and I) to pull together to ensure as close to perfect execution as possible. I think we are ready for the challenge--I guess we better be at this point!

We know there will be challenges along the way--illness, missed flights, canceled flights, lost luggage, etc.--but each challenge will result in a story we can share with our friends and family along the way.

The emotions have been intense the past couple of weeks saying "see you soon" to all of our friends and family, some who made excuses to see us just one more time. After we went through the packing list one last time today, did some final touch-up cleaning, we placed our packs in Mike Swartz's rental car, and set out for the airport with red eyes (Thanks again Mike). We couldn't really describe how we were feeling--it wasn't sad, or scared--maybe it was good old fashioned anxiety.

We both know we are about to embark on something very special. We believe the anxiety that is running on high today will slowly dissipate when we land in Quito, Ecuador, and continue to diminish as we reach the coast of Ecuador for 7 days of complete relaxation on the beach.

We will miss everyone, including our City. We heard a new lady at Cafe Trieste yesterday say, "I moved hear from Cleveland, OH just a few weeks ago. I really like it because I feel like I am on the same wavelength as everyone else here. I was really tired of being perceived as a freak in Cleveland." Her new friend responded, "Well, it is San Francisco."

We don't think we will find a City we love as much as San Francisco, but that is part of our quest. That and a cup of coffee that can stand up to Cafe Trieste.

Please feel free to email us at mjheckman@yahoo.com or lssassafras@yahoo.com.