Colorado-Bound

"It's been written before, but it's worth repeating. No one could dream a place like California."
--Jay Farrar

Jay's got that right. Almost two years to the day that I moved to the Bay Area from Denver, I'm returning to my mountain home, now the scene of a crazy snowstorm, what an ex-boyfriend and Colorado native called "freaking Dr. Zhivagosville." Blizzard conditions notwithstanding, I'm looking forward to being back. Though I've met some truly wonderful friends here, had countless motorcyle adventures, and had a job that allowed me to work with some of the most talented, hilarious, smart, and straight-up awesome women writers at work today (more on these amazing ladies and their books in the next post) I never felt that this was really home. And part of that was not seeing the mountains off to the west every day and feeling untethered to the landscape here. This may seem odd to many of you who love the ocean and can't imagine living near a body of water, but I like being landlocked. Sure, places like Pt. Reyes and Stinson Beach are beautiful and I get the appeal, but give me the Rocky Mountains anytime. I spent summers growing up in tiny Florissant, Colorado, in the shadow of Pikes Peak, and what can I say but those mountains lodged right into my heart.

Some things I will not miss about the Bay Area: Driving. Anywhere. But especially through Chinatown in Oakland and on the 880 where it seems like everyone and their mother are driving the most humongous big rigs ever. I don't get that. It's an industrial area around Oakland, sure, but there are so many big ass trucks on this roadway, which by the way is in the most sorry state of disrepair as to cause the tires on my car to spontaneously bust out of allignment and to actually make the car shake and shimmy. I beseech you, oh muscular scary excuse of a governor, to exercise your brawn over this way, from the Broadway exit to the Oakland Airport, easily the he most bumpy stretch crying out for repair. The joke in Colorado was that Governor Owens spent too much money on fixing roads. But man, these two years have made me long for those days. And better driving conditions (including with snow and ice) make me smile in sweet anticipation. Drivers in Berkeley get their own shout-out. I think they must be so busy finding their zen place that they aren't able to obey all the traffic laws like the rest of us, including going the posted speed limit and using their turn signals. And to all drivers on Grand Ave. in Oakland: Driving does not mean stopping in the middle of the street to show off your new outfit to your neighbor or the time to catch up on the gossip from last night. Get moving or go park somewhere so you don't cause a pile up. And paging all Bay Area drivers: please don't pretend that you don't see me as I try to merge into your lane. What's up with that?

OK then, I guess I didn't realize I had that much to say about Bay Area driving, but there you go. A few things I wil truly miss: wearing open-toed heels in the dead of winter (uggs, here I come) and the Trader Joe's love. TJ's brands of oatmeal and cashew butter, the inexpensive diet hanson's soda, the lovely, brightly colored gerbera daisies for $3.99, and the surprisingly good $2.99 wine--oh TJ what will I do without you. Wild Oats markets are good, but nowhere near as good as TJ's.

On a more serious note, I'm sad to be leaving by myself (along with my ex boyfriend Dave's help). Two years ago when I moved here it was with my sweet Weimaraner, Otie, who died of bone cancer a little over a year ago. Though he passed away here, I took his ashes back to Colorado soon after so I could return him to his favorite places, including the Marshall Mesa trail in Boulder, Eldorado Canyon, and even the area outside of the Whole Foods in Boulder, where he used to hang with the other dogs. It will be good to go back to where he is. And I have to say, he always loved those road trips and all the McDonald's hamburgers. Dave and I will be thinking of him when we're eating gross road food in Wyoming and Utah. He would have been in heaven.