On my own again

I have just spent the last week with family and friends, but now I am striking out on my own again.

Last week in Las Vegas was fun. It was good to spend time with my brothers. While we have different lifestyles we were able to find some commonality. One afternoon we were looking for an activity we could do together. My older brother lives in Las Vegas and made several suggestions, all vetoed by my younger brother and me. Finally he came up with indoor go-carting. We went to FastLap, where they have high powered go-carts and a winding track through a warehouse. They make you wear helmets, neck braces, and recommend full coverall race suits. I was the only one of us to wear the outfit. It was hot and I looked silly, but at least it kept the oil and rubber off my clothes.

The races were 10 minutes long, and we could do between 16 and 20 laps in that time frame. It was hard work and great fun. There were about a dozen turns on the course, some very sharp. The cars got going up to about 30 miles per hour and it took a while to figure out when to brake for the turns, when to accelerate, and what line to take through the curves. I had to grip the wheel hard, not just to steer, but also to keep myself upright in the curves.

My older brother was the best. I guess it comes from living a fast life, whatever that means. My younger brother and I were evenly matched. Of three races, he had a faster lap than me on the first two, but by the third race I had it almost figured out and had a lap of exactly 30.00 seconds, which was faster than any of his. I did have one momentary lapse where my car started to slide and my younger brother pushed my into the wall as he passed. To my embarrassment, he heard me over the sound of the engines calling him a body part as he passed. I quickly caught up to him again but didn't have the speed or technique to get past him.

The cars were equipped with RF technology that transmitted information to a computer. At the end of each race we each got a printout showing a summary of the race including our times lap by lap. We each got faster almost lap by lap, and certainly race by race. But our arms were sore by the end of the third race, so we quit.

The weekend was spent in San Diego, where my younger brother and his family live. While there I got to see Coronado Island and Balboa Park. Both are beautiful places.

Monday I drove up to the Los Angeles area. I had been hoping to have lunch with some of the folks that run the DSC facilities in the Mira Loma area, but due to bad timing it didn't work out. I did get to experience the notorious Santa Anna winds. It was blowing about 40 miles per hour while I was out there on Monday.

Monday evening I got together with my friend Peggy. Cindy and I worked at the same company as Peggy in the late 80's and early 90's and she did a scripture reading at our wedding. I spent Monday night on her couch.

Yesterday I visited my friend Mary Therese. I have known her since college. She is now on disabililty due to health problems. We had a great day of conversation, but by about 4pm I was wiped out. (I am too old to be sleeping on couches) My original plan was to have dinner with Mary Therese and her husband, but I just didn't have the stamina.

I checked into my cheap hotel, a Motel 6, shortly after 4pm to rest. It was still too early to tell if they really did leave the light on for me.

It is now early Wednesday and I am about to head up to San Francisco. I plan to take highway 1 along the ocean front all the way up there. It is only about 400 miles, so I should have time to stop and enjoy the sights.

I'm sorry I don't have any pictures to post, but my brothers just aren't that photogenic.