A great first day on the road. Latte at Toby’s barn + morning bun from Bovine Bakery, and thenceward on Hwy. 37, Sears Point Rd. through wetlands/nature preserve; there were maybe 100 egrets standing, flying diving. never seen so many in one place, heading for 505, then interstate 5 northwards.
The freedom of the road, good to get away from the constraints of Marin County. I get that feeling when I enter Nevada, a sense of release, it’s wide open, not every square inch analyzed and monetized.
I stopped off in Colusa, to visit my friend from 60 years ago, Jim Davison.
My dad had a rice farm 8 miles west of Colusa, and when I was 12, I helped him build a concrete block house there. My job, on weekends and holidays, was shoveling sand, gravel, and cement into the concrete mixer).
Later, in teen years, I started hanging out with Colusa kids, complete with girlfriend, Roxana. Jim played piano and we did duets with me on ukulele; it was such a different experience, hanging out with these small town kids, for a city boy. Population 3,000. We had fun! I worked in Colusa in the summer, bucking hay and driving a truck in the wheat harvest. Plus partying hearty at nights. Alcohol the only drug we knew of.
Yesterday I drove out to see the house. No one was home, but I shot a few photos. It looked as good as it did 70 years ago. When we started it was a barren piece of land.
Above: An almond orchard, with all the nuts on ground, ready to pick up
House my dad and I (plus two masons and one carpenter) built in 1947-48
