The hotel where we stayed had free broadband internet service, so before breakfast we checked our e-mail. Thanks to all who have kept in touch. We thought we had timed everything perfectly to avoid traffic jams on the freeway heading to Vallejo, but construction and two accidents gave Tom and Dick lots of experience braking and idling in traffic.

We stopped at the HD Dealership in Fairfield. It was right next door to an In and Out Burger, which would have been tempting if it weren't so early. We turned up highway 29 to go through the wine country of Napa Valley. It was beautiful. We weren't the only ones who thought that might be a pretty drive! There was lots of traffic, but it moved smoothly. We went through Geyserville and Cloverdale, where we stopped for lunch at the Burger Ranch and Pasta Farm. It was too early for the famous BBQ, but we could enjoy the aroma while we ate our burgers. We were going to take the road from there to Fort Bragg, but an accident had closed the road. Rather than wait for it to open, we went further north to Hopland and took the Mountain House road to join Highway 128 further west from the accident. The closer we got to the coast, the more it looked and felt like home. We were now deep in the redwoods, and there was a refreshing mist in the air. We stayed in Fort Bragg for the night. We had a wonderful dinner at The Wharf, where we looked back on the trip with great satisfaction. We laughed at the notion that we had better get lots of rest for the long trip home to Fortuna.