Day 1 - Seal Beach, CA -> Santa Clara, CA

Considering that it took Dodger and I more than two hours to get out of LA yesterday - we had to get through a nasty accident on the 405/101 merge at Ventura Blvd, which was easily a 1.5 hour delay as they had the freeway down to one lane at rush hour - the drive wasn't bad. Getting everything packed into my car and saying goodbye to my family and friends before I left was the hard part. Quite frankly, it was traumatic for all involved. The end of an era is never easy, even though it was definitely time to close the chapter. Not fun by any means. Nevertheless, the stop in Santa Clara was important. It's another mile-marker place in my life, because I did my undergrad degree at Santa Clara University, and lived here for 4 years. This morning Dodger and I met my friend Lisa (freshman year roomie) for coffee by the fountain at Franklin Square and then walked through the Mission Gardens after she left for work. I felt much better afterwards... less nervous, more centered. Which is good, because we have a long drive ahead of us today to Portland, Oregon. We are staying with another one of my college roommates, Becca (from junior year in Sobrato), so I'd better wrap this up and head further north. But... I'll post a few photos before I go.