The light switches are upside down.

And there is something fundamentally wrong with this picture.

I sat in the passenger side and kept wanting to look in the rear vision mirror so I could see what was behind me, even though I wasn’t driving.

When we cruised back into SanFran we decided – due to the implications of a ten day cruise – we should walk the 2.8 miles (4.5km), with our 25 kg or so suit cases and back packs,  to the rental car place. Oh the joy of SanFrans finest hills. 

That burnt off a few calories let me assure you, even though I know you can’t appreciate the steepness of the hills from these poorly taken photos.

We picked up the car, turned into the wrong side of the road, and hit highway Interstate 80 to meet MODs friends Ben and his lovely family for lunch in Vacaville, just up the road from SF and across the Bay Bridge. At the Mexican restaurant, arriving first, MOD somehow had it in his head that Ben had two infants and we would need two high chairs. I subtly reminded him that those infants were four years older than when we had seen them last. We all know how subtle I am of course. But they were! It was a lovely lunch.  The heat caught us out though. Damn it’s hot here when you ain’t used to it.  32 Degrees Celsius. 

From Vacaville, we headed to Auburn to meet Mike and his lovely wife Penny.  MOD has known these guys for 29 years. That’s a lifetime! What a lovely couple they are. They have an absolutely gorgeous home on about 5 acres in Auburn and being a beautiful warm night we were able to sit out on the deck for the magnificent evening meal they had prepared. We were totally spoiled, ate too much and may have drank a little too much just to round that off. I had a magic wine glass. Every time I looked it seemed to be full again. (Thanks Mike). Sitting out on the deck I was lucky enough to see my first hummingbird. Well two actually. Tiny little things they are. Luckily I didn’t see my first rattlesnake. Mike was able to tell me that he had seen one in the driveway just a few years ago.

Today, which is Tuesday for us but Wednesday for those in the Southern Hemisphere, breakfast was another magnificent spread layed out for us on the deck by the gorgeous Penny. We definitely need to do some exercise to work off all that beautiful food. After breakfast, our hosts took us for a drive around Auburn and a visit to the Historic Court House and Museum which is still a working court house.

Auburn is the county seat of Placer County, California. Its population at the 2010 census was 13,330 and it is known for its California Gold Rush history. One of its most famous citizens was the poet and short-story writer Clark Ashton Smith, who was born there in 1893 and who lived there most of his life. Stacy Dragila, born and raised in Auburn, was the first to win an Olympic gold medal in women’s pole vaulting. Tomas Arana, an actor most notable for his role in Gladiator, was also born in Auburn. For a small population, it has produced some pretty amazing talent.

Lastly, it was a visit to meet Hank. Hank is a small horse masquerading as a dog. We loved him and his owner, Simon, Mike and Penny’s second son. And his house. And his land. And his chooks. And his very big truck. What I would call a Ute. They grow huge ute’s here in the States.

We left Auburn with promises to come back one day and headed to Monterey, a pretty little seaside town south of SanFran. More on that tomorrow, whether you like it to not.