Rough morning: Tabitha chewed up her tranquilizer and did her best to spit it out, so I took one for the team and caught the medicated cat dribble in my hand lest it land on Julianne's carpet. Never let it be said I'm not a conscientious pet owner.

The morning improved: even the gas stations in Oregon serve decent coffee. We'd hit the road without updating the website so we could get to San Francisco in time for dinner with Owen. I got to drive down another god-forsaken mountain pass, but we survived. We received the Welcome to California sign with as much glee as the Leaving Massachusetts, and idly planned that Pacific coast trip we'd like to take someday. The view out our car window occasionally showed rice paddies. It beats potatoes. Lunch was at -- best roadside eatery name ever -- Porky Bob's Caf