Thanksgiving itself was fun. I went to see my brother and his family over in Lake County. It was an interesting two and a half hour drive from here. The last hour of which was twisty twisty roads through a region recently burned by wildfire. On the way there we threaded down out of the foothills surrounded by fall colors and down to the rice fields of Marysville. There were swans. Huge flocks of white swans east of town. Beautiful.
The day was very clear so the Sutter Buttes dominated the scene as we drove West through town and back into the rice fields again. We were driving so I was unable to get a picture of the Buttes, but they really are stunning, particularly since I happen to know they're extinct volcanoes. We eventually traversed Colusa and Williams was scarcely a blink before we were into the Coast Ranges and the road got really interesting. Its twisty there and was recently repaved following the wildfire.
The visit with family at their home was lovely. The kids are much bigger since I last saw them about six years ago. It was my first visit to their home. The elder two children are in high school classes and planning to finish early so they can move out and start college. I think that's a fine idea. My niece is the eldest child and at 16 she's practical and businesslike despite having her primary interests be graphic arts and creative writing. I hope the AA degree she's aiming for lands her jobs. My nephew just turned 15 on Black Friday so he's a great deal less certain about his educational goals. He's got time. The younger two are still kids. Max tested as a high genius IQ. I don't see it, but he might be understating or perhaps the test results are skewed. He's a nice kid, just like his brother and sister. He doesn't need any special education. The youngest is two and at that adorable age, but still prone to screaming and temper tantrums depending on how tired he is. He smiles by opening his mouth as wide as he can and showing all his teeth. Adorable. It was great seeing them all. Its amazing how I've missed so much of their lives while trapped in
After the visit I got to drive us out of the twisty mountains as the light failed into dusk and then the purple hour faded into true night. It was FUN. Getting an SUV to take corners without getting loose on apexes was tricky. Doing it gently enough and carefully enough so there was no risk was a little harder. Mostly I would go into the turns at a safe speed and then apex with the accellerator on the way out, which is the way to do things on an unfamiliar road with a topheavy car. I was concentrating fully to make that work. I enjoyed the challenge.
As the night finally began I emerged from the coastal mountains and roared down into the flat roads again, which are boring straightaways between orchards, though I could see a hint of the silhouette formed by the buttes in the darkness. The drive to Yuba City was unremarkable and it turns out I barely beat the Tule fog that shrouded the entire valley shortly thereafter. Weaving through Yuba City over the Feather River bridge into Marysville once more, then out of town I managed to beat a Prius on the sprint from a stoplight, which enraged the driver enough to make them follow me the next 30 miles until they finally passed just before we returned home. All in all, a very rewarding drive though my headache from concentrating so hard lasted the rest of the night despite the application of Red Wine, two glasses, and a good laugh. It was a good day.
Driving like that is why I still enjoy it. I really don't think we're going to see electric cars that are fun to drive like that, not any you can afford anyway. Electrics are slow and heavy, with no apexing zip. Dune buggies, ultralight cars, that's what you'll want in the Post Oil future. We get closer to that every day as millions of barrels per day are extracted, refined, and burned. Gone forever. That's the nature of fossil fuels.
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