As we were filling up with gasoline in San Francisco, I was approached by a guy with white hair and a longish beard. At first I thought it might be a child of Colonel Sanders. He had heard my English accent and it soon became apparent that he too was a Brit.
Turns out he moved over to Silicon Valley over 35 years ago. There are lots of people in Canada with British connections, though not as many in the US, so we had a bit of a chat.
He asked where we had been and where we were going. I mentioned Redding and he said that he wanted to move there a few years ago but his wife didn’t fancy it. I asked why he wanted to move and he said it is nice and hot. When we arrived there I know what the meant.
After 18 degrees at San Francisco harbour, it rose to over 40 in Redding. According to our hotel receptionist , it is because it is in a valley. I also realised why our fellow Brit fancied it up here. It is full of wealthy people and nice places.
Today was a bit of a driving day though the journey was only 4 hours or so. Plenty to see en route, including the Clearlake State Park and Sacramento National Wildlife Refuge, though the big exciting day is tomorrow.
When we arrived in Redding, the aim was to start working towards Canada, visit the Crater Lake and we also wanted a bit of Sweet Home and Lebanon, so we decided to stay in Albany next. (These are real place names).