birthday boy

Grant enjoys sleeping in on the weekends. This particular Sunday, however, his sister and brother-in-law are visiting -- and they're on east coast time. They've been up since six thirty, using his internet, and scheming. As he rises from the latest REM cycle, he has no inkling what awaits him on the other side of the bedroom door….

The challenge was that Grant and I - using public transportation - were going to race Matt - running - from Grant's apartment in the city to the Mountain Home Inn in Marin County. Then we'd hike together to the top of Mt. Tam, which overlooks the San Francisco Bay.

One of the many great things about Grant is that we can lay out this plan to him while he's still in the fog of waking up, and he's game!

Matt is out the door in no time at all. Grant and I are not too far behind, confident in our gas-powered advantage. We decide to enjoy the city and walk to the Golden Gate Bridge on this beautiful morning. I stop to take photos and smell eucalyptus groves, Grant admires solar panels and sailboats, and we pick up freebies at a promotional fair. The Golden Gate Bridge is always in our line of sight, but at this lax pace, it's hardly growing larger.

Suddenly, my phone rings. Matt has reached Muir Woods, only a handful of trail miles below the Mountain Home Inn. We might lose?!

Grant picks up the pace, and soon we pop out on the bridge. Once we figure out the location of the bus stop, our bus arrives within a minute. We ride it to Marin City, where the next bus arrives within ten minutes. We hop on and wind up the Panoramic Highway. The bus drops us off at the inn's doorstep, a mere two minutes before Matt runs up. Grant and I barely have enough time to snap the victory photo above.

Before hiking up, all three of us leisurely eat lunch on the inn's deck. It is warm, but dry, quiet, and feels far from the city. The bay is beautiful from the top of Mt. Tam and also quiet. Grant leads the way in running down the other side of the mountain, through manzanita shrubs and dark redwood groves. We catch the infrequent bus heading back towards the bay, and all are grateful to sit and ride. We joke that Grant had taken Monday off to recover.

Once again, our layover in Marin City is only a minute or two. Those of us that ride buses know how rare that is. The fact that our timing has been so good during this entire adventure is an auspicious sign for the year ahead.

It was wonderful to spend your birthday with you, Grant!