Day 1 - September 23, 1998

Well, we're here and ready to go!  John picked up his new acquisition in Santa Clara when he arrived a week ago, and then spent the week hiking with friend Allen Downs in Desolation Wilderness (an appetizing-sounding place) near Lake Tahoe.  Dave flew out today on a virtually empty plane (35 passengers!).  John and Al picked Dave up at the San Jose airport and we spent the afternoon shopping for some trip essentials (fire extinguisher, voltmeter, compact disks - the car came with a CD changer).

As you can see, not much happened today - the journey hasn't really quite started yet.  We promise more of travelogue tomorrow!

Al and Rita's Driveway, Mountain View, CA
Here it is!  The car is beautiful - nicer than expected!  The paint job is gorgeous!  John took it to A-1 Foreign Auto, only a few few blocks from here, to have the fluids changed and put up on a lift - the car checked out great - we're all set for a trouble-free trip!  Just like Dave's . . .

Al and Rita's Driveway, Mountain View, CA
Here, you can see that John and Dave quickly acclimated themselves to the California lifestyle. Yikes!

Al and Rita's Sidewalk, Mountain View, CA
Just so you know we didn't fake all of this, here is Al picking up his mail from his mailbox.  Who's that guy on the cover of Newsweek?

Dick's Pass, Desolation Wilderness, CA
This shot was taken by Al on their week-long backpack through the High Sierras.   John had the photo developed and we just pointed the digital camera at the print in macro mode.  Despite the snow and no beer, John still appeared to be smiling.

Back to the Great Alfa Romeo Foray title page