I got a letter from Subaru a couple of weeks ago. It was a very nice letter and also enclosed was a service coupon for an oil change for $28.95 (regularly $32.95). But what got me was the line, "Our service records for your 2005 Subaru Baja show that your mileage is probably now around 3,034 miles...", ergo the coupon for Luna's First Oil Change (which needs to be done at 3,750 miles).

AAACK! 3,034 MILES...ALREADY?!? I only had a hair under 1,500 miles on it! Have I let the side down, AGAIN?!? Is Luna going to just stop running because I haven't driven her enough and even then only to work and school?

Action had to be taken!

I don't really have the money for a Big Road Trip right now (not to mention the fact that I have not spent a single night away from the furkids and I'll probably cry myself to sleep the first time I do), so I'm trying to get one good drive in every weekend.

Last weekend I haunted San Francisco once more and tromped around Golden Gate Park and had tea at the Japanese Garden. (Sadly, the photographic part of this journey went horribly wrong...only 1 or 2 salvageable shots from the 35mm...the shots from the Holga fared better except for a particularly vexing light leak.)

Today, after I took Luna in for a wash and wax (which I'm hoping the wax will last her through most of the winter), I just got in and drove...and ended up in Tracy, CA. Not exactly a hot tourist destination, but this time it was all about the journey. I've been living in the Bay Area for over a decade now and I've never been over the Altamont Pass. I've seen all the photos of those cool windmills (and believe me, there's plenty of lusty-gusty winds to turn 'em!), but I've never seen the windmills, until today. After refueling Luna (gas is about $0.10-15/gal cheaper there) and myself, we came back over the pass with a couple of stops along the way to try to get some photos. Unfortunately, the film I have in the Pentax MX (I'm going way back to basics, here) had 800 speed in it, which, with the bright sunlight, was a bit too sensitive to really get any shots.

Kind of a bummer about the photos, but again, this was about going someplace I hadn't been to. And the journey home was gorgeous with the green rolling hills, the big windmills and the bright blue skies with the huge puffy clouds (looked like lots of cold air in the upper atmosphere today). And, just as a very special treat, I saw a herd of deer grazing along I-580. My stars, they were so beautiful and looked so peaceful. There really wasn't a safe place to pull the car over and watch (or photograph) them, but how lucky I was just to get to see them! (Of course, I still get totally excited when I see snowy egrets and pelicans on my way to work...and nearly went into conniptions when I saw a flock of swans yesterday!)

Even with these weekend drives, I'm still far behind schedule! We're only up to about 1,750 miles now...and the oil change coupon expires in a couple of months! EEP!

Ideas, people: I need day-trip ideas here! Where are some out-of-the-ordinary places A Girl And Her Baja can go to (and back) in a day in/around the Bay Area?