October 12, 1998.  Monday.  No time.

   Day 13.  No miles.  After a 3 day break from the road, I was refreshed
to hit the long road from California to Texas.  The plan today is to drive through Tioga Pass
in Yosemite National Park and head to Las Vegas once in Nevada.  
   Before we left, my dad, cousin, and myself stopped at the old high
school I attended in 1989, Wilcox High School.  It turns out our luck
was bad because there was a screw in the right back tire when we parked.
We were talking and I heard the air coming out one of the tires.  Maybe
this was a sign not gamble in Las Vegas, Nevada.
   My cousin led us to a Firestone, where we got the tired patched up.
My cousin went to work, while we were going to take off once the tire
was fixed.  It turns out that Firestone doesn't charge anything to
repair a flat, only a charge for tire balance if the customer wants a
balance.  We stopped at another place, and they wanted $15 just to
repair the flat, but they didn't have anyone available to fix it
immediately.  Lucky for us because we went to Firestone afterwards.
   While they were waiting to fix the tire, my dad and I walked around
the neighborhood near the school.  While we were walking I decided it
may be a good idea to get the tired balanced, and when we got back about
45 minutes later, the tire was already patched up.  We asked them to
balance it, and we went down the street (El Camino Real) to eat lunch
at a Korean restaurant.  My dad had never had Korean food before.  It
wasn't too bad, and I'm sure we were the only Vietnamese customers in
the restaurant.
   After we came back, the Rodeo was ready to go.  It turns out that
they forgot to put on the rim on the repaired tire and I had to drive
back to Firestone after we stopped at a convenience store to call my
cousin to tell him we were leaving now.
   Most of the day was uneventful.  Passed through Pleasantant, where
PeopleSoft is located.  I did some PeopleSoft work while in Anchorage.
The headquarters is quite large.
   The day was hot.  We ate some fruits relatives packed for us, and
skipped breakfast and lunch.
   At Yosemite, bought a golden eagle pass for $50/annual, instead of 
paying the $20 entrace.  This pass
will allow the cardholder's vehicle and all occupants to enter any
national park or area without paying the entrance fee.
   This is the second time I have driven Yosemite National Park, the
first time was a trip to California in 1990 when I picked up a hitch
hiker.  He was the first hitch hiker I picked up.  His car broke down,
and he spent all his money, about $60, to stay at a hotel the previous
night.  He had two suitcases.  He refused a ride from some Hispanics
when he saw them eyeing his suitcases.  He helped one person at a rest
stop with car problems.  The guy said he was gonna give it a test run
and would be back, but didn't.  He knew it.  He was cleaning windshields for change at a rest stop in Arizona,
and I offered to give him a ride to Nevada.  Originally, I had intended
to drive to Los Angeles.  His intentions was to look for carpentry work
in Las Vegas.  When we arrived in Las Vegas, I dropped him off at a
convience store, think it was 7-Eleven or Diamond Shamrock, and our
fates seperated at that point.  Whatever happened to him I don't know,
but I'm sure he survived somehow, because it's human nature to find
a way to survive.  He wasn't a bad guy, and I hope things are okay for
him today.  He had ideas about a design for some sort of beach product
which would advertise and was trying to get a patent for it.
   He said there wasn't much better than having a cigarette with coffee;
so we stopped at a Chevron, and I assume he used the last bit of his
wealth for this one pleasure.  I read a book, and the author said his
family wasn't doing too well, and his mother used the money they had to
make a feast.  The moral of this story is that in times of darkness,
people need to somehow feel happy.
   We discussed how money didn't matter much to me, and he said that
my attitude about that will change one day.  And I'm happy to say that
to this day, I've stuck to my guns about this.
   Because I had taken this route, I went ahead and drove through the
Nevada dessert and through Yosemite to arrive in San Jose.
   The reason I picked him up is because he didn't look like someone
with criminal intentions, especially with the 2 suitcases and trying to
earn money by cleaning windshields.  I can't recall why I stopped at
that rest stop, but I'm sure it wasn't to use the bathroom.
   How can I ever forget that event in my life?
   Made it out of Tioga Pass as the sun was coming down.  Stopped a few
times so my father could have a smoke.
   Entered Nevada at night.  Nevada is the only state which I entered
in the evening, and also the only state which I didn't take a picture
of the welcome sign.
   Stopped around 10:30 in a town and purchased something to eat a
a convenient store.  Most of the businesses were closed by 9:00 or 10:00
pm.  Even McDonald's closed at 10:00 pm.
   In this town, rates were very good.  We stayed at the city's newest
motel, the Clown Motel, for $32 including taxes.  We later found out
that Nevada is one of the least expensive states to stay in.
   Of course this city has a small casino.
   For this night, there was nothing much to do.  The next day we would
make it into Las Vegas, Nevada.  This is really where my dad wanted to
go.
   We were probably the last ones to arrive at the motel because the
parking lot was already full.  The rooms weren't bad at all for the
price.  The night was cold, but the room had a heater.