HappyUP!!! Day 52...on the road to Bakersfield

For those of you familiar with Interstate 5 through the Central Valley of California - you know that this "little" drive can be a bit of a stretch to make a HappyUP!!! out of...right?

If you are coming from Northern California - one way to do it is to go through this agricultural/wasteland drive with a happy destination in mind at the end of the trip. Or...a happy activity

I was going to end up in Bakersfield - which is on this side of the mountains before So Cal.

...and an all day meeting awaited me - the next day.

HappyUP!!! - I got to Bakersfield
Why it happened - I kept on driving
Why it made me happy - I don't know if I hit 5-6 different storms or the same storm kept zig zagging in and out but there were about 1/2 dozen times when it rained so hard, visibility was near zero. High speed, wet roads, and a big semi-truck next to me in my rental mini-SUV were not the most stable of conditions. I was relaxed during the drive but, when I pulled into thUPat hotel, it was a HappyUP!!!! I made it.

HappyUP!!! - dinner in Bakersfield
Why it happened - one of my colleagues took the initiative to call me as he had made the same drive I had for the above mentioned meeting
Why it made me happy - we just had a great dinner. First, but not foremost, the food was tremendous. A New York strip with some potatoes that were out of this world. More importantly, it is a rare occasion when you get to talk to another guy at a level that a couple of women usually talk. No, I don't want it to be all of my conversations but, whenever I have one of these with another guy, it's refreshing.

HappyUP!!! - my room key didn't work
Why it happened - I think my cell phone desensitized it
Why it made me happy - I have a habit of losing my hotel room keys....or forgetting what my room number is. When I came back from dinner, I went to room 440. I slid in the key...NOTHING. I had to walk all the way to the front desk to find out what my real room number was. While I didn't beat myself up too badly, I was thinking, "how absent minded you were...you could be on that bed right now but you are walking to the lobby to stand in line. For what? To get your room number!" I got to the line. The lady said, "nope, you are in room 440. You must have had your cell phone in the same pocket as the room key." I am not losing my mind as fast as I thought! That is a HappyUP!!!