Day 9: Phoenix to SF, the FINAL frontier

Wake up, guy's dad makes us omelets with sliced ham and american cheese, delicious. We drink the second pot of coffee made, this one is caffeinated. Put on bathing suits, go to pool, briefly get in way-too-hot hot tub, swim in pool. Guy puts his head underneath swimming pool decorative arizona waterfall, yelling out, "Can you see me?!!" guy's dad says, "I"m pretending not to know you." Guy is having fun, doesn't care what it looks like, I get out of hot tub to join him. Go back to condo, pack up for the last time, head to cousin's house for BBQ, meet cousin and cousin's husband and son and proceed to get sloshed on beer. I bring Sapporo, I've had it with cheap beer, get tour of large, suburban, Peoria house, the living room is the size of our whole apartment, cousin is very nice to me, asks me where I'm from, if I'm willing to leave there, is there anything keeping me in California. Only my whole family, I tell her, but I'm still willing to live: elsewhere, wherever, anywhere, beyond. Have many laughs, take numerous pictures, guy gets drunk, somehow takes pictures of family dog upside down, have slideshow of our trip, laugh, laugh, hug, fun, nice, we leave for airport. Get to airport, check in, guy doesn't remember this, he's so drunk, but friendly, in his beautiful friendly way alerts airport personnel to his drunkeness, get to gate, it's right across from bar, we have more drinks, bartender is very sweet lady with lots of plastic surgery, guy talks to her about God, and to neighbor man about travelling, tells neighbor guy that we took MAGIC MUSHROOMS in Utah, woman at bar next to me laughs in a knowing way, plane comes finally to take us home, sweet bartender lady says, "God bless you" as we leave, guy says, "God bless you too." It's so genuine and earthy, I laugh nervously but feel right and as we approach door to plane, guy is taking pictures with camera above his head, to the side, back, front and around and we get to our seats, sit down, I order bloody mary, guy falls asleep. I read one article in entire Vanity Fair all the way back home, guy wakes up when we land, we get cab and take it straight to El Cerrito, pretty damn far away in the East Bay where we are to pick up GUY'S BRAND NEW CAR. Well, brand new to us, it's the Subaru, the Subaru Forester I've been seeing everywhere, EVERYWHERE for two weeks, we get in car with multiple baggage and Safeway bags filled with small random items from trip. We get in car and all is alive. All is very excitable and loud, this is our new car, this is our Freedom, this is the beginning of a new part of life for us and we drive over the bay bridge, we drive home and we're at home. We're at home and the cats are there and it stinks really bad. It stinks of litter box and having to return to normal. Guy gets upset at litter stink/coming home. We get in bed, oh my god, bed, it feels incredible, it's the best bed of the whole trip, we touch thighs and we are...once again...asleep in minutes.

And then, like nothing ever happened, we get up for work in the morning.