It was a trip he’d made a couple of times and was always awestruck by Mt. Shasta, just outside Redding. He was nearing it just as the sun was coming over the horizon and again reminded himself that one day he was going to take up photography and capture all the sights along the I–5. The rest of the trip, which normally took about twelve hours, was equally awe-inspiring. It was a beautiful stretch of road. It was important he get to the Embassy Suites near the Seattle–Tacoma airport right around 5 P.M. Pressed for time, he left the vision of Mt. Shasta behind and was doing a decent seventy miles an hour. During the drive, Mark’s thoughts drifted to Aaron. He had no doubt Aaron would crack the code that they uploaded to the Seattle Times personals section the night before, just barely making the print deadline. If Aaron was able to crack it, he would have to live up to his promise to take him to an upcoming technology convention in Silicon Valley. Aaron had said it was in the southern part of San Francisco Bay and had forced Mark to seal the deal with a pinky swear.
