Hopefully, here's the final chapter of today's episode.
Here's George removing the cotter pin to see if the axle nut was loose. He torqued it to spec, but it was already there.
I could live with a worn wheel bearing on the road as long as it didn't sound like imminent failure. It didn't and was just fine all the way home, but I checked the wheel temp. a couple of times to see if the hub was overheating. It wasn't.
An afterthought - if I even had a flat tire, I'd be SOL w/o the lug nut key. If you have wheel locks, don't leave home w/o the key. Obvious huh?
For those in the bay area, I'd recommend both Aldo and The Stable; Aldo for taking time to temporarily close up and road test it with me despite having a full plate this morning. He also recommended The Stable once he determined he couldn't bend his schedule.
And George @ The Stable for a thorough look see and confirmation - it was very nominal. Had a nice chat too.
A view of the car before limping out of/leaving SF:
There are a few things to fix back home. This Forum is great. Thanks all.
Sherwood