Hitting The Road

Tues, September 6, 2011

First Day

So much to do before we left Paso Robles that we didn’t get away until 5:30 p.m. but we were determined to get out of there and not stay another day.  Unfortunately, we were not as well prepared to travel as I’d hoped.  Too much had to be done at the last minute including renting a second storage because we had more stuff leftover at the house than we thought we had.  The last couple of days we even had to rent a moving van instead of using the small space in the back of Dan’s truck camper, which saved us time and gas.  And the last day we saw how overloaded we were and had to unload everything and get rid of stuff to pare it down.  This resulted in another unplanned trip to the storage, and unplanned hours.  I also had to do laundry and that took a couple of hours at the Laundromat.  But finally we were on our way.

Things we needed were forgotten, and things we didn’t need we had.  I was later to discover that I wished I had brought certain things such as our carts and wagons.  I had to throw away our expensive electric toothbrushes because I forgot to pack them and there was no place to put them in the trailer.  I found I had 3 bottles of Goo Gone in the trailer and umpteen extra bottles of bathroom stuff and cotton balls and stuff like that.  I even found a bag of decorator marbles and wondered what in the world that was about.  I don't even remember putting them in there in the first place, nor for what reason.

Some mishaps occurred.  The road hazard reflector broke into pieces when Dan backed up over it.  The lens cover for the porch light fell off and now needs replacing.  I need an extra calculator or two.  I need to buy a couple of extra coat-hangers, as unfortunately, the million extras I had are now in storage because I did not think I would need any extras.  Dan also decided he needs an extra pair of sunglasses as his are very scratched.

By 9:00 pm we were tired and needing to find somewhere to spend the night.  The two guys working the counter at an AM/PM market at some outback area of the Central Valley off I-5 told us about a truck stop up the road and about an hour later we found ourselves tucked in amid hundreds of big rigs.  We breathed in exhaust all night and it was so warm we had to leave the door open with just the screen door closed and unlocked.  All night we heard the hum of the big rigs and their generators, which drove Dan crazy but was like white noise to me. 

You know what else?  Just trivia in my mind sometimes.  I remembered it was my late mother’s anniversary this day.  I think she married in 1953.

Wed, September 7, 2011

Second Day

We awoke at first light after getting about 7 hours of sleep.   Then we hurriedly packed up and made the bed, threw on our clothes and off we went to find coffee.  At least it was free parking.  And you know what I learned?  That almost nothing free is ever that good.  There is always more minuses than pluses. 

On this 2^nd day we drove all day with just a few stops.  We didn’t have time to wash the truck and trailer before we left so when we spied a big rig wash along the road we pulled in and paid the $42.50 they required.  But at least we drove away with a clean truck and trailer.  Later in the afternoon we found a TA Truck Stop/Travel Center and paid for a “team” shower, meaning a couple can share a shower which is half price.  So, for $12 we each got to shower.  We were amazed by the facilities.  It was like a large motel bathroom.  This particular one was all tiled with new toilet, sink and the best shower I have ever had.  They even provided towels.  Unfortunately, we discovered later that there were no truck stops on the coast, you can only find them on interstate highways and freeways where truckers travel.  So, on the coast we had to do without showers or pay for RV parking somewhere.  We could have used our own trailer shower but we were trying to avoid filling the tanks and using up gas and battery power.

This was a long day.  We made it to Redding by dinner and then drove 250 miles across the mountains and forest to the coast.  It was a gorgeous drive but wearisome at the end.  By late evening were arrived in Arcata and luckily the waitress at the restaurant we went to suggested we stay at the McDonalds parking lot in the shopping center in the next town which was a few miles north.  This town was called McKinnleyville and we enjoyed evening coffee and free wifi to go on the internet.  At around 10:00pm we crawled exhausted into bed.