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Posts from the ‘On the Road’ Category

Dec 23

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A Day of Firsts

Suppose I said Kelly did more driving than me today; would it be hard to accept such a statement as true ?

We’ve all heard tales of the unbelievable, a story that seems so unthinkable, its belief remains uncertain until such time there is no denying it’s truth.  And to that end, by of way the indisputable facts as documented within the picture below, all doubts related to Kelly driving with Airstream in tow may hence forth be put to rest.

Kelly driving

Kelly driving

Kelly did great and I was very happy to have the reprieve which provided me the opportunity to evaluate the relaxing qualities of the passenger seat  (it does fine by the way).  Like any Airstream, ours tows very smoothly and I knew that Kelly would quickly vanquish all towing related fears she’s been harboring.

Not unlike yesterday, today’s drive was long and mostly uneventful.  Our route containing a steady diet of I-10 (eastbound) wherein we found ourselves mostly traveling through the desert.  Less a few well-known towns, the area feels empty, quite vast, and offers sweeping views of beauty.

Desert foothills

Desert foothills

Crossing into Arizona, I quickly noticed changes with the road signage.  While I cannot quite put my finger on it, by comparison to California, something seems to be different with the signs here … almost like they are incomplete somehow.

The exit to nowhere

The exit to nowhere

While Kelly drove, I spent lots of time allowing my mind to wander.  Among other things, it dawned on me that today would  be one to remember:

  • the first time Kelly drive with Airstream in tow
  • the first time our Airstream was in Arizona
  • the first time Kelly and I have been to Arizona since the last time we were here.

Unimpressed with the day’s milestones, Lilly opted to focus her energies elsewhere.

Lilly, looking unimpressed

Lilly, looking unimpressed

Fittingly, we arrived to our destination today just as the sun was retiring from its own long day.  The sunsets in the desert are so incredible and I’m really looking forward to more of them during our stay over the next two weeks.

Sunset in the desert

Sunset in the desert

Dec 23

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More Of the Same

In what is becoming something all too familiar, Kelly and I once again made a visit to an Airstream dealer today for a bit of service work to Mabel.  Unfortunately the parts we require must be special ordered, necessitating yet another visit when we pass back through the area two weeks from now.

Awaiting our service appointment

Arriving for service

While I’m happy that our issues are covered by warranty, I’d be lying if I said these visits are not cause for frustration.   Interruptions like these drive me crazy and I cannot help but wonder if Airstream is aware of the costs (directly and indirectly) of poor quality as it relates to their parts suppliers.  These issues, while minor in actual dollars, do disrupt trips, and do generate headaches for Kelly and me.

In an attempt to return a smile to my face, I decided to wander the aisles of new Airstreams on the Toscano RV lot.  To my surprise, there were rows of  2013 inventory  to check out.

Lots of Airstreams

Plenty of Airstreams

Despite the stop, we were back on the road fairly early.  Apparently, many other travelers had the same idea which made for a steady flow of traffic along (southbound) I-5.  This part of California is dominated by agriculture and rolling hills, providing anyone paying attention, a partly beautiful, mostly boring drive.

A field somewhere along I-5

A field somewhere along I-5

About nine hours of driving was all I could muster today.  It wasn’t too long thereafter that I  became tired and found myself getting grumpy.  Accordingly, I suggested to Kelly perhaps it was time to stop for the day.  As per usual, she made quick work identifying a few overnighting options before settling on Country Hills RV park in Beaumont, CA.  It was dark when we arrived so I didn’t get a thorough look around, but the place seems pretty nondescript.

Tomorrow we make a final push to Tucson, where we’ll be spending a few days with Kelly’s mom and her husband.

Nov 26

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Creature Comforts

When I lived in Seattle I once heard a funny anecdote:  San Francisco is the mistress, Seattle is the wife.

While I do not speak for all, it seems that many Seattle residents maintain a fair bit of romantic fantasy for San Francisco, but quickly revert back to the pragmatic realities of Seattle.  And so it is, many Seattleites escape to San Francisco, only to return the Emerald City of theirs which does not judge, instead knowing and loving them for who they are.

For better or for worse as the agreement goes …

As a big fan of Seattle myself, I never fully appreciated such perspective until I moved to the Bay Area.  And while I am no huge fan of this “city by the bay”, I hold no reservation admitting my fondness of the weather here in Nor Cal.

Sure, there is some fog to tolerate at times … even occasions here-and-there wherein I must don a stocking cap.  However, having spent the past ten days dodging abnormally large sized and incessant droplets of rain in 40 degree temperatures, Kelly and I were quite pleased with the weather which greeted us upon our arrival to sunny Nor Cal.

Blues skies and 60 degrees.

I don’t even own an umbrella anymore.

Bay Bridge – approaching San Francisco

 And so it is, we’ve completed another trip today, 2100 miles later, glad to be home.  Summary details can be viewed below.

As much as we love the travels, sometimes it’s nice to be back.  There can be comfort in a routine, that which is familiar … so long as we continue to shake things up frequently enough such that routine do not become an inescapable rut.

Nov 25

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From Cabela’s to Walmart

Having awoken in a big box store parking lot this morning, we traveled 571 miles today only to find ourselves back in another big box store parking lot – our host this evening being Walmart in Red Bluff, CA.  It appears that we’ve come full-circle within some bizarre retail dry-camping merry-go-round.

Tomorrow’s itinerary calls for a route just over 200 miles; we are both so ready to be done with all this driving.

I’ve heard that many who travel full-time frequently limit their travel days to 100 miles and I’m beginning to really appreciate the wisdom of such an approach.  Sadly, Kelly and I do not have that luxury in our schedule.  All things being equal, today’s drive was pretty uneventful.  It could have been worse, so I will stop complaining.

Crossing the border into Oregon, Kelly decided to snap a few pictures of downtown Portland, one of our favorite cities.

Approaching the Oregon border

Always very happy to enter Oregon

Hmm, what is Kelly capturing here?

Fremont BridgePortland Convention Center spires

About two hours south of Portland, we stopped in Eugene for a simple lunch and a visit to the local dog park.  Lilly is a big fan of  the park as she is able to hunt gophers and chase her tennis ball.  Selfishly, Kelly and I like these dog park respites as doing so provides Lilly the opportunity to run like crazy and burn off some pent-up energy.

More fetch please

Lilly’s preferred post dog park recovery activity

I did all the driving today and find myself feeling much like Lilly in the picture above – tired and ready for some sleep.

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