Spring Break
2002
As I put the gear in reverse on
the Wanderlust and backing up from the driveway,
the excitement grew rapidly. This is the mini spring vacation that is long
overdue and had been postponed a few times for a number of reasons. A trip
to the familiar paces - Lake Tahoe, Las Vegas
and Los Angeles, a journey of more than two thousand miles in which one
third of it we did it in just one day, a long and tiring day indeed.
I tricked Pokie in getting up an hour early, thinking it is already 5:00 AM by setting all the clocks one hour ahead in anticipation of the "Daylight Saving Time" that will commence the next day. We were hoping for dry and sunny day, but nature had other plan. The ominous dark clouds and light rain accompanied us all the way to California border.
Preparing Wanderlust for a trip is a simple task, I turned on the 4.0 CU refrigerator two days earlier and Pokie put all of our clothing in the back upper storage the day before plus all the necessary food. I did put a reminder on the steering wheel to remove the electrical cord that is connected to the rig for charging the auxiliary battery. It would not pretty if I dragged the house with me.
This is the second run after our first test on the coast a few weeks earlier. Having a "restroom" at 65 MPH is a convenience we had never experienced before, a fewer stop means a faster trip. "Rock n' Roll" is a new term that we encountered by driving a high top van. We rock when we hit the rough roads and we roll we hit the natural enemy of any high profile vehicle - the wind.
On our first fill up, we were shock to find out that the gas price is $1.75 per gallon, and the price is getting worst as we make a left turn on Mt. Shasta and go southeast toward Lassen National Park. While we were still at the gas station and ready to continue our journey, a middle age couple approached us and knocked on the window. They inquired about the Wanderlust and we gave them a quick tour, they were so impressed and asked for the address and wanted to make one. A second Wanderlust will be born soon.
With a few hours of daylight left, we made our first stop at Boomtown, Reno. The air was indeed much drier and cooler as the nightfall approached rapidly. We stayed one night in Incline Village (north Lake Tahoe area) and continued down highway 395 and made a stop at Erick Schat's Bakkery for its world famous sheepherder bread.
Crossing Death Valley on the way to Las Vegas seemed a long way as we drove on the loneliest road, not a soul for miles and hardly any automobiles that crossed the highway, the winding roads and a wrong turn that cost me half an hour if not more just made this trip treacherous, not to mention the bumps on the road that feel like a roller coaster every time I sped away.
Our highlight of Las Vegas was the lunch buffet at Paris Hotel. After driving four and a half hours down I-15 and coming down from Cajon Pass we saw the first glimpse of Los Angeles area, Pokie looked at me as I looked back at her with the disbelief how dirty the air was. No more blue skies for a while.
We rented a "go kart", o well it is
actually a Geo-Metro. It's so small that driving this car at 55 MPH seemed
like 70. Pokie drove most of the time; she really enjoyed this tiny car.
We put five hundred miles easily in four short days visiting many friends
that are scattered all over Southern California.
On the last days in the Southland, we were showered with a rain storm, giving us the best weather, blue skies with puffy clouds and a milder temperature as it was saying, come back soon for more blue skies. Yeah right.
Our discipline of waking up early really paid off, we drove back to Portland via I-5 all the way. As I mentioned before, this was the longest day - 12 hours trip. We ended up in Grants Pass, only four more hours to our home sweet home.
Inside Wanderlust:
