Tag: road-trip

Petaluma and Wine Weddings

June 8, 2024June 11, 2024 · Leave a comment ·

After arriving in Petaluma, docking Althea, walking the dogs, and working the rest of the day, we set up our chairs and the fire pit to enjoy sitting outside for the first time on the trip. We’ve been here before and really enjoy the park. The park is large but has lots of woods, a big pool, and some awesome sites. We’d snagged one of those awesome sites at the end of a row with a paving stone patio, fire pit, table, chairs, and our own patch of grass for the canines. This was the first park of the trip that was entirely overrun with kids. They were everywhere: on bikes, on scooters, bouncing basketballs, running around, screaming, and basically doing what kids do in the summer.

The weather was cool, we were comfortable, we had a beverage, streamed some good tunes, and watched the campground parade of characters. We always enjoy this part of our travels. It’s a nice way to relax and see some interesting things. Cheryl has already written about the RV Show experience of wandering the campground. This is even better because you’re sitting and watching the world go by instead.

73947601144__2450d112-bc25-4465-a7da-e33105cc5c32 — *Entering the Petaluma KOA*

Saturday morning, we woke up and got the dogs ready. They were heading off to puppy boarding so we could get wedding ready. The getting ready part consisted of purchasing more wine and a brief stop at a purveyor of products unavailable in most southern states. We returned to Althea, and after a nap and some lunch, it was time to put on the wedding clothes.

Today was the purpose of our trip west. My eldest Goddaughter was getting married in Sonoma wine country. Her parents moved to Santa Rosa decades ago, and she was raised among the beautiful rolling hills. It was only fitting that her wedding was at a winery, so she chose St. Francis. It is a stunning venue, and she rightly requested attendees dress semi-formally for the event.

Now, semi-formal and RV-life don’t tend to go together. We specifically planned to have appropriate clothing, with Cheryl packing a beautiful sequined dress and I a clean suit that I hoped fit (spoiler, it did). Cleaning up and getting dressed was pretty straightforward, but I realized I’d forgotten my dress shoes. While I had a pair of black slip-ons, they sorta looked like I was wearing a pair of bedroom slippers. We were running early and figured we could stop in Santa Rosa to look for shoes.

I’m going to take a short pause here and comment about Althea. She’s quite a striking beast with bold blue, black, and white graphics all over. At 40 feet long and 14 feet tall, she definitely stands out, especially in an RV park full of beige and white boxes. We always get a lot of attention and many comments about what a good-looking rig she is.

So anyway, Cheryl and I are all dressed up and stepping out of Althea to get into Jed for the drive to the winery. A woman standing in the street looking at Althea watched us come out and said, “You know, that’s about how I would expect people to dress coming out of that rig.” We both laughed.

Since we got an early start, we stopped in Santa Rosa at a DSW to alleviate my shoe mistake. The problem was fixed with a nice, shiny pair of Rockports. Surprisingly to no one, Cheryl also found a sparkly pair of shoes for the wedding. Wearing our new shoes, we quickly visited World Market and Total Wine for more, well, wine.

Even with the stops, we arrived a few minutes early to the wedding. As we walked in, there was a table of sangria to get things started. Cheryl and I mingled, exploring the grounds, checking out the tiny grapes on the vines, and catching up with old friends. The wedding was beautiful (as was the bride), with her father officiating, where he didn’t miss the opportunity to slip in a few dad jokes along the way.

img_4050-1 — *St. Francis, an amazing venue*

img_4052-1 — *St. Francis, an amazing venue*

We drank great wine and ate some delicious food. We did a quick bit of dancing and then slipped out so we could get some sleep. There was more wine to explore tomorrow.

-Clint

Moss Landing

June 7, 2024June 10, 2024 · Leave a comment ·

After three weeks of desert and increasing heat we made it to Moss Landing, which is just north of Monterey. We have some great friends who relocated there and wanted to spend some time visiting. Everyone had to work but we made the most of our afternoons and evenings.

Moss Landing is a little peninsula that is carved out of the coast. It houses marine research and ocean recreation oriented businesses. The KOA Express campground was a postage stamp sized lot with 36 spots tightly aligned. It was beautifully maintained and very convenient to where we needed to be.

The dog park was located in a communal parking lot shared with the marina. It was a five minute walk that involved dodging seagulls and walking past barking sea lions. Our dogs seem to respond to every dog in a five mile radius that even thinks about barking. They had no clue about the sea lions’ noise. Somehow nature must have relayed the message that they were snacks in the eyes of those massive mammals. The ones we saw each day looked like they hadn’t missed any meals.

Sea Lions barking away in the marina

The temperature ranged from mid-50s to almost 70 degrees. It was warmer when we went inland to Marty and Christina’s place in a town called Marina, but only by a few degrees.

We met up with them and five year old Maya to catch up. We’d last been together when we took our previous RV to visit them in Denver two years ago. Since then they’ve adopted two poodles. A toothless toy named Peaches and a standard named Piper. Imagine the energy of Dani, Denzel, Peaches, Piper, and Maya. Maya is a beautiful kid who is engaged and curious. The dogs all have their personalities and when they decide to run around at the same time, it’s quite frenetic. Everyone mostly got along when we threw them all together Tuesday and Wednesday evenings.

We went to a fun seafood restaurant on Tuesday in Moss Landing. Christina had been telling us about an eco tour through one of the sloughs where there were many types of birds and sea critters including otters. When we finished dinner one of the tours was returning in an armada of canoes. A big sea lion was swimming out to meet them. It was also sunset so it made for the perfect picture of life in Moss Landing. Clint was tickled by the otter crossing signs that are posted. We saw a lot of birds and sea lions, but didn’t spot an otter. It gives us a reason to go back.

img_3992-1 — *Jed watching the kayakers*

img_3993-1 — *Jed watching the kayakers*

On Thursday Clint, Marty, and I went to a winery in Carmel called Folktale. The setting is beautiful, the wine is drinkable and the food was tasty. Christina had to make a day trip to Sacramento and couldn’t join us while Maya was hanging with her grandma. After catching up on technology, ransomware attacks, our friends, and Marty’s buddies, we decided to go to another place for one more beverage. We were headed to the Baja Cantina, but wait, there is more.

img_4018-1 — *Cheryl and Clint at Folktale*

Marty and I share a passion for racing and fast cars. He executes on acquiring cars more effectively than I do. His latest toy is an 8 cylinder Lexus LC (I think that is the model) that has somewhere over 500 hp and the engine takes up 1/3 of the car. He is lucky to live on the rim of Laguna Seca and takes the car on the track about once a month. Clint went ahead to Baja Cantina while I climbed in with Marty. We waited for the engine to reach the right temperature and operating conditions and then we went to warm up the tires. We hit 110 mph in the blink of an eye and the car stuck to the road like it was paired with the pavement. Needless to say we made it to the restaurant quickly. (The last time I rode with Marty, he picked me up at DIA in a blue version of an earlier model of this car and hit the gas going around the entrance ramps to a few highways. I barely stayed in my seat but we totally stayed on the ground).

The Baja Cantina is like a car museum with hundreds of pictures, posters, and signage that pays homage to motorsports. There was a band outside and we hung around for a single beverage and called it a night. If you get the chance, visit and wander through the place. It’s pretty cool.

We left Moss Landing first thing Friday morning and drove to Petaluma. We use an RV friendly app that tells us which roads are safe for RV travel. We drove the 1 to the 17 which takes you into San Jose. Having lived there and having driven that route in various cars we thought we were used to it. Driving a 26,000 pound Freightliner RV like a race car had me paying attention the whole way. Clint was really helpful by saying things like “wow, there is nothing there if we fell off the cliff, we’d roll all the way down, there is nothing stopping us.” It’s a beautiful drive if you can ignore the peanut gallery.

img_4014-1 — *The (now defunct) generating plant at Moss Landing at night*

img_4015-1 — *The (now defunct) generating plant at Moss Landing at night*

The route continued by taking us through the East Bay and crossing over the 580 through Richmond and past San Quentin Penitentiary. The whole drive took about 2.5 hours and we settled in to work the rest of the day.

We took the dogs to the Kamp K-9 doggy relief area and a couple was throwing a tennis ball for their puppy. After chatting about where they are going and where we are going we discovered that this woman has played golf with our friend we will be visiting in Bend, Oregon next week. It’s a small world after all.

-Cheryl

Leaving Las Vegas

June 3, 2024June 10, 2024 · Leave a comment ·

Years ago we learned that if you are driving out of Las Vegas on the 15 headed south, don’t do it on Sunday. The cars are bumper to bumper and you double your trip time. We’d planned to drive about 5+ hours on Monday to the town of Lost Hills, CA. We got up at 5:00 am, walked D and D, and rolled out. I mentioned we had a major project go-live on Friday, so on Monday we opened a command center to track and resolve issues. I put the call on speaker (6:00 am local time was 8:00 am Midland time) and I drove above 25 minutes to Nevada Exit 12 where we stopped for gas, coffee, and White Castle burgers-yep 6:00 am.

Ivanpah Solar Electric Generating System (ISEGS) off I-15

I kept the call on while I ran inside and Clint fueled up. With coffee and burgers acquired I hopped in the passenger seat, opened up the laptop and worked issues for the entire drive. While I don’t directly work on the system itself, I problem solve and escalate with vendors. If you have ever worked with me and I needed your attention, then you know that tenacity is one of my super powers. Even rolling down the road I chased down half-interested vendor resources. Ask me how much I LOVE to hear someone we pay a metric buttload of money and with whom we’ve been meeting for months in preparation for this project tell us they have other customers and fail to act with any sense of urgency. And really ask me how much restraint is displayed after claiming “it’s not their problem” and we discover it is. But let me back up.

Our project, merging two separate versions of the same electronic health record system (EHR), was fairly complicated. One system was used by a large orthopedic organization and a large cardiovascular group. The other system is used by the rest of Midland’s outpatient doctor practices. Even though the basic systems were built on the same platform, each was customized for their specific workflow and business practices. When the groups were acquired the plan had always been to consolidate systems and business operations. Easier said than done.

Our go-live started on Thursday night at 5:00 pm. All the main work happened with the EHR vendor and with the 12-15 integrated vendors (lab, imaging, pharmacy, dictation, echo/stress, etc.). The work was planned so the team could log into the consolidated system early Friday morning. They’d closed the practices so the system work could be completed.

That was a great plan until a historic hail storm rocked Midland on Thursday night, ripped holes in the business office roof (see video), pummeled cars with grapefruit sized hail which rendered them un-drivable, and caused damage to many houses. As much of the staff that was able, showed up Friday morning. They had to relocate to dry offices with working computers and with the stress of the system merge and acts of nature-they worked throughout the day and weekend so patients could be seen on Monday morning.

Just another rainy day in Midland

Imagine being a vendor with an attitude on a call with this team on Friday or Monday. Then imagine being their boss or senior executive. I used every phone number and email available AND made sure they understood how to properly provide service. It really doesn’t take much to do what is expected.

We registered 49 issues and closed 33 on Monday. We had a few storm related things that got fixed on Tuesday. There were no showstoppers and we added and resolved 20 more issues Tuesday. Probably more than you wanted to know, but working on the road is part of the adventure.

The drive across the CA-58 was beautiful. We drove past Edwards AFB and through the hills of Tehachapi. We saw the plane graveyard and many windmills.

The road descended into the Central Valley and flattened out. We landed in Lost Hills before noon on Monday so I finished up the day in a stationary spot. The Lost Hills KOA is like a big parking lot off the 5 and 46, and is behind 4 truck stops. It was our last desert stop and topped the day at 90 degrees. The KOA was surrounded by farmland and included chickens-which Denzel was unhappy about (early puppyhood rooster encounter made him afraid of feathers)-and a herd of goats. Dani got to touch noses with a goat through the fence. It was pretty cute for both creatures.

We left Lost Hills early Tuesday and made it to Moss Landing (near Monterey) by 11:00 am. It never got above 70-degrees and we had the windows open. We will fill you in on Moss Landing next.

-Cheryl

I’ll Meet you at the Jubilee

June 2, 2024June 4, 2024 · Leave a comment ·

After a long week of work that included a major project go-live, we made our way to the Venetian Hotel. The main reason we chose Las Vegas as a stop on our adventure was to see a Dead and Company show at The Sphere.

If you haven’t been to Las Vegas since The Sphere was built, you need to visit. The dazzling lights dancing across this giant dome is a great add to the already fascinating skyline. The lights and patterns rotate with programmed content. They’ve been displaying a beautifully massive Stealie for months. Last night it acted as a beacon, calling all Heads to the show.

Clint said he had to create a new category for favorite shows. His favorite regular arena show was 31 Dec 2015 at the Forum in Los Angeles. Of course Bill Walton was in front of us for most the show, and then he was on stage as Father Time, welcoming the new year and the Doobie Canoe. Clint’s favorite digital show was last night.

Our tickets were in Section 106, Row 22, Seats 3 and 4. We were eye level with the band and we had about a 60% view of the whole Sphere. (If you go, try for tickets in rows 1-10). The stage is on the floor at the front of the auditorium. The backdrop is a very industrial scene that depicts backstage areas. After sitting for a few minutes I told Clint I thought it was a picture. After he looked and thought about it, each band would be creating their own theme. A woman sat down next to us. She’d been at one of the U2 shows and confirmed what we had been thinking.

Let me back up for just a minute. We’d received a warning that the bridge from the Venetian to the Sphere would be closed due to some convention. They hadn’t really thought this out too well as that is the primary method of access. The hotel had people with signs about every 50-100 feet showing the alternate route. This very inauspicious route had us walking to the farthest end of the Palazzo, through the lobby of the theater there, along the empty concession stand, and down some fire exit stairs to the street. We joined a small sidewalk that runs between the Palazzo and the Wynn on Sands Ave. We dodged convention ride share chaos and climbed over no less than 20 curbs, boxes, and grates to get to the last intersection. Everyone patiently waited for the traffic lights and we were underneath the closed walkway and herded toward some outside stairs. Once we climbed the stairs and got inside, it was really nice. We had to do a similar walk back, but they had closed some of the lanes on Sands Ave so the crowd could get to the Venetian a little more safely.

Back to the show. It advertised a 7:30 pm start time and the band came out about 7:40. We were totally expecting a Vegas style half show that most of the residencies produce. Instead, they played until 11:20 pm with about a 30 minute intermission.

To sum up: If you have the opportunity to see one of the shows, DO IT! Hop on a plane, grab a friend and do it! I would recommend this venue for any of your favorite bands that get the chance to play here. It is SO worth seeing.

The music and sound were great, the environment was stimulating, and the graphic, visual, and physical effects are unbelievable. For some of the show I felt I was in a VR set, especially when it felt like the whole place was moving. They started with Shakedown Street and the industrial backdrop opens to the Haight Ashbury house. The we lift off above San Francisco and the world. At the end you land back in front of the house and they finished with Casey Jones and showed a lot of pictures from their history. You can see some of the pictures and clips we shot at the show, but you should really see it for yourself.

The other observation I have is the graphics created visuals that one or more of us may have experienced as younger Heads who’d ingested various chemical or natural experience enhancements. It was very cool to feel like you were in a lava lamp, or when the marching swirl of dancing bears circled the whole place you watched them grow. It was really cool.

One last note, they paid tribute to Bill Walton several ways. They had tie dyed 32 decals on their guitars, had a video of him drumming during drums, showed a graphic of his arms outstretched, and had a great 32 and roses graphic to walk out to.

We have one more hotel day before we are back to Althea and heading west. We pick up the dogs from Camp Bow Wow tomorrow. We will spend today putting around some of the art exhibits that have been installed. Some are in a pop-up Dead Experience area and others are in some storefronts. Tonight we will meet one of Clint’s brothers for dinner and call our time here a total pleasure.

They’re a band beyond description, but for a taste, take a peek at the following videos (well, once Clint gets them uploaded).

-Cheryl

Tucson, AZ to Lake Havasu City, AZ

May 25, 2024May 26, 2024 · 2 Comments ·

img_3736-1 — *Althea all hooked up and baking in the Lake Havasu sun*

We’ve been on the road for over two weeks, and I haven’t written a thing. It’s pretty odd behavior for someone who makes a living as a writer. What can I say? Working road trips can be exciting, but when you’re in front of the computer all day, it’s hard to sit down in the evening and write some more. Enough of my complaining; let’s get on with the fun.

We arrived at Havasu Falls RV Resort in Lake Havasu, AZ, in the afternoon, five hours after leaving Tucson. The day started out dramatically as Cheryl expertly extracted Althea (a 40-foot-long, 8-foot-wide beast) from her 42-foot-long, 9-foot-wide parking space. Who thought planting giant palm trees beside the RV pad was a good idea?

Since the RV park was all narrow roads and tight turns, we opted to forgo hooking up Jed, and I followed Cheryl out to I-10. Along the way, we passed Davis-Monthan Air Force Base with its Historic Aviation Bone Yard and the Pima Air and Space Museum. It was fascinating seeing all the parked planes. We’ll have to visit both places on a future stop in town.

After stopping for fuel at Love’s and reconnecting Jed, we got into serious work-driving mode, with both of us attending meetings at the same time. Luckily, there was little talking on our end. Along the way, the landscape remained deserty and inhospitable, with lots of nothing. We took the loop around Phoenix, which neither of us had done before, and marveled at how much traffic we avoided.

Eventually, we exited the interstate and dropped onto two-lane roads up through Vicksburg, Bouse, Parker, and finally into Lake Havasu City. Along the way, we passed many cows and the country’s second-largest egg producer. We were also passed by many people eager to get in front of us and arrive at their destination four minutes sooner. Sadly, we also passed a lot of roadside crosses making me think that I wouldn’t want to drive along those roads at night. Arriving in Havasu ahead of the long-weekend crowds meant very little traffic and a smooth setup at a nearly empty RV park.

After resting, we met Janet and Bob for dinner at Barley Brothers Restaurant and Brewery. Janet made a great choice, as we had a window table looking straight at London Bridge and the boats motoring through the channel beneath. It was my first viewing of the bridge and elicited a somewhat jaded, “That’s it?” comment from me. I mean, it’s a stone bridge. It’s not like it’s the Tower Bridge or anything. We enjoyed great conversation, good food, and some tasty beers.

The next day, we worked the morning, then met Janet and her friend Angie at the London Bridge Resort, where we proceeded out to the docks and boarded Bob’s boat. He’d already been out fishing early in the morning with Angie’s son Trevor. The six of us set off on our tour of the lake, river, and gorge area just north of the lake. We had an awesome time, speeding across the water and leisurely floating.

It was smart being out on the water on Friday before all the weekend warriors launched. Even still, we had lots of party barges and go-fast boats to watch. There was even a bit of fishing when Bob and Trevor spotted a largemouth bass and tried catching it with bits of my turkey wrap and fresh cherries (no success).

Realizing we needed to release the hounds from their crate incarceration back at Althea, we returned to the boat ramp and extracted the boat. After spending a few minutes back at Althea after walking the mutts, we headed off to Janet and Bob’s house up in the hills. Many twists and turns later, we arrived at their beautiful home and made ourselves comfortable in their amazing backyard around the pool shaped like a gingerbread person. In addition to the crew from the lake, we met next-door neighbors Lori and Brandon, as well as Mark and Cheyanne. After soaking in both cool and warm water, lots of pizza, and some wine, we made our way back to Althea, ready to sleep and wake up late (like 7:00 am or so).

-Clint

Texarkana, Arkansas to Weatherford, Texas

May 11, 2024May 25, 2024 · Leave a comment ·

We planned to take a few long days and a few shorter days on the road. Today was 245 miles and without stops or traffic it would have been about 3 1/2 hours. We planed a stop in Royce City at one of our favorite places, Buc-ee’s. If you’ve never had the pleasure, allow me to fill you in. In the early years (2003 or so) we made trip from San Antonio to Shiner, Texas along I-10 where we discovered a gas station called Buc-ee’s whose claim to fame was “world’s cleanest bathrooms.”It did not disappoint. Not only were they clean, each stall was its own room with a closing and locking door, walls all the way to the top. There was an attendant keeping things clean and we were hooked.

When you walk out of the bathroom you realize you are in a superstore of interesting things. 30 types of fresh jerky, jellies, jams, salsa, pickled things, and of course Beaver Nuggets. Beaver Nuggets remind me of Sugar Pops cereal but bigger, crunchier, and sweeter. They also have them dipped in chocolate (milk, dark, or white), and they come in savory flavors such as white cheddar or habanero. We LOVE them all. There are about 80 soda fountains, big urns of freshly brewed coffee and iced tea, and there are hot foods such as barbecue brisket and pork that are served as tacos for breakfast and sandwiches for lunch or dinner. They branched out into wraps awhile back so our current favorite is Philly Cheesesteak.

Today we stopped, walked the dogs, hit the potties, loaded up on nuggets for friends and ourselves and grabbed a cheesesteak wrap. In addition to all the foodstuffs, there is MERCH. We probably each have 4-5 pieces of Buceewear and no less than 5 soft and squishy blankets or throws. We have 2 in the RV. We did not get any merch today but I was wearing a Buc-ee’s tie dye. They have 80 gas pumps so it is truly a convenience store.

After our 30 minute Buc-ee’s stop we hit the road again. There was fairly heavy traffic before Lake Ray Hubbard, and super heavy traffic through downtown Dallas. After that it was relatively smooth sailing to the Weatherford KOA Journey. Journeys are usually right off the highway and frequented by overnighters who need a safe place to sleep. Most of them are pretty good, this one has a lot of full time residents and is not exactly welcoming. Our space is pretty tight. The parks with long term residents make mobile home parks look nice. Yes, our next door neighbors have at least one Pit Bull on a lead rope staked in the ground. There was a 2nd dog but I didn’t see it. We are glad this is only an overnight.

We took a ride through downtown Weatherford as it had been awhile since I’d been there for the Parker County Peach Festival many years ago. It is celebrated every July, so we will miss it. We had dinner at a favorite taco place-Fuzzy’s and then went to a place called Antebellum Brewing. It started to rain but we sat outside under an umbrella. It was fairly busy and a musician started playing and singing country songs. He was ok, a bit pitchy and Clint says, “It’s not Nashville.” He was right. We stopped for groceries and called it a night. It is still raining but we think tomorrow should be clear. We have another short day and it should be nice. Until then….

-Cheryl

On the Road Again

May 10, 2024May 25, 2024 · 2 Comments ·

Cheryl, Clint, Dani, and Denzel loaded up Althea (RV), connected Jed (the Jeep) and started out on our months long adventure west. The original motivation for the trip was to reach Sonoma for Clint’s goddaughter’s wedding. As this adventure unfolds, you will see that we added a bunch of stops along the way and several cool ones on the way back. We can’t promise an update every day, but we will try.

*Althea staged across from our apartment before departure*

We left our apartment in Franklin, Tennessee around 8:30 am and pulled into Sunrise RV Park in Texarkana, Arkansas. It was basically a straight shot down I-40 to Little Rock with a southward turn on I-30. The traffic is always full of fast moving trucks. Althea moves best between 65-75 MPH, so she kept up. One thing we notice is all the weird-ass things being hauled up and down the highway. Giant petroleum valve systems, commercial generators, convoys of military vehicles, boats and boat pieces, airplane wings, and unidentifiable farm implements. Clint said to mention the big horse trailer filled to the rim with tires. Since we’ve made this drive a dozen times we always notice the water levels. All the rivers and tributaries, Mississippi, Kentucky, Arkansas, and Red are swollen.

The Sunrise RV Park is a gravel lot right on I-30. There are a mix of overnighters like us and long term residents. There is plenty of grass for the pups and we have what we need. I worked for about 4 hours on the drive-the cell service was fairly decent. We are relaxing with some wine after the 8 hour drive (including stops). While Althea is extremely comfortable to live in, she is a Freightliner truck. We bounce a bit and relish sitting still to recharge. Tomorrow won’t be as far s we head west of Fort Worth to a KOA in Weatherford, Texas. Cheers to a good and safe day!

Sound Track: Jelly Roll-Whitsett Chapel, Dierks Bentley Essentials by Apple Music

-Cheryl

Rode Noise

Althea on the Road

Tag: road-trip

Petaluma and Wine Weddings

Moss Landing

Leaving Las Vegas

I’ll Meet you at the Jubilee

Tucson, AZ to Lake Havasu City, AZ

Texarkana, Arkansas to Weatherford, Texas

On the Road Again