We got to Lake Havasu State Park just after 5:00pm and the rangers had gone home so we had to go through the motions of choosing our site and then going back to the gate with a check for deposit into the night payment slot. We decided to walk back – almost a mile – and got this photo of the wetlands right near our parking spot. If you are thinking (we were not) that there might be a lot of bugs near such a place you would be correct. We tried leaving the windows open with the fans running but these bugs were small enough to get through the screens and, before long, we had a major bug issue going. It make the evening very unpleasant but we stayed and fought them. We will probably not be back in the future.

We had an amazing sunset – too bad about the bugs but not a nice place when that is going on.
One more day of driving to get home today (Friday 10/17).

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They told us they were “full” last night

We left Brian and Chris’ house at about 9:45 and headed for Salinas to visit Carla and Artistic HangUps, our old business. We visited with her for an hour or two and then headed out for Bakersfield and the Orange Grove RV Park just East of there. Funny thing was we got there at almost 6:00pm and, even though they gave us a space, they said they were full. We had a quiet evening and today, Thursday, Oct. 16th, we plan to make it to Lake Havasu State Park where we spent the night on the way West. We will start out today climbing the Tehachapi Mountains. We plan to unhook the Tracker at the bottom of the hill to make the climb easier – we have done it before without unhooking but it is very steep and long so this will make our tranny last a little longer.

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Our son Brian and his family live in South San Jose and, while their boys were in school on Monday and Tuesday, October 13th and 14th, we made trips into San Jose. On Monday, Brian and Chris and we took the Light Rail into the downtown area right next to San Jose State University where there is a Philz Coffee shop. We love their coffee and they also have amazing pastry. On Tuesday, Brian had to work, so Chris, Carol and I took the scenic route to Santana Row, a real upscale high tech shopping center in San Jose. There is a Tesla showroom there and Carol’s grandson, Logan, just started working for them so she was really interested in visiting it. I have been watching Tesla for several years and would really love to own one of those some day. Right now, for a $70,000 car, “someday” has not yet arrived so just sitting in one will have to do. This being the Silicon Valley area, there are lots of Teslas to be seen in local traffic – they are awesome.

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The location is awesome. Treasure Island had a beautiful view of San Francisco, the Golden Gate Bridge, Alcatraz, and the bay. The fog cleared on the island on Friday and Saturday and, on Saturday, it even cleared in the city itself. Friday’s practice sessions for the various performers did not really happen because there was too much fog but Saturday’s show was awesome. This whole event is really great. Even the dry camping (no hookups) is OK – just a little generator time during the day. Tonight we attended a pig roast that is an annual event at the TI Yacht Club – yummy.

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I go crazy at rallies these days. I can’t stop talking about my GMC. We arrived at the French Camp RV Resort and I immediately had to visit friends – and we are all friends – and see what everyone has been doing. I did three different tech sessions – a computer one that was my idea and two that I was asked to do. I really enjoyed doing them and got good feedback from people. One guy even told me I had a good voice. I know my singing voice is non-existent so knowing that it has some redeeming qualities helps my self esteem in that area. I also ran the karaoke “machine” which is my laptop connected to a sound amplifier and a video projector. We mostly did sing-a-longs with someone leading the singing – Carol did a lot of that and did great. I “sorta-sang” Sinatra’s New York, New York as my public singing debut. It was less than successful.

The rally lasted 5 days and on Saturday our old (I mean long-time) friend Andy came to visit us at the rally and again on our way from the rally to our son Mark’s home in the Sacramento area. We and Andy met another long-time friend, Dianne, in Galt which is about half way between the rally and Mark’s. We had a nice lunch and decided to see if we could get any other Amdahl-ers there at the same time. It is hard to believe that it had been 22 years since we worked and played together.

We spent 3 nights at Mark and Kristin’s and really have to admire them for what they are doing. It is hard to believe how much they get done every day and the kids are really amazing. I know I am biased but they are happy, healthy, smart, and ambitious – involved in scouting, dance, theater and sports. I am a proud grandpa.

Tonight through Sunday morning, we are on Treasure Island in San Francisco Bay at a GMC rally. The official host club is the GMC 49ers but the real host is Desmond. He lives and works on the island and somehow got permission for us to stay here for the weekend as a special class of antique vehicles (or something). There are supposed to be 47 GMCs here and the Blue Angels have already been practicing. Here are our photos from today: 

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We finally arrived at the French Camp RV Park in Manteca and were one of the last to arrive. There are 61 GMCs here along with lots of friendly GMC owners. We had a great dinner and an ice cream social. Tomorrow starts the real activities – seminars on technical topics and some fun projects for non-technical people. Not everyone makes it to every rally and there are good friends here we have not seen in quite a while.

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Surrounded by orange trees

Still on the way to GMCWS rally at Manteca. We are in Bakersfield at the Orange Grove RV Park – one of our favorites – and surrounded by orange trees (see the photo) with lots of green oranges. The coach ran great again and the weather cooperated with highs only in the high 80’s – not bad for crossing the desert. We had to stop in Barstow to replace a tire that had developed a bubble. Drove the last 50 miles at under 40 mph to keep it from separating. I couldn’t see the bubble myself but as soon as we got to the tire store the tech saw it and showed it to me. Replaced the one bad tire, checked the others, and we were on our way in about an hour.

We got the tire at the Firestone store in Barstow. Carol called them when we decided a tire was bad and asked if they could help. They were very helpful, said they had 6 of the correct tires if we needed them and they would try to figure out which tire was bad. The correct tires turned out to be Firestone Transforce HT’s and the out-the-door price was just over $200 each – a competitive price. With the advice of the technician and the owner/manager we decided to only replace the one tire that was faulty and bet that the other 5 tires were OK – he checked the other rear tires and I am sure I’d be able to feel a bubble on a front tire. I have learned another lesson and will know more when the next tire problem happens.

Our route on this trip is one we used to use a lot and are pretty familiar with but we still could not remember why we started going the other way – just outside of L.A. After today we can remember again – hills. The coach is very good and strong but those hills between Needles and Bakersfield are big and long. The climb out of Needles is about 15 miles of almost constant climbing – the total climb is about 2500 feet in that distance but it is unrelenting. It is a good thing that the weather is cooperating and the temps are only in the 80’s. The climb from Mohave to Tehachapi is another 1500 feet – the climb going the opposite way – Bakersfield to Tehachapi – is 3500 feet. We may go home via L.A.

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Barbie’s first night with her new look

The coach drove like a dream today, I guess she feels good about her new look. The weather could not have been better for driving – it was mid-70’s to mid-80’s most of the day and only got to low-90’s as we were coming into Lake Havasu City at about 3:00pm. We did use the A/C a little but those floor vents are amazingly efficient, even with the newly installed screens over the ends.

We had a bunch of really small bugs that made it into the coach through the vents (the whole front of the coach is covered with little gray bits that almost coat it completely) but no big ones. If I had used a fine screen – like window screen – the little guys would not have made it in but I used 1/4″ mesh to keep the big ones out and the air flowing. No big deal.

We camped at Lake Havasu State Park for the night and got one of only 4 pull-through sites because it is almost empty. We took a little walk around and shot some photos to show you where we are.

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