West Coast America

Here we go…another Stardate series for (hopefully) your enjoyment. I’m going to start this one a little early, like around the middle of July. Claudia, “Gizmo” and I have been slowly transitioning from total kickback, to “maybe we’d better start thinking about the trip” to actually starting to put things together. I must digress a minute and introduce you to Gizmo.





As most of you know, we had to put Rusty down last year. At the tender young age of six, he blew his back out, a common thing for Daschunds, and was paralyzed. It was a mega bummer but it had to be done. After a year and some change, we started visiting the local shelters and found our latest little furry friend. Gizmo is a long-hair Chihuahua and is a total clown…a real kick in the butt! We couldn’t have found a better puppy. His name comes from the movie, “Gremlins” because he looks just like the mogwai that starred in the movie. He’s about one year old now and has succeeded in training us (and every female in our condo complex) into doing everything he so desires. His favorite pastimes are getting his ears “scritched” and getting someone to throw a rope or ball for him to fetch and retrieve. He’s a real “chick magnet” and a great buddy.

The trip we are getting ready for is called “West Coast America” and is a brand new trip. It starts in Tillamook, Oregon on September 22nd and follows Highway 101 south along the Oregon and California coastlines to Leggett, CA where we slide over to the infamous Highway 1 and continue south to Bodega Bay. At that point, we start heading east through Petaluma, Napa and on to Sacramento. After Sacramento, we are off to Yosemite National Park. After our stay at Yosemite, we turn west toward Monterey and Carmel and then south, again on Highway 1, to Buellton and Solvang where the trip ends on October 31st. Our tailgunners are, again, our best friends Larry and Linda Slycord. As of this writing, we have 19 total rigs on the trip. Of the 17 guest rigs, five are past customers of ours.

I am going to the rifle range tomorrow to sight in my 70th birthday present. Since this last one was a significant milestone, all the kids chipped in and bought me a rifle…a 50 caliber in-line (modern) muzzleloader. My major hobby, other than fishing, is shooting black powder rifles. After I get through polluting the atmosphere with dense white smoke, I will slide by the storage space, pick up the motorhome and bring it home to start cleaning and packing for the trip. We recently put new tires on the rig. It now sports a set of Michelin XZA3 tires that inflate to 120# and are rated at over 13,000 pounds carrying capacity. Now I can put more “stuff” in the bays and not worry about overloading the tires…bending the frame maybe, but not blowing the tires.

Jacque, Jeff and the grandkidlets will be arriving from Texas on the 20th and staying until we take off for the trip. Rachael and Kyndi, the grandkidlets, have expressed their desires to go surfing, fishing, to the Wild Animal Park and basically have us tend to their every whim and desire while they are here. We shall do our best, as all grandparents do. Kyndi and Claudia are celebrating birthdays with a Funfetti cake and three-flavor sherbet while they are here.

You are now all caught up with the latest information, gossip and conjecture. My next musings should get published sometime around the first week in August. Until then, safe travels and good health to all!