Monday, April 1st we started our journey home. Some final goodbyes and we were heading on our way by 9am. Stopped for gas, and hooked up the car in the parking lot of the shopping plaza where the station was situated. As we made our way through the parking lot, a tree decided to have a bit of a close encounter with the roof of the motorhome. If we'd gone much further we could have taken out the air conditioner, at worst, or a ceiling vent. No choice but to try and SLOWLY back up the motorhome and move over enough to swing around the protruding branch. We succeeded with help from another gentlemen blocking cross traffic, and were on our way with what turned out to be no real damage. Made good time through Phoenix and took a less traveled route north from Quartzsite, AZ to Barstow, CA.
Tuesday, April 2nd we were on the road by 7:30 to continue our travels through California. There were warnings for high winds in the Barstow area for this morning, but significant speeds weren't expected until late morning, so we had no cause for worry. Today definitely reminded us why we prefer the more inland routes to get to and from Arizona. The highways were terrible, with everything rattling and shaking and sliding around. I got up at one point to go towards the back of the rig and noticed the back window (emergency exit) was popping open and closed from the air flow around the rig. Turned out the bracket that holds it closed was broken. If I hadn't noticed it, it could have eventually ripped right off. So as we rolled down the highway, I crawled across the bed (and all the stuff piled on it) and secured the window catch lever with the power cord off the heater that was sitting beneath it. When we next stopped for gas, Robin got out some duct tape and taped it closed. We'll get it fixed when we get home. Then while driving through Ripon (south of Stockton) we ran into some heavy rain and suddenly the wiper arm on the passenger side disappeared. Fortunately, the rain didn't last long and the important wiper arm (on the driver's side) stayed intact. When we arrived at our destination for the day (Lodi, CA), we discovered that the arm was still attached, but hanging down the front of the rig. On initial inspection, Robin figured something had broken off inside, but when he went to remove it he found that it had just loosened up somehow and once tightened again, it worked fine. So that's three fairly minor issues and that should be it for the rest of the trip, thank you very much. We've had a couple of long days on the road, with this day feeling much longer due to the road conditions, so we've decided to stay two nights. Besides, there are wineries and breweries calling to us.
Until next time, dear readers.
Tuesday, April 2nd we were on the road by 7:30 to continue our travels through California. There were warnings for high winds in the Barstow area for this morning, but significant speeds weren't expected until late morning, so we had no cause for worry. Today definitely reminded us why we prefer the more inland routes to get to and from Arizona. The highways were terrible, with everything rattling and shaking and sliding around. I got up at one point to go towards the back of the rig and noticed the back window (emergency exit) was popping open and closed from the air flow around the rig. Turned out the bracket that holds it closed was broken. If I hadn't noticed it, it could have eventually ripped right off. So as we rolled down the highway, I crawled across the bed (and all the stuff piled on it) and secured the window catch lever with the power cord off the heater that was sitting beneath it. When we next stopped for gas, Robin got out some duct tape and taped it closed. We'll get it fixed when we get home. Then while driving through Ripon (south of Stockton) we ran into some heavy rain and suddenly the wiper arm on the passenger side disappeared. Fortunately, the rain didn't last long and the important wiper arm (on the driver's side) stayed intact. When we arrived at our destination for the day (Lodi, CA), we discovered that the arm was still attached, but hanging down the front of the rig. On initial inspection, Robin figured something had broken off inside, but when he went to remove it he found that it had just loosened up somehow and once tightened again, it worked fine. So that's three fairly minor issues and that should be it for the rest of the trip, thank you very much. We've had a couple of long days on the road, with this day feeling much longer due to the road conditions, so we've decided to stay two nights. Besides, there are wineries and breweries calling to us.
Until next time, dear readers.