Phew!! Today we endured 878 kms of rainy, windy, dry, dusty, hot and sometimes cool, roadways. The good news is that today is Sunday and all but one of the "Road Work Ahead" areas... wasn't, and so we proceeded very smoothly. We used the many rest stops along the way to stretch our legs and switch off drivers every 2 hours... and so here we are in sunny Modesto, California... a small 'town' south of Stockton.
Things we learned along the way... big trucks in California are painted in beautiful rainbow colours, are kept shiny and clean... and look great coming along the highway in colourful parades; some (but not all) rest stops have volunteers doling out pretty good coffee for their favourite charities; Sophie is still the best ice-breaker and people- meeter we've ever known... what with her hops and spins and twirls...she gathers crowds wherever she goes; Chuck the truck is a trouper (for those who haven't met him he's a 1999 Ford Ranger with a canopy and he's loaded to the gills) ok, one thing we learned is that when it's absolutely pouring and you're forging down the highway at speeds around 110 KM... water does find it's way in the tailgate... no biggie tho'... there's so much stuff packed in there it had no where to go except onto the first layer :-); GPS (Martha)... thanks again Susan and George... is a miracle. She just always knows which way to go and how often... she hasn't even been yelling "U turn"... "U turn"... at us this trip... so far; the first palm tree heading south on the I5 is just south of Redding; talking to locals can really pay off (for instance... staff at one of our hotels described Stockton as "gang central" and warned us to stay away.... thank goodness they did as we'd been heading there. Instead we passed right by and stopped in Modesto; and, finally, Trip Advisor really is a great service. We check out potential hotels as often as we can and gain valuable info re where and where not to stay... Suffice to say we learn something every trip.. and, some days, we can even remember what it is :-)
Well, we're tired.. and it's time to turn in. Tomorrow's another long day, during which we'll be sliding by LA and heading for San Diego.... we hope to make an early start (0700 we think) and that should relieve some of the angst with respect to rush hour traffic, etc.
We hope you're all well.. and, before I forget, Happy Birthday Anika B. and Diane R. (Oct 18th) hope you had lots of fun... Take care everyone.... talk to you again soon.... Hi Dad.... love ya... Carolyn
