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...My Life as 'Drive away' driver
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2 - New RV's 20180416 - IA-CA We had planned on calling in on Saturday for a Monday run ... but no one answered the phone. If we had know we could have called Friday, we may have gotten Hayward runs, now they are gone so we are back to West Sacramento. This AM I was calling right at 8 AM and got right through and go the runs we wanted. We are still at home as BB has a 9 AM dentist appointment. Dispatch told us not to rush as the RV lot is not plowed yet. It took the expected one hour at the dentist and we were on our way. Stopped in Albert Lea for Wendy's and fuel at Loves. I had chili and a hamburger. Hamburger is not what I am used to from Wendy's, not greasy, mostly room temp and the cheese was just out of the fridge, not melted at all. We get to Forest City a little after 1 PM, the lot is still not plowed. OK, main drive area's are but that is it. Not the check area so drivers are doing their hook-ups and inspections wherever they can. Sloppy mess but at least the sun is shining and it's above zero. Ended up parking our van in the only place someone had pulled out of ... and then realized there was four inches of water when I went to get out of the van. Lots of snow on the hoods of the RV's. Had to bust some off just to be able to lift the hood. I left about 20# on my hood, it busted up pretty good when I closed the hood. Roads are mostly clear, but narrow. Stopped at Pilot for fuel ... all pumps were closed. BB got ahead of me getting to the station across the street. Because I have the long RV, I had to park at an angle behind her to reach the pump. Same route, different day. Stop at the rest area in Ankeny, then west to Avoca to the Flying J. This one has a Taco Johns, Maid Rite and American Pie. We went for the Maid Rite this time. BB had a chicken sandwich, I had pulled pork and cheese curds. We've been eating pulled pork for a few days now at home but it sounded good. And it was. Cheese curds were so-so. They were out of coleslaw. Saw lots of transport stuff today. One right in the cites (coming back from the shop?) Four mixes without plates or placards. Mixer, garbage truck, buses, RV's, lift trucks. Running at 65 mph today, we'll see about tomorrow. It is 8 PM by the time we pull into the motel, we had looked at going to Lincoln but not enough daylight today. Quality Inn, been here many times, price is right but it is pretty much like a Super 8 in quality and layout which is likely why the price is right. 30 RV's were snapped up this AM, we got 2 of the first 3. But by the end of the day the board was only down 10 to just under 100. There are still RV's parked everywhere around town. They just keep moving them. Because of the snow? Plan is to do 500 miles plus a day and deliver on Friday. The motel in Reno has been cheaper than anything in CA so we'll see if we make it past Reno this time. I will wait until Wednesday or Thursday to call about a bus. Nice thing about this trip west is we only have to order one permit for NV and we don't have to have it printed out, just on our phone. Saves time messing with motel printers. We also have to get a WY one but we get that ourselves. Either Cheyenne or Larami tomorrow night. 20180416 - IA-CA Didn't think there was any rush to get going this AM so we left the motel about 8 AM. 1st break is at a rest area in Grand Island, then fast food in North Platte at the Loves/Subway. Briefly mentioned stopping at Denny's but decided to keep moving. IF we were maximizing time, we would have then kept going to Big Springs, but fuel was cheaper in Ogallala at the WalMart per GasBuddy. Actually was cheaper at Casey's but I couldn't read the WalMart sign to compare so we ended up at WalMart. By the time we got to Ogallala BB was watching the weather/wind. It would be 150 <> miles to the POE so we split it and stopped at the rest area in Sidney. Next town is Kimball and the winds are now at 30 mph with gusts to 60. Roads past Cheyenne are already closed to high profile units. So we end up shutting down in Sidney with only 380 of our 500+ miles for the day. Most of the day was pretty nice, a nice tailwind. But winds switched around to the high headwinds. Even at Sidney the flag was barely blowing, 30 miles away would be a different story. Hopefully the winds die down overnight. If we get stuck here for a day then it will be two more days stuck somewhere because we can't drop over the weekend. Nothing much new on the roads today. A few birds still grouped together. Swans, Sand Cranes, Geese, swarms of small birds. Roads mostly tame, road construction has started. Our plan was to walk to Three Margaritas but once we got into the wind, we changed and walked to Mi Ranchitos instead as it was more sheltered from the wind. Got there and it was closed for the week. So we ended up at Three Margaritas anyway, plus a good walk. Good food, not to 'hot.' Winds here have died down, but they are still adding new warnings in WY. Also I-25 had a lot of accidents, not sure if it was wind related, but enough that it made the news. We have tomorrow all planned out. Not going to try to make up all our time but hope to get past SLC. Work board is back up over 100 RV's again after staying just under 100 for a few days. 20180418 - IA-CA Eating breakfast at sunrise. Temp is right at freezing but no frost on the windows. Wasn't any frost yesterday morning either, on ours. Did notice some on other peoples cars. No wind warnings today. The Cheyenne port of entry/scale is mostly closed except for those needing permits. Not sure what they are doing but it is all tore up. Should have planned on getting gas in this area, $2.39. That's the cheapest we will see it. One RV was just pulling out when we got there, a short bus and two RV's pulled in while we were there. Next stop is Laramie for fuel. The Pilot is a pain to get in and out of so we end up at the Petro. Loves should be open soon. The two RV's we saw at the scale were just pulling off the freeway when we were getting back on. Rawlins is our next stop. Lunch, Country Pride at the TA. All you can eat. Most only have soup and salad but this one also has hot food. BB got the hot food, I stuck with just the soup and salad. Two more hours and we were at Rock Springs at the Shell for a rest stop. This was the first time in ... maybe ever, that I didn't look over to see the huge crane when we went by. My mind was elsewhere until I could see the dirt piles in my rear view mirror. Then a 2nd fuel stop at Evenston at Pilot. We usually stop at the Flying J but they were down to one pump last time we were there so we'll give it a few weeks before going back. Got to got through SLC right at rush hour again. Doesn't take long to loose BB in heavy traffic. We end up at the Comfort Inn in Tooele. Eat at the Flying J / Denny's across the street. As we were leaving the Flying J someone with an RV just like BB's pulled in so I stopped and talked to him a minute. He'll be delivering the same place we do on Friday AM. He also had spend the night in Sidney but he was going on to Wendover and the Red Garder. Him and another driver were going to split the $10 room. Ours is 10x that much tonight. Last nights motel was a good deal. We paid less than the price the Motel 6 had listed on their sign. Did see lots of deer today, dozens various places so likely over 100. Also notices that the dead skunks on the road don't seem to become pancakes very quickly ;) Saw a few transporters today. Pretty quiet day over all. The hills are just starting to get green ... where there isn't any snow. But the green grass is not taller than the brown grass yet. Should be in a couple of weeks. It did look like the roads could have been nasty this AM. Signs said black ice, but the right lane was clear by the time we got past Cheyenne. Did see one UPS truck being towed in parts, also one truck on its side. Thought there might be more but that was it. Lots of gravel any time someone past so they must have really dumped it on. Sunny day, large area's of new snow, not very deep but more than covering the ground. Work board is staying over 100. 20180419 - IA-CA Bacon for breakfast. Expensive bacon (twice the price of the night before) We are going by 6:30 local, first stop is a rest area 90 miles down the road near the Bonneville salt flats. When I go in public restrooms I always check for toilet paper for two reasons. One is to make sure there is some. Today the 1st stall just had some loose stuffed next to the empty roll. So I went in the other stall. BB wasn't so lucky. Five stalls, four were locked and the other had no toilet paper (but we've been doing this long enough we are prepared, except maybe on the hottest days. Most of two hours down the road I see a pickup a ways on to the shoulder. I am almost up to him before I realize it is a Highway Patrol, so I move over one lane even though he does not have his lights on. A mile down the road I see him in the left lane, then he pulls in between BB and I, and then he hits the lights. When he walks up to the window, he first says who he is and then asked for a list of stuff. I give them to him one at a time, some he hands back after looking at them, others he takes with him back to the squad. I forgot to give him my license so he had to walk back up ... then when he gave me everything back, he forgot my license so he had to walk back again. He basically looked at my permit, log, insurance, placards. Then checked my lights and horn. All good. The last time I had an inspection was a roadside ... in NV. I think I've had more roadside inspections than scalehouse inspections. BB had passed us when I pulled over and gone ahead to our next stop, the Maverick in Elko where we fueled. Pulled up behind the same cop as I was exiting the freeway, and he was sitting at the stoplight when we pulled out of the gas station. Saw a few of them today. Another hour and a half down the road we stop and eat in Battle Mountain at PortOSubs. Should have fueled here, gas was $.30 a gallon less than Elko. My math said if I fueled in Wells, I would have enough gas to make it to delivery, but BB thought she could make it if we fueled in Elko, and the fuel was cheaper. So I was going to guess as to how many gallons I would need, but the pump shut off at $75 so I left it at that. Now it looks like I will make it to the drop but BB will have to add more fuel. We could have saved $20-50 this trip by fueling at different places and, most likely, by driving 60 instead of 65. BB has the mpg readout on her RV and it does make a difference. Quick stop at Loveloch. Chevron again has gas for $.30 more per gallon than the truckstop across the highway. After Loveloch the wind picks up and it rains. It has been cloudy most all day but good driving weather. The last two hours are rough and we are ready to stop at 3 PM local. We could keep going, but we don't have a good reason to. So far I have never gotten a bus before 5 PM. So no matter what time we delivery we aren't going anywhere until 5 PM. And we know where this motel is, we don't have a 'go to' place in CA yet. BestWestern at Boomtown/Verdi is our stop. Usually we eat at Mel's Diner but tonight the buffet was open so we ate prime rib instead. Could have saved $10 if we had gotten ourselves 'payers cards' before eating but we didn't. Main food was good, deserts weren't. Then we walked for 40 minutes, it was misting a little but finally the sun came out. Did call the bus dispatcher at noon, he said to call again at noon Friday after I delivery. He doesn't have any buses yet, it sounds like they are waiting to release them and then he'll be buried again. We got time, we'll stay the weekend if we have to. The rental car we have lined up to go the 100 miles between the two runs will cost us twice as much as the one we had for four days last trip :) 20180420 - IA-CA Breakfast at Mel's at 6 AM. Too much food. Just like last night, too much food. At the buffet last night, the slice of prime rib I had was likely <> 1/3 pound. I won't order a 1/3# burger because it is too much food. Last night I ate that much plus all the other side and deserts. BB stopped a the Chevron across the street from the motel to add three gallons of fuel. I guessed I should make it on what I had. Beautiful morning, mostly clear. Still some snow on the ground. Grass is turning green. And we passed through layers of clouds/fog as we went up the mountain. The Donner Pass Rest Area was open. Ski slopes looked well used. Did our usual stop at Gold Run and then another hour to the 49er Truck Stop. Not a bad 'rush hour' this AM. We got to the truck stop a little after 9 AM. Did the posted speed limit most of the way. Most of a two hour wait at the wash before fueling. Drop is the next exit after the truck wash. Five RV's pulled in ahead of us to the drop, but they were coming from another dealer location so they didn't need to be inspected. So it was just the two of us and two people checking them in. In and done in a half hour. Then an hour wait for the rental car place to come and pick us up. When they were doing the walk around at the rental car place, the guy noticed damage that was supposed to have been fixed so we ended up with a different car. Van. Same price as the car so we took it. Didn't plan on driving it that far, one day and 90 miles. Stopped at the closest In-and-Out Burger south of the rental car place. Called the bus dispatcher at noon as requested. He didn't know, but call him back at 5 pm. At 5 pm I called him back and he didn't have anything, but he might on Monday if we stayed. After talking about it with BB, I called the guy back a half hour later to tell him I was staying until Monday. Something I said got him thinking I was being too picky on what runs I would/wouldn't take. Not sure how it will all sit on Monday. It wasn't that I was being picky, I'm just not interested in doing back to back runs for him. When I get to CA, I will take one run to get out of CA ... or we may end up driving a rental car home Monday depending on what mood they guy is in. It was good when it works. Now we are looking for things to do this weekend. Alcatraz is booked for the weekend. This weekend is free National Parks days. But the weather is nice, not a cloud in the sky earlier. Plan is to only be gone for about two weeks at a time, one week out and one week back. We'll see how busy they are will buses next month. 20180421 - IA-CA Still calling this a California run until we either get something else or we are back home. Problem with being on the west coast is we have an alarm set to call in to work every day and at that is 6 AM here. So we were up early for local time, don't want to get to far off schedule. I've only seen one smaller breakfast place and that was at a Super 8 with only one table and four chairs. This place had three tables, so most people were taking there food back to their rooms. When we booked our room last night it was one of the last two rooms. By the time we left this AM the sign on the door said FULL. When we have tried to stay here in the past the place was full. Our car was reserved for 10 AM so we stayed in the motel until shortly before. Got to the rental car place and there was five people ahead of us and only one clerk. He finally asked who was just returning cars and the other people were in two groups of two and both were returning cars so we were next. In line. The guy at the counter was having issues and among other things his back account wouldn't authorize a $200 hold. It may have been a half hour after we were there before he finally gave up. Then back to drop off the 1st rental and then we headed down to a local park to take a walk. It did cost us $7 for the day. But it was close and it was beautiful outside. We had looked at going to one of the National Parks but the more we talked about it the less we wanted to deal with the lines. We finally decided to head north but ate first at Wise Guys, a place we saw yesterday as we were taking a tour after taking a road that just looped back to the road we had been on. I had a Philly, really good. BB had a Gyro, it was good but she likes more items on it than this place put on. Next we headed to Sears Point. It was supposed to take an hour and a half to go 60 miles. Ended up taking over two hours. Mostly slow and go. Did see one car on its side on the shoulder of the road. Not sure how you do that in city traffic. Should have taken a picture, didn't. We had walked for most of an hour this morning and now we stopped again, but this time only walked for less than a mile. Sears Point is a 'tide area.' Someone is drudging, making island and other changes to make the area better for wildlife. Rooms are not cheap. We maybe should have looked first before we left Livermore. We end up using points to get a room in Santa Rosa. Rooms are way over $100 a night for everything but the lower end motels all the way to the OR border. We stop at Russian River to eat. This is our go to place to eat in Santa Rosa, good pizza, local brewery. Place was packed with a line waiting but they offered us a 'very' small table and we took it and got seated right away. Yep, good food. In the motel for the night. Not sure which way we will go in the morning. The redwoods and valcano park are each about four hours drive and not in the same direction. We'll likely stay north of SFO tomorrow and tomorrow night and then drive back so we get to Livermore around 5 PM Monday. 20180422 - IA-CA (Wifi wasn't working very well Sunday night so this is recalled from a day later.) After breakfast we headed up to a park called Armstrong Redwood Park. Interesting that it allows parking on the sides of the road prior to the paid entrance and also has a small parking lot prior to the entrance that are free. Drive in and you have to pay. We stayed on the flat area's, took some panoramic pictures of the tall trees. Problem is the camera won't adjust to the changing light as pan up/down the tree. This park was only about 15 miles from Santa Rosa. We decided not to go to the parks that were 2-4 hours away. Before we left town we tried to stop at the cemetery but the gates were locked until 9 AM. So we stopped again after going to the park and got my grave marker pictures taken. Plan was to stop at an In-and-Out Burger place, but traffic was backed up out onto the street. Didn't see a better way to get in so we left. Ended up stopping at a Burger King somewhere instead. There was also another restaurant next to the BK, but BB told me that if I can't pronounce the name I likely won't like the food. BK it was. Took a drive through the Napa Valley, some places in the hills were badly burned, others places not sign of damage. Not sure how the fields weren't damaged. Some places the trees were burnt right up to the road. This was pretty much our day, driving roads we've taken before. As long as we had time we stopped at two cemeteries. National cemeteries are easy, everything is numbered. Computers to look up locations. Interesting that the person I looked up here don't have a death date on the husband and no room to put it. Next cemetery is almost in Sacramento, grave was 1-2 rows from the building. Did have an issue with this one as I hadn't written down her 2nd married name. Only her maiden name and 1st marriage. We we're having much luck finding motels so we decided to go out of route and stop where we used to stay taking RV's to Rancho Cordova. Stayed at the Quality Inn. BB couldn't find any place to eat online, anything good didn't look like a place for a couple of sweaty hikers. I typed in Diner and found a place a few miles away. Brookfield. We liked it so we'll we went back to it on Monday. ... the trip continues HERE  |