Finally got back to Vegas and my Westy after limping into town a couple months earlier. The Beetle Barn took care of the oil leak, caused by an auxiliary oil cooler mounted behind the fan housing, and replaced it with a new, thermostatically controlled oil cooler. They also took out the 356 oil filter and replaced that with an easier to screw on/off model mounted beneath / behind the engine, but accessible from below. This did not affect ground clearance and should be a good long-term solution.

Couple this with a few other repairs and full clean up while the engine was out of the bus and it was ready to hit the road!

Sent an email to 24/7 Storage a couple days before my arrival to charge up the batteries and within minutes of arriving, I was off and running. Here’s hoping.

Linda was arriving a couple days later as I had business first and then we were heading down to the shores of Lake Havasu for the annual Busses By The Bridge event in the shadow of the London Bridge. In 1968, some American tycoon bought the bridge and took it apart brick by brick and put it on Lake Havasu – why? Not sure, but it looks good there 🙂The gates open for this event on Thursday, but I saw posts on social media of busses lining up at the gate days in advance of that. When Linda and I arrived on Saturday afternoon, we were the 753rd bus registered!

Of course, all the campsites were taken shortly after the gates opened, so once we registered, we had to park adjacent to the campground. Not sure we would have stayed with 752 of my closest friends as they were really squished together on the grounds and running water was not very close by.Tons of split window busses in every configuration!

And, lots of late model Westy’s in every 2 and 4-wheel drive configuration.Everybody was super nice and friendly. Many selling bus odds and ends and parts from their campsites.Love this sun shade! Found it online and will be ordering one for my bus 😉 Even though we have front curtains, it just seems to fit the narrative!

Another photo that really fit the narrative of driving a bus…Linda liked this one.

The bus below is just like the first one I bought when I was 16 (minus the roof rack). Lots of trips up and down the coast in my blue and white baby!

After a few hours with our friends, it was time to go a couple miles down the lake to our campground and have a completely different experience.

First question from the guard at the gate was…’why did they let YOU stay here? You’re not a self contained motor home.’ And thus began a long conversation about honoring our reservation and getting into this lovely RV park. You will see by the photos that we not only didn’t fit in, we stuck out like a sore thumb in a place that was completely devoid of personality and any chance of life.

We got wedged between two mobile homes, in what appears to be somebody’s driveway.

We met some full-time couples that couldn’t believe we didn’t want to buy one of the homes here and settle down in such a wonderful community. BTW, the bathrooms were in the ‘clubhouse’, but we couldn’t use them as the place was reserved for a ‘Celebration of Life’ event. We had to use the bathrooms at the pool, but they close at 10PM. Hoped the celebration would end by then and we could have access to the can in the evenings!

Side note, in these communities, we were pretty sure the Celebration of Life events were pretty common!

Just like the evening we arrived in Malta after traveling for what felt like an eternity, we immediately went online and started looking for somewhere else to stay. Decided the next day, we’d move north to the Laughlin, Nevada area and still stay near the Colorado River and Lake Mohave.

Made a reservation for the next day 100 miles north at the KOA in Laughlin, which after arriving in Laughlin from the Arizona side, we learned was another 18 miles south on the Nevada side of Laughlin. Hmmm maybe listen to Linda and ‘use the google’.

A highlight was traveling on old Route 66 for quite some time and found the landscape simply beautiful in a strikingly desolate sort of way.

The RV campground was on Mohave Indian lands, along with a casino 👍🏼 and most folks were very friendly. Some conversations turned a little dark with rants about Antifa, 2nd Amendment and commies taking over cities like New York and Minneapolis 😳 We simply ignored them and moved on to other conversations.

Lots of folks living full time in their motor homes and, one next to us was a pretty spendy unit…thinking upwards of $900k. Guess which one it was.

We thought all was well and calm, then the RV park Soup Nazi came by and said – ‘Hey, you connected to the sewer system?’ Well, no we aren’t, we replied. ‘Well, you can’t stay here if you’re not self contained’. We told her that wasn’t asked when we checked in and we plan on staying until we leave a day later. 🤬

So here we are in a campground on the Nevada side of the Colorado River in the Pacific Time Zone. The other side of the river is Arizona and of course, in the Mountain Time Zone for part of the year.

Now, here’s where the fun begins…check out this photo. Even though the Mohave Tribe runs this place, the casino must run on Nevada time, as are all Nevada state run casinos. But, the tribe draws most of their employees from the Arizona side (city of Fort Mohave) and they want to be on Arizona time. So, if you walk from the casino to the gas station and convenience store across the parking lot, you change time zones.

So – it was a great trip seeing parts of Nevada within a 150 mile radius and the bus ran really well. Next up, we’re thinking the Hoover Dam recreation area, Valley of Fire or Red Rock Canyon. And, now that the bus is running and in fine shape, we can certainly camp in campgrounds that do not require us to be tethered to AC or water. It will greatly improve our options in regards to the quality of our campsites.

Final note – spent this weekend in Arizona golfing with some family and friends and found the perfect addition to my Westy life!

Gassed up in Tonopah and headed south on 95. Decided after the dinner the night before, I could skip a meal or two. First sign once out of town…’Next Service 90 Miles’. 211 miles of 2-lane road and lots of semi’s going 70+. The great news is this entire trip the weather gods have been kind. Didn’t get ‘Kicked by the wind, robbed by the sleet…’.

Decided to power into Vegas and get the drive behind me. It’s Thursday and I need to see a quality air cooled shop as I’m dripping oil a bit. Thinking the seal on the oil cooler has failed. Did some research and have a storage unit I want to check out considering we’ll leave the Westy in Vegas till May.

Connected with Justin, the owner of the Beetle Barn. His father started the shop over 60 years earlier. Confident in the choice.

He confirmed my suspicion and next week he’ll get a new oil cooler installed. Bummer is, the engine needs to be pulled for this. The only good news is now all components can be fully checked and tightened / repaired. Great thing is, even with the oil leak, the engine performed really well. I’m just not sure my anxiety can handle it anymore 🙂 But – this will put all my concerns about the bad work done in Portland to rest.

Once completed, Justin will get the bus over to 24/7 RV Storage in Vegas, where I’ve secured a spot (written at different times).So, by Friday night, all my chores are completed and I can fly home…problem is, my flight is not till Sunday and due to the huge SEMA auto show in Vegas, one way flights back Friday or Saturday are $1,000+. So, I’ll be staying out by the airport till I fly cause hotels are $300/night on the strip.

Will leave you with some photos of an option to be considered when stranded in Vegas for a couple days.

Bye for now.

Without you, not sure anyone would know about Tonopah! Staying at the Mizpah Hotel in downtown 🙂 Tonopah. When built in 1905, it was the tallest building in Nevada. A huge silver strike was discovered here at the turn of the century and a group of citizens felt they needed a ‘respectable’ hotel in their town. Shuttered in 2000, it was reopened in 2011 by the Cline wine family.One of its claims to fame is the fact it’s haunted. Evidently in the 1920’s, a lady of the night was murdered on the 5th floor and her ghost is present everywhere. Interestingly, I did hear footsteps in the hallway last night and nobody was there!Cute couple.Accommodations on the 5th floor…just a few doors down from the suite where they lady met her fate.Lightly dressed wedge salad.Followed by chicken fried steak and mashed potatoes and some sort of veggie that melted in my mouth 😳

Happenings since my last postMeet Duane, the owner of the hot springs and builder of the bath house. Super nice fellow, living his passion out in the upper desert.Pool in the bathhouseOutdoor pools overlooking the lake.One final picture study with Gary.

While I could have stayed longer in the desert, I needed to make tracks south. Connected with Robin and Randy and made plans to have dinner with them and camp in their driveway for the night. Great seeing them again!

I had an early conference call on Tuesday morning, so once the sun started to rise, I left Eagleville for Cedarville where I’d have cell service and grab a breakfast.

Traffic on the highway was pretty busy getting to Cedarville!Robin and Randy suggested the cafe in Cedarville and breakfast was great!After breakfast, needed to make tracks toward Reno. Kept driving and made it to Carson City NV by late afternoon and thought staying inside for the night and an indoor shower sounded pretty great. Of course, what would a casino be without a Prime Rib special for $9.99! And, not sure how it is a ‘special’, if it is every day!They learned their veggie secret prep from the Mizpah Hotel. How they keep their shape as veggies, but once you put one in your mouth, it dissolves without requiring chewing. No texture, no flavor, no reason.

Thursday morning

Need to pack it in and try to get close to Vegas today. Will need to find a storage unit for my Westy and I’m still wanting to find a reputable air cooled shop to verify that no further damage has been done to my baby.

Final note from a commercial on TV – I’m no marketing expert (after 40 years in the biz), but thinking if you name a product with a made up name, Turd should not be the first part of the name. Just sayin!

Fast forward 30 days from that f’d up trip and I’m back in Bend to pick up my Westy. Christian, from the auto shop, and I have been texting, calling and emailing during this time and everything is ready as planned. It was very gracious of him to pick me up on a Saturday morning and bring me to the shop. Thanks again!

Oil Leaks – mechanic was very surprised how loose all oil fittings were. Tightened all, cleaned the engine / compartment and looked for any other oil leaks. All good.

Alternator – did not need to replace as the alternator cable was pinched and eventually exposed to bare metal and shorted. Coincidence that it occurred right after it was washed.

Fan Belt – replaced

Since they specialize in auto electrical items, I had them redo my inverter, which has never adequately worked. Seems the cable diameter we originally used from the battery to the inverter under the jump seat was significantly undersized. Ran a copper cable the diameter of my thumb and all good. Now I can make coffee or use a heater when no shore power is available.

By noon, I was heading out of town towards Summer Lake Oregon. I’ve got a reservation for a campsite at the Summer Lake Hot Springs about 125 miles southeast.

Finally out of Bend and checking gauges every 15 seconds waiting for the other shoe to drop, but everything was running and feeling great. Stopped for gas and checked the oil and back on the road. Don’t want to be the kiss of death, but she’s running strong, like she should.

Summer Lake is a large, alkali lake. About 25,000 acres and average depth of 1′. Yes that is correct. From my previous run up here, I’ve mentioned these large alkali lakes and dry lake beds.

Anyway, Duane built this place in 1988 on the hot springs and there is a large indoor pool and outside soaking tubs, all at various temps.

Additionally, there are cabins (heated geothermal floors) and campsites.

Nice campsite! This place is simply simple and beautiful. Was going to spend one night, but the peace and tranquility encouraged a second!

The next 3 shots are of the bathhouse. All taken from the exact spot with my new iPhone using 3 different focal length settings.

Just beautiful out here.

Love these options 👍🏼

Picture study of Gary

And again

So, it’s about 60 degrees and you just bask in the sunlight.

Then the sun goes behind the mountain and the temp drops 10 to 15 degrees within 30 seconds! No kidding.

Flyover country

New low light feature on the iPhone. Got to say I am impressed.

One final note. It was 60 degrees during the day and I wasn’t quite sure how cold it would get, but decided to plug in the heating pad to put by my feet as the back door does get pretty cold at night. Also put the heater on low.

Woke up to this…

More from the road in a day or so. Hoping to stop in on Robin and Randy tomorrow.

October 1st – a day targeted for at least 6 months. Last day as owner of my agency. We’re having a handoff moment with the new owner, my son, along with all the employees. Toasting with an Oregon sparkling before I uber off into the morning to catch my flight to Portland.

I’m taking 10 days to move the bus from Portland to Las Vegas, where we’ll get a storage unit and make winter trips from there.Land around 11AM and get to the storage unit and my baby starts right up.

Check in at the VW shop. They’re expecting me, but they don’t guarantee a specific time. It’s usually within a day or two, which I’ve accounted for. With only 1 or 2 air cooled mechanics, you’re in queue starting that time. Old school repair shop with husband and wife owners. She is Chatty Cathy about busses, which is sweet but might explain why her husband doesn’t say anything.Strange thing is…not many air cooled busses here…hmmmGrabbed a great burger in a corner bar and dropped my Westy off right before closing. They said I’d be first in the AM. Excellent. All they’re doing is an oil change and valve adjustment, so I should be on the road in no time.

Around noon on Oct 2nd, the mechanic and I chat about what was completed, gave him a $20 for beer and off I go.

I’ve got a reservation about 150 miles away in Maupin Oregon at a campground along the Deschutes River on the way to Bend Oregon. (not my photo)

Didn’t want to take the straight east, over mountain route, due to possible snowstorms, so instead, chose the northeastern route out of Portland up the Columbia River Gorge and then heading south on HWY 197 once on the eastern side of the Cascades. All of it incredibly scenic and breathtaking.(also not my photo)

For some reason, I’ve had an uncomfortable feeling this entire trip. Life was too perfect and all this riding off into the sunset crap seemed all to easy!

And the shoe drops about 75 miles up the Columbia River when I look down at my gauges to see my oil pressure at 0 psi!

Immediately pulled over and my heart dropped when I opened the engine compartment – oil is sprayed all over the engine bay and there is a large pool of oil beneath the oil filter. WTF!!!First thing I wanted to do was call the shop and scream at them. Unfortunately, there was no cell service where I was and that would make any call for assistance impossible!

Got some tools and a roll of paper towels to see where the problem was. Tightened the oil filter – the 17mm nut on top was pretty loose and the gasket was not fully seated, so fixed that. Then checked all oil lines and tightened the oil drain and screen trap, which were also loose! Added oil to top off what was lost and fired her back up. Oil pressure was steady (for now).

There is a heavy coating of oil all over the engine compartment. See if you can spot where I wiped oil away in 3 spots on the right carb – keeping in mind the oil leak came from the left of the left carbs!

Gingerly, I headed back on the highway in hopes of getting a cell signal and pushing on another 75 miles to my campground.

Made it to the campground and checked the engine bay once again and no new oil was spewing, so I closed it up and decided it was a chore for 1st thing in the morning.

Got an early start and reached into the engine compartment. My hand hit some bare metal and I felt 110 volts running through my body! WTF part deux!!! Quickly pulled the shore power connection and the shock was gone. OK now I have a ground problem to figure out!

Break camp and head to Bend. After a bit, stop for gas and to check the oil. OK now I notice part of my fan belt has broken off and ripped a hole though my heater vent pipes. WTF part trois!!!

Need to get to Bend as quickly as possible to find an air cooled shop in order to continue on this run to Vegas!

Made it to Young’s Ole Volks Home in Bend. Jerry’s a super nice guy, but already overcommitted. He said go to the car wash and come back with the engine clean and I can take a closer look. Did that, and was super careful about covering carbs, coil and alternator with plastic before I started. Finished up and headed back to the shop. Then the alternator light comes on and wont shut off! WTF part trois + Un!!!

This is bad and I must have gotten water in there and ruined the alternator. Jerry suspected the brushes were covered in oil and now it needs to be rebuilt. Now there was too much for Jerry to take on.

Found Specialty Automotive, which is a local Bend shop specializing in electronics and has great mechanics. Pleaded my case with the owners (husband and wife again, but this feels really different!) to consider working on it and if they could, keep it inside at nights when the shop is closed.

These folks could not have been nicer and agreed to work on my bus. They can’t look at it for a couple weeks, but I’ve got some weird juju going on and it needs quality attention, so all good. Booked a flight back home on Saturday morning. Nice. How’s that retirement thingy going!?

Well, in defense of my Westy, we’ve gone 17,500 miles and not a single trip-ending breakdown (until now), so there is that!

Side note…would not recommend the shop in Oregon. The owner guy told me to bring it back in and they’d look at it, but couldn’t guarantee when!? And, the mechanic…well, WTF dude…even after discussing what was happening and how I might rectify it, maybe an apology? Worst $20 tip ever.

Before I start, I wanted to say thanks for those that commented. I am not sure of the protocol and if I’m supposed to comment back publicly, but thank you for reading and enjoying.

As I said to Linda about 4 years ago, I need to find my wanderlust, and besides asking how much money it would cost, she has been totally onboard with the journey. My parents were nomadic and I remember moving from NY / NJ to California a number of times. Then, once I got my drivers license, I was gone.

OK – here’s a funny coincidence – I chatted with Dennis (of Dennis and Anastasia) last month and told him of my plans to visit the Susanville area and he said since I’m up there, I should go to a hot springs in the desert that was really special. So I did. Made a reservation at the Surprise Valley Mineral Wells. It’s a collection of rooms, all with hot tubs.

Turns out, Surprise Valley is 6 miles east of Cedarville, right by the Nevada border, and is the ‘staycation’ destination for Robin and Randy!

Each room has its own hot tub and control for temp. At night, the stargazing was pretty dang nice. The rooms were very nice with full kitchens and living rooms, which is important if you are up here for a few days, you need to fend for yourself. No resort services beyond a room. As an FYI, all rooms are heated by the hot springs, which in the winter is great since this place is busy year round. And, the well water that comes from here is really tasty.

The upper desert has had an abundance of rain this year, which is greening up everything and quite spectacular.

And, since rainfall is typically much less, it doesn’t take much to fill a dry lake bed. This might only be 6″ deep at the deep end!

You folks do know I love taking pictures of my bus, right!?

Think of it as reference for size. In my early commercial photo days, we used to shoot lots of little parts and connectors for an electronics client’s catalogs. For reference in the photos, the clients would have us put a pack of Marlboro cigs in the shot, so you could gauge size! The red box only (maybe they were using if for color matching as well).

This trip is also for a bit of recon as we’ll be leaving the bus in Portland. I have never been familiar with the country around Bend and the Sisters area, but would like to know more and ultimately fish it on a return trip with Linda in the not too distant future.

Thought this was interesting way up here!

Many of the lakes in the upper desert are alkaline, shallow and when they recede, they create new pasture land.

The road to Bend involved climbing out of the upper desert and back into the mountains.

Side Bar: throughout the mountains, up and down from San Francisco, over Donner and the Sierra’s and Cascades, I had to downshift into 3rd gear toward the tops, but my hill climbing speed never dropped below 40 MPH, and that was pretty cool.

Here’s a shot of the Sisters mountains outside of Bend – and not my shot 😉

Found a great campground near the Sisters in the Camp Sherman area.

Just past the fence line is the Metolius River, which is a fly fishing only river. A fellow I met mentioned it is an expert level stream, so my skills might not translate. However, I’d like to fish the Deschutes River on my next trip with a guide, and in a boat. In Oregon, I believe you cannot fish out of a boat on a river like you can in Montana, which is fine with me as I prefer to work a stream from standing in the stream or on the shoreline.

At dusk, the campground was very picturesque and worthy of another shot of my bus 👍

Salem, Oregon

Needed to take a day to write and clean up for putting the Westy away in Portland tomorrow, so I got a spot in the Premier RV Campground outside of Salem. Linda and I stayed in one of these ‘Premier RV’ campgrounds in Oregon a couple years ago and they certainly serve their purpose. Most RV campground bathrooms are pretty sketchy, but this place was like the Taj! Those are all showers on the left and there were an equal number of shitters on the other side! And, I never saw more than one person in the bathroom at any time, so I liked the chances of getting a clean stall 😳

And, just like many of the RV campgrounds I’ve visited, there were a number of folks living for extended periods in these parks. Chatted up a fellow named Tom, who is an Engineer and is living full time in this park with his wife, who works for the State of Oregon. Seems they sold their house and did not have the new one purchased so they had to buy a 5th wheel trailer and move in here until they find a new home. At that time, they will sell the 5th wheel. We discussed the opportunity of putting the 5th wheel on their new property and using it for Airbnb. Linda and I saw so many of these during our travels and believe it will continue to be a trend.

It’s time to pack it in on Saturday afternoon and catch a flight home. But before that, I did manage to clean up my baby for another day, secured a storage facility near the airport in Portland that is inside, and found a reputable air cooled VW shop as well. My Westy will be due for a valve adjustment and oil change before we head out for more road trippin.

Leave you with two items…

…first a great shot of Mount Hood while flying out of Portland…

…and second, a final comment on this trip.

I cannot begin to tell you how much fun this week was. While I wanted to have Linda with me to meet Rob, Marsha and Robin and Randy, she was on her annual Disney trip with Kenzie, our grandaughter, and her sister, Jane and Jane’s daughter, Biza. They have made this annual trip for about 15 or so years and I certainly can’t get in the way!

That said, this trip was really satisfying to finally bookend a 45 year absence of enjoying the company of people that were important in my life.

More to come, hopefully soon.

On Monday afternoon, I said goodbye to Marsha and Steve and headed toward Susanville. This 21 mile run is a really beautiful trip, and one we took most days either by a bus that was provided by the college, hitchhiking or driving (when we woke up too late for the other options).

You go past some beautiful meadows, and again, you can see Mount Lassen in the distance. Just across from this scene was a ski hill, where I learned to ski. It was a rope tow lift, driven by a 283 Chevy engine and you would burn through 3 or 4 pairs of choppers a season on the rope tow. It was seriously steep and icy for most of the season, so you learned fast!

Susanville

As you come down the east side of the Sierra Nevada range and into Susanville, the high desert is visible in the distance. Main Street businesses used to be at this end of town, but as with many small towns, new development went to the further end of town and much of it uninspiring.

View of the top of Main Street, where the road from Westwood drops you into Susanville.

Stopped in Susanville long enough to look for a fellow at the local hospital where I heard he was a nurse, but he had retired, so I gassed up and headed toward Alturas, about 115 miles north.

During my time in Susanville, I worked the graveyard shift at Jerry’s restaurant, the 24-hour cafe in town. They opened up Jerry’s restaurants around these parts in towns that were too small for a Denny’s. Otherwise same concept and, when you work the graveyard shift, you always get the bar rush. Aggies and hippies and passing carnies always provided lots of interesting moments for our crew and on more than one occasion, Lindan, a waitress and good friend, delivered a plate of food upside down on a patron for a lewd comment.

Lindan and Fred came up from the San Diego around the same time as the rest of us. They were a really sweet couple and Lindan was one of the happiest people I ever knew. Lindan and Fred got married out in a meadow outside of Susanville and it was a really cool moment, all hippied out in a beautiful white flowing dress, barefoot and a crown of flowers in her hair.

Fred was a GI home from Vietnam and while being a really sweet guy, he was also John Prine’s Sam Stone. We affectionately nicknamed him Fred Plus 2. If we had a beer, Fred would have 3. Take a toke of a joint, somehow Fred would be a couple ahead. You get the picture. We loved him, but even the marriage breaking up did not get him the help he needed. Heard he lived in his mom’s home and passed away there from Hep C about 15 years ago.

The map below will show the route. Heading to Cedarville in the upper right corner and you can see where Susanville, Westwood and Lake Almanor are in the lower left. Taking 139 up to Alturas, then Robin has given me directions through Cedarville and 17 more miles on to Eagleville, population 50 or so, and where she and Randy live.

Looking back at Susanville way in the distance as I climb into the high desert.

Was that really an insect or a small mammal?

Robin James Quick

When I met Robin, she was like, 14 or so, but she had a sophisticated wit far sharper than her years. This must have been from being the observer of the activities in her home and unable to participate in most of them.

Robin reminded me that she rode down to Los Angeles with me once and met my folks in their Bel Air home 😳 She was on the way to San Diego and would meet up with another ride in LA.

And then, once I was settled in Minneapolis in a brownstone on 19th and Stevens in 1973, she and a friend came by out of the blue on their way back from Ann Arbor. Problem was, I just came from a doctor and had both nostrils packed to the gills due to the nose bleeds I was having back then. Sorry kids for passing this down to a couple of you. For some reason, they looked at me and decided to keep going!!!

Robin and Randy met in 1976 at Lassen College and became Robin and Randy almost immediately. Randy got his teaching degree and they moved away from the excitement of the big cities of Susanville and Westwood for the peace and serenity of the small towns of Cedarville (population 500) and ultimately Eagleville (population about 50). Here they raised their family and taught at the school.

They live at the end of a road looking at Warner Mountain, Eagle Peak and the lower Cascade range.

Their home has multiple fruit trees (pear, apple, cherry) and this should be a bumper crop year!

An incredibly peaceful and beautiful place!

Brush with fame

Before Robin began working in the school system, she worked at the general store in Cedarville. I think it was 1991 and a fellow came into the general store wanting to buy hay. Robin asked him how much hay and he said lots! Robin connected him with some farmers and the fellow was able to get his hay for some event he was planning a bit further up the road from Eagleville – the town of Gerlach, Nevada. Larry Harvey, the founder of Burning Man, continued to buy his hay from Eagleville farmers for many years to come.

Being the enterprising type, Randy and Robin organized car washes for the school so when the Burning Man folks rolled through town on their way home, they could get their cars washed from the talcum powder type coating that covers all vehicles on the dry lake bed.

For a period of time, Robin’s dad lived in the trailer in the photo below. He was able to help with kids and they are glad they had that time with him. Now his ashes are in the field, beneath the tree in the center, along with Connie’s.

Couple quick notes:

When their kids Miles and Kevin graduated from Cedarville, there were 17 and 15 kids in the graduating class. Last year, there were 2. And this year, there would have been 2, except for the 3 exchange students from Germany, Japan and Vietnam!

Randy recently learned his cancer from a number of years ago is back and he has started chemo as part of the treatment process. Unfortunately, he needs to travel 165 miles each way for this treatment every 21 days.

Do well you two! Stay strong and hope you continue to grow old together.

Thanks for your hospitality and welcoming me into your home. It was a simply wonderful 24 hours together. See you in 2065 😉

Headed over the Donner Pass on Father’s Day just at the time Becca called to wish me a happy day. Imagine my delight at being able to tell a Dad Joke about going into restaurants around that area and we give the name of our party as ‘Donner’. Then we remind them that we are very hungry. Look it up if you don’t know about the Donner Party – kind of a happy ending (for some).

Out of Truckee I picked up Hwy 89, which runs up the Feather River Canyon. This is one of the prettiest drives around and it will take me straight into Lake Almanor 115 miles later.

Here is where Indian Creek joins the Feather River. It is a stunningly beautiful scene and there’s a lucky kid fishing it!

Found a great campground on Lake Almanor. Woman in the office said it was a lake view spot but if I didn’t like it because of the kayaks stacked up, I could move. I think I made the right decision to stay.

Sat out till near 10PM and hardly a mosquito.

Mount Lassen can be seen on the horizon.

Now, don’t expect the reverse angle to be as nice! Very nice family shows up and backs in like they should. Then they decide to have a fire, but instead of in front of their camper, they put it right behind my bus and it took them 30 minutes to get the frickin thing lit – it simply smoked away while they were doing something else.

Woke up on Monday ready to see who or what I might find in Westwood. It’s about 12 miles east of Lake Almanor and after Westwood, Susanville is another 21 miles east. The goal is to find someone in town that lived here when I did.

Not so sure this claim is accurate as I thought Minnesota claimed this fellow. Now, to be fair, Westwood was a lumber town and during its heyday, the mill ran 3 shifts and you shared housing accordingly. The homes were built by the mill and I don’t think ownership was possible.

I lived in the house below in ’71 or ’72 – rent was $75/mo for the whole house. Heated by a wood stove in the kitchen, which you also cooked on. Around that time, a house like this could be had for $2,000 to $4,000.

The house below, Dennis, Anastasia and I lived in before I got booted out after they had a baby. Dennis reminded me a couple weeks ago about the delivery room scene where there were 3 guys (father + 2) and the nurse asked why so many men. I told her we were waiting to find out who it looks like.

So, I’m taking photos around town and all these memories are coming back to me and this woman pulls up and says ‘Nice bus!’. I thank her and see that she might be a gatekeeper to others in this town.

Meet Rhonda! She’s been part of Westwood since 1976 – close enough for a town this size (that actually fits here!). We start chatting and sure enough, she knew some folks I did. Offered to have some coffee with her and chat, but she said that she had a play date with her dog. Fair enough. Then she offered to call Marsha James for me, but got no answer.

Marsha James

Marsha was one of the James girls in Westwood. Anyone coming to town that was ‘Good People’ as we used to call it, would know they needed to stop at the James home. You knew through someone who heard that if you ever go through there, you would have a safe place to land.

I think Marsha is the one in front in blue. The dark haired girl directly behind her is a cousin and don’t know how she got in there! There were 7 James girls – Alyssa and Matt, bet you could have bested this record the way you were going!

Mother James, Connie, but as everyone knew her, Ma James, was a wonderful, caring and freewheeling spirit. Her house was open to all and it was a central headquarters for whatever was going on in the, dare I say it, the hippy community.

Here’s a photo taken by Marsha and it includes two other James girls – Melody (behind Marsha in the photo above and below fellow standing below) and Margaret (Robin), the baby in the photo above and squished below on the right. This would have been 1970 and I was either 18 or 19 at the time, not looking like I just had my Bar Mitzvah!

My goal was to connect with Robin, but to see Marsha is extra nice!

Then all of a sudden, Marsha drives by and Rhonda flags her down. She has me wait back by my bus while she tells Marsha my story (small town protecting one another maybe?) Marsha gets out and she says ‘Gary Hendlin, with the hair?’, and we hug and start to get caught up. Rhonda can now leave for the play date!

We have the nicest time getting the shimmy and lowdown on lots of people. Marsha was my age, and for a while she was the oldest of the James girls living in the house. Older ones would stay, but my memory of them is a little foggy. I knew the three younger ones and Marsha was one that like to keep order as I remember.

In a conversation with Rob the day before, he told me that HepC took a bunch of people from up there. Susanville and Westwood certainly had a bit of pot and acid problems (opportunities?) in the early 70’s, but bad drugs would also come up from the Bay Area or LA with some not so ‘Good People’ and there was an interested audience with a bunch of GI’s coming home from Vietnam and the counterculture folks willing to try most anything. I was no angel, but needles scared me.

Back to Marsha. She and husband Steve raised their family in Westwood and are set there for the long term. One of their sons, Quinn, got his degree in Geology at UC Davis and spends his time mining by hand all around the mountains. Marsha and Steve help and also prepare the finds for sale on eBay. Check out one of their listings for Rainbow Obsidian

https://www.ebay.com/itm/4-RAINBOW-OBSIDIAN-ROUGH-STONES-Combined-Weight-12-lbs-/163699281979

They sell around the world and have given me a few stones to bring home, and they are beautiful!

Here’s a photo of Marsha and Steve. They are a really sweet couple. I am so glad I got to see them.

So now Robin know’s I’m headed her way to see she and Randy, her husband of a billion years or so. They live in Eagleville, next to Cedarville, way up from Susanville. Out of the Sierra Nevada mountain range and I’ll go north along the eastern side of the mountains, in the upper desert.

More shortly!

Saturday, June 15th

With little planning and high expectations, I’m picking up the bus on Treasure Island and heading into the north central portion of California.

From 1970 to 1973, I attended Lassen College, a 2-year Forestry, Liberal Arts and Gunsmithing college in Susanville. You math majors may have caught the disparity but it took me this long to get both the AA degree and all the personal exploration I needed to do. Actually, if it were for not being inducted in the military for overstaying at a 2-year college, I might still be there!

During this time, I met some genuinely wonderful people. And, given the state of the world in the late ’60’s and early 70’s, escaping to a town of 4,000 was a welcome change from Los Angeles. Seems quite a few similarly minded individuals made their way to Susanville and Westwood (population about 1,200) from all over the country.

Over the next few days, I’m trying to connect with two peeps from the past, but have only reconnected with one so far. Rob Lee was a fellow I met early on in 1970 and we’ve stayed somewhat in touch – the last time was 10 years ago or so. I reached him on Friday and asked if I could come over and play on Saturday afternoon! He was so surprised and accepted.

But first, STEPH!

So this journey begins Saturday, June 15th. I pick up the bus on Treasure Island and head for a brunch with Steph!

Food and company were excellent at Nido’s in Oakland. Mexican restaurant that’s been around since the 80’s and really delicious.

Steph is so dang cute in her miniature automobile!

Jared was coaching a game or practice or getting ready for his summer baseball camp he and Steph run, so it was just Steph and me for brunch.

Thanks again Steph and Jared for covering my bus in the bay – and Jared finding a baseball was so excellent and must be a sign of something!

Rob Lee

I met Rob in 1970 at the old Lassen College. The new campus was opening later in the year so classes were in part of the high school.

Being a New Yorker, Rob tried college first at St Lawrence University, but was having too much fun too early and ultimately found his way to Susanville. He was working toward a Forestry major and ultimately graduated from UC Davis with his degree in Landscape Design.

I was immediately drawn to Rob’s infectious smile and outgoing nature. Always felt we had many common beliefs. Now, sitting with him and seeing the parallels over the past 45 years, we had lots of catching up to do.

After school and some travels, Rob and his wife, Dawn, returned to Westwood to raise a family and start a business. He, with Bill Adams, started a landscape design / build business and after 30 or so years, he and Bill retired.

This has allowed Rob and Dawn to return to Placerville, where Rob’s parents had purchased a ranch in the early 70’s. The ranch is outside of Placerville and this area was the epicenter for the Gold Rush. They even have two abandoned mines on the property. Lots of really cool history here. The main house is now occupied by their daughter, son-in-law and grandbaby and Rob has built an off the grid home for he and Dawn.

Talking constantly for 4 hours and we figured we needed some dinner. I offered to take Rob into Placerville for dinner, but he had a better idea…The El Dorado County Fair. Dandy time – great people watching and we got to catch a set of a CCR cover band.

Here’s where the laughter stops

It’s almost midnight when we made our way back to the ranch. Just as we hit the gravel road, a truck suddenly pulls out and we immediately see a dog chasing the vehicle. Problem is, the animal went wide and right into our path – we hit the poor thing straight on and could hear it thumping underneath. It was Rob’s daughters dog – fuck!!!

We got out and were able to get Coop from under the car. He hardly made a peep as we got him in the car and back to the house. Felt his legs, body, head – again no peep from him, only panting. Got him in a kennel and looked for the nearest open vet. It would have been over 50 miles and Coop wasn’t showing signs of pain so Rob kept an eye on him and would take him in around 7AM.

In the morning, Coop was still doing OK, so it was time to head to a vet. We said goodbye and I began my push north to Susanville. Rob said he’d keep me posted.

Update on Coop – he has a dislocated hip, which the doctor reset and hopes that holds or surgery might be needed. No internal injuries. That is one tough young pup. By the way, he’s a Pit, which might explain a few things.

Heading over the Donner Pass and up the Feather River Canyon to camp on Lake Almanor. I took a winter semester off college to read Lord of the Rings at a home on this lake that was rented by Bill Adams and Bill Green. I’ve never been known to be a fast reader.

More later – this is starting out to be a great trip, except of course, poor Coop.

What a wonderful rainy evening in Sausalito with Steph and Jared and a photo bomb by Bill Geist 😉

Dining at Poggio, we laughed, ate, drank and had a dandy time for hours! And, in the Bay Area, when you go out for an evening, you expect to travel a bit. Steph and Jared went from Oakland up to Richmond and then down into Marin County – at least 45 minutes each way – in the pouring rain! Thanks you guys – it was so nice spending time with you both.

When it was time to come down from the Muir Woods, we decided to start early and make certain we would be on time for our 5PM reservations (don’t judge here, we’re seniors now and maybe we get a discount!). So, given the troubles of the past day, we logged in to get our Uber at 3:30 PM.

First tried Uber Black since that was the only one that came up the night before. After 5 minutes of the app spinning looking for a car, I decided to try Select. Within a minute, Elly popped up. Now, Elly was one of the drivers that bailed the night before.

So, I immediately asked him…’Are you really coming this time?’ He replied 👍, so I replied ‘Thanks’, to which he responded again 👍 and I proceeded to watch his progress. Sure enough, he called shortly and asked where we were! Well, Elly showed up and if you look at the photo of him, it must have been taken 30 years ago!

Turns out, he was a charming man who has lived in SF for 50 years and the entire time in the car all he could talk about was if we have ever been to Burning Man. We said no, and he told us about going alone one year and then taking his 28 year old daughter the next and how it was such a life changing event for them. Not for the drugs or partying, but for the connections to other people wanting to be together for all the right reasons. Very sweet.

He told us to call him for a ride back up, so we did and this time the conversation was about Italian Soap Operas on a special channel on TV. Then, driving back up in the rain and fog and deer and all the eeriness of crazy curvy mountain roads with NO streetlights, we realized we were quite lost and heading deep into the Muir Woods on the way to Stinson Beach. None of us had cell service at this point, and finding a place to turn around was difficult as well. Now the windows are fogging and he is cranking the heat up to the point where sitting in the backseat after tons of food, wine and laughter, we’re at the point where we might need airsickness bags!

We retraced our steps – we were at least 5 miles off the correct path and finally found our way back to cell service and directions to our guest house.

Hanging in the woods for another day, then tomorrow we need to store the Westy on Treasure Island, the tiny island between SF and Oakland just before you cross over the Bay Bridge. From there to the airport and back home tomorrow.

Not sure when we’ll be back, so I ordered a cover for the Westy and Steph and Jared will receive it and go tuck our baby away for another day.

That’s all there is from the wet woods, with the exception of all the ants we saw this morning carrying our food off the counter 😳

Listening to Linda Ronstadt sing Adios as I head home to Minnesota was a fitting end to part one of this trip.

I did stay the entire time in this campground even though it was quite crowded at first. Once the Cinco de Mayo celebrations were over, the place cleared out, with the exception of the folks directly to the left and right of me!

The family traveling in the retro trailer was from 5 miles away in Ventura and they come to this campground frequently as their 20 year old son loves it there. He is autistic and spends much of his time on a scooter or bike going round and round in the campground. Really sweet family and in two years when he reaches the end of his state sponsored activities, they will buy a new motor home and hit the road full time.

On the other side was a husband and wife who just sold their house and belongings and have decided to live on the road full time. They just purchased a new trailer and off they went. Staying in places like this, you very quickly hear too much information about their relationship and pretend you don’t.

Got to LA in time to get my baby washed and waxed…the guys were proud of their work and had to take a photo or two.

The return trip with Linda!

Our itinerary for this trip gets us out of LA quickly and up to the Santa Barbara hills where we’re staying on this lovely property. Multiple buildings on a bunch of acres of beautifully landscaped grounds. We were in a studio above one of the buildings.

Now, for most travelers, going from LA to SF is a day trip, maybe two at best. In the Westy, it’s a 3 to 4 day trip, weather permitting. Stayed here for 2 days as we looked at weather reports up the coast (all rain) and reconsidering whether we could get to Big Sur in a day to camp – impossible! So, we hit the road Wednesday morning for San Luis Obispo and accommodations in a guest house behind our host’s main home. Cute little studio and perfect for one night.

One of the highest rated dining spots was a mile or so walking distance from our place. Cute family run restaurant where they would bow gracefully when you enter and leave and if you tell them how much you enjoyed the food, they would bow again and pat their hearts! Totally enjoyable!!!

Oh – one minor problem – about 3 hours later, boy did we get the heebie jeebies – you know the leg and body twitches that tell you something in your food dish caused this feeling. And here we thought the curry and pad Thai were healthy choices!

The HWY 1 run to Carmel Valley

We left SLO in the morning with high hopes for the next part of the journey – from San Luis Obispo to the Carmel Valley / Monterey Peninsula. This is a spectacularly beautiful section of HWY 1 that winds and twists along the coast. I haven’t driven this one since the ’60’s and it brought back many memories! It poured buckets and buckets of rain and was actually a bit of a white knuckle day.

The rain stopped long enough for us to get a couple photos of the Elephant Seals basking on the shore. No, they are not dead! Although it smelled like they were! Check out the video.

By mid afternoon, we made it to Carmel Valley, about 15 miles inland from Carmel by the Sea to stay in another lovely home in the hills.

Friday morning, I wake up and look at email and find a note from the host with this message ‘I think you left your lights on.’ CRAP!!! I run out and sure enough, I did and sure enough my battery is as dead as can possibly be. There is no buzzer when you leave your lights on and shut off the engine so I can only blame myself. There is no way I am going to call AAA or the owner of the property for a jump.

The good news is, I’ve seen this movie before. If you notice from the photos, since we’re staying up in the hills, I felt no need to panic. We simply went about getting ready to leave, packed the bus and I told Linda to help push a little and hop in! Coasted down the hill, turned the ignition on, put the bus in second gear and POP, she fired right up. Of course, we didn’t stop for an hour so we could charge up the battery. Stupid Boy!

On Friday, we made our way into SF and across the Golden Gate Bridge to our home for the next few days. We’re staying in a guest house in the Muir Woods above Mill Valley – incredibly beautiful location.

Showed this photo to Becca and she asked…’did someone just move out?’ It’s the California minimalistic vibe.

One problem staying up here…Uber drivers hate coming up. Last night 4 drivers accepted and then bailed on us. The app would say they were on the way and show 10 minutes. And 15 minutes later, it would still show 10 minutes and then it would simply drop. So, I figured I needed to move up the food chain and kept selecting a higher priced ride. Finally Joseph came for us in his black Suburban for 3 times the price of the Uber X. Live and Learn!

Tonight we’re having dinner in Sausalito with Steph and Jared, Becca’s good friends and we will plan on leaving 3 hours earlier to ensure we get there in time!

Oh, it’s still raining and will be for the next 2 days!

One more thought…don’t you love how they design houses to fit in with the environment instead of cutting trees down that are in the way?!

Bye for now!

If you got the Tim Buckley reference, good for you!

Parts of LA actually still do look like this album cover, which was released in 1972. That’s the bad news, all the rest is good 👍

The Much Awaited Wednesday Lunch

When you wait for people you haven’t seen in 50 years, everyone that walks by looks somewhat like what you think they may look like. Maybe I should not arrive 45 minutes early – it was exhausting! Alan and Fredde were easy. The rest not so.

Around the table from left front.

Sol, Alan, Mike, me, Fredde, Susie

Fredde organized the get together and she is the creative advisor, historian and documentarian of the Teen Center group.

She is also the person that when the kids heard we were having lunch said ‘That Fredde!’. This is due to a photo Fredde and I took in 1973 or 1974 when she came to Minneapolis for a shoot or TV spot.

We updated the photo.

Sol is part of a multi-generational family business that produces some of the finest invitations for some of the most important people and events in LA and other parts of the world. What a great market and reputation these folks have. Go to http://www.lehrandblack.com They just finished doing 14,000 invites for the memorial of Nipsey Hussle.

Alan continues his law practice focusing on the entertainment world. He was formerly with Disney for many years.

When we were at the Teen Center, card playing was always on the agenda. Here they are recreating a photo that Fredde brought from around 1966. Sol in lower left corner and Alan on top left.

The shopkeepers thought this was a rather weird event going on in their doorway. It was some place called Goop. I thought their shit was weird.

Mike is still in the fire extinguisher business – over 35+ years. In high school, Mike always had this swagger and confidence about him. I think he was the first one shaving by 2 to 3 years!

Susie was the hot girl down the street that we knew none of us could ever date. What made matters worse for us was in 1968 her parents got her a brand new Camero – the white one with the big orange stripes running from hood to truck. Totally untouchable for us. She has recently retired after 35+ years teaching elementary school.

This was over way too quickly, but we all did agree to meet again in 50 years at the Roxbury Teen Center.

On Saturday, I was able to connect with Doug, Mike’s younger brother.

Doug lives in Encino in a super house he’s renovated over 25 years or so.

This is inside the courtyard, after he opened the gate for me 😉

Little pool in the back.

Doug got into IHOP’s a long time ago and owned a number of locations in the LA area. Pancakes have been berry berry good to Doug (although he says he’s never eaten in one – I call BS!)

Doug started laughing and asked me if I remembered the oversized plastic liquor bottle in my folks bedroom that my Dad kept his coins from work – he knew right where it was as I was stealing from it to pay my poker debts to Doug. I though my Dad would never find out as he always brought home tons of coins from the bar each morning, but when you’re 14 and strung out on gambling (so to speak), you don’t cover your trail well. My Dad was putting a very small dot with a sharpie on the container after getting suspicious.

Saturday Evening

Dandy, dinner at Dan Tana’s with nieces and nephews Kevin and Johanna, Mandy and Hesher.

If you have not eaten here, do when in LA. You must have a reservation or they will tell you on the phone when you ask ‘Can I get in at 7:30 PM tonight?’…’Yes you can’, they say. What they say as an afterthought or don’t say at all is you can come in at 7:30 PM, but we won’t be able to seat you till 9:30 PM! And the restaurant is really small and everyone is virtually on top of one another.

Hesher, Mandy, Kevin, Johanna and Gary (who looks like his head is ready to twist off)

Then we went next door to the Troubadour to see the Cactus Blossoms. Can’t begin to tell you how much fun it was to get together with these guys – good times!!!

Tidbits

Stayed in a great little back house up in Pacific Palisades right above Sunset Blvd.

Lovely, peaceful and secluded right in the city. Perfect for the few days in LA

Arrived this afternoon at Hobson State Beach campground in Ventura County. Every picture tells a story – don’t it!

Now a slight reverse angle for the rest of the story! Looks like when everything gets smashed together after a Tsunami!

Supposed to be here for 3 days – maybe, maybe not.

More if anything happens!

Leaving Phoenix on Monday around noon created some potential issues. The weather was forecast to be in the 90’s, which would mean I would have to carefully manage driving at higher speeds (60 to 65) due to my engine oil temp heating and thus back it down and drive in the 50’s. Knowing this, I decided it was best to find a campground in Blythe, CA along the Colorado River as that was only 150 miles out of Phoenix and not too aggressive as attempting to make Joshua Tree by sundown.

Good choice, although it wasn’t the desert heat that drove up my engine temperatures – it was the wind. Pushing through a headwind not only drops speeds, but it really kicks up the engine temps. I found that dropping to 3,000 RPM would keep the oil temp at a stable 260 degrees and shy of the danger zones above 275 to 300. It also meant I was limited to about 52 MPH the whole way. And, it was, as always, a white knuckle event with the gusts trying to blow you off the road.

The campground was about 15 miles north of Blythe on the Colorado River and very picturesque – but that really depends on how you frame your shots.

This lovely shot was right in front of my campsite.

What more could a person ask for? Well, how about a little extra space?

This is the shot from inside my bus looking at the next TWO campsites! Fortunately nobody filled the center spot and the one on the right was a long-term occupant in an old trailer.

Speaking of old trailers and those who choose to live in them…and I say choose lightly. RV / Trailer parks all over the country are filled with long-term occupants who cannot afford to be anywhere else and you typically can’t move many of these old trailers once they’ve been set on the slab for years.

I met this fellow, I’ll call him Jet Ski, and he used to work in Irvine, CA, an upper class community in Southern Cal. Well Jet Ski injured himself at work and needed 3 discs fused or something like that and he is now on permanent disability at 59 years of age. He could not afford the $600/month rent for a single room in a shared house in Irvine, so he packed up and is now living in one of the trailers for $350/month.

This is his life now as he expects to never go back to work. So when I met him, he was launching his Jet Ski into the river for a day on the water. I asked him what he does all day and he said Jet Ski. I said OK, but do you fish from your Jet Ski, or camp on the shoreline or …? And he said, no, I Jet Ski all day. All day, every day.

It certainly made me wonder about the dire financial condition so many Americans are in right now. At 59, that’s a lot of Jet Skiing yet to come and no real way out.

Then you read about these Investment Capital firms buying up many larger mobile home parks and jacking the rent because this captive audience has no alternatives to move or decline the increase – they simply must pay. All in the name of capitalism so I guess it’s ok 😳

Onto Joshua Tree

This campground was simply beautiful!

The last time I was here was in the 60’s and my memory of the Joshua Trees was that they were so much more animated, colorful and even talked to me!

Great location, 4,000+ elevation and freezing at night! Time to get to LA!

I found a AirBNB in Venice for the night. Now, don’t judge. My criteria was where can my bus be safe and not on the street. So, I found a great little studio in the back of a house with off street parking.

Sweet spot – hidden from the world!

And here is my lovely room…

The part I forgot to research was ‘does this place have a bathroom?’ Well no, not in your room. The main house has a bathroom you share with the homeowner. Yuk! But all good. Homeowner was gone yesterday and last night, so all was good.

Main house is small and cute and it is so interesting how many of these bungalows now have guest houses in the rear for this type of rental.

Thinking this place is about a $700k home in this area.

Heading out for my reunion lunch which is up the coast from Venice to Pacific Palisades. More later!

…there was an event that occurred at the same time I arrived in Phoenix last October. The Arizona Bus Club was having their final get together which involved a show on Saturday and the next day many in the club would go to a reservoir for an overnight of camping. And, since I conveniently planned my trip to arrive on Friday afternoon, in time to get my baby washed, I was very curious about how I’d fare with all these Arizona busses and bugs.

That’s me in the back of the 3rd row – nice way to treat an out-of-towner!

Lot’s of really fine vehicles and really nice folks. Never sure what to say as I’ve never been to a show before…’Nice bus. You too.’ Pause…

Most folks at this event traveled all the way cross town to get to here. Then, they will caravan to the resevoir in the event anyone should have a breakdown. Actually I knew I was headed in the right direciton to the show when I started seeing some vehicles broken down along the way. I’d ask and they’d say they have it covered or someone was on the way. Almost all at the show were blown away that I had just pulled in from Minnesota the previous afternoon. ‘You drove here?!’ Well, yes I did – isn’t that the whole purpose???

So, to cut to the chase – here is the bus that took 1st Place. Similar to mine, not an original color, safari windows that pop out in front (had them and got rid of them because they leak). She also had period correct surfeboard straps on top. Actually, my 64 bus in high school had them, but we designed them to be on the roof inside the bus so nobody would steal your board.

First and Second Place went to local club members, but I did snag Third Place, the admiration of many fellow enthusiasts, some gift cards and swag and, of course some hardware!

About This Trip

I’m on day 2 of about 12 or so. Leaving Joshua Tree shortly for Los Angeles and tomorrow, I’m getting together for lunch with an interesting group of people I’ve not seen in 50 years.

When I first moved to LA in 1965, we lived in an apartment in Beverly Hills. I found the Roxbury Teen Center a few blocks away and became fast friends with about a half dozen other kids from the neighborhood. After 2 years, my folks moved again and by 1969 I’d all but lost touch with them, except Freddie Duke, whom I’d email every year or so.

Well, the Teen Center group is having lunch tomorrow and Fredde, Alan (her brother), Sol, Mike, Doug (brothers) and Susie will get together for the first time in 50+ years! Should be very interesting!

I’m also going to the Troubadour to see the Cactus Blossoms along with my nieces and nephews Kevin, Mandy and Johanna. Then up the coast for a few days on the beach in Ventura County and back to LA for a flight home. Take a day to celebrate Mother’s Day and Cathy’s birthday and Linda and I will be heading back the next day to go from LA to SF along the coast. We’ve got campsites in Ventura, Big Sur and an AirBNB in Mill Valley. We’re also going to see Steph and Jared.

Good times ahead!

…I was heading back to Minneapolis from the Blind Willie Music Festival in Georgia and that was my last blog entry. Much has happened since then, but I’m finally back on the road by myself for a couple weeks and then Linda will join.

Winter of 2018 / 2019 

Then down through Denver to visit my sister and brother-in-law and into Taos for a night in the ‘historic’ Taos Inn.

After spending the winter in the Adult Toy Storage, the Westy is ready for the trip north back to Minnesota!  I needed to finish the awards program for a great client of 30+ years and then it was a 2-day journey to Thomson, Georgia, for the 25^th Annual Blind Willie McTell Blues Festival.

I’d been on the go for the past 2 months with shows, shoots and general business, so it was great to hit the road, get off the interstate and onto the back highways.  The land around central / northern Florida reminds me a lot of central Minnesota, near Milaca and Onamia.  Pretty flat, lots of trees, lakes, etc.  The rural residents appear to be simple – trailers homes on a plot of land, some nicer homes, but the number of one room churches is mind blowing.  Sometimes there were 2 or 3 churches at a crossroad.  Really want to do some research into why so many different ones in such a remote location.

Used ‘the google’ to find ‘RV parks near me’ and one came us that was about 20 miles from my location and appeared to be highly rated.  Arrived there ready to enjoy the evening, have dinner and a few beers and get a great night sleep.  I will only show you some photos of the bathhouse and let you wonder how it got a 4.2 rating.

What you don’t see in these photos are the gnats, that when I asked the owner about them he said, ‘we got married out here with a small family and 2 million gnats attending’.  All I can think about is, am I in store for this all over the southeast?

Thomson, Georgia is a quaint little town of 5,000 about 100 miles west of Augusta.  Beautiful topography with rolling hills, pines and no gnats!  My campground was on the Little River, which is part of Lake Strom Thurmond.  It was created by the J. Strom Thurmond Dam during 1951 and 1952 by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers near the confluence of the Little River and the Savannah River.  At 71,000 acres, it is the third-largest artificial lake east of the Mississippi River.  The site of the festival in between my campground and the town of Thomson.  This is one of the nicest campgrounds I’ve enjoyed.  Each site has tons of privacy, great views and NO BUGS J.  Outhouse was nearby, but to go to the showers, it was about 2,000 steps (approx. 1 mile) from my campsite.  In the photo of the turn around, my campsite was on the right, one in the center and only one more on the left.  See if you can spot them!

Friday night on Main Street in Thomson offered a glimpse the people and music of that area.

At most, a couple hundred folks came out for some ribs, chicken, beer and some blues by Sky Page, playing her cigar box guitar (and her husband on percussions) and then the Juke Joint Jukes.  People were incredibly friendly, kind and very curious how someone from Minnesota wound up in Thomson.  BTW – the ribs and chicken were great and washed down with some local craft beer.

On Saturday, the gates to the festival open at 11AM for a noon start time.  Thought I’d get there early, make breakfast and hang out.  Beautiful grounds – far more of an intimate setting for a festival than I expected.  And, the gates were open by 10AM, because they could.   Again, lovely folks everywhere.  Settled into my chair right next to the sound board (should be good sound and sightlines from there) and enjoyed the sound check.

Met some great folks at the festival:

Kay and Barry – arrived on their Harley from South Carolina the night before.  After her divorce, she decided to ‘get back in the game’ but didn’t know how, so a friend suggested a biker dating site – yes, there is a biker dating site!  And that is how there is a Kay and Barry.  In planning for the trip, she and Barry saw on the festival website that there was a 30 and 50 mile ‘Bike and Blues’ ride the morning of the festival, so they got up at 5:30 AM, put on their leather and headed to the festival.  After 30 minutes waiting and no other motorcycles showing up, they realized it was a BICYCLE ride and not for them!  Judging from the crowd I saw at the festival, there were not that many folks in attendance that could ride a bike for 30 miles, let alone 50!  Maybe it is a marketing effort to get younger folks to attend the festival.

On that note, the town of Thomson, according to the census, has 5,000 folks living in the city with 42% white and 56% African American.  At the Friday night event, there was a pretty good cross section of peeps attending, but at the festival, it was a considerably white, middle-aged event.

The couple that won the cigar guitar raffle – sweet retired couple attending both events and getting the guitar autographed by all performers.  He just sold his Orkin franchise to his son and she is a retired teacher (I think).

For blues lovers, this is an awesome festival.  Great line up of artists, great sound, great food and all set in a beautiful surrounding of woods and fields in the middle of nowhere.  We (as in Linda and Gary) will be back – hopefully next year.

On Sunday, I pushed hard to get to Nashville to catch a couple sets of Rachel Hester and the Tennessee Walkers at Roberts Western World and grab a hotel with wifi and send out the blog, catch up on work, take the Monday staff call and begin the push north – hoping to stay on the 2-lane highways and off the interstate, returning to Minneapolis by Friday morning.

Back at you in a couple days (if there is any blog worthy stories)!

Finally, after the trip out west in September and then to Saint Augustine in January, we’ve finally found some warm weather!!!

Greetings from Orlando, the experiential capital of the world!  Thanks Walt.  You were clearly a visionary and have created an incredible experience for those who come to your parks.  Wondering if anyone else in Orlando had a master plan 🙂

Why Orlando?

I had business in Orlando last week and Linda and I thought it’s been 29 years since we’ve seen Disney World, so let’s give another go and see the parks.  We’ve also completed all the therapy from the previous visit, so we’re gonna do this!

Linda arrives Monday, so I’ll golf on Sunday

Had an opportunity to golf on Sunday morning, so I went for it.  For those who have never golfed with me, I am horrible.  I love the game and love the time spent with friends and family on any golf course.  For this one, I chose Disney’s Lake Buena Vista course, the easiest of the Disney courses.  Got paired with two gents who were brothers and the adult son of one of them.  I promised to keep pace and had my own cart.  On the first hole, I swung and missed, followed by a sharp hit off the toe and into the water way left.  No problem.  Off and running.

One of the brothers was a doctor, who smoked constantly, and the other was a retired National Guardsman.  The son was a golf course grounds superintendent who could hit a drive a country mile with the fastest swing I’ve ever seen.  He did hit the fairway twice out of 18 holes.  The fellow that was the in the Guard was on duty on 9-11.  He shared his experiences that day outside NYC as his unit was responsible for fighter jet deployment for any issues that may arrive.  His pain and frustration was clearly evident in his description of that day when they watched helplessly staring at the air traffic control screens.  He mentioned they had fighter jets deployed to intercept some of the highjacked aircraft but were restricted from engaging due to the FAA overruling.  And, according to him, they nearly took down aircraft that was not involved.  I cannot imagine how helpless that day must have been for those trained to react to a potential attack.

That all said, he too never hit the ball down the fairway off the tee however he threw clubs into the fairway straighter than any of his balls.

Sometimes being a single on a golf outing is not the best place to spend 5 hours.

Fort Wilderness Campground

Checked into the Disney RV park Sunday afternoon.  It is everything you’d ever expect from Disney, but in an RV park.  Nice campsites, clean bathrooms and showers, lots of rules and everyone following them to a T!  Don’t know how we lucked out, but our site backed up to some ‘woods’ and we had great landscaping that screened us from the other campsites.

Got the site set up and finally was able to use the awning and experience OUTDOOR living for a few days.  Virtually no bugs here – it’s Disney!  Wondering if the birds are real and if some have cameras.

So, when you check into a Disney (Orlando) resort, you now get a wrist band with a chip in it that does everything.  And I mean everything.  You can charge anything within the Disney expanse, it’s your Fast Pass for rides, entrance to the parks and it’s how you get into the bathroom at 3:00 AM.  Without it you’re shit out of luck, so to speak!  No wallet, no driver’s license, no credit card for the entire time at Disney.

Tried it out the first night at the Wilderness Lodge in our campground.  Everyone else was there for the buffet but I was there for a beer and hopefully a meal at the bar.  Very few items on the bar menu…nachos, wings, pizza.  Tried the nachos and while they were a bargain at $11, they had more things you’d never expect or want in a nacho.  The cheesy gooey shit holding the pork or beef together with the real cheese was good for about 3 chips!

While ‘dining’, I noticed there was this small window that was next to the bar that all the dads seemed able to find from outside.  While the wait for the buffet could be an hour or longer, the line at the window was busy constantly with dads wanting a little bump away from the family!  It was like a speakeasy for dads!

What’s with the golf carts everywhere?  We’re in Disney’s Wilderness Campground and everyone is scooting around in these carts.  You can rent them for $75/day or many folks bring their own.  How you gonna work off the buffet by driving around in one of these?!

Met an interesting couple in the bar.  Older than me by only a couple years, they’ve sold everything…every possession and real property and have decided to take to the road in an RV.  They talked about the satisfaction of not having anything but what they travel with.  And, the ability to give to family and friends their prized possessions while they are still alive.  Thinking about starting next week, if Linda approves.  I’ll ask her when she gets to Disney!

Linda Arrives!

FYI – Linda did not approve.  I will try again in a few months.

Made her a welcome to Disney campground dinner and we got dialed in for 3 days of Disney Parks.  1) Magic Kingdom, 2) Epcot, 3) Animal Kingdom.

I’ll spare you all the details, but it was worth the trip back.  Done and done and done.  See you again in 29 years.  That said, we would come back to the Disney Wilderness RV park in a NY minute and do other things while here, but what?

Friend in the Park!

Lots of ‘cast members’ everywhere.  I’m certain this one had a camera and was secretly recording everything.

Tattoos of Family Members

If my son is an example of how to get a family member tattooed on your body that actually resembles one of your children, what does this woman’s kid really look like?!?!

People You Meet Along the Way

While our campsite was a bit isolated (to the woods behind), we were still pretty open to the loop in front of the bus and the folks in campgrounds near us.   On our last day, this fellow comes by and wants to chat about the bus.  We learn that he and his wife have been living in their camper for 3+ months traveling anywhere but near their home in Pennsylvania.  He mentioned that their work can be done anywhere there is an internet connection and have actually been in the Disney park for 2 months and simply love it!  We learn after chatting some more that they are Jim and Amy Schneider, who have an eyewear company that is faith based.

Check out their website:  https://eofoptical.com/  and support them if you are so moved.

Good Things Happen When You Get Lost

Spent Saturday in Orlando getting the bus ready for storage until the next trip.  An old bus needs attention, and off I went to the Auto Zone for some brake lights (the two currently don’t match in intensity) as well as some hardware for minor repairs.  On the way back, I took the exit the wrong way and wound up in a gas station to fill up and turn around.  All the pumps were locked and there was no gas.  Instead, there were a few people offering a car wash for $10.  Thinking I was going to go to a self-service wash later that day, this was okay.  The two fellows operating their business on one side of the gas station agreed to wash the bus for $10 and off they went.  During the process, I chatted with the one who spoke English.  He and his wife are from Venezuela and have been living in this country for 4 years working on getting their visa’s.  They’ve been paying monthly into the process for this length of time and hope to eventually become citizens.  He spoke of the issues in Venezuela, the political landscape there and losing their money in the banks when the government failed.  He was a very sincere, gentle man wanting only to raise his family in a country that would permit them to provide a better life for their children.

By the way, in Venezuela, he was an attorney and his wife was an accountant.  In America, he’s hand washing cars for $10 apiece and looking optimistically at their future here.  By letting this family get their documents and citizenship, this is how we can make America great.

Rushed home on Sunday, even changed our flights to ensure we’d be ready for the big game.  Well, at least we were prepared!  Then there was the snow.  Ugh…welcome home!

So, last we posted, we were on our way to Mount Dora, about 30 miles northwest of Orlando.  We were meeting Micky and Jim, who had been shopping the past two days for antiques / unique items at this massive event.  But before that, there was…

Blue Spring State Park

We also said we’d swim (hmmm) with the Manatee’s at Blue Spring State Park, but when we arrived on Saturday, the line was hours long and backed up on the highway.

So, we chose to beat cheeks to Mount Dora instead

Mount Dora

3 times a year, this area hosts the Antiques and Collector’s Extravaganza at Renninger’s in Mount Dora, FL – over 800 exhibitors spread over 117 acres of scenic, rolling land.

Spent about 3 hours fascinated by the size and scope of this event.  And, that there was virtually nothing we would want!

Now, there were really cool items, but you really need to know what you’re doing at a place like this, so you aren’t buying knockoff antiques, signs, etc.  It’s gotten so sophisticated that even seasoned pros have difficulty distinguishing some of the items.

But of course, the dogs in strollers were out.

Florida offers 114 license plate options.

We were constantly seeing different and unique license plates in Florida.  Thinking that without state income taxes, you can pay to support your favorite charity / cause by buying a license plate.  Charitable, Environmental, Military, Arts, Sports, Collegiate…you can even buy a ‘Share The Road’ bicycle advocate license plate for your RV!

Where to next?

Our bus is comfortably settled in at the Adult Toy Storage in Orlando until our next journey.

Since I have biz in Orlando in early February, Linda will fly down and we’ll get in another short trip – hopefully in a warmer setting and within 150 to 200 miles of Orlando.

Let us know your thoughts of a favorite place within this distance.  The other option would be to simply hang out at some trailer park and do Disney and the other parks.

The last time we went to Disney in Orlando was 25+ years ago.  We stayed in an RV park over the 4^th of July holiday and had The. Worst. Family. Vacation. Ever!  Hot, humid, rain, more humidity, more rain – repeat daily for a week.  And then a total sense of panic trying not to get crushed or separated when we tried to leave Disney around 10 PM on July 4^th with our family of 7 (Cathy was one of our kids back then).

Can’t wait to go back!

Just to set the record straight, today the Twin Cities and St Augustine have the same temperatures this morning around 8:00 AM.

Can you spot my bus hiding in the bushes in Naples?

When I last posted, I was getting ready to start work for a client in Naples, a production we’ve done the past 5 years.  Upon arrival with the crew, we had our annual quick lunch by the beach to celebrate being in a warm climate.  This is a regular occurrence on this project, as it will be the only time outdoors for the next 6 days!  So, it’s about 3:30 PM and this woman walks over and just stands at our table.

She says she’s trying to get a better view of the sunset.  Ahhhh – the sunset is in 2 hours and 20 minutes.

So, she just stays and begins to tell us her life story.

Parked in front of the hotel, my bus keeps good company with the Porsche’s, Ferrari’s, Bentley’s and Lamborghini’s.  Actually, the bus draws more of a crowd each day and it’s the doormen’s favorite.

Linda finally arrives!

At the end of the project I head north to pick up Linda at the Orlando airport and finally off to St Augustine for the week.  We won’t get any pity points from our friends up north by telling you the temps were going to be between 30 and 50 degrees for the week.

We’re staying at the North Beach campground, just north of St Augustine and between the Atlantic Ocean and the Tolomato River.

Sweet campground!  Probably nicer if we could shed a layer or two.  The recent storms in January have wiped out the access to the Atlantic beaches, so we are basically unable to walk along them.  Plus, the winds have been so strong and the temps hovering around 40 degrees, it is simply too uncomfortable to be out there.

First evening, we got together with our friends Micky and Jim, who have wintered here for about 15 years.

Dine at a very cute Italian restaurant complete with a small dog who hangs with me for most of the evening.

A clean campsite is a happy campsite.

Do these folks have plastic covers on their furniture?

Micky and Jim love flea markets.  So, of course, we obliged them.  You can get anything here, including guns and confederate flags 😦  And, probably fleas.

St Augustine is a wonderful city.  Oldest city in the US with a rich history.  Great architecture, dining, museums, everything you’d want in a get-away spot.  If you come, take the green trolley line around the city to get the big-picture background.  Don’t miss the chocolate factory tour (you’ll leave buzzed!).

Linda really wanted to see the Alligator Farm – no, it’s not a bunch of hicks wrestling gators.

Very well done, but so cold most were quite dormant, and they cancelled the feeding, which was going to be the highlight – dang!

Great sunrises over the Atlantic and sunsets over the river.

Breakfast in the bus

Linda and Micky hanging with the birds.

Heading to Mount Dora tomorrow, a cute little town on the way to Orlando.  It’s known for its antique shops and lovely downtown.  We’ll connect with Micky and Jim again as they purchase antiques there each year to bring back for their business in Stillwater.

Along the way, we’ll stop and see the manatees in the Blue Spring State Park in Orange City.

Flying out of Orlando on Sunday after we store the Westy in the Adult Toy Storage (yes, real name).  With a number of productions in Orlando this spring, we thought we’d leave it here and do some more side trips in hopes of finally wearing shorts and a t-shirt!

Back at you after we swim with the manatees 🙂

Time to get caught up…

Laundry in St Augustine

For those who love order, especially when doing laundry.  Is it me or does this seem weird?!  Check the last photo, the sign above the door, which most people probably miss!

Travel from St Augustine to Orlando

Needed to be in Orlando for a site visit with a client at 1:00 PM on Thursday.  Well Thursday morning was finally dry and sunny and a perfect way to get out of St Augustine.  Hopefully when Linda and I get back up there on the 13^th, it will be warmer and a bit dryer since we are camping.

Successful meetings in Orlando and a dinner with great client Jim Brick from RBC.  Dined at a restaurant that specializes in preparing your meal by flashlight at the table.

Jim totally amazed at the process.

Orlando to Naples

Needed to make the 240-mile run to Naples in time to meet Eliot Hungracker, the owner of EuroTech, the shop that will do my 2,000-mile valve adjustment and oil change.  Got there by 3:45 PM and discussed my bus and an interesting Minnesota connection.  Eliot’s uncle was the owner of The Volkswagen Man repair shop in Minneapolis on East Hennepin.  As their company vehicle, they had this VW Bus that was chopped, so it looked half as long as mine.  Pretty funky looking, but very memorable and a longstanding repair shop in Nordeast.

Worst hour ever!

Leaving there, I accidentally turned onto I-75 South.  When I saw the toll booths it dawned on me, but it was too late.  I pleaded with the toll booth operator to allow me to turn around.  She said no, laughed at me and told me it was only 20 miles to the first exit.  When I exited the highway to go to the EuroTech, I remembered a sign that said ‘next gas 50 miles’.  Crap – I am on ¼ tank and no way I will make it 50 miles.  Drove 45 miles an hour to conserve gas (in a 70 zone) across alligator alley thinking the entire way that I was going to get stuck and get consumed out here as the sun was starting to sink in the sky.  Got to the 20 mile exit and turned around.  Shut the bus off briefly to see where the gas gauge would go when off, so I had an idea of how much I had left.  I was now on the empty line, but there is an ‘R’ beneath that, so I’m hoping I have 1.5 gallons left.  Averaging a bit under 15 MPG, I need it all!  Well, I made it, but it was a very unsettling experience and made me want to find a hotel and have a drink!

Finally a sunset!

Went looking for a sunset this afternoon (the first on my trip).  Heading out, I thought going toward the beach and there would be a parking lot and all would be good.  Not so fast in Naples.  Everything is gated here!  Seems they don’t like riff-raff hanging out at the beach.  Amazing – everything is a gated community.  All kinds and styles of gates.

Found Barefoot Beach (at the end of a long, no outlet road) after passing through at least 2 miles of gated communities.

You can certainly cast a long shadow out here!

Go Gophers!  Ski-U-Mah!

Had dinner at a sushi restaurant so I could get caught up on my ultimate fighting.

Start work tomorrow (Sunday) and Linda will arrive next Saturday – Yay!!!

As Bonnie Raitt says in The Road’s My Middle Name:

“Well, it’s hard enough to love someone

When they’re right close to home

Don’t you think I know it’s hard, honey

To squeeze the sugar from the phone”

🙂