The RV Sabbatical Journal

Friday, February 29, 2008 — Los Banos, CA

We got out of Pomona and the LA Megaplex without much trouble this morning. It’s amazing, but all those motorhomes seemed to evaporate as the morning wore on without lines or hassle or raised tempers. I don’t get it… you’d think an orderly planned departure would be more efficient and faster than leaving it to randomness and independence and chance. But it seemed like the exact opposite happened. On the way into the fairgrounds last Saturday and Sunday, there was order… go in this gate, turn left, follow the yellow line to row I-4, and follow directions from the parking team — and it took two days to get everyone parked. But on the way out today we could leave whenever we wanted, we could go out of any gate we wanted, could turn onto any road in any direction and I didn’t see anyone directing traffic. Things went faster and smoother without planned order. Could this be a concept to apply to my, or anyone’s, life? Don’t plan things… just let ‘em happen… and it’ll all work out better? At any rate we were out of the fairplex and on our way north by a little after 10am.

Here, in California, we refer to major roads differently than you do in the rest of the country. In Wisconsin, or Missouri, or just about anywhere else in the USA, Interstate Highways are referred to in the same manner as they’ve been named by the government — I-90, for example, is used this way in both written and verbal communication: “I took I-90 to Milwaukee”. Seems simple, doesn’t it. But that’s not the way it’s done by those of us in California. No sir! Here, in the Golden State, we say things like this: “Like, I took the ten and like hooked up with the two ten…” Allow me to translate for you: “the ten” means I-10; “the two ten” refers to I-210. I know you rubes in the rest of the country are wrinkling your brow and wondering why someone would talk that way. Hey, this is California. Just wait a few years and you’ll be talking just like us.

So, that’s how we got out’a town… we took the ten to the two ten which eventually hooks up with the five. After some hours and about 300 miles we landed tonight at a Walmart parking lot in Los Banos, CA. We had a number of things to celebrate tonight… “hook day”, the day we change major direction and stopped heading primarily west and started heading mostly north. We made the official hook near Pasadena. The second big thing we celebrated is our first night in a Walmart parking lot. Some of you may know that Walmart is a prized place to park for free when just passing through. When all you need is a place to park and sleep, why pay RV Park fees for tennis courts, swimming pools, club houses and full-hookups when all I want is a place to park and sleep. So Walmart has developed quite a reputation among RVers as a place to rest overnight for no-charge. In the same way a guy couldn’t be considered a real man-about-town until he spent the night with Betty Lou, we couldn’t be considered true fulltimers until we’ve stayed overnight at Walmart.

On another note: California has some of the worst major roads in the country, at least the part of the country we’ve experienced so far. We drove 300 miles today and it feels like we drove twice that. These roads are rough, caving in, collapsing, falling apart, and laced with pot holes. We heard at a truckstop today that just last week a fully loaded 18 wheeler drove into one of the larger pot holes and hasn’t been seen since. Well, you say, they should start rebuilding those roads so the happy motoring public will continue to buy that $4 per gallon gas and the economy will continue to percolate along. But there’s a problem with that… the state of California is broke, it has no money. Not only don’t they have any money, they’ve borrowed against their kids future taxes and their grandkids future taxes. They’ve probably borrowed against MY future taxes and I don’t even know that they’re planning to tax me. They’re technically bankrupt. I don’t know how it’ll be possible to ever find the money to rebuild all the roads in that huge state. My advice if you value your good front-end alignment… stay away.

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On a much sadder note we heard today about the death of Dave Baleria, a fulltimer and an instructor, with his wife Sandy, of a number of seminars at the Life on Wheels conferences we’ve attended in the past. We talked with Dave and Sandy only a couple weeks ago in Casa Grande, AZ during the Gypsy Gathering Rally, where they did a few seminars on personal safety and the RV lifestyle. I don’t know for sure, but Dave was probably about our age, perhaps a bit younger. The news shocked and saddened us, as it did thousands of others who knew him. Here’s a link to a blog post from Nick Russell, the editor of the Gypsy Journal Newspaper. Go to the post for February 29th. It’s shocking things like this that help us see the value of life and the spirit of enjoying life each and every day.

T

Thursday, February 28, 2008 — Pomona, CA Fairplex
The FMCA International Convention

FMCA is a large organization with enough people attending these rallies so they can sign some fairly big name entertainment. Last night we saw Peter Noone and the current version of Herman’s Hermits. Tonight we were treated to The Bellamy Brothers. The shows are held at the grandstand of the horse racing track here at the Fairplex.

The Peter Noone show last night surprised me. I had low expectations but he put on a heck of a show. The music was good but his rapport with the audience and his self-deprecating humor and gags made it a fun time.

I had higher expectations from the Bellamy Brothers tonight and they came through with more than an hour of some of their biggest hits. The first song of the night was my theme song, “Old Hippie”, and I was hooked. The cooler than normal evening did drive some not-so-hearty individuals back home early, but most of us stuck it out till the end.

Tonight’s our last night in Pomona — at least for this trip. Both Dar and I found the rally productive and worthwhile. We feel, in some way, more a part of this collective bunch of people who choose to lead this less-than-normal lifestyle. Through some seminars and talking with manufacturers and their service people I have a much better understanding of the care and feeding of the many systems these complicated campers have — the stuff that keeps us warm, dry, nourished, and moving.

Tomorrow we’re hoping to sleep in and let the morning unfold naturally. Because most RVers have a gene that creates a need to be first — the first to arrive at an event, the first to leave the event, the first to the restaurant for dinner, the first to bed at night, etc, because of all this I’m sure the gates will be plugged with campers trying to leave the fairplex grounds by 6am tomorrow morning. I’m predicting that by 9am, most everyone will have left and we’ll have clear sailing. And without all the hassle.

After we leave the fairgrounds we’re going to be on a beeline out of the LA Megaplex on I-5 northbound. It can’t be too soon for me.

Till tomorrow…

T

Tuesday, Feb. 26, 2008 — Pomona, CA
At the FMCA Rally

This morning started early as Dar headed off to an exercise class she though she’d try and I headed off to the association’s free coffee and donut seminar. I’ve always heard that life is a balance, so I think I have a responsibility to take on whatever weight she looses.

The weather in Pomona has been spectacular — even by Southern California standards. I talked with a native Californian today who said she’s never seen the nearby San Gabriel Mountains so green. They’re normally dry and brown and ready to catch on fire. A little rain, added at the right time, can turn a desert, or a dry hillside, into a garden of new life and color. The added treat is that they’re snow-capped right now and there’s been no smog. Seeing the mountains near LA at all is a cause for celebration, but seeing them green and in full bloom is almost reason to turn the kids out of school and dance in the streets. And we were there.

I attended a few seminars today and then Dar and I walked the indoor vendor show floor. There are almost 500 vendors hawking their wares at this show — from the big ones like Cummins and Caterpillar to the smallest like the woman who came up with a solution to bedspreads falling off the bed and onto the floor overnight. I’m convinced RVer’s are a lot like golfers — we think the next gadget or piece of equipment we buy is going to solve all our problems. Given the right conditions, either RVer’s or golfers will buy anything.

There’s a concert scheduled, starting tonight, for the next three nights. Tonight’s entertainment was two groups — one a band that does disco-era hits, the other a band that copies Abba, the famous group from the 70’s. It was enjoyable, but quite a few people got up and left before the end of the concert. It clearly wasn’t their kind of music. They probably would have enjoyed a good country/western group or, perhaps, a 50’s era big band. I’m sure the association is trying to attract new members, but they should keep the likes of their core members in mind too.

Tomorrow, Wednesday, we’ve got a full schedule of seminars we want to attend. Dar’s day will begin again with exercise and mine, like today, will start with coffee and donuts.

Adieu, until tomorrow…

T

Monday, Feb. 25, 2008 — Pomona CA Fairplex

I heard today that there were about 2500 motorhomes that had pre-registered for this convention. There were some no-shows so the best guess at this point is that something like 2200 showed up. Maybe we’ll get an update later in the week.

This convention used to attract 4000 to 5000 units, but, according to some vendors I talked to today, FMCA is here in Pomona every year and it’s just getting old for those close-by folks who are the core of the attendees. It’s like going to the county fair every year — after a while you’ve had enough corn dogs and want pizza or gyros, or drive down to Madison for a night on the town. I’m sure fuel prices and the weakening economy are having an effect as well. So, it’ll be interesting to see what happens with this convention in future years.

How about this? The motorhome manufacturers that are displaying their latest and greatest models here at the show brought in a total of 850 units — yes, that’s right — 850 motorhomes for the convention attendees to peruse and take for a test drive. That’s one new unit on display for every three units brought in by attendees. You know that’s not going to continue much longer.

Oh, and the highlight of the day was the Segway — that two wheeled transportation thing that you ride standing up. Both Dar and I took an opportunity to take a test drive. It was as easy as it looks but takes a couple minutes of familiarization. It’s a matter of just thinking about where you want to go and it’ll take you. I know what you’re thinking… “but Thom, I need the walk — I need the exercise”. And you’re right. If this thing ever catches on in a big way general health conditions will decline even further.

I’m told the “in” people here in LA ride their Segways to the gym. It’s LA — what can I say?

T

Sunday, February 24, 2008 — Pomona, CA
For the FMCA International Convention

Yesterday, Saturday, we got a good early start and were heading west out of Quartzsite on I-10 a little before 9am Mountain Time. Just a few miles down the road, where the Colorado River forms the border of Arizona and California, we drove into the Pacific Time Zone and it was suddenly only 8am. You gotta’ love driving west.

I think we were both a little sad to be leaving the solitude and openness of the desert. Much of our time since leaving Rockport TX in January has been in sparsely populated and very open western desert areas. There’s an attraction to all that wide-open space that I really grew to like. The contrast will be dramatic as we wheel into the Los Angeles Metroplex. We’d been hanging around in some of the least populated areas of this great country — where the population density is 2 or 3 people per square mile. The Greater Los Angeles area has a population density of almost 8,000 per square mile. This is going to take some adjustment.

Readers will know from a previous posting that for the past few days we’ve been cleaning out the fridge — making sure all the apples, oranges, and other produce is eaten prior to our passage into California, where they don’t take kindly to foreign fruit. They have these checkpoints as you enter that land where everyone has to stop and be grilled about your cooler, your crisper drawer, your eating habits, and your political leanings. Once, on a trip from Oregon to California, we didn’t know about this procedure and had to surrender a big bag of just-bought Granny Smith Apples. The kids were scarred from that experience and we didn’t want to cause any commotion this time. So the fridge was clean of all illegal substances, or so I thought. Less than a mile before the inspection station, as Dar’s slowing down, she tells me that we do still have one lemon and an aging lime. “WHAT? Now you remember this? Well, one of us is going to prison and it’s not going to be ME!”

It was too late. We were committed now. I was tempted to have Dar hit the gas and blow on through the road block, but better judgment prevailed. I could see the headline in the paper: “Middle Aged Man Runs From Border Patrol — Will Do Time for Having a Lime”.

The officer in our inspection lane, a stern looking woman with a large revolver and a few hand grenades hanging off her ammunition belt, waited impatiently as Dar slowly maneuvered the bus into the narrow inspection lane. Then, the first question from the officer’s mouth: “Where are you coming from?” Dar looked at me, I looked at Dar. I shrugged and thought “Is this a test of some kind?” Remember, we’re westbound on I-10 less than a mile from Arizona. After an uncomfortably long pause Dar replied, without missing a beat, “Arizona?”

The officer looked away and said, “Thank you, have a nice trip.”

What? That’s it? That’s the only question? I couldn’t believe it. I guess we passed the test. It took a few more miles before either of us could relax again.

There are a number of mountain ranges that ring the LA area. Coming in from the east on I-10, after passing Palm Springs, you cut through a gap in the mountains that leads to the LA basin where all the people live. In that gap are more wind powered electric generators than I have seen in all my 57 years. There are thousands of them and I don’t think I’m exaggerating. There’s no way to know for sure since it’s got to be impossible to count them all. I wonder if the people who own them know how many they have. They literally cover the valley floor and the sides of the hills — in some areas as far as I could see. It was the unexpected highlight of the drive.

Getting closer to LA the road widens from 4 lanes to 6. A little further and it becomes 8 and then 10 lanes. It takes a little time, even for a boy who handled Chicago traffic for many years, to get used to how they drive around here. First, it’s not necessary to use turn signals. In fact, almost no one ever does. I did for a while but stopped when I noticed people pointing and laughing — “check out that rube from Montana — his tail-lights are blinking on one side”.

Next, there are a lot of people who play some kind of driving game — where two or more cars race one another other at very high speed, weaving in and out of lanes, past and around other slower moving traffic, apparently trying to get someplace before the other person. I couldn’t get the bus to go fast enough to join in.

Finally, out here stop signs must only be advisory… a suggestion. I haven’t seen anyone actually stop at one since we’ve been here. It’ll take a little time for my driving habits to adjust to all these new things.

A little after noon, we pulled into the Fairplex in Pomona. Motorhomes were lined up everywhere, more campers than I’ve ever seen at one time. Everything proceeded smoothly and before long we had our parking spot for the week. The convention doesn’t really get underway until Monday afternoon so we had some time to settle in.

Here’s something I’m looking forward to: It’s taking them two full days, Saturday and Sunday, to get all these motorhomes parked for the convention. On Friday, they want us all gone by noon. I think I’ll put my lawn chair on the roof, get a big cup of coffee, and watch the entertainment.

The next few days will be very interesting.

T