Days 1 and 2 - Bakersfield

We left Huntington Beach Monday at 1:30 p.m. and arrived at my brother Rick's house about 5:00 p.m. after a drive of 127 miles.  Dod performed great including going over the "Grapevine".  The Grapevine is a portion of Highway 5 that climbs from the floor of the valley to a summit of 4,144 feet.  I only had to shift into 2nd gear twice.

Dod is Happy

Jesse is Happy

It was a nervous drive because Dod had been diagnosed with a major problem in his front suspension.  A mechanic in Huntington Beach told me that Dod needed to have the complete front suspension system and steering control replaced at a cost of $2,400.  He also told me that I needed all new belts, a tune-up, and new gaskets for the oil pan, transmission pan and differential.  Total cost would be around $3,000.00.  He said that if the work wasn't completed soon, I would most likely lose a wheel while driving!

My brother and I sat up until 1:30 a.m. reminiscing, solving the world's problems and getting reacquainted.  We also talked about Dod's problems and Rick has friends in town.  One friend manages a tire store that does suspension repairs; another closer friend and frequent house guest is a mechanic.

Tuesday morning we went to the tire shop to have an expert with 30 years experience check Dod's suspension.  This guy started doing suspension work about the time that Dod was new.  He performed a thorough inspection both visual and mechanical.  In just 15 minutes I had my second opinion.  There is absolutely nothing wrong with the suspension and in fact he said that it was amazingly tight for a motorhome that is 32 years old.

Later that morning Rick's friend Mike came by to look at the problems with the engine.  The belts did not need replacing, the gaskets were "good enough" for several thousand more miles and that the engine seemed to be running just fine.  While we were examining the engine, I found a loose wire just hanging down from the wiring harness.  After attaching it to the battery, my only other concern with Dod was fixed.  His clearance lights, back-up lights and flashers are now working!

It has always been my preference to give everyone the benefit of the doubt so I will just say that the shop manager in Huntington Beach probably just made a bad analysis and wasn't actually trying to take me for $3,000. worth of unnecessary repairs.

Rick and his wife Karen planned a big home-cooked meal for me that night with chicken fried steak, fried chicken, corn and mashed potatoes and gravy.  Some of my all time favorite foods!  When my brother's son Matt showed up for dinner Rick told me he was an electrician and he asked Matt to check my roof AC as it had no power.  One loose wire and one wrongly wired connection were located and within an hour I had full power going to the AC.  The roof air probably has not worked for several years as the wiring problems resulted in no power reaching the unit.  The roof air now blows ice cold!

Today, we are going back to the tire shop where an air conditioning specialist will be working today.  He will pressurize the AC system and test for leaks.  If there are no leaks, Rick has offered two cans of freon that have been sitting in his garage for years.

Boy, I sure picked the right place for my first stop!  Dave is Happy

This is my final post . . .

. . . from Huntington Beach!  All of the finishing touches have been made to the house and it is ready for the renters.  There are several projects left to complete on Dod but as I posted earlier, I would rather do them in a forest than in my driveway.

Yesterday around 4 pm I decided that I will leave on Monday.  Today I worked about 7 hours loading up Dod. It would have taken much longer but I didn't have to put everything in a "forever" place because I want to let DJ do that once I get to Oregon.  I packed way more stuff than we will ever need so after DJ decides what we need we will give away the extras.

Tomorrow afternoon I will (hopefully) be in Bakersfield at my brother Rick's home.  I plan to stay there a few days and get some required repairs done on Dod's front end suspension.  The labor rate in Huntington Beach for auto mechanics is $95.00 per hour.  I know it sounds ridiculous but sadly it is true.  I think I can get the work performed in Bakersfield for about 1/2 of what it would cost here.  It will also be good to visit with my brother and his family and enjoy some home cooking!

My original plan was to take several weeks to get to Oregon but most times when DJ calls, she holds the phone out and then asks me if I can hear the river roaring past her sister's house as she sits on a bench in the back yard.  I never heard the river but the description was good enough to make me change my plans.  Once I leave by brother's house I will try to do the rest of the trip (about 1,000 miles) in three or four days.  I like driving and my only limitation is that I refuse to drive at night, even while at home.

We will make Pendleton, OR our home base and take some trips from there.  DJ has never been to Canada and I would really like to show her some of my favorite places on  Vancouver Island and maybe even up to Whistler.

When we finally leave Pendleton, we will travel around the Northwest for awhile and cut across the corner of South Dakota to establish residency for drivers licenses and registration for Dod.  I've always wanted to see Mt. Rushmore!

Of course, my goal of existing on $30. per day is not going to happen on this segment of our journey due to fuel costs.  My actual expense reports will not start until we cross the border into Mexico sometime around October 1st.

Wish me luck!

Jesse takes his first ride in Dod

I put Jesse in Dod this morning and drove over to a local park to have lunch with my ex.  Jesse wouldn't jump up  and into Dod so I picked him up.  He snarled and snapped at me!  I don't think he likes to be picked up.  Once we got to the park and took a 2 mile walk, he was in heaven.  He met several other dogs and studied the smells of hundreds of former dog visitors.

When we got back to Dod, again, he wouldn't jump up and into Dod.  Bummer.  I picked him up and he snarled and snapped again but not as menacingly as before.  My hope is that when he starts associating the fact that wherever Dod stops is going to be a good place for him he will look forward to getting into Dod for a drive.