October 30, 2013 -- --In Needles, CA, for tonight.

We had an interesting thing happen last night in Bakersfield, CA.  We went to bed around 9 p.m. and when we woke up at 11 for the first of the “nightly old-age calls,” we discovered our electricity was off.  Weird?  The first thought I had, cynic that I am, was that possibly someone was up to “no good” and waiting to see if we would come out and check why the power was off.  Just in case, we didn’t respond.  It really isn’t the best part of town and we didn’t need to be outside in the dark.

So, we just went back to bed and decided to check it in the morning—as the refrigerator had cycled over to gas and was working fine.  Someone could have caused the power outage by pulling the plug or flipping  the breaker switch, or it could be trouble with plug or our cord.  At 5 a.m., I decided I needed to see if it was our plug or something in the camper—which would mean a trip to Camping World and Larry could sleep in until 8 a.m.  (Figured it was safe by then.  If someone had hoped to lure us out,  who would stay around all night??) 

I went out and looked at the breaker and it was off?  I flipped it and we had power—giving Larry nice warm heat when it was time to get up.  Went back in and back to bed for another hour.

We were up and on the road by 8, a great time to climb up Tehachapi Pass. We drove to Barstow for fuel and then on to Needles, CA, Elks’ Club. We expect a much quieter night here.  Tomorrow we head for Gila Bend, AZ.  Tonight was decision night of going I-40 or I-10.  There is some ice warning up on I-40 for the next day or so—so I-10 and possible dust storms wins.  We will move from Gila Bend to Casa Grande, AZ for a night to get an early run through the Tucson area to try to beat the winds.  If windy, we will delay another day.  Those dust storms are really terrifying!

So, until tomorrow night—good night.

October 29, 2013 Parked in Bakersfield, CA

The Lodge RV parking area is much to brag about, but it gives us a place to spend the night with electric hook-ups—and we stop here on a regular basis.  We find it convenient to stop and spend the night and carry on the next day—with the ability to run the A/C or heater.  What’s not to like?

We had a smooth ride down I-5, but I didn’t take any photos as the air was quite dusty-looking all day.  Earlier today, It rained here in Bakersfield and we expect there may be a smattering of snow when we go up Tehachapi Pass tomorrow morning.

We are heading to Needles, CA, for tomorrow night.  Slow but at least forward moving……Good night.

October 28, 2013 -- Going to try it again….

We have been here at Sugar Barge Resort for a month.  We enjoy our time here in this beautiful park.  We enjoy the wonderful staff—they are friendly, outgoing and helpful.  The laundry room is clean and neat—it’s easy to do our laundry here.  It has everything going for it—I enjoy walking in the evenings because I feel safe.  I have even did a bit of weeding just to keep my hands busy—but it is time to try and head for Texas.

We really enjoy being on “rally row.”  This road was filled this weekend with Elks’ Club members from Chico.  They were just one of many clubs holding rallies in Sugar Barge.  I enjoy visiting with the visitors—they have interesting stories.  But, it is still time to head south and east!  We have had wonderful weather most of the time.  A bit of wind now and then—but it is still time to head out.

Larry’s blood pressure is back into the safe range.  The doctor added two more doses of his current medicine and over time, it seemed to help.  He added a daily walk into his routine again.  We stopped eating out so I could control his sodium intake—which helped too. So, unless something else happens in the next 24 hours, we are heading out.

The car is packed again—for the fourth time.  The camper is washed—and tomorrow morning, we cut out electrical, water and sewer ties to Sugar Barge Resort and head to Bakersfield.  We are only about 5 weeks behind schedule!

Keep tuned to see how our trip goes—as we will post every other night as we creep along toward Livingston, TX.