Sacramento Deja Vu

I am here, and am looking at the lights of the Cal Expo grandstand! Just a year ago ...

Last night I decided to go to bed at 6:00 pm - after all, it was sort of like 9:00 pm if I was back on the east coast. I woke up at 4:00 am and had a leisurely departure at 6:15. I stopped for gas and was on my way. I love early morning for driving; my mind is sharp and there is little traffic on the road. I got up and over the Tehachapi Pass without a bit of trouble. I'd been dreading it since my experience with the Grapevine from Los Angeles last year, but they must have done something to smooth out the grading on Tehachapi. The roadways were super as well. The last time I drove that way much of the road from Barstow to Bakersfield was regular two lane highway, alternating once in a while with a short stretch of freeway. It is mostly freeway now, and very little of it isn't divided highway even though some parts of it has cross traffic. Smooth sailing!

I had thought I might want to stop somewhere and drive into Sacramento early Saturday morning, but once I was on the road there was no stopping until I arrived at Cal Expo about 3:00 pm. My son Steve came over and helped me get leveled, unhitched, and set up. We sat and talked for some time about what I want to do in the near future, and he gave me some good ideas.

I will be with all my kids tomorrow evening except Mike in NY, plus their spouses, children, and friends, at Steve's birthday party. It will make the strain of driving all worthwhile. I did tell him though, that I can never do this again. I think those were my exact words last year when I drove like a madwoman to get to my brother's house in Livermore for their Christmas get together for the California siblings. I couldn't pass up the chance to be with my sibs and kids, and the same this year, I couldn't pass up the chance to be with my kids. Now I'm going to grow old gracefully! (HaHaHa).

The trip was very strange in that until today there wasn't a bug on my entire windshield. Every time I stopped to refuel I checked to see if I needed to clean the window, and there was never a spot on it. All the bugs must be wintering over in California and many of them hit my truck!

Lady is content now and I'm sure she knows we won't be going anwhere for a while. First thing on the agenda tomorrow morning is to go to Costco and get her one of those big fluffy round beds. I had them for both Mandy and Lady but they took up so much room I ended up getting smaller and less padded ones. I can tell she has trouble with going up the 3 steps to the bedroom and I know she has joint pain, so the extra padding on the bed should make her feel a little better.

My trip of 2870 miles was done in 8 days, and I spent approx $880 for fuel. Seven nights lodging cost approximately $215. I had a wonderful trip with very good weather, and drove over s lot of roads I had never been on before. It was good to be off the interstate, although I found that there are drawbacks when traveling in a large rig. I prefer off-interstate in a smaller vehicle and the interstates for RV travel, for the most part. Even as I was vowing to never do this again I began to plan for the next trip to New York.

I would like to thank everyone who has commented on my posts. I get emails of your comments, and usually reply to the emails. I have always wondered if they reach you however, since the address sometimes begins with "noreply", I have the feeling they aren't being received by the intended person. I correspond with many of you privately, so I know you get my replies, but I really feel bad that many of you have never received a response from me. I will have to figure out how to correct that situation - I see that many bloggers are answering comments in their blog entries, and maybe I should start doing that. Let me say that I love your comments and consider your suggestions very seriously.