TOMORROW! 05-17-18

Couldn't quite get it together to leave today, but am almost all packed to leave sometime tomorrow.  Hopefully, first thing in the morning, but maybe not until noon.  Doesn't really matter as I have no time schedule and can stop and go as I please.  It does get more difficult as the years go by and I can't remember how to get ready and what to pack!  Lists are okay, as far as they go, but I can't make a list that shows every tiny little thing.  Guess I could always go shopping.

I'm still driving my 2005 Lexus.

The above picture is rather light, this is more the color.  I call it the gold standard!

So, if you are driving Hwy 395 or I-5 in the next two weeks and you see this license plate you will be seeing me on my road trip!

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Twenty views on Interstate 5 and CA 152 10-24/25-17

On Sunday I asked Dee Jacobs if she could take KoKo for a few days, and she said yes!  So, I dropped him off with Dee on Tuesday morning and headed north to visit my friends Mary and Joe. And to drive into Pacific Grove to my most favorite quilt shop -

the fabulous Back Porch Fabrics.

 

It is always hard to get out of the LA basin, crawling through the Pasadena area on the 210 is stressful and sometimes v-e-r-y slow.  But once past Castaic the landscape is very bare and rather craggy.

There wasn't a lot of traffic on Tuesday and I made good time.

The hills have their tawny coloring and are very dry and susceptible to fires.

At this higher elevation it wasn't as hot as Placentia when I left there - 105F.

There is a ranch house amongst the trees.

Up and up with a cloudless sky and rolling hills.  I think the high point is 3000 feet.

This is in the area of Frasier Park, the trees on the right in the distance are around a Highway Rest Stop, the last one I'll see for a while. .

Looking up at the tops of the hills.  Sometimes there will be house at the very peak and I always wonder how the residents get up there.

After the top, the highway goes down through the area called the Grapevine, although it isn't as vine like as it was when I first drove it over 50 years ago.  At the bottom of the downgrade is a wide spot in the road with gas stations and a motel that is called Grapevine.

Down, down, down, winding through the narrow slot in the hills.

There are two truck emergency escape routes where trucks that have lost their brakes can exit into a deep pit filled with gravel.  The road bends upward and the combination of gravel and elevation help stop the truck. 

I was hoping this picture would show the valley in the distance, between the two hills, but it is too hazy out there, it usually is. 

 

That thing that looks like a flag in the middle of the picture is another sign showing the emergency exit.  Beyond in the San Joacquin Valley. 

Somewhere north of the Buttonwillow exit my odometer turned over to 200,000.  I can't remember what the mileage was when I bought the Lexus used, but it seems to me it was about 30,000.  I've driven a lot of miles!

After a night at Harris Ranch, I am still on I-5 North.  Several spots showed where grass fires burned.  I'm always sure that it was a lit cigarette that started these roadside disasters.

This one was quick put out on both sides of the road. 

Just before Santa Nella, which is the largest town I come to since leaving the LA Basin, is the turnoff on CA 152 west toward the ocean.

It is mostly grassy hills with California live oak trees. 

Down and down to the fertile valley where so much of our vegetables are grown.

Where turned off on CA 156, where they were, unfortunately repaving sections of the two lane road.  They make it a one lane road where they are working, with a flagman to let so many cars go one way and then close that lane and divert the opposing cars into that lane.  It was interminable.  At one point I was stopped in front of this boxy house on the right side of the road.  These people like to put statues in their yard, along with the junk, and even have a pair of plastic flamingoes on the right.  There was also a pit bull to go with the chain link fence, but he wandered off before I could take the picture.

This is the view on the opposite side of the road from the house.  All that dark loamy soil has recently been plowed.  At the foot of the hills are farm buildings, farm workers and their vehicles.  I believe the highest peak is Mt Fremont which is a California State Park.

I am with Mary and Joe tonight and will go on to Pacific Grove for a fabric fix tomorrow.

 

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Plumbing problems 09-04-15

There are times in my life when everything goes wrong at once.   And I think everyone has these times, so I don't feel alone!   It turns out that the plumbing problem I am having is due to a blown filter in the water softener.  The filter is filled with tiny shiny beads which came out of my shower head like a sand blaster.  Now the softener is turned off and I await the repairman who is supposed to come on Monday, despite that fact it is Labor Day.  We'll see.  Meanwhile, my washer is still half full of water and the appliance guy can't come until Tuesday, or maybe Wednesday!  However, this morning Dick Bednar helped me with my computer problem and it seems to be working okay.

Like I said, sometimes everything goes bad at once.  At least I had my power steering fixed last week! 

Podocarpus hedge

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Limitations 01-07-10

Your eyes do not deceive you - this is the same image I posted yesterday. Wordless Wednesday posts are especially hard for me to do - I ALWAYS have a story or an explanation. When I went out to the drugstore a few days ago it was a fantastic blue sky day with not a breath of wind, not unusual for this time of year. When I came out of the store, there beside my rear wheel was this huge sycamore leaf on the pavement - a leaf the size of my two hands spread open. I suppose that while I was inside it just got tired of hanging on and dropped exhausted to the ground.

You can look at this image on two levels. Focus on the lower left corner and you will see the tree against the sky. Focus on the odd white shapes in the center and you will see the white cars parked in the lot on the other side of my car. Amazing what our eyes can do.

It has taken me twenty-five minutes to do this blog! I am still doctoring the 'coughing ailment' and saw Dr. Debin this morning. She continues to be concerned about the condition of my lungs and the lingering cough.. as am I. She added another inhaler to my regimen and told me to go home and go to bed and stay there! I did it - arrived home about 9:30 am, flung myself into bed and have been there ever since! I can't read because I just go to sleep, can't compute because I drift off and drool on my keyboard, can't sew because I fear I will slice off my finger or sew it into a seam. I've slept about twenty hours of the last twenty-four and keep drifting away - this is one awesome affliction. Don't catch it. I'm sure the inhalers have something to do with the sleepiness as I am hardly coughing. Perhaps they are doing their job. I haven't done much of anything for a month, but I did manage to get the Surfside QG newsletter to the guild president for posting. You can check it out at http://tinyurl.com/yd3e5mw

Wordless Wednesday 01-06-10

Waiting, waiting... and watching 09-28-09

I finally made an appointment to have the oil changed in the Lexus - the first one is done at no charge. I called last week and explained the Lexus just needed the first oil change since I have owned it and that the light on the dashboard was telling me so - bugging me. I told them I would need a loaner (because I know how their "one hour" quickly turns into two or three hours. Not a problem, I was told. So I tootled in this morning at 10am armed with a list of errands I could do while they were taking care of my car. They assign me a guy (service assistant?) who proceeds to explain that they don't give loaners to people having an oil change. I explained my point of view and he said that maybe they could get me a rental, as smoke started coming out of my ears. "But," sez he, "if you would like to wait I can expedite it so you won't have to wait long." I was there and I didn't really want to have to come back some other day at 7am in the hope that it wouldn't take hours and hours - so I said, grudgingly, all right. I had my current read with me so I found a chair away from the blaring TV and settled down. To that service department "expedite" means two and a half hours. It was nice that they also gave it a quick wash, but I didn't really have the time. I will start going to my regular local garage where I can go in at 7:39am and be out before 8:30am - as long as I have an appointment. I was really steamed and needed to calm down, so I drove a few blocks to the Corner Bakery, where I sometimes meet my friend Toni for lunch. I ordered a fabulous turkey sandwich and a tall glass of iced water and found a table out on the patio.

One thing I really like about that place, besides the fact that it is colorful, is the palm trees in the patio area. There is also a large fountain that makes a calming murmur and lots of really great people watching. The six ladies + one adult boy child in his Adidas shirt, sitting at the table directly in front of me were having a great time. They were so involved in their laughing and talking and gesticulating that I could just opening stare and they didn't even notice. I never quite figured out what the kid was doing there, but he didn't have anything to say and they pretty much ignored him.

I used to know what species these palms are, but it got lost in my mushy brain somewhere. The wind came up a bit and they were murmuring right along with the fountain. Despite the noise of so many people talking, laughing, answering their phones, scrapping their chairs, etc., it was very calming and just the right temperature. Sometimes it is good to go somewhere alone and just be quiet and look out at the world. The only problem is that I did not get all my errands done and now they will have to wait until Wednesday when I go to pick up Corky for four nights at Camp Del. I wouldn't mind staying at his house where it is so much cooler and, let's face it, more beautiful, but I'm not sure about carrying him up and down the stairs all the time. "Once burned, twice cautious", as one old saying goes. I'm not entirely over the fall I took in August, another would be the end of me, I'm sure.

I have almost finished the Surfside newsletter, but it looks like I will have to add a page to get everything in. I'll worry about that tomorrow, I guess.

Darn - I wrote this earlier in the day yesterday, but forgot to post it before I went to bed. Sorry about that. Del

Home from SJBautiste 09-04-09

Driving the Lexus is growing on me - the ride is smoother, I hear less road noise, it tracks much better than the van, and it will do 100mph (should I need to for any reason). I miss the sliding side doors and the large 'trunk capacity' in the Caravan. I miss having some place to put change and other small items in the driver area. But one thing I really enjoy is this 'trip display' among the choices on the dashboard. I'm becoming more adept at driving this car which is reflected in the mpg, 24mpg is what I got in the Caravan on long trips. It is great knowing exactly how many miles I can go on the gas left in the tank. Sorry it is such a poor image - too many reflections - but I took it while driving.

I don't know if the drought is having this effect or it is later than I think. The leaves are already turning on the trees on the road up to Mary's.

Here is a Buckeye tree, always the first to lose it's leaves, but it is already almost completely bare.

Off in the distance a California Sycamore glows in the sunlight. I suppose I can't reconcile the autumn leaves and the temperatures in the 90s while I was up there. It just doesn't seem that autumn is upon us so soon!

The fires in SCalifornia are being contained and several are out. The big Station Fire that I could see so well on my way north on Sunday has burned over the tops of the ridges so only the smoke is visible. I could see Mt. Wilson and it didn't look as though the fire had burned to the top where the venerable Mt. Wilson Observatory is located. The scientists and landmark enthusiasts were very, very concerned. It is so tragic that two firemen lost their lives fighting the fire, which was set by the hand of man.

North on I-5 again 04-17-09

Yesterday I drove up here to Mary's in San Juan Bautista. I was all packed and ready to leave, but several interruptions and a mishap prevented going, so I didn't get on the road until 2pm. Which would have been okay since it takes five to five/one half hours for the drive. Unfortunately .....

...it was a Friday and rush hour(s) traffic had already begun. I did twenty miles at fourteen mph and then stopped looking at the readings because they just made me more anxious and I couldn't go any faster anyway. The picture above is not far from my house where two freeways diverge and merge and traffic stands still. There was a stalled tanker truck ahead, but mostly the back up is too many cars.

This is a few miles further on - after I've seen basically the same cars crawling along with me for an hour I feel that we should exchange phone numbers or e-mail addresses! Let's do this again sometime!

It is citrus time here so there were many open trucks full of oranges, lemons, grapefruit - mostly juiced and canned or frozen at central facilities. I don't think there are any packing houses left in the LABasin. I thought I would get pictures of all of fruit, but it didn't happen. Finally, I was over the mountains and down in the Central Valley and it was smooth sailing. And then I made good time, I was on the road 7hours.

Click on photos to enlarge.

Way north on I-5 there was a quite beautiful sunset with different kinds of clouds - the plume on the left, the feather across the top and the crisscrossing jet trails out of the Bay area on the horizon. The southbound cars on I-5 are the southbound lanes. I think I arrived here at Mary and Joe's house about 9pm and only took two stops alon g the way, one for gas, one for facilities along with a quick walk around part of the the parking lot at Harris Ranch. The Lexus was quiet, responsive, and comfortable..... a dream of a vehicle. I love it! Just wait, Ruth, you will love it also.

Finally..... 04-06-09

A new-to-me vehicle. I have a tendency to drive my cars forever, unless a husband forces me to switch. Since there is no husband I have driven the Dodge Caravan for eleven years and the previous car, a Chevy Citation, for eighteen years. And I only gave it up because the transmission went out and my mechanic couldn't find even used transmission in a wrecking yard. Guess it was time,eh? I do love my vehicles - they are like comfortable old sweaters. However, the van has 219,000 miles and I worry about getting stuck out in the wilderness some place. My mechanic reminds me that even new cars can break down, but I think the chances are less than with a car of eleven years and all those highway miles. And the days when I could temporarily fix some problems with a screwdriver, a pair of pliers and a roll of duct tape are long gone.

This is a 2005 Lexus RX330 - a midsized SUV. Everyone has heard me talking about a Chrysler Town & Country for six or seven years. But I found that they only come in one length - long. If I parked one in my garage I would have to back it out in order to do the laundry or to get the mail out of the mail drop. More than I could handle at this stage of life.

I thought about the quietest cars I have driven and/or ridden in and thought I would check out a Lexus. When I drove one I could never tell if it was running or not - very quiet. I visited several different dealers, who were all so HAPPY to serve me, and I ended up at Tustin Lexus where I found this 2005 model in the perfect color. I'm not much of a bargainer and I suppose if I had taken a GUY with me he would have gotten a better price. I can only think that this "previously owned" car with all the bells and whistles is a little less than a brand new Town and Country with only a few perks.

I took these pictures in LBeach at Corky's house and think this one is interesting with the palm trees reflected on the hood.

This is a closer approximation of the color - maybe not quite so gold, but close. The one thing I miss already is the sliding doors on each side to provide access to the second seat. Of course, it will take months to get all the buttons and switches and touch pads and.... in my head. I may have to make a cheat sheet to refer to! My previous two cars had the shift on the steering column, but this car has it on the floor with the wipers on the steering column - so I wash the windows every time I try to shift. I find it irritating, but everyone else finds it hilarious - and I guess it is. I need to get up to speed so I can drive to Ohio in May - with the cheat sheet, of course.