Kool April Nites

Here in Redding they have an annual car show called Kool April Nites.  It is this weekend and we will miss the events as we are leaving on Friday and our RV park is full with people showing cars or coming to the show.  But the upside is we get to see the cars as they come in and talk with the owners.  Next to our site is a family taking up 3 sites with motorhomes.  The father has a Shelby Cobra and his two sons have Mustang GT’s.  They are all restored and in pristine condition.  I could not resist getting a picture of the Cobra for any of you that are into restored classic cars.

This car weighs just over 2000 pounds and has a 427 engine in it.  I commented that it could go airborne.  It is not an original but rather a replica built from a kit, but you would be hard pressed to tell the difference.

Today we took our bikes on an hour ride on the Sacramento River Trail.  It is a very nice trail that follows the river from the Sundial Bridge.  It was amazing to see some of the homes on the cliffs way above the river.  We followed up the ride with lunch at Buz’s Crab Market and Restaurant (www.buzscrab.com).  This was the only restaurant in our Road Food book for Redding.  Fortunately they did have chicken nuggets on the menu for Fran.

Relaxing in Redding

As mentioned in my previous post we decided to stay in Redding till the end of this week as the weather going north, through the Cascades, is still somewhat wintery.  Here in Redding it has been very pleasant, usually getting close to 70 during the day and just below 50 at night.  With this beautiful weather we ventured out to take a Sunday drive into the local mountains where we did a short hike to a small waterfall.

We then had lunch in French Gulch, which is an old mining town with a bed and breakfast  and restaurant.  The building is something like 150 years old. 

Finally after almost 2 months out we went golfing at a local course.  It had been almost 6 months since the last time either of us golfed and it definitely showed.  It was a beautiful day and you cannot beat the skyline!

As it appears the weather on US 97 through the Cascades will only marginally improve we most likely will be heading north via Interstate 5.  It seems it is just a little to early in the year to be exploring the mountains of Oregon.  I guess we will have to come back later.

Brown to Green to……White?

Driving from Bakersfield to West Sacramento the landscape is mostly dirt and rock, brown.  Leaving the Sacramento area via Interstate 5 the landscape becomes more green and the temperatures started getting a little cooler.  We had originally decided to proceed to Red Bluff, CA but enroute we changed our mind and decided to go to Redding as it seemed it had more to offer (sorry Red Bluff).  With our new toy, Motorola Xoom tablet, Fran was able to research the RV park offerings in the Redding area and we decided on JGW RV Park.  On the way we stopped for lunch in Corning, CA at the Olive Pit restaurant (not Olive Garden).  We had seen their roadside signs about olive oil and olive tasting plus a restaurant and they had RV parking.  They had good sandwiches and lots of olives and oils to taste.  Neither of us were aware that olives are grown in this part of California.  I tried Olives stuffed with mushrooms, stuffed with garlic, stuffed with sun-dried tomato and that was only a small sampling of the offerings.

We arrived at JGW RV Park and were pleased with our selection.  It is a very nice park, well maintained with long level sites and the rates were very reasonable. 

Ok, now for the white part of this post title.  Our plan was to stay here in Redding for a few days then continue on with our route to Spirit Lake, ID where we are meeting up with friends the first week of May.  The direct route would be to go off Interstate 5 at Weed, CA and go on Route 97, which takes you through Klamath Falls and near Crater Lake.  Well, this means driving in the Cascade Mountains, where winter is still here.  While at the RV park office I was talking to some new arrivals and they said they had just come from the north, Klamath Falls, and the weather was snow and sort of ugly.  As I walked back to the trailer it began to rain and the drops were hitting my shirt as ice!  Back at the trailer I checked weather.com and learned that it is not getting much above freezing in the area where we wanted to stop next.  So, presently we have two options, one is to stay here in Redding for a few extra days to see what happens with the weather in the mountains or, the second option, to proceed via Interstate 5 and hit all the big cities of Oregon.  Nice thing is we have lots of time and where we are it is beautiful.  Oh the choices!!!!

Sacramento, CA

We left Bakersfield this morning and proceeded to Sacramento.  On the way we made a stop in Modesto to see where Fran’s father is buried.  He died in 2009 with Fran and her brother and sisters being told about it (by the new wife) months after it happened.  They were never told about any service or such for him.  For those in the family, here is a picture of his niche

From there we drove to West Sacramento as there was a KOA campground that seemed nice.  WRONG!  Generally we have been very happy with KOA’s and this one looked good via Google Earth and from the write-ups.  Actually it is all rock and dirt sites and really just average.  We only paid for two nights and most likely will move on.  Here is a picture of our site.

A little disappointed with this selection, but that is going to happen once in awhile. 

The issue that is nagging me at the moment is our DirecTV.  It has been hit or miss in setting it up over the past few weeks and I am frustrated trying to diagnose the issue.  So far I have spent around $300 buying a new dish, a digital meter and a back up standard definition dish, and still am having difficulty locating the satellite.  I never had this problem before.  I spoke with DirecTV tonight to see if I can get a service tech to come out to the trailer and check out my system and give me some instruction on set up procedures.  They first want me to try a couple of things, and if they do not work, then call back and they will arrange for a local tech to come out.

Bakersfield–What a hoot!

So we spent almost a week in Bakersfield (I know, it seemed like a year, ha ha).  The weather was great and we had a great time with Fran’s cousins.  On the last night, while Fran was visiting with them, Fran figured it out, they are like the TV show Brothers and Sisters.   You can get exhausted with the flow and pace of a conversation, I know I did! 

I kid, because they were a blast to be around and it was fun catching up as we had not seen each other in 20 years. 

As for local culture, Fran was treated, by her cousins, to an evening at the Crystal Palace.  It is a local entertainment venue started by Buck Owens, who is a big thing here in Bakersfield.  Fran had fun and, to my amazement, did not drink any shots.  I, on the other hand, stayed back and watched the NCAA tournament.

In addition we gave our bikes a workout taking them two days to the Kern River bike trail.  We rode for an hour each day and paid the price!

The people you meet

(FYI – there are going to be multiple posts today as I catch up.  I wanted to put them under specific titles instead of just one big post).

While still in Bakersfield this Monday we got some new neighbors next to us.  It was a couple from Poland, Maine.  Obviously being that far from their home state prompted a conversation to see what they were up to.  Fran started first with the lady while both were in the laundry room.  When they returned the man came over and we all sat around and talked for a few hours.  They are into antique cars and travel around the U.S. going to antique car flea markets where they sell parts and books that they have written.  It was fascinating talking to them to learn about antique cars, not restored!  He finds original parts for antique cars and uses them on the 4 cars he owns and then sells the rest at flea markets.  In addition he has written a book on the history of antique cars in Maine.  What was so fascinating was to hear about the 4 cars he has.  You see he is not into restoring antique cars so they look beautiful, he finds cars in good shape and then replaces what is not working with original parts so that he ends up with a working antique car that has all original parts.  He has a 1904 truck that has the original paint, canvas top and tires.  Can you believe those things would last over a 100 years.  We had a great time talking to them.  

This is one of the best parts or traveling around is meeting so many different people and hearing there stories and travels.

Bakersfield

We left Pomona on Wednesday with no incident.  We were able to clear all the trees and no tears to the roof.  This was only after I walked multiple routes in the park to heck for any issues.

Our nest destination was Bakersfield where Fran has some relatives.  It was only a 3 hour drive from Pomona with some LA traffic and having to climb and descend the Grapevine (Interstate 5).  The truck did well pulling the trailer up and down the hill.  The integrated engine brake got a full workout on the descent!

Bakersfield has numerous RV parks, many of which looked and sounded very nice from internet research.  We settled on one, A Country RV Park, that was a little removed from the busiest parts of the city.  It has really nice spaces, wide and level with some trees and grass to break up the concrete and asphalt.  Since we arrived fairly early in the day we got and end space which is nice as we only have a neighbor on one side.

The park fills up each night with overnighters, but the park is quiet and very clean.

Probably here until early next week.  Our next destination is up in the air but most likely we will work our way north to Oregon.  If you have any suggestions, feel free to comment.