The Events of Saturday, February 26, 2011

                I awoke before dawn and decided to walk and pray. Las Vegas is prettier at night than in the day, but at times I was glad not to be wearing my glasses. Newspapers and electric billboards displayed flesh-colored photos, but my aging eyes kept me from seeing unhelpful erotica. There’s not much traffic in the early morning, but these Las Vegas blocks are big: it took me an hour to walk around one block!

                Lindsey and Pam were already up and busy when I returned at 6:00 (we’re still operating on Mountain Time). Ben went on a run, and the ladies went to their showers, which were woefully deficient of hot water. We breakfasted, emptied tanks, slid in the slide-outs, and departed by 8:00. One of the reasons we stayed in Las Vegas was the forecast for severe winter weather, both yesterday and today, in California and Arizona. This little corner of Nevada was dry (as predicted), but it began to rain soon after we hit the road. A few minutes later, I looked out the window and saw a magical view: yucca and sagebrush, blanketed by snow. Now in the Southern Sierras, we had reached elevations above 4000 feet, and snow was now slanting down onto the windshield. Pam did an admirable job driving through the changing conditions, as we rose and fell, through snow and rain.

                We stopped for fuel and lunch near Boron. (Here they mine the mineral boron which is used in detergents and in fiberglass insulation.) While dining, it amused us to first hear, then feel, and finally watch a train chug past our dining room window. One of the unexpected themes of our journey has been to discover that railway lines are everywhere. Though we may not observe them at first, they pop up with amazing regularity near RV campgrounds. And here we were, on the last leg of our U.S. tour, and we have a train running through our lunch. At the end of the meal, it was time for presents. From the over-cab bed, the kids brought down a bundle in a green blanket and gave it to Pam. Inside were three DVDs: “South Pacific”, “Star Trek Movie”, and “Manhattan Transfer: Great American Songbook”.

                Pam and I traded off driving, as we descended into the fertile San Joaquin Valley. It’s not fair, really, to compare spring in the valley to the other states during other seasons. Our vista included fields of lush green grass, then pastures dotted with sheep and Jersey cows. Beyond that, we found acres and acres of orchards blossoming in white, cream, pale pink, and deep pink. What a beautiful state!

                We arrived at Santa Nella for dinner at Pea Soup Andersons Restaurant. Our birthday girl Pam had pea soup in a French bread bowl (and a chocolate shake). Abby had a Western Barbecue Bacon Cheeseburger, with half a pound of beef, onion rings, and “tons of bacon”. The rest of us had the Traveler’s Special: bottomless pea soup and bread. What a great meal!

                For dessert, we stopped at the Ghirardelli Factory Outlet in Lathrop. When we arrived, we were disappointed to see the store area was dark. Undeterred, we went to investigate. As it turns out, the dark ambience is intentional, to help visitors imagine they are in the San Francisco Ghirardelli store enjoying the night view. So the rest of the family went in and enjoyed some delicious sundaes. (My stomach told me it was too full for more food at the moment. I stayed in the RV and found lodging for our time in the mountainous northern region of Spain.)

                Excitement mounted as we approached home. We were twelve miles away when traffic stopped. We inched forward for over an hour. Since forward progress was minimal, Pam asked us to put in the “Manhattan Transfer” DVD. Both Pam and I are long-term fans of their music, and this DVD included five of their classics. But we were disappointed by rest of the content. The four vocalists are sitting on stools, telling lame anecdotes, trying in vain to look charismatic. What an embarrassment!

                We finished the DVD, still sitting in traffic, so the kids took turns editing photos on the laptop. Finally we saw the gruesome reason for our delay: dozens of goats had wandered onto the freeway. Some animals were lying dead, on the shoulder of the road. Folks in uniform walked between the blinking emergency vehicles. We later learned that the goats had wandered through a broken fence (bad idea) onto the freeway. If you’re curious to learn more, go to http://blogs.sacbee.com/crime/archives/2011/02/goats-on-road-f.html. Adding to the delay, several impatient northbound drivers (including a TV news crew) drove into the grassy median to turn around and they got stuck in the mud. We saw many tow trucks drive by to rescue these vehicles from the mire.

                Just before 10:00 we reached Elk Grove. Our friends and house-guests, the Herscowitzes, graciously arranged to spend this week with relatives. We look forward to spending time with them later in the week. But when we arrived home, the house was quiet and dark. Abby bounced out the door and up the driveway. The rest of us were quieter but inwardly glad to be home. We took in just a few loads each: clothes for tomorrow and food from the fridge.

                It is a weird feeling to be guests in your own home. Most of the home is exactly as I remember. But here and there are unfamiliar photos, trinkets, clothing, etc., reminding us that others live here now. The kids quickly put themselves to bed. Pam and I took a bit longer to adjust before we were able to settle in and sleep. What a nice bed we have!