The hotel idea was a good idea for a couple of reasons: 1) long hot showers not having to worry about saving hot water for someone else, 2) warmth and no wind howling, and 3) separate beds so we wouldn't disturb each other. I got a lot of reading done and Roger watched a lot of football.
The hotel wasn't a good idea for a couple of reasons: 1) it was a bit shabby and the carpet was dirty, 2) noisy neighbors at times, 3) not our own bed. Neither of us slept well and we woke up almost as tired as when we went to bed. Roger's hips hurt from the mattress being too firm and I had spilled a glass of water on my PJs and bed and had to sleep on a small dry spot after putting my clothes on.
We were up and on the road by 0730. We had showered the night before, so just got up, had a cup of tea/coffee, got dressed (I was halfway there already) and hauled our stuff and Maggie out to the RV. Traffic was still heavy with California plates, but cars were traveling at the speed limit or higher - no more 10 mph stuff.
The route from Las Vegas area south to San Bernadino takes you through some of the ugliest parts of the Mojave Desert. We aren't big fans of the Mojave - especially this time of year when it's so dull and brown. Green creosote bushes helped break the monotony of the scenery, but mostly it looked as if we had landed on the moon. The small towns along the way look so derelict and there was lots of trash along the roadside. Ugly and Boring! We did discover one of the reasons for the previous day's back up of traffic. It seems there are three full lanes on I-15 out of Las Vegas to the California border. Then it drops to two. So, major merge point that slowed things down. Some areas were under construction but it wasn't awful. Lots of up and down mountains that probably had things slowed down because of slow moving trucks, probably contributed to the problem as well.
Knowing that once we hit San Bernadino it would be non-stop into Santee - there's just no reasonable place to pull over for fuel or food when you are pulling a rig, so when we got to Victorville where I-15 meets US395 South, we stopped for a break. It was a little stressful. First Roger pulled into a service station after some major maneuvering and we heard an awful scraping noise. We thought we had hit the overhang with the air conditioner. The guy came out and waved us on - they didn't have diesel. Across the street were diesel pumps, but the canopy over them had only an 11 foot clearance. No go there, either. Still trying to turn the whole rig around and get back on the street, we heard some other weird noises with the truck and/or RV. Geez, what the heck was that? We finally found a place to pull off where Roger could do a walk around and see exactly what was happening - fortunately he found nothing. When we got back on the highway all seemed well. We finally found a Pilot truck stop where we could get in and out fairly easily and fuel up. We then pulled across the street in a truck pull out area to destress and have some lunch. By that time we were both pretty wired.
We dropped from about 4000 feet in elevation into San Bernadino - a 12 mile, 6% grade. That's always a fun part of the drive but we knew what to expect so it wasn't awful. Traffic was starting to pick up, but there wasn't the issues we've had before going through that area into Riverside and then on to Santee.
We pulled into the park about 2:30, giving us two hours to get set up before dark. We knew we had to do it all and not leave anything until today because the weather forecast was for heavy rain today. By the time we got finished we were so exhausted. Scrambled eggs and toast for dinner was the easiest thing to make. We then sat in our chairs staring glazed eyed at the TV until 9 when we went to bed. Both of us slept well for the first time in several nights.
We were greeted warmly by acquaintances from previous years as we were setting up, which made us feel good. We met a new guy who is next to us and seems very nice. Already we are seeing familiar faces around the park. Right behind us is "Razor Man." We've seen him every year for the five years we have been here, but never lived so close to him. He has a habit of going for his walks dressed only in shorts while shaving with his electric razor as he makes his laps. We named him the first year we were here. Dan, the guy from Denmark, is across the street again. His wife Lisa isn't here yet, but will be soon - he hopes. David and Eileen, the Christmas decorators from last year, are here and two sites over - and all decorated already. He's the guy who is in the wheelchair from major wounds received in Vietnam.
The weather followed the forecast and we've had rain off and on all day. Fortunately there are little holidays between rain cells and we were able get Maggie out to do her business. We don't know if she is remembering being here or just excited by all the smells, but she went a little crazy on our first walk about. The coyotes' wailing last night had her on full alert and we weren't sure we were going to get her to calm down enough to go to bed, but she finally gave up trying to climb on the bed and curled up in hers. She and the other Maggie have already renewed their friendship and were chasing each other around the RV yesterday like two little kids.
So, we are "home" now for four months and I'm sure we will have stories to tell and photos to share. We did go to the office today and make our reservations for next year so we could secure our spot. After we made a trip to town for lunch, cold meds for me, and a visit to the ATM, Roger sat outside under the awning watching the rain this afternoon and looked quite happy and content. I spent this afternoon catching up on month end/ beginning checkbook stuff. By tomorrow it'll be like we never left here last March.
Wow! Sounds like Very Stressful times followed by Very happy settling in. I certainly Hope Miss Maggie settles in well with no issues. Good to know your both well! Love From Pensacola, FL!
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