More Family on Our Way to the Coast

 April 29 - May 4, 2021

Fresno - Manteca - Ukiah, California

We bring snow with us to Frazier Park, and we bring the heat to Fresno. Every time. After highs in the 50's on the mountain, we arrive in the Central Valley just in time for a couple 95 degree days!

Cousin Cindy and her family have a lovely green lot on their property where we squeeze the motorhome through the gate to park with 15 amp and water. This time we remember we can use the generator to run the AC making for much more comfortable sleeping.

After 14 months of no lawn, Tessa has found nirvana here!

Bill and Kurt get caught up in the shady backyard.

Although Tessa was over his attentions quickly, sweet boy Dutch gave us lots of loving doggy eyes.

It's a fun visit with the family including their three sons and Cindy's mom, Aunt Kathy. The priority however is seeing Bill's 96 year old mother. She lives happily and comfortably in a private care home nearby. Her hearing is nearly gone but her sharp mind shares fond memories with us on three separate visits. She's been fully vaccinated for weeks and although we still mask, it's lovely getting to give her big hugs.

The family matriarch, Anne.

While running a few errands we find three generations of goslings in a parking lot. They're all so cute!

The "middle" aged kids.

One of the errands is a trip to the vet for Tessa :-( who has a mild ear infection. Glad to get her taken care of before we get further into our travels.

When we were in Arizona the registration for the rig came due. It included a recall on the emission system so we took it to Cummins in Tucson to get the work done. Their computer said (and they gave me a copy of the printout) there was no "active campaign" on our VIN. Soooo, I paid the registration and included a copy of the paper. California tells me we have to get a special form from the dealer saying what the paper already says. Of course. 

While in Valencia the line at the DMV is literally around the building and there's no Cummins dealer nearby. I find a dealer in Fresno who confirms over the phone that they have the DMV form on hand - yay! So another errand is going to the dealer with a copy of the VIN in hand to get the form, send it to DMV, be done.

Nope.

This dealer says there is an active campaign, requiring a part replacement. Which isn't in stock. And we're leaving tomorrow.

Arrggh.

Plan C is taking care of it at the Arcata Cummins next week. We'll see.

Friday is a two hour drive north on Hwy 99 to Manteca, California. It's still windy, but not too bad. French Camp RV Park is a nice surprise with level, paved pull-throughs, pretty trees that don't block the satellite, and easy access. I routed us here so we can see Bill's niece locally for lunch, and my best friend half-way between here and Sacramento one of the evenings. While the lunch happens with the added surprise of Bill's nephew driving over from Santa Clara, multiple factors pop up and no visit with the BFF this time. 

Bill, Melissa, Kavan, Morgan and David

Me and them.

Getting to see two of Wayne's (Bill's late brother) kids is a real treat and we all make plans for them to come see us in Arizona. When we get back to the park the sky is filled with smoke and we find a brush fire very near to the park border. Fortunately it's out quickly.

After my evacuation experience a couple years ago, this is unnerving!

Driving through California's Bay Area is a challenging experience even in a car, so I'm happy I was able to route us through on a Sunday morning. It's an easy peasy drive even with the wind that seems to be following us.

Sunday morning - the only way to fly!

Our next stop, and the last with family for awhile, is Ukiah, California. When we stayed at the Redwoods Empire Fairgrounds in 2015 the sites were filled with stickers and we swore we'd never do it again. Fast forward to 2021, the recent reviews say no stickers, and it's much less expensive than the Willits' option we did last time. 

The park is full this time so obviously it's not the "secret" it was years ago, and I'm happy to find no stickers. Tessa is too!

After a couple of misses, we find the Ukiah Brewing Company, making us very happy the others were misses! Fantastic food, brews and live music on the patio, we stay for a couple hours enjoying the perfect weather.

The large roulette wheel on the ceiling really catches your eye!

These giant dry thistles are stunning. I get a pic so I can remember to try and find some for the house.

Hard to see, but this musical duo on keyboards and drums are wonderful. Lots of boogy-woogy and a powerful female singer.

Mendocino and Fort Bragg fill our Monday, and give us our first view of the west coast which will be our home for the next two months.

First stop is for zoomies in the sand along Big River.

Spring is bright and colorful in Mendocino.

It's going to take a few days to absorb all the green!!

Our sister-in-law lives in Clearlake, and on Tuesday we meet her in Lakeport for a long lunch. Marilynn is very special to us both so it's always a delight to spend time with her. Can't believe I forget to get a pic, we were even talking about the blog!! Next time :-)

We're so happy to be back on Hwy 101 and beginning our summer along the coast. Next up we'll stay in the redwoods for a few days.