MacGyver

Thursday, Dec 29...

Up early (this is a sleep ‘n leave campground), but I do manage a trek to Manchester Beach while Greg’s re-checking the Sharpie. Then we’re back on 101, heading toward The Elks Club in San Jose (not a view spot, for sure, but cheap camping when you just need basic services for a couple days). As always, the drive is beautiful, and we seem to be free of engine issues. (Yay!)  No traditional tourist stops, but we do pull off for lunch at what we think is Bodega Bay. Turns out to be Schoolhouse Beach, but it was still a great spot.

Manchester Beach (no access, I'm on a cliff)

Just after lunch (and just as we see a sign for Bodega Bay ahead), we turn east onto CA 12 to rejoin 101 and shorten our time to San Jose.  I think it was here that we passed through valleys dotted with small wineries. As with all the commercial farms we’ve seen, I was impressed with the attention to detail. Whether it’s grapes or cabbage, all the rows are graph-paper straight, and new plants seem to have some sort of individual protective “packaging.” And many of these fields (especially vegetable crops) are huge! 

Lunch tastes even better with a great view.

BlogThoughts... Another thing I loved about the wineries were the names. The words Estate, Creek, Family, and Farm show up frequently. Many of the family names associated w/ California wines suggest origins in Italy, Switzerland, Hungary, Mexico, Russia (several!), France, and Japan. Some of the more interesting names  include the following. You can pick your own fave. 😃

            Owl Ridge                   Two Amigos             Iron Horse                   Red Car

            Corner 103                  Harvest Moon             Fog Crest                   Paint Horse

            Sapphire Hill                Hobo                          Toad Hollow                Banshee

            Adobe Road                Hook & Ladder           En Guard                    Talisman

            Gordian Knot               Tin Barn                     Thumbprint                  Longboard      

newer section...

Late afternoon we reach the outskirts of Oakland (a moment of silence for John Steinbeck, please), then cross the double-decker Oakland-San Francisco Bay Bridge (actually 2 spans: the newer one connecting Oakland to Yerba Buena Island, and the original (1933) span connecting the island with San Francisco. Tired, but glad to know we’re on schedule, we pull into an unimpressive, but perfectly functional, site at the San Jose Elks Club.

 

southbound on the underdog lanes

BlogThoughts… Greg’s dad gave him an Elk membership for his 21^st birthday. The Club offered dance lessons, which Greg thought he needed. He also needed a partner for the lessons, and a family friend offered her granddaughter.  Greg and Liz completed the dance course and got married, but Greg never did anything else Elk-related – until last fall when he realized the cheap sites might come in handy. It took a while to find his records, and his old chapter no longer exists, but he is now a member in good standing (and in absentia) of the Ballard Club.

...and an apology: There are some layout & color issues that appear when I preview these pages, but they don't exist here in my working "post" copy. Nothing I can do about them.😟 

Wednesday, Dec 28…

California's "sacred grove"

I do a walking tour of the “neighborhood” (light industry, mobile home park, and a restaurante mexicano wafting all sorts of tempting aromas). Back at Cummins, mild-mannered Gary completes 3 relatively simple fixes and, at Greg’s request, does more diagnostic checks. By noon we have a clean bill of mechanical/electrical health and are back on Hwy 101.          

Driving through the Avenue of Giants (I kept an eye out for Thor, Grendel and the Jolly Green), we actually make a tourist stop (!) at The Charles Kellogg Visitor Center. Kellogg was quite a character. As a boy, he learned to imitate bird songs (which he turned in a popular vaudeville act); later he became a naturalist and an ardent campaigner for the protection of the redwoods. He also invented the "Travel Log" - google him and check it out!

Climbing, and feelin' good.

A little farther south we turn onto CA Hwy 1. I ooh and ah over the views as Greg keeps one eye on the road and the other on all the gauges. As before, there are lots of altitude shifts as well as twists and turns. The MH felt slightly sluggish but otherwise fine. After one particularly long haul and considerable time overall on this portion of the road, we both heave a big sigh of relief that all things electrical and mechanical seem to be OK. Coasting (metaphorically) down the other side of the slope, however, all the warning systems deploy: CHECK ENGINE, STOP ENGINE, and a loud buzzer. So much for relief.

We pull over (not off, but at least not taking up an entire lane).  Greg discovers a leak in the coolant reservoir, so we ease back onto the road until we reach a turnout. By now we are bleeding coolant (it happens to be red). NOTE: At this point you need to know that our MH is a diesel pusher – engine in the rear. A few components s can be viewed from the back, but full engine access is achieved by removing the (queen) mattress and its supporting platform and crawling down inside. The coolant reservoir plug requires full access.

Off come the bedding and mattress. Into the hole goes Greg, where he discovers the coolant plug/control switch has blown out. (Later he finds two other wires for the diagnostic harness have been sucked into the fan and demolished. Fortunately, these weren’t quite as critical as the coolant switch.) Greg is way beyond not happy. I’m asking if we have to be towed (and groaning at the thought/cost). “No, I need to MacGyver this.” Back into the MH we go, searching boxes and drawers for a suitable plug. Eventually he decides a Super Sharpie will do the trick. (And it performs amazingly well – it’s a full week before we can acquire and install a proper replacement.)

Super-Sharpie to the rescue.

Sunset through my window screen.