I live by 3x5 card. With my calendar, it is my main organizing tool. I’ve actually saved a few; one from my wedding day (pick up flowers, hairdresser, etc), one Abi made when she was five years old (clean bedroom, read), one Will made for planning my birthday (buy groceries, bake cake…). For this trip to the Bay Area, to visit colleges with Abi, I made a trip schedule. We left the field station on Tuesday and the kids are taking the train to meet us on Saturday (today). We will visit colleges and San Francisco Saturday through Monday, then head back home Tuesday.Here is the 3x5 itinerary I wrote for the coastal drive we planned (I also have 3x5s of the campsites I’ve selected, things I need to do on the trip, and a couple of others):
Tuesday: Drive to Cambria via 101
Wednesday: Visit Hearst Castle
Thursday: Drive to Half Moon Bay via Pacific Coast Highway
Friday: Drive to Chabot Park, outside Oakland
Saturday: Pick up kids at train station in Oakland
Here is what actually happened.
Tuesday:
6:30 Begin preparing for planned 9:30 departure.
8:30 Talk to Al and decide to drive up via the eastern Sierras rather than the coastal route.
9:00 Drop stabilizers. Discover a flat tire.
9:30 Decide to drive out of the field station on 5 of 6 tires before calling Good Sam, our RV service provider, to change the flat, as we are based 5 miles from a public, paved road.
10:00 Cautiously reverse onto the wash. Immediately drive over two rocks of exactly the right size to wedge between the two back tires opposite the flat.
10:10 Search unsuccessfully in the station shop for a crowbar. Attempt to remove the rocks with what appears to be a 19th century flensing tool.
10:30 Find a crowbar, Will scootches under the RV to unwedge the rocks. Lays on a camouflaged chunk of cholla cactus. Shrieks like a girl.
11:00 Will drives verrrrry slowly out of the wash and onto the road, I precede in the mini-van.
11:30 Park at the Living Desert, on hold 20 minutes for Good Sam operator, request tire assistance.
1:00 Good Sam mechanic arrives, tells interesting stories while changing the tire.
2:30 FINALLY head out.
9:30 Pull in to the campsite at Bishop. RV dies.
9:50 RV restarts. Pull into campsite. Pour a glass of Jack Daniels whiskey (JD).
10:30 Sound asleep.
Wednesday:
7:30 Take the dogs for a long walk through empty sage scrub, staring up at majestic, snow-covered mountains. Agree that RV life is the best life.
9:30 Pull out of the campsite onto the 395, the four-lane, main road through the eastern Sierras. RV dies across all four lanes of traffic.
9:31 Will tells me to steer while he pushes RV off the road. I refuse. RV rolls off the road without Will’s help. We remember to breathe.
9:35 RV restarts, Will drives it along a side road while I call a mechanic. Only diesel mechanic in town (Britt) is in the opposite direction we are traveling.
9:50 Will manages to get the RV across the 395 and to Britt’s.
11:30 Early lunch at Raymond’s Deli, found via Yelp. Great food, great atmosphere. Overhear conversation between locals about chicken-sitting while friend sees the world. Decide to move to Bishop.
1:15 Mechanic tells us that the only problem is a loose battery cable. Sheepishly pay $85 and drive out toward Truckee.
1:45 RV slowly climbs 2000 feet in elevation then dies. Pull to side of the road, of which there is very little, and stare at each other.
2:15 No phone signal. The RV eventually restarts and we crawl another 1000 feet in elevation and into Lee Vining.
3:00 Pull into Shell station in Lee Vining. RV dies. Mechanic informs us that the only diesel mechanic nearby is Britt. In Bishop. From whence we came.
4:00 Find Mono Vista RV park down the street. As we turn into Site #1, Will says “I have never been so happy to drive into an RV site.” RV dies.
5:00 Manage to wrestle RV into the site. Pour a large JD.
6:00 Feeling calmer. Call Good Sam for assistance. On hold 20 minutes. They suggest we go to bed and arrange to call us back at 8:00 am.
9:30 Sound asleep.
Thursday:
8:15 Get tired of waiting for Good Sam to call, so call them. On hold 20 minutes. They will find a nearby mechanic and call back.
9:00 Good Sam calls back. Britt from Bishop will be sending someone to us.
10:00 Take dogs on first of many walks through the snow and sage. Amazed by glorious views of Mono Lake. Decide to move to Lee Vining.
12:00 Call Half Moon Bay to cancel campsite reservation. Arrange to stay another night at Mono Vista RV park.
2:00 Mechanic arrives. Fuel filter is full of algae. Charmingly embarrassed that he did not check this while we were in shop. Replaces both filters. Also checks solenoid (sticky) and oil pan (dinged up by previous owner, replacement cap is incorrect size, hence minor leaking). Tells many interesting stories about diesel engines, growing up in Mammoth, photography, uncle at NASA.
3:00 Test drive RV with mechanic. Will comments on its peppiness, I note the lack of tow vehicle, Will does wheelies to impress me.
3:30 Mechanic departs. We are $300 poorer.
4:00 Pour an extra large JD.
9:00 Sound asleep.
Friday:
9:00 Pull out of Lee Vining, to Oakland via Reno. Have been assured that the 395 north is much less torturous from here out.
9:10 Begin incredibly steep climb out of Lee Vining. Quickly reach over 8000 feet elevation.
10:00 Driving through Sierras. Agree that the RV life is the best life.
12:00 Hear shrieking sound from rear of RV. Look back to see refrigerator door tearing from its hinges.
12:10 I move the refrigerator door to the hallway, glass jars onto kitchen floor, while Will continues to drive. Observe the bumpiness of the 395.
3:30 Drive into Sacramento and westward as rush hour begins. No words.
4:30 Call Chabot Campground for directions. Ranger has not heard of Reno, so cannot help.
6:00 Turn onto Redwood Road. Ten miles of narrow, winding terror. Collect a flotilla of cars behind us, because there are no turnoffs.
6:30 Arrive at gate. Observe that cars leaving park turn in the opposite direction, suggesting an alternate approach. Discover the campground is two miles further in.
7:00 Make several attempts at reversing into campsite, nicely situated deep in eucalyptus grove. Eventually successful. Walk dogs. Will ingeniously fixes refrigerator door.
7:30 Late for JD, so pour a double. Become philosophical about life’s choices.
8:30 Sound asleep.
Saturday:
4:30 Wake up with headache. Realize that kids are arriving at 9:35 pm, and park gates close at 10 pm. Consider pouring a JD.
PS It is now Tuesday and we are at the Monterey Bay Aquarium. We will visit the Steinbeck Museum tomorrow, then spend the night in Pismo Beach before heading home. At least that's what my latest 3x5 says. Oh, and the RV can no longer reverse, so I have to find a campground with pull-through sites.
