A speedy visit before driving south

Within the hour of getting Big Blue back from the shop we were on the road, heading East. The fact that it was rush hour traffic in the Bay Area and we had two bridges to cross didn’t matter. We wanted out of San Rafael. Oddly enough, the traffic didn’t feel heavy at all, and within a few short hours (including a stop at In & Out for dinner) we were in Grass Valley and hello-hugging the parents. We visited hard and fast, cramming it all into a two day visit. A flurry of laundry, showers, and evening meals ensued and as usual, a deluge of boxes arrived to fix some of the items forgotten back on the boat. Per the norm, it rained the entire time of the visit. By Sunday morning we were shoving off, leaving the parents standing in the driveway waving their goodbye.

We really wanted to get over the Sierras before pointing Big Blue to the South, but an overnight blanket of snowfall up there turned us towards the most boring road in America – Interstate 5 between Sacramento and Los Angeles. Boring as all heck, unless you enjoy the smell of antibiotic resistant cow shit and reading politicized signage about farm-water and building more dams. Na, we do not enjoy, yet here we were headed down that very road anyway. It wasn’t all that bad to be honest. We entertained ourselves with a podcast or two and as usual, discussed the fuel consumption of the average american (est 500 gal per year {Big Blue uses about 1000 per year, doh}), and of course the usual judging and gasping at the way Californians drive – crazy idiots. Fun fact; since leaving Washington we have used more fuel in Big Blue than we used all summer in the boat. To be fair, we have already traveled more miles too.

After a few short hours we turned off the Interstate, cut straight through Bakersfield, and climbed over the Tehachapi’s just after the sun dropped below the horizon. Nine and a half hours after leaving Grass Valley we were arriving to our first day’s destination – the Boron Rest Area. Long time followers of this blog may recall us using this very route, and overnight stop, after our engine fire back in 2017. It is safe – always within range of an easy tow – and easy on the van with no major grades or passes. I still wasn’t 100% certain about our new rear-end. The route works well to calm the mind, and got us into the low desert for our first night’s stay back on the road.