Where to Next?

Our plans for the next week or so all depend on how long the warranty work takes at La Mesa in Davis, near Sacramento. Well, strictly speaking its not warranty but repair work, the last La Mesa RV Service Centre overfilled the batteries and the overflowing acid has taken the paint off the battery box and rotted the step covers. So, this next La Mesa has to repair the damage done, hopefully they can get it done in a day otherwise I am not sure what happens to us overnight.

Anyway, after spending Tuesday morning cleaning and packing away we headed off down Petaluma Hill Road, where the drag scene from American Graffiti was filmed, through Stage Gulch and east on Hwy 12 to the Napa Valley. The vineyards seemed to be full of workers hand pruning and tying in the trailing branches, the vines covered the valley floor and cattle roamed on the hillsides. We crossed the Napa River and went through Jameson Canyon to Interstate 80 and then north to Fairfield where we stopped off at the Anheuser-Busch Brewery, where they make Budweiser, for a brewery tour and beer tasting. The tour was fairly short but they made up for it in the tasting room, they showed videos of the brewing process and you could choose 2 servings of any of their beers, we tried their Bare Knuckles a dark beer that tasted like a light Guinness, and Spiced Wheat which was cloudy and slightly perfumed. Photos were banned, I am not sure why, they told you all about the brewing process and ingredients! We got back on the road again and turned south back down Interstate 80 to Camping World, our stop over for the night, it is just a few miles to La Mesa in Davis and so we should be able to get the RV there early in the morning.

As it turned out the Service Centre wanted to keep the RV overnight, they were not convinced the problem was their fault, so we checked into the local motel and then went out for brunch. It was hot out and there was nothing to see within walking distance so we came back to the motel and watched TV and read the local paper, and then had a shower before going out for dinner. Next day we had a lazy morning, we didn’t want to rush them, we waited while they confirmed they were to blame for the problem and they repainted the battery box, and confirmed they would reimburse us for the step covers, and then we headed off, but where to?

As we were so close we decided to go into Sacramento the state capital, we found the Californian Expo RV Campsite, the Western States Horse Show going on at the Expo Centre and so they were very busy but they found us a site and so we booked in for a few days.

The next day we took the motorcycle into Old Sacramento for a look around, we had a beer in a sports bar and then walked around the old town. The town is a 28 acre state historical park filled with Gold Rush era buildings and cobbled stone streets. When we got back the RV Park was full, loads of people milling around, Bar B Q’s smoking and people laughing, a great atmosphere, we had our supper and watched the sunset.

Saturday morning we were out early and into town to catch the first steam train excursion from Old Sacramento along the levees of the Sacramento river for a few miles to the old Baths, then the engine had to uncouple, change to a siding and come past us to the other end of the train, couple up again and then take us back into Old Sacramento.

The men were all dressed in costumes of the time of the train, the guard had to signal to the others it was OK to do each part of the transfer and eventually gave permission to head off again, all very entertaining.

We had another walk around the old town, the Wells Fargo Museum, the Lady Adams Building the oldest having survived the fire of 1852. The Delta King paddle steamer was mored on the river, it was built in 1926 and now restored as a hotel, restaurant and theatre.

The Tower Bridge has a centre that raises to let tall boats through and a little up river the 1^st Street Bridge pivots in the middle.

The city was constantly plagued by floods and so in 1862 the streets were raised 12 feet with dirt dredged from the river. Some buildings retain the use of the original level while others just use the original level as a basement. Sunday was another lazy day, while Dave watched the Nascar race on the laptop I took the motorcycle out in search of a craft shop. Monday we packed up, loaded the motorcycle and headed off south down Hwy 99. Past Stockton, Modesto, Merced, Fresno and Visalia, from our view on the freeway one looked very much like the other. Eventually we reached Bakersfield and Camping World our stop over for the night.

Dave got up early Tuesday morning and changed the filter on the automatic transmission, it was due to be changed at 5000 miles and the rig had dome 4933, ever the perfectionist he was determined not to let it run over the mileage. We had breakfast and then got back on the road, north on Hwy 99 then west on Hwy 58; we drove out through all the orange groves and vineyards heading for the Tehachapi Mountains. The railway joined us and we climbed into the hills but what a disappointment the beautiful green rolling hills of just 7 weeks ago had all turned brown in the summer heat, we kept thinking that the green would return around the next bend but it never did. We dropped down the other side and back onto the flat plains; Joshua Trees confirmed our return to the arid Mojave Dessert. At Barstow we turned left onto Interstate 15 and just a few miles farther on we crossed the border into Nevada where gambling is legal.

Immediately the desert was transformed into a theme park with casinos, hotels and outlet shopping. Then just as suddenly it turned back to desert but not for long in the distance we could see the tall buildings of our final destination, Las Vegas.