Time to collapse

Well, I'm home........ and BEAT! The trip is over, and exhaustion has set in. I got home, opened up one of the beers I'd brought home off the bus (one of the perks), drank it, and became very lethargic in short order. Told Jacque it was time for a nap. We laid down, fell asleep almost instantly, and were awakened (from a DEEP sleep) about 45 minutes later, by dispatch. Hmmm, I'm working tomorrow. OK, I can do that. Tonight, we're going to bed EARLY!

CA Adventure

Hello again, this time from Lompoc, CA. I, and a couple fellow drivers, are in the mddle of a 5-day trip with a group of buyers of flowers for a big national chain, hitting greenhouses from Gilroy, CA to San Diego. We started by deadheading (driving an empty bus) to San Francisco, then heading south. It's a busy, busy trip, but one I do every year. Like I said, currently we're just on the edge of Lompoc, here for a couple more hours. Then on to Santa Paula, then to San Diego County.

Unexpected emotions

Hello again, this time from sunny San Diego, where the temps were in the 80's today, Easter Sunday! So, of course, we got on on the motorcycle for a while. Jacqueline and I are "recovering" today; we helped youngest daughter Melissa move her mother (my ex-wife from 25 years ago) to a new location. It was supposed to be "quick and easy" for our part; just load up some stuff in my truck to take to Melissa's house, and our part was done. Except, it became bigger, and bigger, and bigger as the day went along. Their truck broke down, after we'd already realized that her mother had LOTS more stuff than we'd originally been led to believe. Bear in mind, Jacqueline and I did this to help out Melissa and her husband Jordan, not the ex-wife. So, it became a debacle, exacerbated by my ex-wife's total lack of preparedness. I told Jacqueline that night, after we were finished, that we both earned quite a few "brownie points" on the Karma Ledger (grin). The biggest surprise for me, however, had to do with seeing my ex-wife for the first time in many years. Without going into details, let's just say life hasn't been very kind to her, although most of her problems were self-induced. I really didn't know if I was going to be angry, melancholy, nostalgic, detached, or what. Well, as the day wore on, and her lack of comprehension about how her failure to be prepared for this move was adversely affecting us, I found myself getting annoyed at her. I kept my emotions close to the vest, but couldn't believe this was a woman I'd loved at one time. I couldn't see a shred of the person I once knew. She seemed old, worn out, tired, self-immersed, unaware, and generally difficult to deal with. I guess mixed with the feeling of annoyance was a feeling of "what a tragedy". Our paths have diverged beyond belief.

Mammoth March Madness

No, the title of this posting has nothing to do with college basketball....and everything to do with what's moving in to Mammoth Lakes as I type this. I guess it's been beautiful weather here for weeks... sunny, dry, pleasant. Until we arrive. There's a storm moving in, a late-winter cold system pushing down from the north. There's not supposed to be a ton of snow, maybe a foot max, but that's plenty enough to screw up the roads. My fellow driver and I chained up last night while the storm was just starting to get going. Good thing, the road we had to go up was a sheet of ice, with 4-wheelers sliding all over the place. They, of course, had no chains on. The bulk of the system is supposed to hit today, with heavy snow from 1100 to 2300, or so they say. We have no spare chains, no chain tool, no extra cross-links so what we have is what we'll have to make do with. I'd presumed the other bus had the extra stuff, since he came up before me, and the shop usually send the "care package" on the first bus. I found out yesterday he doesn't have it. Oh well, hopefully no broken cross-links. Anyhow, I'll post a few pictures, there's not much snow yet, but more on the way, and it's been really windy.

Keeping the Tradition Alive

I thought maybe this year was going to be the end of a LONG string of years with snow trips to Mammoth Lakes; after all, that's where I met my (now) wife, that's where a lot of the "steel" in me today is from. I was subjected to a trial by snow, not fire, there, many times. I've watched as the trips have dwindled consistently, year after year. In my peak years, all of the '80's, into the early '90's, I ran at least 20 trips a winter! My peak year was 24 Mammoth ski trips. But that was a long time ago, now. Nonetheless, I've continued to run at least several trips a year. Until this year. When the one sure trip I have done in the past was scheduled, but there was a conflict with another trip I *had* to take, I figured 25 years of tradition had come to an end. Well, not quite yet. It appears I'll be heading for Mammoth in another couple days, after all. It may even be kind of like some of those legendary trips in the early '80's.... you know, before AIDS. Everything imaginable (and then some) happened on those buses. Believe me.... I was there! Well, the trip this weekend might be kind of similar... in a distant sort of way. You see, I'm bringing a gay group to mammoth, and I hear they "like to party". I guess I'll be diverting the rear-view mirror (boy, does that take on a new meaning!) and watching the road ahead. REAL closely *grin*. I dunno, maybe this is the "end of the road" for my Mammoth trips.... kind of like the boxer who wants one last fight, well past when he should have retired, maybe it's time I hang up on the mammoth trips. After all, I got a wife out of the deal, right? And much more than just a "wife", she's my soul-mate, my friend, my lover, my confidant. So hey, I'll do this trip, with an open mind (that's the only thing that's open), and we'll see how it goes.

A matter of perspective

Beauty in Paso Robles, at a Motel 6? Who would have believed? Actually, it's quite nice here in Paso Robles, a Central California community up the road a ways from San Luis Obispo. The weather's been absolutely spectacular, and, while staying at a Motel 6 is not high on my wish list, attempts have been made by the staff to make this one a bit unique. Little flower gardens adorn the property, with a wide variety of flower species, some of which I've never seen before. Also, across the street is a commercial property that is absolutely adorned with flowering trees of some sort. Someone else will have to advise me as to what kind of tree they are, not my strong suit. I'm sure the guys working at the small implement place are oblivious to the beauty in their "front yard", but I found it quite remarkable. I'll attach pictures to this post, of course. I'm also including a photo of a McDonald's that's just down the street. Why? It's a "retro" Mickey-D's, with the old arches going through the building, white and red tile outside, and a "Mr. Speedy" logo on top. It was too good to not take a picture of it!

Forgot to mention.....

BTW, I forgot to mention in yesterday's post.... Jacque and I grabbed the opportunity to get out to the desert this past Saturday (3-1-08), really glad we did. Little did we know that I'd be leaving town the next day. We'd originally talked about going on Sunday, but changed our minds. Goes to show you, in my job, you grab the opportunity when it presents itself. Anyhow, I put together a webpage with pictures and a video from our day. The desert was a carpet of color! Here's the link:
Desert Day

Suddenly out-of-town

OK, February is history; it's always a busy month in our family, there's a ton of birthdays (including mine). Daughter Melissa's is a few days away still, then there's a bit of a pause. It's also typically a busy month for my work, and there's one of my favorite trips annually in February, Yosemite Valley. It's beautiful there in the winter. But all that's behind me, it's March now. I wasn't expecting to go out-of-town again until near the end of the month, but a fellow driver where I work has developed health issues, and I was asked to cover a 5-day run he was originally scheduled to do. It wasn't anything I couldn't do easily, so I said OK. Now I'm sitting in my motel room in Paso Robles, CA, with another couple "down days" (no service), then pick up my group and return to San Diego. Today's focus was on getting the coach fueled and the "head" dumped. That's accomplished, so the next couple days are truly "no service". I always feel better once the fuel tank's topped off *GRIN*. Anyhow, on a serious note, the driver with the medical issues is dealing with some bad news, and still doesn't know exactly how his doctor plans to attack the problem. I'm sure he wants to get back to work, but apparently it's going to be a little while. In the meantime, I'm thinking that I, and probably others, will be asked to go out of town more than usual. Another driver who does a lot of out-of-town trips is also currently off, recovering from surgery. Runs like the one I'm currently doing, no problem. But there are some others that, while I may have done them in the past, it was like the DISTANT past. Things like San Francisco city tours. That makes my skin crawl just to think of it! Yeah, if I absolutely had to, I could pull it off, but I consider it a very poor fit for my job strengths. Guess we'll see on that.