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CLEAR BUT COLD

Excellent day so far, despite the cold start.

Woke up at 10.30am after a very restless night as it was sooooo cold. Before I went to bed I doubled up one of the two blankets supplied in the comfort kit. Sometime in the night I had to redo the bedding as it was still too cold. Ended up folding both blankets in half to double up the warmth and threw on my pashmina and a silk sarong. I bundled it all around me like a caterpillar in a cocoon and still I was cold.

UPDATE: It really helps to read the operating manual as soon as you can after taking possession of a bad boy like this motorhome. I noticed there was a heater, but couldn't get it to work ... found out when I queried this upon returning it that all I had to do was adjust the temp setting as it was set at a cooler temp than what the ambient temp was ... duh

Then the coyote or some other canine type of thing started up. Then I heard noises around the motorhome. And then some more canine howling. Sleep was very elusive.

MARKET DAY AT THE WINERY

BUT, woke up this morning to find that the winery is having a market day today. Walked up the hill to find lots of fresh local produce, wine, and art products on display - and samples to taste. On the way to the winery, passed by this snake skin just 20 metres or so away from the beast. It was quite large, about 5 cm diameter, which means it was fatter than that before the skin dried out.

This is inside the winery itself, and the other stalls were set up in the barn/cellar building as it was very windy on the hill and I forgot to take a piccie of them as I was too busy tasting everything.

Blew my budget on a delicious glass of chardy, a tasting package, a lovely coin purse, spiced chilli toffee walnuts and pecans and, of course, a bottle of wine (which I didn't get to taste as I gave it to my first Servas host as a thank you gift). Can’t keep up this spending habit!

PREPARING TO HEAD OUT
Then headed down to hill to the motorhome, running the genie to recharge my computer so I can nick into a coffee house in Cambria (next town along) and use the wireless broadband and have a coffee. They had a stall here at the winery and chatting with them found out the Coast Highway is closed from storm damage from here to Monterey – which was my itinerary for the day. Damn! Back to a main highway again.

Also can’t do much until the idiot who parked less than a half a metre behind me moves on, as I have to back up off the levelling block, before I can go anywhere – and I also need to make sure I am sober after that wine.

So, as soon as that happens, onto Cambria to upload stuff, search the internet to find out where in San Fran I have to deliver this beast, and then on to the Monterey region for the night, about two hours drive away.

CAMBRIA

Here I am now in Cambria – what a lovely little village. Lots of wine houses, old style buildings, quaintness, and gorgeousness (!) everywhere.

Having a coffee and some free wifi to catch up on things and find out how to offload this monster in San Fran and then have to get cracking to park for the night further north.

Really, what was this dude thinking? Check out all the open parking spaces, and this idiot parks right in front of me where I strategically parked so I could just pull out forward and straight out of the exit. Idiot!

TIME WARPING ON THE ROAD AGAIN
It’s a strange thing, driving time and mileage in the USA. I anticipate that, if I am driving at 55mph, I will chew up 55 miles after driving for an hour. Sounds fair?

Yet, even when the traffic is flowing smoothly and I have driven for an hour at 55mph, I will see a highway sign that says my destination is only 20 less miles than it was an hour ago … how can this be? I’m on a freeway with no traffic lights, nothing to slow down for, and no interruptions of any kind.

Or if it is only 30 miles left to somewhere; I figure if I crank it up to 60mph, I’ll be there in 30 minutes. No, I’m not. After thirty minutes I still have 20 miles left. It is like this mobilehome is a Tardis, but not in a good way.

WINE REGION
As I mentioned the #1 Ocean Highway was closed north of Cambria, so after backtracking south a little from Cambria I had to take #46 East through the Santa Lucia Range. Stunning scenery of lots of bumpy hills, dry grasses and rock formations (a bit like the Adelaide Hills, but more dramatic and scrunched together) all dotted with wineries especially on the eastern end of the highway. Fantastic drive, but I had to keep pulling over to let cars get ahead of me as it was only one lane each direction and the motorhome made slow work (40mph) on the hills … oh, comes the dawn, re the earlier bit about time warping.

I had to give up on the car radio as the signal dropped out every mile or so, sometimes every 10 seconds. Driving along a windy road isn’t conducive to knob switching. Actually came to like hearing one line of one song, then static, then a line of a different song, back to the original, more static and then finding the only station that was constant was one that was excited to promote that they not only played country, they also played western. No joke!

Anyway, after this wine region experience I felt I could forego the Napa and Sonoma wine valley areas north of San Francisco. Well that, and of course I was totally over driving this monster one more mile than I had to.

AND FARMING TOO
I finally hooked up with #101 heading north again between two ranges and drove a through very wide valley filled with farms. Very picturesque. Then this black and white highway patrol car come belting along in the lane next to me and just after it got in front of me, their brakelights came on and I thought they were after me. But no, they chucked a u-turn like maniacs across the dusty, grassy wide area between the two sides of traffic to chase down someone going the other way – just like in the movies. Phew!

Anyhoo, on I drove to Salinas, just short of my target of Monteray.

PARKING FOR NIGHT THREE
It was 8pm, the sun was setting, and I didn’t want to drive in the dark, so when I spied a Walmart (free overnight parking in the carpark) from the highway, I thought it had my name all over it. Thirty minutes later after having a very exasperating search for it after exiting the freeway, back on, exit again, loop back again, I finally parked and asked a woman in the 7/11 shop how to find it. I also made the most of the forced 7/11 shop and bought a cheap bottle of wine.

Annoyingly, I had headed the right way first time, but didn't go far enough down the service road. So, headed back to Walmart, and parked the beast out of the way and to my delight the spot was level and didn’t have to manoeuvre or bring out the wheel stand ramp thing.

Just about to get settled in for the night when the security guard drives up. “No overnight parking here, ma’am.” “But, but, but, Walmart allows it” “Not here in Salinas, too many dumped their waste here and now the city forbids it” “But where else can I go now?” (me nearly in tears of frustration as this was the first night I actually parked where I had been told it was legal).

So she told me to park over behind some unrented building further down in the complex and to cross my fingers that the city cops didn’t appear and move me along. Right next to where I parked, was a strawberry farm. Very tempted to jump the fence and pick some, but thought I had better be good as I had been permitted to park overnight illegally.

The only bonus was that I had a bottle of wine now, and I knocked off half the bottle. Which also meant I didn’t have a plan B if I was told to drive on as I would have been over the limit. So cold again that as well as my PJs I had to wear two pairs of woolly socks, a merino thermal t-shirt, and a windcheater to my cocoon bed again.

Again, a very bad sleep, waiting for that bang on the door. But it didn’t come.

UPDATE:
.... pity the security officers weren't more diligent in their patrolling for this young girl.


PS When I get back home I want to have a go at making those spiced toffee walnuts and pecans. They were fantastic! Ingredients are: Nuts, sugar, honey, rosemary, salt, black pepper, and chilli.