The Excitement Continues

We choose to avoid LA traffic by circumnavigating LA. This is accomplished by taking I-15 north out of Escondido, then continuing to I-91 W at Corona, then north up Hwy 71, eventually ending up on 210 west until it merges with I-5 north, not far from Magic Mountain. We've been on the road for about 4 hours now, and as I maneuver into the truck lane heading down the "Grapevine," at about the half way point we hear a "ping" on our dash. I look down and watch the fuel gauge fall to "empty," not exactly a heart warming sign. A glance at the mirrors and cameras provide no clue of smoke or of liquids gushing out of the coach. Finally all the way down, I pull into one of the many truck stops at the bottom of the grade and do an outside visual check. Good news - nothing seemingly wrong. The only thing broken is our planned stop to visit son David up in Corning and our tentative schedule. Oh well, they call this an adventure - right? Now we have an unplanned stop up in Coburg OR, birth place of the Popeye Express and best place for service. To be continued!

Starting Out With a Bang!

After a grueling tax season, all we wanted was to hit the road. I started the engine, and waited for the air gauge to reach 100 psi before driving the big coach up the steep driveway and onto the street above our house-office. Just as I was about to reach the top, "Bang!" It sounded much like an explosion, but hearing air escape, I knew we either blew an airbag, or some other such component. Continuing onto the street, and with air and now sirens going off at an ear piercing screech, we finally reached (by phone) the service center for Monaco who told us what to look for. In about 30 minutes, and after removing the dash cover, Bob found the air hose where it blew off the dash instrument panel for the air gauge. Now if we only knew the part number. Two days of phone calls around the country provided no help. Finally, brilliant husband figured out how to unscrew the part that fit behind the gauge, and voila', found a part which fit approximately 3 miles from our house-office. Progress! So, on Saturday afternoon after replacing the part, we once again, started our 2015 adventure.

Second Post Alert

Check out the town of Lunenburg on our visit in September of 2012. One note to add: If the town seems a bit familiar, and you know you've never been there, worry not. My guess is you're a fan of Robert B. Parker's Jesse Stone , made into several TV movies featuring Tom Selleck. The fictitious town of Paradise MA is actually Lunenburg, and they filmed it from every angle possible to show off the town!

Post alert!

Although there is more to come, I've managed to post 3 more stories of our September 2012 visit to Nova Scotia. While travelling, high speed wifi can be extremely difficult to come by when it comes to uploading pictures. Of course it takes time to download them and sort out the worthwhile ones. Most get deleted, but the ones I want to share will eventually wind up here! Please take a look.

A Perfect Sunday Outting

It's been a long time since posting to this blog, and I apologize for the delay. I had to relearn many skills, including the jump from Web Albums to Google Plus. Since we are planning a nice long trip this year in The Popeye Express, I'm starting early practicing how to post and most importantly, retrieve pictures. So, without further ado, here are the pictures from our car trip this past Sunday to The Mission San Juan Capistrano in San Clemente California. We hope you will enjoy this post!

Once the entry fee is paid, this is the view of the beautiful courtyard.

Shown here, a long pathway aside the actual church.

One of many old doors along the pathway.

A first look at the alter area

Now a full view

Inside one of those old doors

An impressive burst of color!

Of course the Swallows call this home!

Finally, a look at the Mission Bells. Until next time. . . .